Importance of Pedigree Papers

Pedigree papers are proof that a dog is purebred with evidence to prove it.

Pedigree papers can be thought of as the birth certificate of a dog. Pedigree papers are essentially the family tree of a dog showing at least three to five generations back or more. Pedigree papers start with the most recent dog in the ancestry and go further back into its lineage, starting off with the puppy’s parents labelled as 'Sire', the father, and 'Dam' the mother. 

Pedigree papers include:

• Name of the registered owner of the puppy
• The pedigree name of the puppy
• The breed of the puppy
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Colour
• The country of origin (what country the puppy was bred)
• Microchip number of the puppy
• Name of the person who bred the puppy
• Registration date of the litter
• The Dogs Australia state body member that issued the pedigree papers
• The date the pedigree papers were issued

Not only do pedigree papers show lineage but they also show the credentials of your puppy’s ancestors, be it through show or dog performance and sports titles, which may be titled into the pedigree names of those dogs. Pedigree papers also show prefixes attached to the dogs in the family tree, which identify other breeders who bred those dogs. This shows how vast the information on the pedigree papers are.

Pedigree papers mean more than just the lineage of dogs. When owners look at pedigree papers they are not just looking at a piece of paper, but a piece of history. The dogs that lived, combined, and ultimately led to the puppy they are holding today!

The pedigree names that appear on pedigree papers can also be searched online which may bring up more information going further back into the lineage of your dog, or even images of those dogs.

In Australia, the oldest genuine, authentic, and globally recognised pedigree papers, are those issued by Dogs Australia, formerly known as the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC), established in 1958. Therefore, it’s important that prospective puppy owners source from a Dogs Australia registered breeder (hyperlink to dogs Australia breeder directory).

All puppies bred from a Dogs Australia registered breeder are issued with a set of pedigree papers by breeders. Both parents of the litter also have pedigree papers. Purchasing a pedigree dog bred by a Dogs Australia registered breeder, increases your chance of owning a well-bred purebred dog, where only the worthy and best examples of that breed have been combined by breeders to produce offspring that is sound in mind, body, and health as possible.