I guess Indy's mom had an unpleasant experience at a dog event, so I asked my mom to post her (crackpot if you ask me) theory of the stages of a dog person's life:
Stage 1: You are new to dogs and think everyone knows more than you, so you listen to everyone, even the kooks.
Stage 2: You've bred your first litter, finished your first title, gotten involved in rescue, and you know a little. You start giving unsolicited advice to everyone, esp. the poor Stage Ones.
Stage 3: You have too many dogs. You don't have time to train them all, let alone get titles on them. The expenses are mounting. You've been in dogs longer than pretty much everyone else you know, except that mysterious Stage 4 person you know. You've given up giving unsolicited advice, mostly because it's futile. You have a gaggle of Stage 1 & 2's following you around at dog shows, which is nice because they always bring you food and help you carry your stuff. You teach classes, do private consultations, run a rescue or therapy group, or a dog club.
Stage 4: You've finally realized that you can't help the rest of them. They won't listen, so why waste your breath. You concentrate on your own dogs, and finally have time to really put on some titles. You are less involved in the club thing, mostly because you can't stand another meeting. You've heard all the controversies before and it's just so tedious. You don't give advice or opinions to anyone, even when asked. You suddenly realize you have become the mysterious stage 4....
5 comments:
Splash, I think your mom is on to something! I think there is a reasonable stage in there somewhere though - people who don't give unsolicited advice except in cases of danger (no collar/tags), still know they can learn a lot from people who have 15 years experience with the breed as opposed to their 5, etc. There are some sane dog people out there. There there are the "I'm the perfect trainer and if you think your dog is trained you obviously have no clue" type people like that lady!
We know a few of those stage 3's alright!
My humans are stage F - they do whatever is fun.
When people get new puppies they try to help them when asked to make sure the person doesn't do anything stupid (like isolate a new puppy in the kitchen at night just after separating her from her pack and stuff.) strange how things like that happen pretty often. They do meddle at times like when they see a neighbor with a rolled up newspaper hitting a dog on the nose. But other that that - stage F (unless I'm training them or they're training me, then it's concentrate, concentrate.
Hey Splash, is your mom one of those stages she listed?
Cal, I think my mom must be in terminal stage 4 because she always naps in club meetings. Plus, when she gets a new puppy, she never has to buy anything. We already have several of everything.
LOL...wonder what cat stages are?
How is Splash and the gang?
More pics please.
The Whippy Curly Tails in the Toasty South
I'm a Dog Mom somewhere between Stage 2 and 3. Closing in on Stage 4 soon, I'm afraid. Except we don't do the dog shows. There's just not enough time for that. You should come see our new pups and you would know why.
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