More About The AWPGA Health and Pedigree Database

The AWPGA Health and Pedigree Database is owned and operated by the American Wirehaired Pointing Griffon Association. You can learn more about the AWPGA on our web site at AWPGA.com.

How does it work?

The AWPGA Database is an Internet Application. As such, it is designed to work with virtually every modern web browser on typical devices that can be used for web browsing. This includes PC's, Mac's, tablets and smartphones. You do not need to download anything to access the database although your device does need certain modern capabilities. Simply click on the Database button above to get to the database.

What capabilities does my device need?

To access the AWPGA database, your device needs the following:

1. Access to the Internet. What this means for tablet and smartphone users is that you need to have Wi-Fi access or have a data plan for your device to access a cellular data network. High speed internet access is preferred and will make your experience more enjoyable.
2. A reasonably modern web browser. The application is tested with the latest and two most prior major versions of popular web browsers. The AWPGA database is a sophisticated application and may not work if you have an older device.
3. JavaScript must be enabled in your web browser. This allows for a more responsive modern application.
4. Cookies must be enabled in your web browser for this application. This is a small file that is placed on your device so that the application can help you navigate forward and backward. No personally identifiable information is ever kept in a cookie from the AWPGA database.
5. The printable pedigrees are in PDF format and your device needs the ability to view PDF documents in order to view these pedigrees. This requires software such as Adobe Reader which is free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/ .

How does data get submitted and entered?

• Information is submitted by owners and breeders via forms available via the Submit Data button at the top of the page. The information on these forms is sent to our Data Operators who will do any necessary validation per our database policies. After any necessary validation has occurred, the operators will enter the data in the database so that it is viewable.
• What this means is that data you submit does not go directly into the database. This is done to protect the integrity of the database and ensure you can trust the information it contains.
• Please note that our operators are only making sure that the data being submitted is in conformance with our policies. They are not personally judging the information being submitted nor will they spread gossip regarding any submissions.
• You can contact any of our Data Operators if you have questions about how to submit data. See the Submit Data page for more information.

How do I get started?

Once you are in the database, you will use the main menu buttons at the top of the page to access information. The four main buttons you will use are:

1. People. This button allows you to search the database for a person. After selection from the search results, you will be able to see dogs owned and litters bred by that person.
2. Litters. This button allows you to search the database for litters using various criteria. Use this button if you want to see complete litter information and you know some information about the litter you are looking for.
3. Dogs. This button allows you to search the database for a specific dog. Use this button if you want to see specific information about a dog and you know some information about the dog you are looking for.
4. Reports. This button brings up a list of various reports and special searches available. These will tend to let you search for dogs by various criteria. A list of all dogs matching that criteria will be returned.

Once you are looking at a specific dog, litter or person, you will notice many links that will let you go directly to another dog, litter or person. Clicking on those links will let you easily navigate through the database.

What are the ID's?

Once in the database you will notice that each dog, litter and person has a unique ID number (Dog ID, Litter ID, and People ID). These numbers are used internally by the database to keep track of each specific item. You do not need to know or keep track of these numbers but they can be helpful. If you frequently want to get to something like your people record or a dog you own, knowing the ID number can allow you to enter it on the search page and go directly to that record.

Photos

• You can submit up to four photos of each of your dogs. If possible, at least one of the photos should be a side view of the dog standing.
• Note that the AWPGA may crop and resize submitted photos. This is done to provide an image that works better on the pedigrees as well as being appropriately sized for online viewing.

Trial Pedigrees

• A Trial Pedigree is designed to show what a pedigree would look like for a possible future breeding. This allows breeders an opportunity to view what the pedigree would look like before any breeding actually takes place.
• Trial Pedigrees are available via the Reports button once you are in the database.

Pedigree Navigator

When you are viewing a specific dog, you will notice a small icon that looks like    at the top of the page above the dog name. Clicking on this icon will transfer you into "pedigree mode". Here you can view the dogs in the pedigree as well as some pertinent information on those dogs and, optionally, a photo. Clicking on any dog name will shift the pedigree to make that dog the one the pedigree is for. Clicking on any photo will display a full size version. Note that at the top of the page there is a similar icon to switch back into "data mode" for the dog that currently is the primary dog in the pedigree.

Final tips

• All pages will have a "done" or "return" button. Using these buttons instead of the back button on your browser will ensure you are returning to the spot you expect to.
• The entire system has a 20 minute timeout. If there has been no activity from your computer for 20 minutes your session will timeout and you will need to click the button to logon again. This is necessary to conserve resources on the server and ensure all users have excellent response time.