Create testmatings and breeding plans

Whether you're a seasoned breeder, a new enthusiast, or simply curious about canine genetics, testmating is the gateway to exploring a world of possibility. Testmating on The Breed Archive is your assistant in responsible planning and insightful analysis.

What is a testmating?

A testmating allows you to simulate a mating between any two dogs listed in The Breed Archive and immediately view the projected pedigree of the potential offspring. You’ll see:

• Full pedigree down several generations.
• Pedigree analysis such as line breeding insights and key ancestors including:
• The Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI) — a key measure of genetic diversity.
• Ancestor loss and blood quota — important indicators of genetic sustainability and influence.

💡 Learn more about the importance of pedigree analysis in this blog post.

This virtual litter is not just a fun "what-if" scenario — it's a powerful planning instrument. You can analyse risks, compare matings, and plan for genetic health with confidence.

Who can use it?

• Breeders: To evaluate pairings before making real-world decisions.
• Dog owners: To explore theoretical match-ups for learning or curiosity.

Share your testmating

Every testmating you create generates a direct browser link — perfect for sharing with fellow breeders, mentors, or your kennel’s followers. This supports open dialogue, collaborative breeding decisions, and community feedback, all based on real pedigree data.

Why not just use a dog profile?

While dog profiles are essential for tracking real animals, testmatings serve a different purpose. Importantly:

• You don't need to create a fake dog profile to see potential pedigrees.
• The Breed Archive doesn't allow fictional entries, and administrators will remove profiles not tied to verifiable dogs from national registries.
• Testmatings let you explore possibilities without compromising data integrity on the platform.

Breeding Plans: Shaping the future of your kennel

Becoming a successful dog breeder involves more than just experience and instinct — it takes patience, a willingness to learn, and the vision to plan well beyond the next litter. Learning from seasoned breeders, developing an eye for structure and temperament, and understanding bloodlines are all part of the craft. But one of the most powerful tools a breeder can have is the ability to plan several generations into the future.

What are breeding plans?

Breeding plans allow all subscribers to store and manage unlimited testmatings privately, creating virtual dogs that can be used in future generations. Each testmating saved in a breeding plan becomes a virtual dog — which you can then pair with others to simulate the next generation, and so on.

There are no limits to how far or wide you can plan. Want to test several mating options for a second-generation pairing? Compare sires for a virtual dam? Explore genetic diversity five generations ahead? You can do all of that — privately and flexibly.

Plan smarter, breed better

Experiment, evaluate, and revise without cluttering the public database or creating placeholder profiles. Each planned mating enables:

• Pedigree analysis including COI, ancestor loss, and blood quota
• Health data evaluation for in-depth analysis for each virtual pairing
• Long-term planning by creating generations of virtual offspring to project forward in your program

This makes breeding plans not just a simulation tool, but a data-rich planning environment for managing long-term strategies across multiple generations.

Final thoughts

Whether you’re preparing your next litter or mapping out a decade-long breeding vision, testmatings and breeding plans on The Breed Archive are invaluable tools. They allow you to simulate, refine, and optimize your decisions based on data — not guesswork.

So go ahead: create that first testmating. Play the “what if” game, explore the possibilities, and make informed breeding choices that move your program — and your breed — forward.