Site Info (Structure & Philosophy)
If you’re subject to trip over punctuation and spelling, you may need to watch your step it’s still a job site.
Navigating the site is best achieved by using the headings on the left side. Scrolling is not recommended ! we have used a Blog template, but a blog it most certainly is not, pages will be updated, dates will not change.
Philosophically:
The primary philosophical question, for me, in contemplating a web site was
Do I say the right things ?
Do I ride the coat tails of the existing marketing: Lay low, say less, offend few; leave room for people to think what they want ?
Or do I call it as I see it ?……I opted for the latter. Because having looked at canine Web sites for about a decade now, I have a pretty good idea of what we don’t need more of. So if you’ve grown to expect self-aggrandizement, distracting backgrounds, unverifiable claims, glowing breed descriptions, poetic breed history, moral grandstanding, a smorgasbord of superlatives, and enough deceit by omission to fill a black hole; then this Web site may take some getting used to.
Having fielded phone calls without a web site for that same decade I’ve concluded a better educated market is the only thing that will dictate significant change for the better ( a truth not limited to the world of dogs ). Most all of the text then, is written not for the experienced dog man, who doesn’t need it, but for the general public, which does.
If you just want to see photos, you can do that by clicking on the breed or cross you’re interested in. If you are inclined, you can access my thinking, wisdom, or lack there of, on a variety of dog related subjects. There is a book’s worth of text I wound up compiling as I procrastinated creating a web site for years. For those who want my two cents, I’ve written it all once, to avoid speaking it time and again, so please do try and find your answers here, the search bar is your friend.
Where breed descriptions or history are in order I try to offer something beyond the usual cut and paste propaganda; that can be had easily enough elsewhere. I strive to keep the spin to a minimum here.
The primary purposes of this web site are:
1. To market my dogs to the widest audience possible
2. To cover the basics, so it’s not necessary every time the phone rings.
3. To try and do my share of educating the dog buying public and provide links and resources for those who care to go deeper.
Hopefully you will find the site navigable, and helpful in understanding the big picture. I have spent a fair amount of time on various topics, some overlapping, written with the expectation that most people are not going to read thoroughly enough for that to be an issue. There is a series of short essays under the heading The Word of dog where you will also find links to any text not already granted a link on the left side.
I’ve had a few chuckles writing it, I hope you will enjoy it likewise in the reading. Unfortunately one’s Website, as a public document, needs also be tempered by the reality that readership is not limited to well wishers. The phrase “Anything you say can and will be used against you “ pops to mind for some reason. If you find there are notable omissions, on some topics, more than likely they have been made intentionally.
And it need not be a personal thing in this time and place. Those who breed dogs intended to be capable of stopping a cougar, a wolf, a wild boar, or a man, would do well to realize that even something as innocent as a photo of a dog biting a sleeve, not to mention a mammal, once public, can be misrepresented. That same image can be misconstrued by folks with a different agenda; or, God forbid, misunderstood by a jury. Between “animal rights”, “dangerous dog laws” and government regulation gone malignant, the window of personal liberty it seems, is closing fast. Much as I believe in fighting that trend, I’d not like to leave any extremities dangling in the cybersill.
