# Finding a puppy based on lineage



## xNittanyLion11x (Apr 14, 2016)

Hi,
I'm new to this forum so please excuse me if this isn't the correct place to post this question. :wink2: I have been really thinking about getting a GSD for some time now (a few years). I'm currently a college student so I'm waiting until after I graduate to get one which will occur in the next 4 months as I'm likely graduating in August. My great aunt who used to own a purebred German Shepherd suggested to me that I try to get a dog in her old dog's lineage (if it's possible) and I thought this was a really interesting and neat idea. So here's a cool little story with regard to this:

My aunt's dog was born way back in 1968. She got the dog from a breeder on the way home from the airport in Pittsburgh right after her husband (my great uncle) boarded his plane to head over to Vietnam. My aunt's father was a farmer and needed a dog for at the farm and arranged for her to pick the GSD up that day. My uncle (the one who left for Vietnam) was drafted into the war in 1968. Luckily he survived and made it home in July of 1969 just four days before Apollo 11 landed on the moon. My aunt told me that somewhere in her house is the dog's old pedigree and certificate and that she is going to try to find it for me. She kept it through all these years. Neither she, nor I know if this is even possible, so that is why I'm posting to this forum. If she does indeed have the pedigree certificate and papers, does anyone on here know if it is possible for me to use that to trace the dog's lineage so that I may possibly get a puppy that is a descendant of her old dog Smoky? If this is possible, I think this would be really cool because her and my uncle were like a second set of parents to me growing up and I just think it would be awesome to have a dog that is the descendant of her old one.

Sorry for the post being a little 'wordy.' Please let me know if anyone has any leads or ideas for me to get started in the researching process... Thanks!!! If she finds the pedigree certificate, I will scan and post it on here in the future.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

If you recover the certificate/registration/pedigree info, l would start by going to Pedigree Database's website, and start searching for all of the registered names. Hopefully you'll get a hit or two. 

Assuming you can find one (or more) of the dogs on the pedigree, you can easily look up siblings (full or half), and then trace their progeny through the years. If you create an account (it's free), you can "save" or "favorite" dogs that might be connected to the family tree, for reference.

The downside, Pedigree Database is not really official, it relies on individuals entering information. Many dogs exist that were never entered. So you may or may not find what you're looking for, but that's where I would start. Good luck!


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Your auntie's dog goes back to 1968 . That is 50 years ago.
You can try to find out what family of GSD he came from .
Was he related to the emerging Canto/Quanto lines.
Was he related to Mutz / Marko 
Was he related to one of the branches of Axel Deininghauser Heide --- going to Lance or
Mike?


You can find a type . (maybe)


After 50 years though the branch may have been pruned . There may have been no interest or reason to continue in a linear progression of progeny through out the years.


post a picture if you can . Any information helps.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

As Carmen said - that was over 50 years ago.....chances are slight to find something coming down directly from same dog/siblings...from one of the more major families - maybe....

More important is that you identify what exactly you want in a dog, and figure out what lines and type will meet those needs...then find a breeder with whom you can build a relationship...

Lee


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## xNittanyLion11x (Apr 14, 2016)

First, I'd like to say thank you everyone for the quick replies! When she finds the pedigree certificate, I'll definitely do a check on the Pedigree Database and see what might show up on there. I'll post the certificate on here too if she finds it in the near future (before the post gets too old). I completely understand what you guys are saying with regard to it being 50 years ago -- that was my main concern and initial suspicion too. That was a REALLY long time ago and I kind of figured that these databases are only as good as the information that the breeders upload to them. 

Realistically I was kind of skeptical that it was even possible when my aunt first presented me with this idea. I didn't really think it would be possible to find any ties to her dog considering it was that long ago so it doesn't surprise/upset me that finding a dog in Smoky's lineage might not become a reality. But I still wanted to give the idea the benefit of the doubt and at least ask people that might know. I was just curious about the whole concept in general and I could tell that this forum was a great place to ask the question because a lot of people on this forum seem to be very knowledgeable on the matter. I wasn't sure whether it was a common concept or not to actually successfully find descendants of a dog from 50 years ago, as I personally know of no one who has done it; but of course I'm inexperienced in the field so I figured this forum would be a great place to start. 

Thank you all again for the input! I really appreciate it! I know she has pictures of the dog so if I can get those sometime here in the near future I will upload them.


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## Suka (Apr 9, 2004)

I got stuck on "born way back in 1968". LOL That was the year I was born and I guess I better get used to being born way back when. HaHAA.. Good luck, sounds like a cool adventure you are on.


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