How to Generate a Pedigree Chart

Track your puppy's lineage with a pedigree chart.

A pedigree chart is used to chart the ancestry of purebred animals. It organizes and details information about the family history of a dog and can be helpful in tracking health issues and desirable characteristics. If your dog is registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) or another purebred registry you can request a pedigree directly through them for a small fee. If you'd like to create your own there are a variety of free online tools and templates, as well as software that you can purchase to create a pedigree database.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Software or template
• Pedigree of dog

Instructions

1. Set your parameters. Decide how many generations you want to include. Gather names, titles, birth dates, death dates, and any other information you want to include for each generation. As an example, an AKC includes three or four generations and lists names, registration numbers, coat colors and stud book dates.

2. Decide on a template or program to use. Select which is right for you based on how much information you have and want to include and how many generations you want to track. For best results choose something you can download and manipulate on your own rather than an automatic online generator.

3. Enter information for your dog, then his sire and dam, grandsires, and granddams. Continue this for as many generations as you are including.

4. Save and print your pedigree chart.

References

• AKC: Pedigree overview