Why is it that people who are supposed to be experts in a field often feel the need to put people down in order to prove that they know more than you? We just got a puppy, a great pyr so a bit of a high maintenance breed in that they often need very different care from the average dog. The breeder I got him from is very knowledgeable about pyrs and breeds amazing dogs, but every single time I send her an email telling about how things are going or asking her a question, she attacks me with everything I'm doing wrong. And when I'm not doing anything wrong, she makes stuff up about what I'm doing wrong or makes assumptions.
A few days ago I sent her an email asking if it was okay to give the dog raw meaty bones instead of raw mince meat, and I also told her that training was going really well and that he loved learning with the clicker, and casually mentioned how big he was getting and that soon he would have to sleep downstairs because he will be too big to carry up (Pyrs grow so quickly that its generally not recommended that you let them climb stairs for a few months). She emails me back last night with a huge whirlwind of criticism, about how marrow bones aren't nutritious (even though I didn't ask about marrow bones I asked about raw meaty bones), how Pyrs can't be clicker trained, how I will lose my pyr if I ever try to set him offleash again (never have done that before or even mentioned it), and then gave me a huge lecture about how I'm abusing my dog by letting him climb stairs and how she told me NOT to let him sleep in my bedroom at night because he'll get in the habit of it and it will be impossible to break. I'm sorry but every dog trainer I have talked to and book I have read said to let your puppy sleep in the same room as you for at least a few weeks as they are used to sleeping with their litter mates. And I don't let him climb any bloody stairs!!
I just don't even know what to say to the email, it was so rude and uncalled for and just plain false. I feel like she's under the assumption that I'm a moron and it makes me not want to talk to her anymore. When I bought the dog she said "you can always come to me for advice, there's no such thing as a stupid answer, blah blah blah". Why do people have to be so snobby and in your face about their wisdom when they know a lot about something? I know a lot about dog training as its my special interest, does my breeder know it? Nope because I keep it to myself and just train my dog with how I know is right and what works for me. I can think of a handful of things she's done poorly with her dogs but I would never in a million years say it to her face because its RUDE!
Sorry for the rant, but does anyone else experience this sort of thing? It really drives me nuts!
02 Jan 2012, 5:10 am
