Add a pedigree

3 minute read·Free plan·Updated September 2026

Record a dog’s parents and the generations behind them, one ancestor at a time. An ancestor recorded once appears on every dog that descends from it.

Why it matters

• The pedigree lives on each dog, so every descendant shows the same ancestor.
• Puppies take their sire and dam from their litter, so a dam’s ancestors appear on every puppy.
• Recorded parentage feeds the pairing’s pedigree COI calculation. Filling missing branches makes its ancestry coverage more complete.

What a pedigree-only dog is

An ancestor you add here is a pedigree-only dog, kept for lineage only.

• Its page carries the badge Pedigree-only dog.
• It stays out of your roster, your stud pickers, and search.
• The Dogs page lists them under the filter Pedigree-only dogs once you have one.
• To add one directly, choose Pedigree-only dog under Record type on the Add dog page. That choice is made when the dog is added.

Add the parents

1. Open the dog and select Pedigree.
2. Select Add sire.
3. Start typing the Name. Pick the dog if it is already in your records, or choose Add "{name}" as a new pedigree-only dog.

   

4. For a new dog, enter the Registration number if you have it.
5. Select Add sire.

A message confirms the link, such as Added Rivermist Cedar · linked as sire of Luna. Add dam works the same way.

Add earlier generations

Once a parent is recorded, its empty cells read Add sire and Add dam, with Grandparent under them. Select one to add that dog’s parent. A cell reading Add the closer generations first is waiting for the generation before it. The pedigree shows up to four generations.

Record an ancestor once

One ancestor lives once in your records, however many pedigrees it appears in. Typing a name in Add sire or Add dam finds it, and choosing it links that same dog. BreedTracker refuses a second pedigree-only dog with the same name, and offers Link {Name} instead. Puppies take their sire and dam from their litter, so the dam’s ancestors appear on every puppy. On Add dog and Edit dog profile, the Lineage pickers Dam and Sire list program dogs and pedigree-only dogs.