Hello people and welcome to another brief teaching about this precious breed called the German Shepherd Dog, that is just what this page is all about and during this various mini teachings, I'll be taking time to point out some undiluted truths to us if you are a special lover of this special breed.

The last time I spoke about somethings to look out for when trying to get a German Shepherd Dog and to be honest I was very surprised at the amount of messages I got from people who are willing and open to learn the more about this precious breed.

We talked about the five lines of the GSD and also talked about those things to look out for as well as questions to ask breeders when we are trying to get a GSD.

Today we'll be touching a very important aspect of this breed called the pedigree. At this point I know some of us have already heard about this word before especially when sellers, marketers and breeders are advertising their puppies. The word pedigree is not limited to the GSD alone as it cut across all breeds. But do not be fooled, there is a difference between the word pedigree and a pedigree dog but some sellers/breeders will never want you to know this truth because some of them believe it will devalue the prices they've placed on their puppies. Doubt me on this?...go to your browser, open two different tabs, search for the word pedigree separately and on the other tab search for the words "pedigree dog". Meanwhile I'll try and touch both.

What is the meaning of the word pedigree?.....The word pedigree in a simple term means the recorded ancestry or lineage or descent of an animal, showing it to be pure-bred. Most times the minimum to be known is at least 5 generations but these days, the information you seek is within the last 3 generations.

What is the meaning of the words pedigree dog?...A pedigree dog is born from two dogs of the same breed, and is registered with a recognised club or society that maintain a register for dogs of that description. There are a number of pedigree dog registration schemes, of which the Kennel Club (KC) is the most well known. Did anyone observed the word registered?..If yes, there you have your answer. When a breeder or seller tells you he has pedigree GSD puppies for sale, he is simply telling you he has puppies that have been registered by a Kennel Club or a Breed Club for sale. But is that possible in Nigeria presently?...the answer is yes and no.

Yes in the aspect that the dogs being called pedigree dogs are actually imported, registered, documented, and verified from whichever country they are coming from. If anyone can show you this for the dog(s) they advertise and not for the parents of the dog(s) then you have a pedigree dog, you can actually do every other verifications you may need and go ahead to purchase.

No in the aspect that the country doesn't have a Kennel Club as we speak, the dog(s) do not fall into the Yes category, even if they are offspring of dog(s) in the Yes category, you can only say they are from pedigree stock(s).

We not really going to talk about the pedigree dogs today but we'll focus on the word pedigree because it is also an important factor to consider when trying to choose a German Shepherd Dog.

Pedigree is a tool in the hands of the breeder, it points you to so many things about the dog you are trying to get. Like I said in the first post, there are five lines of the German Shepherd Dog, and only the pedigree of the dog will tell you what line he/she falls into. Most times it's funny how people talk and arrive at hasty conclusions out of ignorance calling their German Shepherd Dogs showline or a working line, the question is how do you know this?..your answer lies in the pedigree of your dog. If you don't have any for your dog, then that is a major problem as you'll be missing so many informations about your dog.

Like I said earlier the word pedigree is a tool in the hands of a breeder that tells you how your dog was bred, the special traits your dog is made up of, the titles and awards won by his/her ancestors, the temperament, the specific line he/she belongs to and sometimes what you should expect as results from the offspring that will be coming out when you start breeding your dogs. Those are just few to mention and it should be known that the word pedigree is not just some stuffs written and documented in a paper, hell no..it is much more than that. The problem in this part of the world is the fact that people try to fake it that they can read a dog's pedigree whereas they can't and they continue to wallow into that deep ignorance.

If you are going into breeding, your ultimate goal is to improve on the dogs you started with, i.e. the offspring must be better than the parents.

You must be known for a particular thing. Be it some unique traits like a nice head formation, a long body, good coats, nice standing ears or it could even be dogs with lovely temperament and dogs without any health issues.

So for you to achieve this self desired results, you ought to be familiar with what we call the *pedigree* of your dogs. If you don't care about this and just want to breed and sell off, then you are breeding blindly and you're no different from a miller or a peddler.

Going to stop it right here, and I promise to touch more the next time I make a post again. Thank you for reading and I hope you gained a little from this.

For further enquiries, please do not hesitate to reach out on any of our platform, I'll be more than willing to help.

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You will always be proud of your dog.

It's nice that someone has finally taken it upon himself to educate people on things like things. I always say the first thing a breeder should consider shouldn't be money or the number of pups you hope to get. It should be improving the breed.

The issue of pedigree has been a burning topic on Nairaland for years and people have used that term aimlessly. Some think pedigree means physical attributes of the dog.

Most of the issues that you discussed are known to me because I'm an avid reader. Been a dog lover since I was a kid and I've always tried to educate myself on what I claim to love, especially on the GSD, though I also have a soft spot for the Malinois.

I wish more articles like this would crop up on nairaland. Even though I enjoy browsing through pictures of dogs for sale, I would like to see more of something informative.

Been thinking of starting a thread on dog training and socialization and the need for it. That is another topic I think people need education on. Most people get or adopt dogs and don't know you have to do the work too. Some go as far as searching for ways on how to make their dogs aggressive and attack people.

Would love to pick your brain on this.

Good job

Endy10:
It's nice that someone has finally taken it upon himself to educate people on things like things. I always say the first thing a breeder should consider shouldn't be money or the number of pups you hope to get. It should be improving the breed.

The issue of pedigree has been a burning topic on Nairaland for years and people have used that term aimlessly. Some think pedigree means physical attributes of the dog.

Most of the issues that you discussed are known to me because I'm an avid reader. Been a dog lover since I was a kid and I've always tried to educate myself on what I claim to love, especially on the GSD, though I also have a soft spot for the Malinois.

I wish more articles like this would crop up on nairaland. Even though I enjoy browsing through pictures of dogs for sale, I would like to see more of something informative.

Been thinking of starting a thread on dog training and socialization and the need for it. That is another topic I think people need education on. Most people get or adopt dogs and don't know you have to do the work too. Some go as far as searching for ways on how to make their dogs aggressive and attack people.

Would love to pick your brain on this.

Good job

Hi bro, thanks for the compliment. It's a good thing to give out what we got for free as this will lift out people out of their ignorance and the old fat lies they've been told.

I've come to understand the problems most people have is reading up on free informations. Majority are okay with residual knowledge and most times you hear people saying my vet told me this and told me that. I won't go into that vet issue for now.

On the dog training and socialization thread you wish to start, it's a welcome development and it will also give people like me an avenue to learn the more. I hope to see that thread soonest.