A pedigreed animal is one that has its ancestry recorded. Often this is tracked by a major registry. All pedigreed animals have papers from the registering body that attest to their ancestry.
Purebreds, also called purebreeds or pedigreed/pedigree, are cultivated varieties of a species, achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred is recorded, that animal is said to be pedigreed. Although the terms are often used synonymously, there is a difference: all pedigreed animals are purebred, but not all purebred animals are pedigreed.
Pedigrees list the registered names of a dog's parents, grandparents, great-grandparents (etc.). Most pedigrees go to 4 or 5 generations. Additional information should be included, such as date of birth, color, registration number, call name, or titles earned - Championship, Sire or Dam of Merit, Obedience or Agility for examples.
Pedigrees are useful when planning a breeding program. Knowing your dog's ancestry, and the ancestry of the dog you are considering breeding to is necessary to help you determine how closely related the dogs are. Sometimes dogs that seem unrelated in the first few generations end up with the same dog numerous times in the fourth or fifth. Knowing how many Champions or other title-holders are in a dog's pedigree will tell you about the line, and its tendency to meet the breed standard in form or function.
While sometimes hard to come by, specific information about the ancestors in your dog's pedigree is especially helpful. Knowing when the dogs died, and of what, can help you make decisions on health standards. Temperament and health are also vital factors in a breeding decision. Knowing the history of these characteristics in both dogs' lines can make the difference between a good breeding and a great one.
A pictorial pedigree can sometimes be especially helpful - while there's no guarantee that a dog will sire puppies that look like him, consistency of type throughout a pedigree will increase your chances of getting that type. Seeing other offspring of the dog you're looking at - puppies and adults - can be helpful, too. Many dogs who are lacking in a certain quality (say, rear angulation) produce pups who possess the quality.
It’s important to note that a goal with all breeders is to continually improve the breed, that is, the best breeding results in a puppy that is better than his parents.