Large Munsterlander Association of America
Understanding LMAA Pedigrees and Certificates of Registration
The front of this document is the Certificate of Registration, and the back is the Pedigree. The documents to support the certification and pedigree are kept by LMAA as a permanent record.
LMAA was incorporated in the United States so that all LM breeders here can raise the Large Munsterlander with agreed upon hunting, health, temperament, and conformation requirements. The Large Munsterlanders bred in the United States are bred according to the standards set by LMAA.
Your dog has a registered name preceded by a kennel name. Breeders will follow your dog's performance in testing and hunting through life to ascertain how successful they were in their breeding decisions. A breeder's first litter starts with A, then B and so on, which allows us to recognize the dogs' relatives at a glance. You are encouraged to select a name that is short (one or two syllables). This avoids confusion. Owners sometimes also choose a call name.
A tattoo was placed near the base and inside the right ear by the breeder. The last two numbers are the birth year, the other 1-3 digits are consecutive numbers identifying the dog in the registry.
Genotypes: The LM is black and white. Occasionally brown and white puppies are born to black parents, 1.5% of over 1300 puppies to date. A reflection of the common origin with the Deutsch Langhaar. Genotypes identify coat color alleles as follows: Dog with black hair = B_; Dog DNA-tested and shown to be homozygous for black = BB; Dog with brown puppies or DNA-tested brown = Bb; Dog with brown hair = bb.
Inbreeding coefficient: Breeders are encouraged to breed qualified dogs, but few times, to maintain a diversity for the health of the LM. Genetic diversity is determined by the number and the diversity of the founding dogs, 83 Groβe Münsterländers in 1922, and mates should not be too closely related. LMAA uses Wrights coefficient F (M.B. Willis, 1989, Genetics of the dog, Howell Book House, NY) to measure inbreeding. For example, an offspring from a father-to-daughter mating would yield F=25, cousin to cousin F=6.25. The coefficient for your dog is based on both of its parents' pedigrees and therefore calculated over five generations.
Test Scores: The performance test scores of the parents of your pup are listed on the front of the document. A Natural Ability test was required for the parents to breed but additional tests may also be listed. The back or pedigree side of the document shows the test scores for the ancestors also. Some of these may be tests from other countries, (i.e. Austria or Germany).
Hip Dysplasia Classification: The pedigree shows the HD classification for the ancestors of your pup. Since dogs with HD are not eligible to breed, all these ancestors are HD free.
Every LM pup starts life with its potential unproven. Once the dog's talent and health are verified, these are recorded on a a one-page document, known as a Breeding Profile, which includes a photo. At this point a new document is issued with the "not eligible to breed" statement removed.
LMAA's stated breeding requirements are basic requirements. If an owner feels his or her dog is sufficiently above average, especially if proven in an upper level field test, and if an owner is inclined to raise puppies, and selectively place them in hunting homes only, we encourage owners to breed their female and help maintain the quality of our LMs. We encourage owners of males to make their dogs available for breeding.
Through LMAA's structure, breeders can promise LMs that are not only capable hunters, but also are healthy and mentally sound. The perfect dog has not been born yet and LMAA therefore takes a practical and scientific approach to breed management. There are traits with too great a burden for which a LM would be excluded from breeding, such as hip dysplasia, or aggression. Some other traits provide little or no burden, such as rear dewclaws. Between these extremes are traits with moderate burden and or low recurrence risk (polygenic or multifactorial inheritance). These traits are considered "Once-on-a-Pedigree traits, that is dogs are eligible to breed, but the trait needs to be tracked so that it does not proliferate in the breed. For this purpose, the trait is recorded on the pedigree. If the trait appears again within three generations, breeding eligibility stops. In this way the heritable traits reach a dead end.
Many other breed associations and registries "advocate" this level of transparency. LMAA breeders are among the few who "practice" it. If your dog's pedigree shows such a trait, this is proff of due diligence by the breeder. You can be part of this solution by reporting any undesirable traits to your breeder and/or Breeding Officer. This is the best way we know to mange a breed for the sake of the dogs and their owners.
We wish for you many fruitful hunting seasons ahead of you with your Large Munsterlander!