Roundup: Judging Dogs and Their Owners
Judging dogs and their owners is something I’m guilty of. In my mind I know I shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions – it’s something I’m working on. I’m sharing these great articles that helped give me some real perception into judging dogs and their owners. Things are not always what they seem.
Judging Dogs and Their Owners – My Favorite Articles
Like you I read a lot of blogs. I’ve been wanting to make a “blog roundup” for some time, though I could never decide on a specific theme.
To keep myself a bit more organized I decided to feature posts regarding a specific topic with each roundup. These are some inspirational posts about the topic of being judgmental – to dogs and their owners alike.
If You Bought Your Dog, I’m Not Judging You – DOGthusiast
If you Bought Your Dog, I’m Not Judging You. Jen at DOGthusiast wrote this great piece in response to a highly judgmental article that was on Dogster titled “If you bought your dog, I’m judging you.” She points out that while there are many healthy pets euthanized in shelters it’s not because someone bought a puppy from a breeder.
We in the pet community (especially those of us who’ve worked in rescues/shelters) can be extremely harsh when it comes to buying puppies. I’ve done it in the past and I regret it; when it comes down to it my argument doesn’t help the adoption movement. It only works to make someone feel guilty. As Jen points out it’s our responsibility to help spread the word about about adoption – not point your finger and play the blame game.
Don’t Judge a Book (or a Dog) By It’s Cover – Slim Doggy
Don’t Judge a Book (or a Dog) By It’s Cover. SlimDoggy wrote this piece and it really illustrates how harmful snap judgments about dogs based on breed can be. It’s illustrated quite well with a great story about a Doberman named Warlock, yes Warlock.
The article makes the great point that different breeds have always been discriminated against throughout the years. We’ve put great stigmas on Dobermans, Shepherds, Rottweilers, and now it’s the Pit Bull. Many of these stigmas turn out to be quite inaccurate; don’t judge a dog based on breed, appearance, or even their name.
Our Dog Has Cancer and We’re Not Treating It. Stop Judging Me – Claire Magazine
Our Dog Has Cancer and We’re Not Treating It. Stop Judging Me. This piece in Claire Magazine really struck a chord with me. It isn’t my place to judge anyone when it comes to medical treatment for themselves or their pets. Yet in the news lately we’ve all seen that people are being judged for their own decisions.
I’m sure if we’re brazen and bold enough to judge a human that has a terminal illness about their chosen path it’s even easier to judge someone by the way they’re treating their pet. I would never want to be in the author’s shoes. The only thing that could make a tough diagnosis worse is not receiving support – just judgment.
Do We Always Have to Judge – Something Wagging
Do We Always Have to Judge?. This article from Pam at Something Wagging is great example of how judging is not the same as caring. She tells the story about a dog with a heart defect and how his owner has chosen to go ahead with the $32,000 corrective surgery.
In the end she’s completely right; whether we judge him or not his story goes on. Judging this man none of us know tends to lead to arguments that don’t address the real issues at hand. So I agree; I wish him and his dog the best outcome possible.
Why I Judge People Who Have Reactive Dogs – That Mutt
Why I Judge People Who Have Reactive Dogs. Lindsay at That Mutt wrote this wonderful piece about how people respond to their reactive dogs. As she points out we tend to think quite highly of ourselves. We rush to judgment when we see dogs behaving badly, and we tend to blame the owner.
We’ve all had experiences when our dogs acted up; so why is it fair to judge these owners? Well it’s not. Perhaps they don’t know what to do, maybe the dog was recently adopted. The point being is that we don’t really know and we shouldn’t make assumptions.
Why Do Homeless People Have Pets?
Why Do Homeless People Have Pets? The Homeless Hub brings up something I see asked quite a bit; it usually ends up into asking should the homeless have pets. It seems that no matter how close or far removed we are from the situation we’re always quick to judge.
The many benefits of animal companionship are enjoyed by the homeless just as much as those of us with shelter. Given the rates of animal surrender I find it quite heart warming that many homeless are so dedicated to their beloved pets. Even when facing such personal hardships they remain dedicated to their pets; who am I to judge?
Do you find yourself judging a face like this?
Great collection of posts (and thanks for including us). A few new ones her for me to check.
Great posts to share. Lots of judgement out there. There are lots of ways to educate and discuss the issues without pushing people away from the conversation.
So true; many times the silly arguments we get into because of our harsh judgments miss the whole point entirely. It’s really hard to have an important conversation about any topic when you’ve already made someone feel guilty or shame by judging them.
Great article. The think the older a person gets, the less judging they tend to do. I do agree that some in the rescue movement do themselves a disservice by condemning purposefully bred dogs. We have our dogs for a purpose. If we did not have working dogs, I doubt we would have any. Just one example of how “its a shelter dog or none” argument falls short.
It is very disheartening – I don’t appreciate all the judgments I hear being passed around about those that have bought from breeders. Of course there’s bad breeders out there but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t great reasons to go through one of the responsible ones. Many people (like you) do a great service to a specific breed and show amazing dedication towards educating people on what to look for when it comes down to finding a reputable breeder. Those that work with dogs often stick with certain breeds for good reason; it’s what they’ve been bred for.
The only thing I could do with a face like that is love it! Great post.
Oh that’s a great idea for a blog round up. These all sound interesting. I read that post of SlimDoggies when he posted it, but I will check out the rest too!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
What a great round up idea. It’s so true that we are all guilty of judging… and I definitely found myself relating to some of the articles.
It’s really sad how often I’ve been guilty of judging people; these articles are great at pointing out how wrong I’ve often been.
Great round up idea! There is no reason to judge anyone!
Lots of great posts here. Judging others is such an easy thing to do, but I’ve come to believe that because we can never possibly know all the details of a person’s scenario, it’s never fair to judge. I deal with this a lot as a Pit Bull owner and in fact, I wrote a post about not judging all Pit Bull owners based on what you THINK you know about the kind of people who own this breed.
http://www.thelazypitbull.com/2014/03/im-angry/
Thanks so much. I’m definitely going to check out your post. It really isn’t fair to judge; it’s so funny knowing what people probably assume about Pit owners and yet bloggers like you are completely breaking stereotypes.
Wow, those posts are all so good. The one about the dog with cancer and deciding not to treat him really got to me, left me crying. I could tell how much the dog is loved. Overall, it seems that us dog lovers tend to think highly of ourselves, and most of the time, if not always, we are so much better off making the decision not to judge others. No one is perfect, of course, but I think we can all try not to judge. It’s something I’m working on too.
It’s such a great piece, isn’t it? The title got my attention which I’m grateful for – it’s such a heart felt piece.
These are all great examples of people judging others. I think we are guilty of it to some degree. I used to feel that way about homeless people and their dogs, but then I realized that when you don’t have anything left it is wonderful to have love. The dogs are probably giving them a reason to live. I am far from perfect and it helps to remember that when you want to judge others.
I imagine it has to be really hard to hear that same argument over and over for the homeless. They’re already dealing with such a stigma and then to have people judging them because they’ve got a dog on top of it. They are such loving companions to those that are already judged by so many.
Jen this is a great round up. What a great idea, and a great reminder to us all. When we started thinking about adding a second dog to our home we were really conflicted about adopting….we knew we loved Goldens and they worked perfectly in our lifestyle. We ended up finding a great compromise (a golden rescue) where we were paired with Charlie. It couldnt have worked out better. When we first got him though, I felt the need to explain away his puppy behavior (we just got him, we are working on it) and share that he was adopted not purchased. I think we have adjusted to this, but that feeling was real.
I can imagine; I think if I were in your shoes I’d feel the same way after seeing peoples reactions to purebreds. It’s pretty sad that us dog owners feel the need to justify ourselves when it comes to things like that. But I think we’ve all seen the horrible arguments that erupt when it comes to how people acquire their pets.
Great round up! I always try to remind myself that almost every one is doing the best she can at any given moment. I’m so far from being perfect that I know I can’t afford to be judgmental! I don’t believe that judging someone helps anyone. However if you are in a position to educate, intervene, or help, that’s a different story.
As far as educating or helping I agree – some of my favorite rescues are great at lending a hand when needed. Instead of pointing the finger at dog owners they help them out by providing food, straw, medical supplies, etc.
What a thoughtful roundup of articles. I had read some of these and will check out the others that I missed. I really appreciate posts like this that try to bring us dog lovers together, rather than point fingers and stir controversy. Thanks for sharing these. 🙂
I agree whole completely; us in the dog community can be such a great supportive bunch. Seeing articles like these helps me see things from another angle – which in turn makes me realize snap judgments are often misguided.
This is a great roundup. I know I’m guilty of judging people, especially those with off leash dogs, but I try not to (or at the least keep my thoughts to myself). I’ve made plenty of my own mistakes along the way with my dogs, and I wouldn’t have wanted people judging me. Since I have reactive dogs, I’ve been on the receiving end of judgments and it is not a good feeling. Why would I want to make anyone else feel that way?
Exactly my feeling on the matter. Laika’s gotten quite a few of “those looks” because of her reactivity.