The Rainbow Bridge Curse: Loving Dogs Into Dumbness

[Amy and Annabelle]

I ran across this interesting article today, talking about a book that is coming about how we are loving our dogs into dumbness. Would our dogs be able to survive on their own without human intervention? I know Annabelle wouldn't last long. When I had Annabelle at the vet last winter during a nasty cold spell. I would say about half of the dogs in the waiting room were wearing warm sweaters. So what do you think? Here is the link.

http://www.bedlamfarm.com/2016/03/16/the-rainbow-bridge-curse-lovin...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You have to know a little bit about Jon Katz in order to properly evaluate this article. He's pretty controversial in dog breeding and training circles, and for good reason. He has absolutely no credentials and no formal training in any dog related area. He's basically a self-professed "expert".  I've read most of his books, and at one point I was a big fan, but over time I was feeling more and more that something just didn't seem right; to put it bluntly, he talked a good game but there were too many errors and too much wrong information for someone who's supposed to know something about dogs, even at the most basic level. (And I'm talking about things like basic breed characteristics and even classifications.) He was giving away his own dogs left and right for reasons that were purely frivolous, euthanizing them before their time, even euthanizing the one who was supposedly his "heart dog" and his big claim to fame for reasons that seemed unnecessary at best. He is absolutely despised among breeders and owners of working Border Collies for reasons too complicated to go into here, but when you read their arguments against him, they do make a lot of sense. 

I haven't read the article yet, as soon as I clicked the link and saw who wrote it, I had to come and post this caveat. Now to go see what he says, lol. 

[DJ & Chance]

Thanks for this, Karen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, I disagree with just about everything he says in this article, vehemently. But then, I wouldn't give my dog away because I found another one I like better, either. Not give a dog shelter from rain and cold? What? Leave a dog to run loose and get hit by a car (or shot to death)? Um, no. Throw some leftovers at the dog once a day? Are you kidding me? 

Typical Jon Katz. His ego and concern for himself are far greater than his affection or love for dogs. 

[M Kol]

We have a couple of sweaters for our mini goldendoodle, but not because she needs it.  We put it on her because it's so totally cute we just can't stand it. 

[M Kol]

Sometimes I think it's harder for some dogs these days because they have to learn how to be alone while the owners work.  Their new job is to be patient, wait to eliminate, and wait for consolidated attention.  Because times have changed, their functions and roles, just as peoples' roles, have also changed.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's just one example of the way real dog people feel and think about Jon Katz and his ideas of dog ownership:

http://lassiegethelp.blogspot.com/2008/03/inside-animal-minds.html

From the article: (Which is subtitled I Hate Jon Katz. No Seriously, He Makes Me Want to Gouge My Brain Out With a Spoon.) 

Jon Katz has parlayed inept stockmanship and mismanagement of his dogs into aSlate column, a movie deal, the odd radio appearance and a string of books, and there's a website, too, but I won't link to it. [Oh, all right, dammit: here.] He is a willfully ignorant, patronizing author who wants you to believe everything he tells you about dogs in general and border collies in particular even though, gosh, he's never claimed to be an expert or anything. And besides, experts are just big old snobs, ha ha ha! 

On second thought, he's much worse than that.

Here's sheep farmer and border collie handler [and owner/moderator of the Sheep Production Forums] Bill Fosher, in response to a complaint that those mean old border collie snobs "spew venom" at poor Jon Katz:

I spew venom at him because of some of the horrible things he has talked about on a local public radio call-in show, such as letting a five month old Border collie puppy "have a couple of hours of unsupervised time" with the sheep to "let her get to know them." He also claims that highly-trained Border collies are trained with clickers and treats and that poses and postures are trained, rather than actual stock work. He says things like this as if he knows what he's talking about, and in fact he doesn't know sh!t from shinola about sheepdogs, sheep [or] farming [...]

In the end, I really almost don't care about what he did to Devon/Orson. I care about what other people might do to their dogs if they emulate him.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And another good one: http://dogliness.blogspot.com/2008/03/i-love-it-when-people-hate-on...
Seriously, google "Jon Katz criticism" or "hate Jon Katz" and you will be amazed at how many articles you get.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

There is so much of this unfounded "opinion-based" conjecture about dogs out there by so many self-appointed "experts".  It's usually possible to tell in the first paragraph if it's going to be nonsense, but these people are clearly selling themselves and their books, so they are fooling somebody.  I have to really laugh at the "dumbness" part of his premise....he clearly hasn't met Guinness who is well loved and a bit spoiled but one of the smartest dogs I've ever owned.

[Amy and Annabelle]

I had never heard of the guy until yesterday. The boutique pet store where I shop posted it on their facebook page. I do wonder if they are familiar with his views. These days dogs are domesticated, if they weren't, we wouldn't be allowed to keep them as pets. Some dogs are very smart. But they didn't get there on their own...they were well trained. I know my husband and I go overboard with Annabelle. She was certainly one of the dogs wearing a sweater at the vet last winter. We just about treat her like our child. She eats, sleeps, watches tv with us. She is rarely without us more than a couple of hours, once or twice a month.

I tried to respond last night but for some reason I was having some technical issues on this site.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I disagree with the premise of this article.  Hokum, I say.  Keeping a dog healthy and safe does not preclude a dog developing its intellect nor instinct, nor does it keep it from living an integrated and rewarding life.  This has been a work in progress for centuries. I see more people doing more interesting things with their dogs, not less.  A dog don't have to live under a tractor to live out its destiny --what a narrow view. The definition of "working dog" has been expanded to include dogs in hospitals, courtrooms, nursing homes, service dogs, and dogs being trained by wounded veterans for wounded veterans.  These dogs are trained to a point but then it is their own instinct that takes over.  Anyone who has seen their dog pick out a person suffering with Alzheimer's or an emotionally troubled child who is having a bad day to comfort doesn't see a sweater as an impediment to instinct or intellect.  We meet more people walking their dogs in town or hiking in the woods then we did years ago and we are often asked to recommend a trainer because people are more involved with their dogs.   It's the townships, if anything, that limit some of our activities like swimming in the lake -- so we go to the ocean or the river. I think that as we realize the positives/potential of dogs in our lives - our hearts are more likely to break at their abuse or abandonment.  As for horses and elephants, don't even get me started on how many inaccuracies are in this article.   

[Karin Frydman]

Oh good grief! :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think we'd all be surprised at how well our dogs could manage to survive on their own if they had to. Remember Ace? He was on the run for months before Lori and Elizabeth finally caught him, and he survived just fine. http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/ace-has-been-caught

As far as dogs wearing sweaters,none of mine has ever worn a sweater, or a coat, or any other type of clothing. Of course, I also don't shave off the coats that God gave them, either. As you may know, JD is the President of the Naked Doodles Club. :)