The Traditional Pedigree is a very popular pedigree among breeders and owners but unfortunately it has many shortcomings. Most notable is the importance it places on names, titles and certifications. None of these features are heritable which is why this pedigree lacks reliability and does not capture the information needed to plan a breeding. When something works, credit is given to the pedigree and the breeder, when it doesn’t; there is no record of information to be reviewed. This makes it ineffective as a breeding tool. The fact that it does not collect relevant information is the key reason breeders have now begun to use other pedigrees.

Notice the kinds of information displayed on this pedigree. It requires memory and recall about each ancestor.  One of the advantages of pedigree analysis is the ability for breeders to “formula breed” and when information is missing go to a method known as “breeding-up.