Dogs were my greatest comfort as I grew from the teenage years into adulthood.
I always thought I’d be a dog person, and that I knew a lot about them.
That was my attitude when I started writing this blog, but as I’ve matured and as I’ve seen more of “dog people,” I’ve come to a rather disturbing conclusion:
I’m really not a dog person.
At the worst, I detest the politics of dogs, but I also detest certain cultural memes that go along with them. The ideas that we have people who somehow communicate with them in one correct way or that getting absolute obedience out of a dog is somehow a sign of one’s connection with them are ones that I find most troubling.
The truth is that I’ll never be one of those people or will ever be someone who pretends to be.
I’ve come to terms with the simple fact that I admire good dogs like I admire art. I can witness their genius, but I’ll never paint anything that doesn’t look kindergarten scribbles.
It’s hard to come to terms with this reality, but it is also liberating in a way.
I don’t have to pretend to know what I don’t know. I don’t have to feign respect for rather odious institutions.
I’ve come to appreciate the wild dogs more. These are the creatures that are every bit as genius as the tame ones, and they breed and propagate outside all the fancy systems and clubs that we have contrived for our own amusement.
I actually don’t know how dog people maintain friendships. It’s pretty much a constant row over some bogus piece of esoterica, and I don’t know how anyone thrives in such a social milieu, much less why anyone would want to join it.
I know I’ve written a few of these pieces lately, but I think this will be the last one.
I’m closing the door, and it’s finished.
I’m tired, and there are more interesting things to write about.
How about you write about dogs because you love dogs regardless of pedigree or what the ‘experts’ think. Your own expertise doesn’t depend on the opinion of others to make it valid and interesting
Thank you.
This and exactly this. I love dogs. I enjoy watching them work and in sports like agility trials. I love watching their interaction with people and how they really train the person as much as the person trans the dog.
But I don’t love kennel clubs, with their elitist obsession with pedigree and their mentalities derived from the eugenics movement. But one can easily love dogs and utterly ignore those pompous asses. Be that sort of dog person. We, as a species, have enjoyed the company of dogs for millennia. These ideas of “purity”, arising as they did from the pampered, self-important aristocracy, are only a couple hundred years old. It’s a far more natural state to ignore them and love the dog as it is.
Scottie, I want to thank you for all of your posts on dogs and especially retrievers over the years. Being selfish I am very sorry you have come to this conclusion. I really hope you don’t lose the feelings from your quote “Dogs were my greatest comfort as I grew from the teenage years into adulthood.” Don’t worry about other people just go and enjoy your dog. I sincerely wish you the best and that you just write what you like and from your heart. Life is way to short not to do what you enjoy. Again, thanks from a long time reader.