Bloggers blog for a variety of reasons including
I started my first blog as a way to share information on a large litter of pups. Because I had 12 pups and lots of reservations, the blog allowed me to share information & pictures without having to communicate with a dozen people every day! It saved me an enormous amount of time and allowed the puppy buyers to watch the litter develop. It also provided me with an opportunity to share my thoughts on puppy socialization, puppy placements & health testing. Many newer breeders wrote to tell me how useful the socialization information was to them and that they used my blog as a guide when they raised a litter. The blog ended when the pups were placed, but I did a similar blog for Josie's second litter and yet another for Boji's litter.
This blog was started for a variety of reasons, the main one being that I enjoy writing. Some people read the paper while drinking their morning coffee. I write. I find it relaxing to sit down and put my thoughts on paper. It clears my head and gets me ready to start the day. I'd also like to write another book someday, but because I am a terrible procrastinator and have a problems starting major projects, I decided that it might be helpful for me to get in the habit of writing for a short period every day. We'll see if that works! I have to admit that I am hooked on this, and really look forward to my 15 minutes of daily blogging. Hopefully I can address of variety of interesting topics, and add more humor in the future, but it's primarily a blog about dogs & fish, with a few other things mixed in.
A blog generally reflects the author's opinions, his view of the world based on life experiences. We all have things that we feel strongly about, whether it's something we approve of or find extraordinarily aggravating or offensive. My opinions are often strong ones, and things that bother me bother me a lot. No one has to agree with me. My opinions are MY opinions.
My opinions on temperament are based on 40+ years of observing Dalmatians & Dalmatian owners. Temperaments vary a great deal in this breed, from fearful, sharp-shy, and soft & timid through dangerously aggressive, with the vast majority of Dals falling somewhere in the middle. The problem is that the bad ones can appear in the well bred & carefully planned litters. Not often, but it happens and it's up to the breeder to recognize, accept, and deal appropriately with the unfortunate ones. Although proper socialization and training can modify a dog's personality, it does not affect his basic make up. Who he is. Both nature & nurture matter, but to a dog breeder the nature part must always be acknowledged.
Temperaments vary a great deal in many breeds, not just Dals, but Dal breeders seem more inclined to make excuses for the dogs with incorrect temperaments and often breed from these dogs. They also train & show dogs that should never make it to the ring. I refer to those dogs as Well-Trained Spooks, although some of them are aggressive rather than timid. It's really interesting to watch a dog's body language & the expression in it's eyes - you can tell a lot about a dog's temperament by watching it's face and ears, posture & carriage. It's not fun showing (or watching) a dog who is on the verge of coming unglued!
Several years ago I was watching a dog show on TV where the Dalmatian totally freaked out in the Group ring and the announcer made some comment to the effect that "Well, Dalmatians are like that". I wanted to leap up, shake the TV, and scream, "NO! Dalmatians are NOT like that!" Every Dalmatian that appears in public, whether at the dog park, in obedience class, walking through the neighborhood, or at a dog show is representing our breed, and influences public perception of Dalmatians. Unfortunately, we have gotten a lot of bad PR from situations like this one, and it should not be happening. DALMATIANS are not "like that", but unfortunately some dogs ARE "like that". What a shame.
1 comment:
Every single time Tim and I talk about how we used to have two Dals, EVERY SINGLE person says "Gee arent they high strung and difficult to manage?"
NOOOOOOO, ANY dog would be that way without proper training! GAH. Drives me nuts too.
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