What Goes Into a Title
We’ve spoken before about what you can learn from a pedigree. Among the greatest things are the titles that your puppy’s ancestors have achieved.
Like many people looking for pet puppies, titles and awards carry little meaning.
Why do I need a champion? Who cares if my puppy’s mother was a grand champion?
It isn’t the titles themselves but what those titles imply.
Conformation
In every breed, there is a standard. For the GSP, the standard includes things such as colour, size, and general appearance like height and weight. Earning titles in conformation proves that your dog conforms to the standard. In short, conformation is what makes the difference between one breed and another.
Although there are many dogs in the conformation ring, the truth is that every dog is judged against the standard. The one closest to the standard is placed first, the next closest second, etc. etc. There is, however, no guarantee that any dog will “win.” To simplify it enough, points are awarded for the number of dogs a dog beats in certain classes. After a dog accumulates a specific number of points, they are awarded a Championship (CH), Grand Championship (GCH), and Bronze Grand Championship, among others. While only a championship is necessary, achieving higher titles tells us the quality of a dog’s conformation.
Field Trials
Conformation isn’t the only way to achieve titles. Being versatile hunters, GSPs often compete in Field Trials to prove their proficiency in skills such as pointing or retrieving. Those titles are reflected in pedigrees as well.
While it is a bare minimum that you want to see these titles for your puppy’s mother and father, realistically, you want to see it in every dog in the pedigree. The inclusion of titles means your puppy has a higher chance of being a good specimen. Their absence must be questioned.
Always remember to ask for your puppy’s pedigree. The basic pedigree has three generations, though some go back as far as five.
