Been thinking about something lately.

Dog folk, how we act, what we say. No matter what sort of dog folk you are, pet, show, performance, assistance. The things we talk about and what we say. I mentioned that already didn't I, what we say. What can I say, it's on my mind.

A recent instance on an elist started these thoughts. People like to communicate, all kinds of things, good thing too 'cause that's pretty much the best way to learn, from others communicating their knowledge to us. Experience is a good teacher, but occasionally we don't survive the learning process, so if we can learn from someone who's 'been there, done that', that's a good thing.

But it's the way we use words when we communicate that got me started thinking. How we often don't think about the words we're using, what they mean, or might mean to a listener. For instance a sentence beginning with "I hear.." or "I've heard..". This is a common sentence beginning, we hear it at least once a day, it's used to impart knowledge. It's not that big a deal really, we hear things all the time and pass along what we've heard to others.

It's a problem though when it's being used to pass along just what was heard without being accompanied by details or facts, as in most instances of gossip. Especially when what was heard might be harmful to someone. Passing along 'the truth' when it needs to be known, when the activities of a person or thing are harmful, that's a good thing - as long as it's backed up by facts. But too often we're just passing along something we've heard but have no first hand knowledge of. That is gossip.

And while you may trust the source you heard it from, what about the source they heard it from? Or the source before that? And on back to where it originated from. Anywhere along that line it could have become an untruth. And of course today, with access to the internet being in so many homes, or at the least being available in most libraries and schools, these things we hear truly do spread like wildfire. No longer in your town but across the globe.

What does this really have to do with dogs?

Well here's the deal. Thanks to groups like PETA the average pet owner today is misinformed, and many of us dog folk who should know better aren't watching our words. We're not thinking about what they mean or how they might sound to someone who is listening to or reading them. The very best of examples of what I'm talking about is the word puppymill. What image/s just popped up in your mind? You think - hearing that word - that you know what it means. But do you? Really? There are entire web sites devoted to explaining what a puppy mill is - so if we know what a puppy mill is why do we need the too-numerous-to-list sources of information that explain that very thing?

To top that off, these varied sources often contain different information. Now if a puppy mill is a certain thing, how is it that there's not just a single cut and dried sheet listing the factors that make up a puppy mill? How can there be differences? Are there degrees of puppymill-ness? Are some puppy mills worse than others? This issue is far from simple - so much so that the very biggest question that needs an answer is 'What is a puppy mill?'. Now that's from the dog world folks, even among ourselves we still ask that question, and while there are many answers, there's no one definitive clear explanation that fits.

Which brings me to what I've been thinking about, where I started. What we say.

And "I hear/heard" passed along without benefit of details or facts. PETA and their ilk have waged such a successful war on animal owners due to "I hear/heard". Because they pass along what is heard without the addition of facts or details - so that the listener has an emotional reaction rather than a thinking reaction. You see they don't want the public to think, they just want them to feel - thinking can lead to questions that want answers and the truths of those answers may not exactly dovetail with their ultimate goals. So they continue with their communications that elicit emotional responses rather than thought.

And we among the dog world seem to be pretty happy to help them along. Rumor, gossip are both rife within the dog world, everybody has 'heard' things and are all too often pleased to pass along what was heard. And all too often they don't even know the person they're talking about. Nor do those who are listening know them. But now that those listeners have 'heard' what do you suppose they're thinking about this person they don't even know? Is there now just a tiny seed of "Is it true?" planted in the listener's mind? But here's the kicker : will that listener go to the source - as in the person this is actually about and ask if it's true? Or will each listener just pass along what they've 'heard'?

Think about what you're saying folks, what it means and what it sounds like. And ask yourself if what you just heard is just that...

And upon further reflection of course this bit applies to far more than just the world of dogs and dog shows..