Linkectomy: Trimming down the link list
By Gina Spadafori
October 14, 2009
To the left are the links of blogs we’re liked at one point or another. Some, like Dr. Patty Khuly’s Dolittler, we consider must-reads and still do. Others … hit or miss. Sometimes great, sometimes … WTF?
In the next few weeks, I’m going to start removing blogs. Mostly, the ones that will be dropping off the list are those that aren’t updated regularly.
Since I’m fiddling with the list, let me know if there are any you read that ought to be on the list when I’m done with it. Let me know if you like the ones that are there, and let me know about the ones that are missing in your opinion.
My goal is to end up with fewer, better blogs to recommend.
As much as i learned a lot from Terrierman, and really enjoyed his blog, i finally stopped reading him when his blatant breed biases against pitbulls began to infiltrate more and more of his posts. I can get over his opinion about food, but it’s people like him (that have influence over others through his writing) that make over-turning the negative sterotypes surrounding pibbles so hard for people like us. Boycott the Terrierman!
Otherwise i really like One Bark at a Time which i was suprised to see wasn’t on your list already- check it out, it’s great!
Please also keep Dolittler, Rasied by Wolves, KC Dog Blog, SmartDog, Fugly Horse of the Day, and BadRap
Comment by Anne — October 14, 2009 @ 8:13 am
OK - I guess I’ll jump in with a shameless suggestion. Vet Wisdom Cafe. We post regularly about veterinary/human-animal bond related issues. There are three authors, so we get differing opinions! (We do link back to you already if that helps!) :) http://www.vetwisdomcafe.com.
Comment by Tammy — October 14, 2009 @ 8:34 am
I wish you would get rid of that YesBiscuit - the lady is out of her frackin’ MIND!
Comment by YesBiscuit — October 14, 2009 @ 8:43 am
Please keep Fugly and Terrierman and of course Icanhazcheezburger pleez.
Hey, I don’t the stuff that Terrierman has about hunting, but he has a lot of interesting things to say about dog breeding, genetics, etc.
Comment by 2CatMom — October 14, 2009 @ 9:45 am
Hey, I don’t the stuff that Terrierman has about hunting, but he has a lot of interesting things to say about dog breeding, genetics, etc.
A lot of what he has to say about dog breeds and genetics is breathtakingly ignorant, and he’s not open to any outside information that doesn’t support his preformed biases.
Comment by Lis — October 14, 2009 @ 9:59 am
Please keep Fugly and LOLCats.
Comment by C.L.H. — October 14, 2009 @ 10:19 am
Big fan of BadRap and Dolittler - also PetSitUSA (since the PFCs still don’t think they need to tell us when they have rotten food).
Comment by catmom5 — October 14, 2009 @ 10:36 am
Second or what-ond for Dolittler, BadRap and Fugly, which last I find I read frequently even though she gives me heartburn now and then. I also frequently check out Winn Feline Health, Dogster, The Cat’s Meow, and of course ICHC.
If you’re interested in breed-specific blogs, the one I like best for dachsies is The Long and the Short of it All.
Comment by Eucritta — October 14, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Love Dolitter, BadRap, Fugly Horse of the day, Best in Flock (though I wish she’d update it more).
Others I think are good:
http://www.rabbit.org
http://threewoofs.blogspot.com (photo blog)
http://dailybunny.org (photo blog)
Comment by Beanatx — October 14, 2009 @ 2:31 pm
Love “Raised by Wolves”.
Comment by Martha M — October 14, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
I second removing Terrierman.. his writing on terriers other than his breed is beyond ignorant. IRT “pit bulls” he is wilfully ignorant and he supports bsl. He shouldn’t be promoted here. BTW, why is “terrier work” (using dogs to harass small mostly innocent creatures and then killing them) morally OK when dogfighting is so repugnant?
Other than that I regularly read most of the blogs you link to.
Comment by EmilyS — October 14, 2009 @ 4:37 pm
A few months ago, I caught Fugly and a large number of her followers out in such a breathtaking display of ignorance and cultural stupidity regarding the recently held Mongol Derby horse race,that I wouldn’t recommend taking anything she has to say at face value. Shoots from the lip and could care less about, oh, fact-checking or, gasp, actual research before passing on mis- mal- and non- information.
IMHO, of course.
Comment by Susan Fox — October 14, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
I dumped Fugly awhile ago after some awfully anti-pit bull sentiment. Same with Terrierman, though his ignorance seems to be much more, well, tenacious.
Comment by katie — October 14, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
Most of the blogs that I read regularly I found through this site, but there are some that I enjoy very mcuh and have learned quitea bit.
Smartdogs Weblog- http://smartdogs.wordpress.com/
Spirit Dog Track and Sheep Herding - http://spiritdancedogs.blogspot.com/
Susan Garrett - http://susangarrettdogagility.com/
Worms and Germs blog - http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/
Comment by Meg — October 14, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
I second the vote for One Bark At A Time, and add Wag The Dog. KC Dog Blog is excellent.
http://onebarkatatime.blogspot.com/
http://wagthedog.blogware.com/blog
Comment by Social Mange — October 14, 2009 @ 9:42 pm
I don’t think we should boycott Patrick’s blog.
I do disagree with him that we should castrate and spay every pit bull in an urban area. I don’t know how in the heck you’d enforce such a rule. Has anyone played the “spot the pit bull” game? If you have, then you know how impossible such a rule would be to enforce.
There are lots of good things on every blog this blog links to, and one should not assume that everyone is going to agree with you all the time. I disagree with some of the best friends I have in the dog blogosphere on many issues.
Now, if you boycott my blog, which is pit bull friendly, because you disagree with me on this one, well, so be it.
Comment by retrieverman — October 14, 2009 @ 9:53 pm
I’m another person who used to read Terrierman religiously but had to stop after his recent series of posts aggressively pushing for BSL (many of which were filled with serious misinformation about pit bull breeds). Lately he’s been especially pushing mandatory breed-specific spay/neuter, repeatedly mentioned mandatory muzzling, and pushed for *no* breeding of APBTs whatsoever, not to mention bringing up special owner licensing and likening owning a pit bull to owning a tiger or other dangerous non-domesticated animal.
Also, retrieverman I see your point, and I don’t know whether the link should be left or not, but disagreeing about food or even about what ethical breeding means doesn’t have the same ramifications as advocating BSL. Of course Patrick has a right to his opinions, but since he’s using a large relatively well-read platform to advocate for laws that could very well harm my family and others here if implemented (and in the worst Denver or Ontario type case, contribute to getting my dog killed), I think there are implications to Pet Connection directing traffic there, and it’s fair for us to bring it to the blog owners’ attention.
Comment by monkeypedia — October 14, 2009 @ 11:39 pm
The problem with Terrierman is that he is very educated about certain topics while being completely bigoted and blind about others, especially when it comes to dog breeds he doesn’t like. I worry that some people will take everything he posts as researched and reliable information without fact-checking it themselves, and then go on to parrot his views to other people. He has a very popular blog, after all.
Comment by Pai — October 15, 2009 @ 1:42 am
In an effort of shameless self-promotion, I suggest that you add The Conscious Cat - a combination of articles on pet health, human health (mostly holistic), conscious living, pet related book reviews and author interviews, and more. http://consciouscat.net
I also second Tammy’s request to add the Veterinary Wisdom Cafe - it’s a wonderful site.
And I could have sworn I posted a comment on this yesterday, but it’s not showing up. Maybe it had too many links and wound up in your spam folder…lol…
Comment by Ingrid King — October 15, 2009 @ 4:20 am
Oh my - ad hominism is alive and well in the dog blog world, isn’t it? I’ve stopped reading breed specific lists because it seems most of them have been taken over by the hyperventilating, black helicoptor crowd (yep - I can do it too ;-)) who tolerate little to no dissent or rationality. As part of a reality based community, I appreciate the chewy, well-reasoned, provocative writing found on Terrierman, Retrieverman, and Dolittler - even if I disagree with some of it some of the time. But then, I’m an adult and can think for my self. So please keep these on the blog roll.
Comment by Miki — October 15, 2009 @ 4:49 am
I read Dolittler, Raised by Wolves, Smartdogs, YesBiscuit, and Other End of the Leash (McConnell) daily (or as often as they’re updated) and have them bookmarked. And Pet Connection, of course! I usually sit down with a cuppa in the mornings and go down the list.
I also like Wilde About Dogs: http://wildewmn.wordpress.com/
For the Love of the Dog, although it gets depressing and sometimes I just skim: http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/
Ask Dr Yin: http://askdryin.com/blog/
And my own blog, which is chock full of cute dog pics ;)
Comment by Smaki — October 15, 2009 @ 5:26 am
Oh swell! So it seems the list will grow even longer. We’re missing some good blogs.
Terrierman will not be going. I disagree with him vehemently on at least three different topics, but his role as provocateur is a valuable one.
The blogs that will be going will largely be the ones that don’t update enough, or that don’t post enough on animal-related issues.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — October 15, 2009 @ 6:35 am
I don’t think we should boycott Patrick’s blog.
I don’t think we should “boycott” his blog. But if Gina is looking for links to trim, I don’t think Terrierman is has the positive value that others on the list do.
Comment by Lis — October 15, 2009 @ 7:02 am
Retrieverman, you and I have disagreed and I still read you regularly. One difference is that you ALLOW disagreement on your blog and Terrierman does not (though he will sometimes pick out a particularly stupid response to ridicule). Blog owners have a right to link to any other blog, and I have encouraged pitbull bloggers to drop him because of his stupid hatefulness (stupid hatefulness is NOT the same as “provocative”, and why anyone finds him “well reasoned” is beyond me) Gina wants to keep him; this is her blog, though I don’t understand why she would. There’s nothing wrong with people encouraging her to drop him, or to decline to read him. If that constitutes a “boycott”, well boycott is the American way and there’s nothing wrong with it. Terrierman is not hard to find for anyone who wants to. All this attention is just making him extra happy. He writes about pit bulls not because he knows anything about them, or even cares.. he does it because he knows how easy it is to make pit bull people angry.
Comment by EmilyS — October 15, 2009 @ 7:40 am
There’s nothing wrong with people encouraging her to drop him. Comment by EmilyS — October 15, 2009
Very true. If i didn’t want opinions, I wouldn’t have asked for them. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — October 15, 2009 @ 7:41 am
I agree with EmilyS. I used to LOVE reading Terrierman because i learned a lot about something i knew very little about- terrier work.
I used to let the slips about pitties go, but when they became more blatant i started trying to post counter-points to his blog posts. However, not a single one of my comments were ever posted.
It’s his blog, and he can censor it all he wants, but i really felt that if he is unwilling to be open to a reasonable dialogue about why i (and others) not only disagree with his POV, but why we feel they endanger families, well, that’s when i was done with him.
I still miss reading his blog, but I would rather support people at BadRap than learn about Terrier Work.
Comment by Anne — October 15, 2009 @ 8:18 am
How about Dog Star Daily? (Disclosure: I blog there.) There are a large number of contributors, usually a least one new post a day and covers a variety of topics dogs and training. The site is founded and run by Ian Dunbar.
http://www.dogstardaily.com
Comment by Eric Goebelbecker — October 15, 2009 @ 8:29 am
My problem with DogStarDaily is that it appears to be more business promotion than blog. They don’t have a blogroll and the only links I see on the main parts of the site are to products, affiliates and websites of the staff. There aren’t even a lot of outside links within the blog posts.
Maybe I’m being petty but I think that one of the best things about the blogosphere is the way good blogs encourage you to surf around to other places. Blogsurfing should be about the journey - not keeping you at one destination.
Comment by Janeen — October 15, 2009 @ 8:41 am
Heh, now I’m tempted to go read Retrieverman.
Comment by Smaki — October 15, 2009 @ 9:27 am
I mean Terrierman, d’oh! Might as well check them both out, I’ve got nothing but time today.
Comment by Smaki — October 15, 2009 @ 9:29 am
Even though Your Pet’s Best Friend, Vet On The Edge, and Did A Cat Shit In Here don’t get updated as often as I’d like, when they are, they are really, really interesting and well written. Please don’t drop them.
And even if the readership is smaller, Guinea Pig Connection and Disapproving Rabbits need to stay, too.
Comment by KateH — October 15, 2009 @ 9:49 am
Definitely keep Full Cry, please.
Comment by Kim Thornton — October 15, 2009 @ 10:00 am
@Janeen - I’m looking at the front page of DogStarDaily.com and I count links to 18 different articles on dogs and dog behavior on the site. More than half are less than a week old. I think some dog people might find this site useful…..
Comment by Eric Goebelbecker — October 15, 2009 @ 12:23 pm
Terrierman calls heartworm prevention a scam. That is so awful.
Comment by Erich Riesenberg — October 15, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
Oh, Kim Thornton,thank you so much for your vote for Full Cry! We get a good bit of traffic from Pet Connection and would be distressed to lose our place on the links list!
The Houndbloggers are still in England but have been amassing much new information and pictures to post this week and next. I’d hoped to make a new post tonight, but we’ve just been asked to quickly arrange to bring four new hounds back to the US with us when we come home this weekend, so we’re frantically trying to make those arrangements, which has cut into our writing and posting time, but we plan to get a new post up tomorrow.
Many, many thanks to all of you who have been following our hounds’ adventures—we appreciate our readers and hope you are enjoying the journey as much as we are. And we hope we’ll still be part of the Pet Connection list after the linkectomy!
Comment by Glenye Oakford — October 15, 2009 @ 2:28 pm
My all time fav is Three Woofs and a Woo. My new read is Pawcurious.com, a vet blog.
Comment by Nancy Freedman-Smith CPDT — October 16, 2009 @ 12:46 am
I discovered Vet on the Edge by clicking the link on your blog roll. It’s a keeper!! Please?
In fact, I really like your blog roll, and I can’t say I would want you to eliminate any of them—they’re all good.
How about if you got rid of the “Read more about the Pet Connection team” links? That would make room for all the current blog roll links, and you could add more…..why are you looking at me like that? Alright, I was just kidding………geeze!
Comment by Bev — October 16, 2009 @ 8:14 am
How about Britannica’s Animal Advocacy Blog? (yes I do contribute to this occasionally)
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/
And I concede to everyone’s points about Terrierman’s pit bull stuff. I skip that and anything related to hunting.
I mostly read his posts about genetic defects in show dogs (I was a cell/molecular biolgy grad student once long ago).
Comment by 2CatMom — October 16, 2009 @ 10:17 am
2CatMom, given his abyssmal ignorance combined with utter certainty on the subject of the genetics of hairlessness in Chinese Cresteds, I would not assume he is enlightening you on any other show dog genetic issues, either. He Knows The Truth, and contrary information is not allowed to appear in comments, unless the commenter has made obvious mistakes and can be made to look stupid.
Comment by Lis — October 16, 2009 @ 10:57 am
I routinely read and either enjoy or find food for thought from these blogs on your blogroll. I’m guessing that others on the list may also be useful, if I had more time.
Ark Animals * BadRap * Did A Cat Shit In Here?* Dogged* Dolittler* Frogdog Blog* Fugly Horse of The Day* Full Cry: A Hound Blog* ICanHasCheezburger* Lassie Get Help* Nathan Winograd* Patricia McConnell* Raised By Wolves* Retrieverman* Sarah Andrew’s RockAndRacehorses* Smartdogs* Terrierman’s Daily Dose* Vet On The Edge* Wildrun* Worms and Germs
* YesBiscuit!
A few of these updating schedules depends on what time of year it is, but when they do update, it is usually worth it. Sorry about the formatting, I am lazy and therefore used control c.
Comment by compcat — October 16, 2009 @ 7:14 pm
Lis: He also made the statement that all dwarfed dogs should be made extinct (Corgis, Bassetts, Doxies, Valhunds, etc). The existence of thousands of sound, healthy individuals out there doesn’t matter to him when he only judges by the worst possible examples of breeding and posting pictures of crippled human dwarves in order to shock people. He did the same with Cresteds and his photos of that poor man who doesn’t have sweat glands or hair in order to try and say the two mutations were the same thing (because they both had to do with hair, I suppose). It was completely sensationalist and a false comparison, nevermind the fact he proudly shows he has no clue what a ‘prenatal lethal gene’ is. But to people who don’t know better, it sure makes those breeds sound awful! Therefore how stupid and cruel the people who breed them must be!
In the end, that’s the main message he peddles.. demonizing purebred breeders and spreading his bias disguised as ‘researched opinions’. Which is a shame, because many of his posts ARE factual, but just as often he simply parrots data that don’t even support his views as if they do. I guess since most people don’t bother to read the research papers themselves, they feel the simple fact he links to them means he -actually understands- what the data says and is interpreting them correctly. After the Chinese Crested fiasco, however, I would seriously doubt anything he says about dog genetics without actually reading his sources myself from neutral scientific sources. You can’t trust all of his ‘conclusions’, especially when it comes to topics he is clearly biased against. He constant mockery of overweight women has also gotten quite old.
Comment by Pai — October 17, 2009 @ 12:01 am
I guess since most people don’t bother to read the research papers themselves, they feel the simple fact he links to them means he -actually understands- what the data says and is interpreting them correctly.
Pai, I totally agree, and I’m picking out this bit because I want to emphasize the point. When working in an R&D company, and when working in a law firm (the two types of places that have filled most of my career as a librarian), the basic rule was, in doing research, always pull and read the cited sources. The sources do not always say what they are claimed to say. Sometimes this is misunderstanding; sometimes it is willful misunderstanding, or outright dishonesty—counting on the fact that many readers won’t go back to the cited sources.
There were some cases where it appeared to me that he had maybe skimmed the paper, found that it was too complex and involved numbers, symbols and charts that he didn’t understand, and just read the abstract. And than concluded that because the abstract said the paper “discussed” the role of mutation in producing a characteristic, for instance, that it must have concluded that the characteristic is bad, because mutation is bad.
I just hope no one tells him that small size in dogs (his beloved little terriers) is the result of a mutation in the gene controlling growth. :)
Comment by Lis — October 17, 2009 @ 6:48 am
Well … as I wrote before, he’s staying on the blogroll. Controversy doesn’t bug me. Hell, I’d have left Wayne Pacelle up there too if he’d write a real blog, not a load of PR spew.
I do wish Terrierman would allow for open discussion, and I’ve told him that. But it’s his blog, and telling Patrick Burns what to do is about as effective as telling a Jack Russell to stop what he’s doing when it’s really, really fun and come back when called.
Wasted breath, in other words.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — October 17, 2009 @ 7:11 am
Seems dog folk and wasted breath go together…. Oh - and lowered expectations.
Sigh….
Comment by Miki — October 17, 2009 @ 7:59 pm
I love http://www.lickedtoys.com, but he needs more submissions.
Comment by kb — October 17, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
Liz & Pai: Points well taken! No I don’t read the original research, but now I know to take everything with several grains of salt. Thanks for the heads up.
Comment by 2CatMom — October 18, 2009 @ 10:55 am
anyone who, as Terrierman does, cites the CDC dogbite study as justification for BSL, when the paper EXPLICITLY says it should not be used that way, is intellectually and morally dishonest.
Comment by EmilyS — October 18, 2009 @ 3:50 pm