love/hate in the dog world - Page 2

In the many years I've showed and bred dogs, I find that the hardest people to get along with are those sad souls who just cannot experience any joy for anyone other than themselves. They cannot appreciate a good dog if they don't own it or if it's not out of something they have bred.  It's not just GSD breeders, it's in all breeds.

Shasta, you are so right! Yes, the horse world is full of it too, unfortunately. People always have to badmouth your horse, stab you in the back, steal your gear. Really sad. But there are good people out there, too, who are ready to help.

I think it has to do with the competitive nature of sport.

Dogs world, horse world, same world... EXCEPT, oddly enough, on the race track...  where the scale of the money involved is mind-boggling. On the track sportsmanship is ENFORCED.

Display poor sportsmanship in public: pay, pay, PAY. Fines don't shut your mouth? No problem. Watch your license being shredded in the stewards office, find yourself outside the stable gate for an "extended vacation," escorted out by security without being allowed to stop by your barn for so much as your hat, let alone your horses.

Still don't learn after your vacation? Get "ruled off and denied the priviledge of the grounds" [exact wording]  FOR LIFE!

It works.

SS

Two words:  ego, money. 

Some people get so emotionally wrapped up in their dogs that they seem to be living vicariously through their dogs.  I remember hearing a comment at my first SchH trial... "That guy acts like his dog is an extension of his (*****)".  It's not just a guy thing.  Chicks can be just as bad. 

Dogs have become big money, and some people go crazy trying to protect their "reputation" because it's attached to their cash cows, er... I mean their "cash dogs". 

To further complicate matters, there is no formal Code of Conduct in this sport.  But honestly I don't think anyone could develop a set of guidelines that a majority of people could agree to follow without it being so painfully generic that it's meaningless.

I've heard a lot of things being said on the field, and on these boards, but six words that seem to have disappeared from the dog enthusiast's vocabulary... "I am sorry.  I was wrong."

Yvette

lol Yvette - I read that and thought about something my Dad said a while ago.  He used to race motorcycles and there is always a bit of a competition between the different makers.  One of his friends would always say it doesnt matter what kind of bike you have because in the end they are all the same thing....American Penis Extensions, Italian Penis Extensions, German Penis Extensions, etc...lol - the German Shepherds may have become the same for some people.

~Cate

People the world over, not just in dogs...love to hate. So there you have it!

I can say though there aren't many people on this board or in the dog world I (really) hate. Just a couple come to mind and they have nothing to offer and are just here to stir the poo.