OUR PRACTICES/BELEIFS
20 BASIC BREEDING PRINCIPLES OF RAYMOND OPPENHEIMER
1. Don't make use of indiscriminate outcrosses. A judicious outcross can
be of great value; an injudicious one can produce an aggregation of every
imaginable fault of the breed.
2. Don't line breed just for the sake of line breeding. Line breeding with
complementary types can bring great rewards; with unsuitable ones it will
lead to immediate disaster.
3. Don't take advice from people who have always been unsuccessful
breeders. If their opinions were worth having they would have proved it
by their successes.
4. Don't believe the popular cliche' about the brother or sister of the
great champion being just as good to breed from. For every one that is,
hundreds are not. It depends upon the animal concerned.
5. Don't credit your own dogs with virtues they do not possess.
Self- deceit is a stepping stone to failure.
6. Don't breed from mediocrity. The absence of a fault does not in any way
signify the presence of its corresponding virtue.
7. Don't try to line breed to two dogs at the same time; you will end by
line breeding to neither.
8. Don't assess the worth of a stud dog by its inferior progeny. All stud
dogs sire rubbish at times. What matters is how good their best efforts are.
9. Don't allow personal feelings to influence your choice of a stud dog.
The right dog for your bitch is the right dog, whoever owns it.
10. Don't allow admiration of a stud dog to blind you to his faults.
If you do, you will soon be the victim of autointoxication.
11. Don't mate together animals which share the same fault. You are asking
for trouble if you do so.
12. Don't forget that it is the whole dog that counts. If you forget one
virtue while searching for another, you will pay for it.
13. Don't search for the perfect dog as a mate for your bitch. The perfect
dog (or even bitch) does not exist--never has, never will.
14. Don't be frightened of breeding from animals that have obvious faults,
so long as they have compensating virtues. A lack of virtues is by
far the greatest fault of all.
15. Don't mate together noncomplimentary types. An ability to recognize
type at a glance is a breeder's greatest gift. Ask the successful
breeders to explain this subject--there is no other way to learn.
16. Don't forget the necessity to preserve head quality. It will vanish
like a dream if you do.
17. Don't forget that substance plus quality should be one of your aims. Any
fool can breed one without the other.
18. Don't forget that a great head plus soundness should be one of your
aims. Many people can never breed either.
19. Don't ever try to decry a great dog. A thing of beauty is not only
a joy forever, but a great dog should be a source of aesthetic pride and
pleasure for all true lovers of the breed.
20. Don't be satisfied with anything but the best. The second best is
never good enough.
