Explore all Pedigrees Dogs

A dog is known as being a pedigree if both the parents are pure-bred and have been known for a number of generations. Unless the parentage of the dog can be proven, it cannot officially be registered with the Kennel Club in Great Britain.

The kennel club
Set up as a ruling body in 1873, an early task of the Kennel Club was to compile a Stud Book containing important documentary information and published annually. Another important publication is the Breed Records Supplements which, published quarterly, contain all litters registered, transfers of ownership and show titles attained, as well as certificates issued under the KC/BVA health scheme.

Well in excess of four million dogs have now been registered with the English Kennel Club and it currently recognizes 189 individual breeds, each of which has its own breed standard, officially published by the ruling body but drawn up with the help of breed clubs.

Standards are regularly reviewed and occasionally amended, especially important for breeds which have been newly introduced to Britain and of which, initially, only a limited number of dogs have been seen.

Foreign breed organizations
Similar systems are in operation in other countries, although rules vary quite considerably and breeds and individual dogs recognized in one country are not automatically accepted for registration in another. The English Kennel Club has a reciprocal agreement with many different countries which helps canine enthusiasts to work together throughout the world.

There are several major organizations which have control over pedigree dogs, among them the English Kennel Club, Federation Cynologique International, known universally as FCI, and the American Kennel Club. In Australia there is the Australian National Kennel Council and, in addition, there are various other Canine and Kennel Control councils for different areas of this enormous country.

Controlling breed standards
As is the case in most countries, registration with a Kennel Club does not guarantee the quality of the dog, but the responsibility must rest with breeders to ensure that the pedigree dogs they bring into this world are as healthy as possible. This responsibility of course rests also with breeders of any dog, whether they be pedigree, crossbreed or mongrel. Dogs are all living creatures and as such deserve to have been brought into this world with due care and attention, and every litter, whatever its parentage or monetary value, should be given the best possible start in life.

Pedigree dogs, like others, come in all shapes and sizes. There are enormous heavyweights and tiny Toy breeds, those with long coats needing a great deal of attention, others with short ones which take little more than a quick rub over with a clean cloth. Some, like the Mexican Hairless and Chinese Crested Dogs, are hairless breeds, though in such cases their skin usually needs attention to ensure that it does not become too dry. One of the major benefits of buying a pedigree dog is that one knows more or less what to expect, although undoubtedly there are many differences, even within a breed, depending on the bloodlines involved and of course on the care taken in planning and breeding.

Crossbreeds
Crossbreeds are dogs of which one parent is of one breed and the other something different, but again both sire and dam are pure-bred dogs. Occasionally mistakes simply happen and a crossbreed is produced, but some people decide to crossbreed by design. This may simply be because a certain combination appeals, but unfortunately it can also be used merely as a vehicle for cashing in on puppy sales.

Selective breeding
Occasionally it happens that when selectively bred a crossbreed eventually gains official registration in its own country. The USA's Kyi Leo is one such example, a new breed which originally came about due to the accidental mating between a Lhasa Apso and a Maltese, but then became widespread and popular in its own right.

In taking on a cross-bred dog there should at least be some indication of what the puppies will grow up to be in adulthood, for both parents will be pure-bred and hence their phenotype (outward appearance) will be known. However if, for example, one breeds a Lhasa Apso which is long-coated to a Poodle which has a curly coat, the chances are that some of the offspring will resemble their sire and some their dam, while some will be a complete mixture of the two. It should go without saying that none of the puppies can be classified as purebred, even though it is possible that some may look like a fair representation of one of the two breeds. This is because genetically each puppy will carry genes of both sire and dam so that if they go on to produce puppies of their own their offspring may not resemble them, possibly looking more like the grandsire or grand-dam.