45-Generation Pedigree

Original Golden Retriever Litter: Cowslip, Primrose, and Crocus

Tracing a dog’s pedigree is fun, at least for a while, but unregistered dogs create deadends that require the tedious task of repeatedly starting over. To trace 45 generations mathematically results in over 2 trillion ancestors! Thankfully, I didn’t have to chase down every possibility because of the K9Data.com database. When you enter your registered dog into the database, your dog’s parents (if registered) will be traceable. This system only works when owners take the time to register their dogs and pre-internet, it meant each owner kept careful breeding logs.

Since owners of show dogs and competition dogs are usually registered, I had a huge head start. The first 6 generations were easy because AKC generates these reports for you when registering your dog, but it quickly becomes more complex after 6. Some lines produce dead ends (titled in the database as “unknown”), resetting you to where you lost the history. Thankfully, I love research, and after countless hours and thousands of records, I have successfully documented Dixie Rose’s full and complete pedigree back to the very first EVER golden retriever. Her origin is Cowslip, one of three pups born out of Belle and Nous in 1864. I feel privileged to have a perfect and complete record, and I hope that the owners of her descendants will continue to register her pups for generations to come.