| 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 in 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
success. |
| 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 on the animal
concerned. |
| 5 |
Don't credit your own dogs with virtues they
don't possess. Self-deceit is a stepping-stone to
failure. |
| 6 |
Don't breed from mediocrities; the absence of a
fault does not in any way signify the presence of
its corresponding virtue. |
| 7 |
Don't try to line breed 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 his
inferior progeny. All stud dogs sire rubbish at
times; what matters are 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
faults. You are asking for trouble if you do. |
| 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 bitch) doesn't
exist, never has or 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 virtue is far the
greatest fault of all. |
| 15 |
Don't mate 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. (I would define non-complementary types
as ones which have the same faults and lack the same
virtues.) |
| 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 Bull terrier. A
thing of beauty is not only a joy forever but also a
great price and pleasure to all true lovers of the
breed. |
| 20 |
Don't be satisfied with anything but the best.
The second best is never good enough. |