“Raymond Oppenheimer and his Breeding Principles”
Raymond Harry Oppenheimer (Nov 1905- Aug 84) was one of the most respected Bull Terrier breeders in the World and was originally from England where he had a great childhood as he came down from the Oppenheimer family who had owned many diamond mines in South Africa, but had returned to England where they were from originally. Raymond attended Harrow and graduated from Oxford University. After graduation, he started working for Anglo American Corporation a Corporation started by his family, where he soon became an executive right before WW II started.
During the war, he became a pilot and started doing great work and wound up as Wing Commander of the RAF. After the War, he returned home, still a bachelor, living at White Waltham Place, in Maidenhead, which he inherited from his father and as director of Anglo-American Corp where he was kept busy, but he also had time for Sports and Show Dogs. In the Golf World, he also was quite successful and became Captain of the Walker Cup back in 1952. He was a big figure in golf until he retired from active management in 1969. His golf friends were such as Sam Snead, Peter Thomsen and Bobby Jones as he was mainstay in the Golf World in England.
In the Dog World, Mr Oppenheimer stayed active and was even a Judge at the Morris and Essex Show in NJ back in 1939 as he was so important to the Bull Terrier Breed. He, and his companion, Eva Weatherill, were so successful for so long and he judged all the big English Shows and Morris and Essex in NJ several times that his thoughts were always taken advantage of. On of his dogs, Bar Sinister, was a monorchid and he became the top Bull Terrier sire in England DESPITE the fact that he only had ONE testicle. I can’t even imagine it, but he was so striking that all the big breeders used him for his head, soundness and beauty. In the USA, he was great friends with the McKay-Smiths from who were still legends in the Bull Terrier breeds until recently. All their thoughts were to breed the best Bull Terrier they could and so Oppenheimer’s list became rather famous and most successful dog breeders in the UK and USA use it. It is classic.
In a recent Dog News (6/23/23), there was an article about Mr Oppenheimer and his Bull Terriers and it quotes his two great books about them ( McGuffin & Co. and After Bar Sinister) and all the great books written about the Breed and the article shows his scope in the Dog World, so I then thought I would share my thoughts on his magic Breeding Principles here. We don’t have true Dog men like he was and so we better take advantage of what they left us. He was one I wish we had today. Mr Oppenheimer passed away in August of 1984.
Read the Principles here: “20 Basic Breeding Principles”