# Dog Pedigree Chart: How to Read, Fill Out, and Create One Canonical: https://kennelpress.com/blog/dog-pedigree-chart Last updated: 2026-10-23 Author: Dusty Mumphrey (https://kennelpress.com/authors/dusty-mumphrey.md) Published: 2026-10-23 Category: Running a program > Learn how to read a dog pedigree chart, check titles and health records, fill one out accurately, and publish the ancestry you can support. A dog pedigree chart is a family tree that lists a dog's registered ancestors, usually four or five generations back, with names, registration numbers, titles and sometimes health records. Read it from the dog outward, one sire and dam at a time, and treat every title or health notation as a pointer to a record you can check. A pedigree records who bred to whom. It does not grade the dog in front of you. Filled in carelessly, it becomes a polished-looking document nobody can verify, which is worse than a plain one that can be traced. This guide uses AKC-style ancestry pedigrees as the example. Other registries use their own formats and abbreviations, but the reading order is the same: start with the dog, then work back through the parents and their parents. It is written for breeders organizing records for their own dogs and for buyers who want to understand the papers a breeder shares. ## What is the difference between a pedigree and a registration certificate? A pedigree shows the recorded ancestry behind a dog, while a certificate of registration shows that a registry has recorded the dog itself. Neither one tells you whether the dog suits a planned litter or whether every health question has been answered. A pedigree can carry more than names. An official one may add registration numbers, titles, colors, health certifications and country information. For AKC dogs, the [AKC Certified Pedigree](https://www.akc.org/register/pedigree/certified-pedigree/) is the official version: the AKC says it is compiled from Stud Book records and lists up to 30 immediate ancestors across four generations. The AKC's online [Research Pedigrees](https://www.akc.org/register/pedigree/online-pedigree/) come in four- and five-generation versions, but the AKC describes them as being for research. They are not formatted for framing or display, and they cannot be used for foreign registration applications. ## How do you read a dog pedigree chart? Find the subject dog first and read outward from there. In a left-to-right pedigree the dog sits at the left, the sire sits above the dam in the next column, and the four grandparents sit in the column after that. The pattern repeats: every position has a sire above and a dam below. To trace an ancestor, pick the dog you want to understand and work back toward the subject one parent at a time. Each step answers one question, which is whose sire or dam this dog was. If you are checking a planned pairing, copy the ancestor's registered name exactly as it appears on the document. A call name, a dropped kennel prefix or a spelling changed in a social post makes the later search much harder. Keep the original document beside you while you type. ## How many ancestors are on a three-, four- or five-generation pedigree? Counting the parents as the first generation, a three-generation pedigree shows 14 ancestors, a four-generation pedigree shows 30 and a five-generation pedigree shows 62. The AKC's four-generation Certified Pedigree follows the 30-ancestor count. | Generations shown | Ancestors | Who is included | | ----------------- | --------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | 3 | 14 | 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents | | 4 | 30 | The above plus 16 great-great-grandparents | | 5 | 62 | The above plus 32 more | Some people also count the dog at the center as a generation, so two people can use different labels for a chart of the same size. Count the columns of ancestors yourself, or ask the breeder what their software means by "five generations", before you compare two charts. ## What do the abbreviations on a pedigree mean? Abbreviations are compact records that point back to an organization, so check the issuing body before you rely on one. On an AKC pedigree, some common title abbreviations are: | Abbreviation | Meaning | Where it appears | | ------------ | ----------------------- | -------------------------- | | CH | Champion | Before the registered name | | GCH | Grand Champion | Before the registered name | | CD | Companion Dog | After the registered name | | CDX | Companion Dog Excellent | After the registered name | | NA | Novice Agility | After the registered name | | AX | Agility Excellent | After the registered name | The [AKC titles and abbreviations list](https://www.akc.org/sports/titles-and-abbreviations/) is the place to look when one is unfamiliar. It also separates the titles that go before a dog's name from those that go after it. ## Does a CHIC number or a DNA profile prove a dog is healthy or purebred? No. A CHIC number says the breed's required screenings were completed and the results were released publicly, and an AKC DNA Profile says who a dog is and who its parents are. Each answers a narrower question than buyers often assume. The [OFA's CHIC program](https://ofa.org/chic-programs/) issues a number once every required test for the breed is done and the owner has agreed to publish the results. The OFA states that the number itself does not imply normal results, so open the report and read the tests, dates and findings. The OFA is the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, an organization that keeps health records. It is not a title. The [AKC's DNA page](https://www.akc.org/breeder-programs/dna/) says a profile is used for parentage verification and genetic identity. It also says the test does not determine a dog's breed or whether it is purebred, and gives no information on conformation or on the presence of genetic disease. For the health side of a breeding program, see our guide to [health testing for dog breeders](https://kennelpress.com/blog/health-testing-for-dog-breeders.md). ## What do repeated names on a pedigree tell you? A repeated name tells you one ancestor appears through more than one path in the chart. That is a reason to look closer at the breeding choices and health history behind that dog. It is not a measurement of inbreeding or a verdict on the pairing. The reason is that a pedigree-based inbreeding estimate depends on how many generations are recorded. The Dog Aging Project's explainer, [Demystifying inbreeding](https://content.dogagingproject.org/inside-foundation-demystifying-inbreeding/), says pedigree results are highly influenced by incomplete data and that missing lines can cause inbreeding to be underestimated. So a coefficient worked out by counting repeated names on a short chart is a rough guess at best. The more useful questions are practical ones. Who is repeated, and where? What do you know about that dog's health, temperament, structure, littermates and descendants? A famous name appearing three times does not answer any of them for you. ## How do you fill out a dog pedigree chart correctly? Start with the documents, not your memory. Put the subject dog first, enter each parent in the correct sire or dam position, and work back one generation at a time. For each position, record what you can verify: - the registered name, copied exactly; - the registry and registration number; - titles, naming the organization when it is not obvious; - color or markings, if they are part of the source record; - references to health results, with the original report or the public lookup link; and - a source note wherever something is unconfirmed. Leave unknown information blank rather than guessing. A blank slot is honest, and a wrong entry can travel through years of buyer packets, web pages and breeding discussions. An official registry pedigree is the right source when you need the registry's own record. A printable working chart suits a binder, a consultation or planning notes. Your website can make the same information easier to find, but it should never be presented as a registry document. If you hand a buyer a printable chart, put the date you prepared it on the page and keep a master copy. When an entry changes, update the website and the next printed copy together. ## Should you add photos to a pedigree chart? Yes, as long as the photos support the record rather than replace it. They make a line much easier to follow for someone learning it. Use a consistent crop and label every image with the registered name. Put the full record, meaning titles, health results, registration and source documents, on the dog's own profile or beside the chart where it stays readable. A photo cannot prove parentage, and a handsome chart cannot prove a health result. When an older ancestor has no usable photo, leave the space empty or use a quiet placeholder. Do not use a picture you cannot identify with confidence. ## Where should you keep and publish pedigrees? Keep the original registry documents and health reports in your own records, then publish the part that is appropriate to share. For buyers that usually means individual dog profiles, the parent pair behind a litter and the pedigree that connects them. On Kennel Press, you can keep up to five generations of an animal's pedigree, with up to 62 ancestors. You can enter ancestors yourself, link animals already on your site, or import a pedigree from a photo, PDF or public web page and check each name before saving it. Each ancestor can carry the detail you have recorded, such as titles, color, registration, results, health information and a photo. Kennel Press is not a registry, an automatic pedigree lookup or a COI calculator. It gives you one place to present the records you have checked, and visitors see the recorded ancestry on the animal's profile, with deeper levels of that five-generation record available when the template shows them. If you are starting from paper, begin with the parents and grandparents of the dogs visitors ask about most. In my view, a clean and accurate first three generations is worth more than five generations assembled in a hurry. Buyers weighing a breeder can compare what they see against our list of [what to ask a dog breeder before you buy](https://kennelpress.com/blog/what-to-ask-a-dog-breeder-before-you-buy.md). ## What should you check before you share a pedigree? Check five things before you email, print or publish it: 1. The subject dog's registered name and registration number match the source document. 2. Every sire and dam sits on the correct line. 3. Titles and health results are copied from a source you can show. 4. A CHIC number or OFA notation links to the underlying report rather than standing alone. 5. Anything unknown or unverified is left out or labelled as such. The last check matters most. A pedigree earns trust when a reader can follow it back to the records behind it, and it does not need to look complicated to do that. ## Quick answers ### Can I make a pedigree for an unregistered dog? Yes, as a family-history chart built from what you can document. Say plainly that it is not a registry pedigree, label unconfirmed entries, and do not assign registration numbers or registered names you do not have. ### How many generations can I show on Kennel Press? Up to five generations, or 62 ancestors. The profile stays easy to read at first and lets visitors open deeper levels within that five-generation record. ## Sources - [American Kennel Club: Certified Pedigree](https://www.akc.org/register/pedigree/certified-pedigree/) - [American Kennel Club: Research Pedigrees](https://www.akc.org/register/pedigree/online-pedigree/) - [American Kennel Club: Titles and abbreviations](https://www.akc.org/sports/titles-and-abbreviations/) - [American Kennel Club: DNA and the AKC](https://www.akc.org/breeder-programs/dna/) - [Orthopedic Foundation for Animals: CHIC program](https://ofa.org/chic-programs/) - [Dog Aging Project: Demystifying inbreeding](https://content.dogagingproject.org/inside-foundation-demystifying-inbreeding/)