Knowing your dogs history

[Lana]

Hello fellow husky owners;

I was having a discussion with another husky owner about how important i thought it is to know y our dogs history. If i didn't understand the importance (thanks to friends here who allowing me to rethink my ideas about AKC) of a pedigree i would have never known that Lana's has two members in her family that star in the Walt Disney movie 8 Below. It also let me go back 4 generations of your her blood line and to make me feel better about her "purebred" status. Though i still have my doubts about the pure accuracy of kennel clubs, i do see the important roles they could and do play.

Don't let your curiosity only limit you wanting to know if your dog is just "purebred" but what is unique about your dog and it breed. Sadly you have people claiming "this is a purebred" and/or "throwing" that in as a sell pitch to get you to buy. I personally find it important to know my dogs breeds to know what i can kinda expect from dog. It it's a herding dog, toy dog, terrier, working, hound, sporting, or a combination of any. It may answer some of those questions " why my dog dig so much?", "why does my dog sniff so much?" or any other million question we may have as owners. This information can help us all with the development of our dog behaviors and discouraging others, if we choose to do so.

History about our dog also tells is something equally as important... our breed health. What a certain breed may be prone too such as Great Danes are the number one breed at risk for bloat/ distortion (not limited to this breed only just the highest at risk), or Siberian huskies were at one point high risk for hip dysplasia and juvenile cataract. Most of all knowing if there is a hereditary problem within the generations that has commonly been seen. Knowing these things early about your dog can help prevent and even save our dog with medication, procedures, and/or surgeries. Knowing your dog growth rate could also help you with what type of food you should feed your dog. From those who use store "dog food' i have notice there are food label Large, medium, and small breed. This help me for my vet recommended taking Lana off Raw diet while she was pregnant and place on puppy food. Even though feeding your dog raw or dog food is highly debatable even among veterinarians, there are good products that do try to help. The growth and what is need for a small dog is different than a large breed dog.

Studies and research has come a long way to improve our loved ones health and overall life span. What a waste if we don't at the very least read what they have researched and apply what is best for our dogs. There are many reasons why you should learn your dogs history than i mention but most of all do what is best for our loved ones. It wouldn't hurt to find out this information so why not do it, however this is my opinion and reasonings, what are yours?

[Lana]

please feel free to add and/or share you thoughts on this matter....

[Sarah]

i found out after going through my 5 generation certificate for my boys that they are distantly related to a fair few on this site

[Cathy]

I think you've listed a lot of great advantages of having a dog with a known pedigree.

For those of us with rehomes and rescues, there are some things we can do to assess the overall health and character of our dogs before we adopt them, but I guess we do take our chances to some extent.

[Lana]

Now Thunder is ACA registered....is that just as good as AKC? Does anyone have any exp. with the ACA?

[Mazz]

Now Thunder is ACA registered....is that just as good as AKC? Does anyone have any exp. with the ACA?

Hate to tell you this, but ACA is not as good as AKC. ACA is what a lot of puppy mills in the US use for registration, along with Continental Kennel Club and a few others. The AKC has put a limit on the number of litters a male can stud without DNA testing, in an attempt to curb puppy mill production. The puppy mills have simply devised work-arounds and using registries other than AKC is one of those work-arounds. This does not mean your dog came from a puppy mill, but it is possible, that a puppy mill was involved in initially registering one of your dog's ancestors.

The ACA lists the country of origin for the Siberian Husky as "Alaska". Most everyone familiar with the breed knows the Siberian Husky did not originate in Alaska, but in eastern Russia/western Asia.

[Lana]

wow didnt know that, Thank you very much for the information.

[ocspirit]

The ACA lists the country of origin for the Siberian Husky as "Alaska". Most everyone familiar with the breed knows the Siberian Husky did not originate in Alaska, but in eastern Russia/western Asia.

Actually that is not an incorrect statement. Sure some of the Sibe's origins did indeed come from Siberia HOWEVER, when it came to North America there were many other breeds that went into the breeding project before it got the label and registration as a Siberian Husky. Some of the breeds used were, Alaskan Husky (Village-dog type), German Shepherd, Alaskan Malamute, etc. No one really knows every single dog because not all were recorded prior to the creation of the breed. It is North America (or more specifically, Alaska) that labeled the Sibe as a Siberian Husky. In Siberia, they were simply village dogs who pulled sleighs and herded reindeer. They were a "breed" in the sense that they had a limited pedigree and thereby bred true. The dogs that started the "Siberian Husky" as a breed were already slightly different than those Mr Seppala originally brought over. Today, they are VERY different, especially those in the show ring.

The ACA isn't considered reputable though, that much I agree with you. Its so not reputable that the International Sled Dog Racing Association doesn't even recognize it as an appropriate registration to prove a dog as purebred. Some registries that are reputable would include (but are not limited to)

United Kennel Club

Kennel Club (of the UK)

American Kennel Club

Canadian Kennel Club

Fédération Cynologique Internationale

That being said just because your dog is papered by a reputable registration, does not guarantee it to be a purebred dog. Papers can be forged. Litters can have dual or more sires. Breeders can simply lie about who the sire is. Etc. Papers are nothing more than that...just a piece of paper, in all honesty. Not saying that all papers are a lie but it is something to keep in mind. If it is really important to you to know the pedigree history of your dog then you should get to know the kennels on the pedigree in person and get a feel for how honest they are. for example with my newest addition, I know the dogs in her pedigree quite well (especially on her dam's side). I have raced alongside her ancestors. I know the owners of the dogs in her pedigree in person.

There is a well-known Sibe breeder and musher who many speculate that his dogs have some Alaskan Husky blood in them due to their appearance and certain other characteristics. None the less every dog in his yard is registered and papered so who's to argue? The race organizations only ask for the paper not DNA proof and he has the papers so he's good.