There are many ways to fail at the enterprise of dog blogging.
You can simply not know what you’re talking about. You can fail to do your homework.
But the worst way is to allow your writing to become nothing more than a series of vendettas against perceived and real enemies.
It’s very easy to do. We live in a country in which actual fundamentalist religious beliefs, despite the popular perception, are actually on the wane. Even people who claim to believe the Bible in total actually do not.
As that kind of belief has started its slow erosion in the West, it has been replaced by a series of what I call “ersatz religions.” These religions are not necessarily supernatural in their mindset, but they are often quite dogmatic and even a touch fundamentalist.
Dogs are one of these ersatz religions, and unfortunately, this aspect of dogs is one that is not properly understood.
But there is nothing that can mess up one’s understanding of dogs than the way these dogmas taint almost all information one reads about them.
It’s what makes the dog world so difficult to understand. The people who are in dogs are both consciously and unconsciously trying to shape agendas, so it’s actually hard to figure out exactly what is going on.
However, once you realize that this is what’s actually happening, you can pull back a seat, pop some corn, and watch the freak show unfold before you.
Yes. It’s a freak show.
One thing I promise you that I will not do is allow my blog to be turned over to my personal vendetta site.
At one time, I could get stroppy with other people on other blogs, but I’ve had enough.
Enough people read my own crap, so why do I need to prove myself anywhere else?
I’ve been at this long enough to see “dog blogs” rise and fall, and the worst way they fall is when they become nothing more than passive aggressive prose aimed at those who you think have wrong you.
It is my one bit of advice to anyone wanting to set up a blog like mine. I’m glad that others are interested in getting their ideas out there, but just watch the vendettas.
The vendettas can consume you until you become a hollow shell of a blog– and all your ideas become nothing but a caricature of what was once insight.
Remember why you’re doing this.
Don’t let the vendettas eat you alive.
I know this because I almost let a vendetta destroy this blog.
I’m glad I stopped the bleeding while I could.
Don’t follow in my shoes.
Just write about the dogs and to hell with everyone else!
Well said. Rise above!
Dogs and dogmas, all in one post. I like your intelligent blog.
Certainly is the most intelligent blog I’ve come across.
Yes you are absolutely correct Retrieverman. I guess I may have something to do with this. My inner mongrel showed its face when I felt I was reading a comment that was inhumane to cats, and my tipping point was the veiled threat against cat owners. I’m old enough :( to know better and should have controlled my outrage. Mia culpa – Marg
Hahaha… I know what you’re talking about…
You know, I used to be someone who believed in the dogma of dogs–but I have actually come around on this one, and am perfectly happy to believe that Shelties as such were NEVER used as herding dogs (and it’s actually quite liberating, because we can do WHATEVER WE WANT with them without dealing with hundreds of years of history and people screaming BUTBUTBUTTHEYMUST BE BRED FOR WORKWORKWORK…
Same with the IGs, though I hope for more breeding away from certain health issues–I ran my youngster in an Agility trial this past weekend (yes, AKC because I am evil and because they don’t require a down on the table–and she doesn’t like the texture of sanded or rubberized tables, though she will put her elbows down in any other situation). Everyone was DEEPLY impressed at how trainable IGs are (and I am a half-assed trainer). Two Novice Standard legs, two blue ribbons… and many, many compliments on my “toy” dog/”difficult to train” sighthound’s (they want to please–it’s just different) speed and focus.
We need to focus less on breed history (which in so many cases is bullshit anyway) and more on what they are NOW and what we should be doing for them.
Thank goodness you are one of the people who has the self awareness and good grace to realize it, own up and get back on track. I admit that in the past I’ve joined the freak show unintentionally and only realized when I wore myself down with my own and other people’s lunacy. It’s a slippery slope everybody on the internet has been down at least once.
Great blog. I don’t always agree with everything you say, but even when you’re wrong (ha ha – see what I did there ;-) ? ), you make me think about why I disagree. And as often as not, I realize I was holding on to a myth. I think that’s what I like best about your blog: you challenge the status quo, and you do it in a lucid, well-researched way.
I’ve found myself caught up in “word wars” on other blogs, and they never end well. You’re right – life’s too short and energy too precious to waste on personal vendettas.
Good points.
Would you permit this to be made very specific and personal? . . . like give up on war with Terrierman. I periodically sense bitterness in comments relating to this guy. I don’t read his blog for the simple reason that I dislike the terrier brand (happy to make exceptions for individual dogs). Venomous comments about the guy leave me scratching my head, and guessing that there’s something ugly going on that I don’t understand and don’t want to understand.
I have given up on writing direct attacks on him this blog, but the man has attacked me personally. He is an internet bully of the worst sort, and if you read this post carefully, it’s actually me saying that he will not bring this enterprise down. I nearly destroyed it in my zeal to defend myself from him.
The man is pretty venomous. He poisons lots of water, burns bridges, and really shouldn’t be taken seriously. I read him only because I enjoy watching freak shows like I mentioned in the post.
“Freak show”, huh? Anybody off the norm is a source of amusement? I have some interest in circus history, and a friend who is an acknowledged expert in the field. Keep in mind that back when circuses had real displays of unusual people, that very often the circus was these folks’ only family, their only home, the only way they could make a living. One book about them is titled “Very Special People”, by Frederick Drimmer.
Yeah, some dogs are “freaky”, though often their owners may not fully understand how far from the canine norm they may be. Still, they are dogs.
And there really are people in the world of dogs who are truly, sincerely, making every effort toward healthier, sounder, longer-lived dogs with desired temperament.
Good on ya Scottie. One of the key things I’ve discovered in these incipient “flame wars” is that I have an option I might not have in a face to face confrontation. That option is to stop responding. If I see that a dialog has turned into a competition, I just back away. Its a lot easier on my BP and I’ve “lost” nothing. On the other hand, if it remains a dialog I stand to learn a lot.
Yes, I agree, m. The option to just not respond is often overlooked. It’s easy to lose sight of that option if the subject of the conversation is something “near and dear” to one’s personal beliefs. But once you’ve had your say, and it’s obvious that the other person is just trying to start a pissing contest, why bother feeding the troll? Bowing out doesn’t mean you’re conceding; it just means you don’t care to be drawn into a downward spiral that ultimately leads nowhere.