Review of the k9data.com pedigree database.
k9data.com is an online database that theoretically “documents” a retriever’s pedigree. It is restricted to three breeds of retrievers but includes Golden Retrievers so it’s worthy of review. It is used extensively in European breeders but less so in the United States.
It reminds me of genealogy programs somewhat since you can drill down into the family tree for as far back as they have records. It is easy to explore and drill down into and seems quite legit.
It “can” be informative but everything there should be taken with a healthy grain of salt and researched extensively before you take it as really good information when making a buying decision from a breeder you do not know. You should also beware of breeders that rely exclusively on that site for showing their pedigrees. If they are unwilling to show you their actual certified AKC pedigrees then there is a reason and most of those reasons are not in your best interest.
It’s similar to Wikipedia (sorta)
Like wikipedia, k9data.com relies exclusively on the honesty and accuracy of the people that put data there. Many responsible breeders do put accurate information there but is a VERY easy thing for irresponsible breeders, puppy mills and back yard breeders to put fudged, incorrect or patently false information as well. Yes, the owners if k9data.com will remove and ban folks that do this but their staff is small and ONLY responds to complaints, and then only when they have time; as far as I can tell they do not typically investigate entries on their own. They even have a plainly worded disclaimer to that effect on their main page. This means that you should never completely trust information found there at face value and it’s on you to go to reliable databases like AKC to get verified results if you are really looking for objective data. While not free, you can get an online breeders report from AKC that gives 4 to 5 generation pedigree online for under $25.
The calculations on the “Inbreeding Coefficient” (COI) at k9data.com is interesting as well but be advised that while their calculations make be accurate, they are only based on available data. That means the reported COI may be based on data that is missing or worse, on data from incorrect entries.
Inbreeding of dogs that are at least two generations apart (grandparent/grandchild for example) is quite common in the industry. The risk of genetic abnormalities is very small when doing this and frankly, this is how breeds are created but we at Texas TLC Goldens have taken a different direction on this. We are breeding high quality and beautiful pets with great temperaments, not conformation show dogs (although some of them could win shows). We wanted to eliminate any potential problem to the extent we can, no matter how small, so we research the pedigrees of our breeding partners and plan to never breed relatives closer than 4 generations. This however is a personal choice for us and we are not criticizing those that breed using industry accepted practice.
Conclusion
So to answer the question in the title; we “Like it” when used properly with full understanding of what it is. We enjoy cruising through that database as well. It can be a valuable and fun resource as long as you understand what it is and where the data comes from. Again, think of it as being similar to Wikipedia. Scholarly papers and many universities do not recognize Wikipedia sources because it is not verified nor objective data and is subject to constant change by anyone that wants to change it. We still read and enjoy Wikipedia but if you want objective/verified information, you should go elsewhere.
We at Texas TLC Goldens just added Harley and Emma‘s data to their database by popular demand. We were very careful to keep it all accurate and it really is interesting to see what they find.
About the Author
Bryan Curry loves all dogs in general, especially Golden Retrievers. He has had dogs for all but 6 months of his long life and all have lived happy and much longer than average lives. Bryan and his wife Terri are co-owners of Texas TLC Goldens; a small responsible breeder producing high quality Golden Retriever puppies.