There are a vast number of different breeding methods, some good, some bad. I
should never presume to try to tell fanciers what is the right method because
there is no such think. Outstanding success can be achieved and has been
achieved in a variety of different ways, so all I am going to do is to make some
suggestions which I think helpful and to warn against certain pitfalls which
trap too many of the unwary.
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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 in the breed.
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Don't linebreed just for the sake of linebreeding. Linebreeding with
complementary types can bring great rewards; with
unsuitable ones it will lead to immediate disaster.
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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.
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Don't believe the popular cliché
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 on the animal concerned.
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Don't credit your own dogs with virtues they don't possess. Self deceit
is a stepping stone to failure.
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Don't breed from mediocrities. The absence of a fault does not in any
way signify the presence of its corresponding virtue.
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Don't try to linebreed to two dogs at the same time; you will end by
linebreeding to neither.
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Don't assess the worth of a stud dog by his inferior progeny. All
stud dogs sire rubbish at times. Not all are capable of siring
greatness. What matters is how good their BEST efforts are.
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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.
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Don't allow admiration of a stud dog to blind you to his faults. If you
do you will soon be the victim of auto-intoxication.
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Don't breed together animals which share the same fault. You are asking
for trouble if you do.
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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.
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Don't search for the perfect dog as a mate for your bitch. The perfect
dog (or bitch) doesn't exist, never has and never will!
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Don't be frightened of breeding from animals that have obvious faults so
long as they have compensating virtue. A lack of virtue is by far the
greatest fault of all.
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Don't breed together non-complementary 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 of learning.
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Don't forget the necessity to preserve head quality. It will vanish like
a dream if you do.
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Don't forget that substance plus quality should be one of your aims. Any
fool can breed one without the other!
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Don't forget that a great head plus soundness should be another of your
aims. Many people can never breed either!
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Don't ever try to decry a great dog of any breed A thing of beauty is
not only a joy forever but a great dog of any breed should be a source
of aesthetic pride and pleasure to all true lovers of dogs.
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Don't be satisfied with anything
but the best. The second best is never good enough.
