Pedigree Risk Assessment 

A Preservation Breeder’s Worksheet

SECTION 1 — Proposed Breeding

Sire’s Name: _______________________________________________________________________________

Dam’s Name: ______________________________________________________________________________

Breeding Date Planned: ________________________________________________________________

Purpose of Breeding (circle):
Conformation / Performance / Companion / Preservation / Other

SECTION 2 — Mandatory Health Testing Review

Copper Toxicosis (COMMD1 DNA)

Result recorded with Orthopedic Foundation for Animals? Yes / No

Confirm no Affected × Carrier or Affected × Affected pairing.

Annual Eye Examination

Board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist exam current?
(Within last 12 months)

Patella Certification or Date of Vet Check

Thyroid (Optional unless history)

SECTION 3 — 3-Generation Health Review

List health concerns for:

• Parents
• Grandparents
• Siblings
• Half-siblings

Use “” for confirmed, “?” for suspected.

SECTION 4 — Longevity Audit

Average lifespan of:

Sire’s parents: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Dam’s parents: ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Oldest known dogs in pedigree: __________

Any dogs deceased before 8 years?
Yes / No

Cause(s) of death: ______________________________________________________________________________

SECTION 5 — Renal Risk Assessment

Evaluate the Following:

□ Any history of small kidneys on ultrasound                     ________________________________

□ Any littermate kidney failure                                                   ________________________________

□ Any repeated “poor doing” puppies                                      ________________________________

□ Any mildly elevated creatinine in young dogs                 ________________________________

□ Any unexplained early deaths                                                   ________________________________

If 2 or more boxes checked → Consider elevated risk.   ________________________________

SECTION 6 — Immune Disease Pattern Check

□ IMHA in pedigree
□ IMTP in pedigree
□ Autoimmune thyroiditis
□ Multiple autoimmune diagnoses in one line
□ Clustering after use of popular sire

If patterns appear in both sire and dam lines → High caution.

SECTION 7 — Genetic Diversity & Popular Sire Impact

Is either dog:

□ Used more than 5% of local population in 5 years?
□ Closely linebred (COI > desired program threshold)?

Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI): __________ %

Target COI for program: __________ %

As a rarer breed, COI and local population may be much higher than other breeds.

SECTION 8 — Risk Scoring Matrix

Assign 0–3 for each category:

0 = No known risk
1 = Remote occurrence
2 = Present in 3-generation pedigree
3 = Repeated or clustered

Total Score:      ________

Interpretation Guide

0–4 → Low overall risk
5–8 → Moderate risk — proceed thoughtfully
9–12 → Elevated risk — reconsider pairing
13+ → High risk — avoid breeding

SECTION 9 — Breeder Integrity Check

Ask yourself:

• Am I ignoring a pattern because I like this dog?
• Would I disclose every known issue to a puppy buyer?
• Would I repeat this breeding if the worst-case scenario occurred?
• Does this pairing improve the breed overall?

SECTION 10 — Final Decision

□    Proceed as planned
□    Modify pairing
□    Delay pending further testing
□    Do not proceed

Breeder Signature: _________________________

Date: _________________________

Closing Guidance

In Bedlington breeding, DNA testing helping solve Copper Toxicosis.

Kidney and immune disease require something deeper:

• Pattern recognition
• Honest communication
• Long-term pedigree tracking

This worksheet is not meant to eliminate all risk.

It is meant to prevent careless risk.