Vitality Pedigree is my home grown attempt to digitally keep track of all the physical traits of a dog and the ancestors in a pedigree. It is an essential part of breeding to always strive for better. This pedigree is allowing me to make decisions in my program that put structure & health front and center.

Using A Familiar Form To Catalog Structure & Health

While the traditional pedigree catalogs names, registrations, titles and ancestors, it fails to keep a succinct record on physical attributes to assist in improving the breed or species of the animals in question. Vitality Pedigree is focused on cataloging structure and health in a usable format.

I wanted something that would show me at a glance the structure of each animal in the pedigree, help me determine the best breeding pairs, to avoid doubling on faults, as well as target any individuals who may throw progeny with recurring medical problems.

Catalog Structure & Health For More Than Just Dogs

At first I thought in terms of dogs (wonder why…) but also having Florida White rabbits, I thought, why not use it to improve them as well? So I can see this being useful for most animals with minimal adjustment.

It’s cloud based so I can use it regardless of what OS I have or what device I use.

The Structures Figure

There are two basic areas: The stick figure that for each dog (oops, sorry, animal) I can grade different parts of their anatomy, so I can see at a glance where to improve the next generation and avoid doubling up on faults.

The Medical & Health Aspects

The second area records genetic, medical or breed standard areas of concern.  So if suddenly I start seeing a trend of a particular health issue it will assist in targeting the source.

Visual Compare & Contrast

I can compare any two animals for possible breedings. Or for example, if I’m reducing the number of animals in my program, its possible to compare two males or two females to determine which is the more desirable to keep.

I can add breedings and the resulting litter so those animals are now part of the database as well, whether I decide to keep them or sell them.

I’m excited to get to work with this new tool to see how it helps me with my coton breeding program.