Monday, January 29, 2018

Diving In

The dog people on FB make me absolutely nuts.

I belong to several different kinds of dog groups.

For the most part, they consist of a group of people sharing mutual ideas about a small piece of the dog world. Then, they name the group, close it, and chat back and forth until they feel secure in the righteousness of their opinions.

People are drawn to this opinion and ask to join because they agree, want to learn, or, God help them, have a different thought process. The group lets them in. As the population grows, the trolls show up and it turns into the same kind of shit show we used to enjoy on FHOTD.

I've learned to sift through this stuff and separate the smarts from the adamant. There are certain phrases that set the alarms flashing and the red flags waving.

Cesar is shit!

Cesar is God!

Positive reinforcement is the only way to train.

Shock collars are evil.

Shock collars are the most efficient way to train.

You can only train with a clicker.

Dog Parks are terrible!

Dog Parks are wonderful!

Pittys

Nanny dog

Adopt don't shop

The only way to know what you're getting is to buy a purebred.

Responsible Breeder

BYB

My dog was abused.

My dog was a bait dog.

Furbaby

Fake Service Dog

My dog is 47% wolf

Designer Dogs are nothing but mutts.

Of course my new dog is a rescue.

I feed raw.

That's probably not all, but I sure have a bunch of potential posts.

Dogs don't pack.

Dogs don't dominate.

P.S. I don't like pit bulls.









OK. I Give Up

I just can't stand it.

I'm gonna have to get back into the fray.

I have been through a difficult time. It brought me down far enough that I wasn't writing, riding, drawing, reading or listening to music.

My life was whittled down to my own health issues, which have become fairly impressive, but most important, caring for my dying husband.

Eight years ago he had a debilitating stroke. In one terrifying night I learned the man I had spent a large portion of my adult life with was gone. He was physically and mentally changed forever and would need care around the clock.

I quit both my job at a small town newspaper and my growing writing career.

It's been a long haul and my cache of stories was buried deep.

When this chapter of my life gave up it's big reveal, it made the previous ones seem inconsequential. My writing faded and then disappeared. I ended this year figuratively broken and literally just about dead.

Lucky me, it's not the end of my story.

I did not spend all my time being Mother Theresa. I still have my two favorite horses. I'm still able to throw a leg over the saddle, but there's been some enormous setbacks.

I began studying dogs. Some of you know Brockle, my big hairy menace and there have been several additions to my scrum of canines. It's been quite the learning experience.

This is part of the reason I'm back on the blog. FB just pisses me off. It's not a place for discussion. It's a place for attack and counter attack. I certainly will not be caught dead offering an opinion on any of the pages I haunt.

Which brings me back to the Mugwump Chronicles. Here, I can say what I think. As always, discussion will be welcomed, and I can delete the trolls, or feed them to you guys. I'm not going to have a grand re-opening, I'll just let it unfold and see where it takes me, just like I did the first time.

My purpose is identical to when I beganthis blog. It's to practice my writing, exorcise some demons and tell some stories. Oh, and I've got some opinions, but that's probably not a surprize.