Finding the perfect potential mate for a dog is a challenging task. There are many things that you need to consider, such a breed type, physical characteristics, temperament, health test results, genetic diversity and the general health of the sire and dam.

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Responsible breeders consider the health of their puppies to be a priority, but it is not always easy carrying out the research to find a healthy or compatible mate for your dog. The Kennel Club’s free online resource, Mate Select, goes some way to assisting you with this research. Although it doesn’t recommend possible mates, Mate Select does provide you with health related information about individual dogs that you may be considering.

 

Mate Select has a number of useful services, which can be found below.

 

Find a dog’s health test results

This resource allows you to find any available health records of any dog on the Kennel Club’s breed register. These results include tests carried out under the BVA/KC health schemes (including the hip, elbow, eye and CM/SM schemes), as well as DNA tests carried out as part of official Kennel Club DNA testing schemes.

 

Estimated Breeding Values for hips and elbows

This new resource uses BVA/KC hip and elbow screening data and matches it to Kennel Club pedigree information to determine the genetic risk for each dog passing these diseases to their offspring. EBVs are a more accurate indicator of genetic risk than using an individual dog's hip or elbow score alone. EBVs are currently only available for a limited number of breeds, due to large data requirements.

 

Inbreeding coefficient calculator – thinking of mating two dogs?

Using all available Kennel Club pedigree information, this resource helps you look at the degree of inbreeding, or inbreeding coefficient, for puppies that could be produced from a hypothetical mating.

 

Inbreeding coefficient calculator – individual dog

Using all available Kennel Club pedigree information, this resource shows you the degree of inbreeding, or inbreeding coefficient for an individual dog.

 

Inbreeding coefficient calculator – latest annual breed average

This resource shows you the latest annual inbreeding coefficient average for each breed, based on puppies recently born in the UK.

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Help/Contact Us

If you are not sure where to begin, or would like to be guided through some of the resources available then why not try our guided tour. If you have any further questions then please email: mateselect@thekennelclub.org.uk

 

New to dog breeding?

If you are new to dog breeding then you may wish to consider joining your local breed club where you will be able to meet and talk to some very experienced breeders. Contact details and information about your closest breed clubs can be found by visiting our Breed Information Centre.

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More Information

Find out about genetic diversity.

An introduction to dog breeding.

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Note: The above information has been obtained online from the UK Kennel Club (KC) website.