11/10/2024
FOR SERIOUS BREEDERS ONLY!!!!
Words of wisdom from Raymond Oppenheimer
Outcross - reproduction of two blood lines with no inbreeding
Line Breeding - inbreeding (maternal, paternal or both)
Inbreeding - close inbreeding
Condition - strength, health
Functionality - reason why the race was created
Raymond Oppenheimer was a Great Bull Terrier Breeder of the 1930s; upon his death in 1984, the Ormandy and Souperlative Breedings were considered the best of the breed. Raymond Oppenheimer was also a very prolific man, who left various writings that can be applied to all races today.
1. Remember that the animals you choose to breed today will have an impact on the breed for many years to come. Keep this thought in mind when choosing your breeders.
2. You can only pick two individuals per generation. Choose only the best because you will have to wait for another generation to improve what you started with. Only reproduce if you expect the offspring to be better than the parents.
3. Don't expect statistical forecasts to come true (or not) based on a reduced sample of individuals. Statistics only apply to large populations.
4. Pedigree is a tool that should help you learn about the positive and negative attributes your dog might exhibit or reproduce. Pedigree is worth as much as the dog it represents.
5. Breed your dog by looking at it together, not one or two characteristics. Don’t follow the trends of your breed because they tend to emphasize one or two traits of the dog, for the sake of the good condition and functionality of the whole.
6. Quality is not synonymous with quantity. Quality is produced with careful study, having a good idea of what you want to achieve, having the patience to wait for the right breeder to be available, evaluating what has already been produced and above all having a selection program that is at least three generations ahead on what you are producing today.
7. Remember that skeletal (structural) defects are the hardest to eliminate.
8. Don’t waste your time behind a good dog that doesn’t breed as well. Enjoy it for the beauty it represents but don't use it in a breeding program.
9. Use the Outcross sparingly. For each desired feature, you will find many undesired ones that you will have to eliminate in future generations.
10. Inbreeding is a valid tool as well as the fastest method of establishing good traits and type. It also brings to the surface hidden features that need to be eliminated.
11. Producing doesn't "create anything. What you will get will be what was already there at the beginning. It may have been hidden for generations, but it was already there.
12. Forget the old adage so the full brother of the grand champion is worth as much as reproduction. Litter siblings rarely have the same genetic baggage.
13. Be true to yourself. There are no perfect dogs or perfect breeders. You can’t do a good job of selection if you’re not able to recognize the flaws and virtues of the dogs you’re planning to breed.
14. Inheritance traits are inherited equally from both parents. Don't think of solving all your problems in one generation.
15. If the worst puppy from your last litter isn’t doing better than the worst puppy of your first litter, you’re not progressing. In this case your last litter should be your last.
16. If the best puppy from your last litter isn’t better than the best puppy from you first litter, you’re not progressing. Even in this case your last litter should be your last.
17. Don't choose a breeder based on the best or worse he/she has produced. Judge all offspring by the attributes of the majority.
18. Keep in mind that quality is a combination of condition and functionality. It is not only the absence of defects but the presence of virtues. The dog is important in its own together.
19. Don't let your personal feelings influence your breeders choice. The right dog for your selection program is the right dog, no matter the owner. Never despise a good breeder; they are too rare and wonderful to be diminished by pettiness.
20. Don't settle for anything but the best. Second place is never enough
