Table of Contents

Kennel Clubs for Dogs

Kennel clubs for dogs are organisations for canine affairs that concerns itself with the breeding, showing and promotion of more than one breed of dog.

Pedigree and Pedigree Chart

A pedigree is a diagram of family tree showing the relationship between individuals.

It can also allow estimation of gene penetrance & gene expressivity. A pedigree chart is a chart that shows all the known phenotypes for an organism and its ancestors.

Most commonly humans, show dogs & race horses. It helps to track the generations of an animal starting with a single couple.

A pedigree chart is like a family tree, typically used for animals. This is especially helpful when watching certain traits.

The pedigree chart shows the parents and its offspring, along with the gender and which ones have the specific trait.

The information can vary depending on the type of animal. A pedigree chart, only takes a few minutes to learn.

A dogs pedigree chart, would track his breed and the breed of his ancestors. Charts may also ensure an animal is a purebred.

Use of Pedigree Chart

Following use cases are there of pedigree chart of a dog:

To show ancestral lineage.
To show the breeding lines of horses and dogs.
To show the descendants of a particular life form.
To prove the purity of the animal.
To track the ancestry of animals and assist in the planning of suitable breeding programs.
To enhance desirable traits.
To permit entry into clubs or societies and result in higher breeding.

Kennel Club

A kennel club (known as a kennel council or canine council in some countries) is an organisation for canine affairs that concerns itself with the breeding, showing and promotion of more than one breed of dog.

All-encompassing kennel clubs are also referred to as ‘all-breed clubs’, although “all” means only those breeds that they have decided to recognize, and “breed” means purebred dogs, not including dog hybrids and crossbreeds or mixed breed dogs. A club that handles only one breed is known as a breed club.

Kennel Clubs maintain breed standard, record pedigrees, and issue the rules for conformation dog shows and trials and accreditation of judges. They often serve as registries, which are lists of adult purebred dogs and lists of litters of puppies born to purebred parents. A kennel club manages all these aspects of the dog breeds it claims to represent, either directly or through its member bodies.

Today’s kennel clubs specialize in working dogs or conformation show dogs. In today’s parlance, dog clubs for mixed breed dogs are gaining ground and are now sometimes categorized as kennel clubs. The original purpose of a kennel club, however, was the breeding and showing of conformation bench purebreds, and this remains the most widely-accepted definition.

Widely known kennel clubs such as The Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club, the United Kennel Club, and the Continental Kennel Club each offer k9 events and training programs as well as dog registration services.

Kennel Club of India and their Role

The Kennel Club of India (KCI) is a registry of Purebred Dogs in India.
Promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including Annual Dog Shows and Speciality Shows.
It is a member of the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI).
Established Kennel Clubs in India during British colonalisation include Hyderabad, Ootacamund , Mysore , Calcutta.
These Clubs followed procedures followed in the Kennel Club in the United Kingdom.
The KC of India is the leading authority on registration on purebreds and maintains the only recognized registry.
It issues Pedigrees for purebreds and litters.
It hosts annual shows across the country and awards championships to various breeds of dogs.

Registration in a Kennel Club

The KCI registers litters of puppies born in India whose Sire and Dam have both been registered with the KCI.
It also registers puppies/dogs which have been imported from other countries.
Registers puppies/dogs which are purebred but whose parents do not carry any papers.
These dogs are registered as purebreds with Unknown Pedigree.
The most common registered breeds with the KCI include: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs, Dachshunds, Dalmatians, Doberman Pinchers and Pugs.
Pedigree Certificates are issued by the KCI.

Preparation for Show

The preparation of a dog for the show requires considerable experience and expertise.
The dogs should be got trimmed by an expert. It should be clean and in good optimum health.
Ideal condition for any particular breed is best understood by observing the winning exhibits at various dog shows.
Generally, a dog shown should have a little fat on it in keeping with the correct scales provided to that particular breed.
Cleanliness is essential for giving an overall good appearance to a dog.
The breeds possessing hard coat should be seldom given bath and the last bath should be given two or three days before the show.
In certain breeds, it is better for a dog to wear a light coat during the period between the final bath and the show to prevent it from becoming dirty again.
The breeds where hard coat is not a necessity, they may be given a bath the evening before the show.
All white-coated dogs should have dry cleaner (dog cleaning powder) well rubbed into their coats on the morning of the show.

Important Characters for Judgment

Each breed’s parent club creates a standard and a written description of the ideal specimen of that breed.
Generally relating form to function, i.e., the original function that the dog was bred to perform, most standards describe general appearance, movement, temperament, and specific physical traits such as height and weight, coat, colors, eye color and shape, ear shape and placement, feet, tail, and more.
Some standards can be very specific, some can be rather general and leave much room for individual interpretation by judges.
This results in the sport’s subjective basis: one judge, applying his or her interpretation of the standard, giving his or her opinion of the best dog on that particular day.
Standards are written, maintained and owned by the parent clubs of each breed.