You know them well. All those prejudices about dog breeds, dog people, hunters' dogs, agility people, etc. They are all there and probably hit the spot on some points. I myself come across a lot of them, but instead of just accepting that they are there, I choose to refute those I can and work with the rest. And if I don't get to brag too much, so far it's going pretty well.
A life in multiple worlds
I jump into several worlds a bit, depending on which dog I work with. First and foremost, I find myself among the hunters and working dog people, but since I myself enjoy looking at a beautiful hunting dog, I can also be found among the show people. This is far from normal, but it still happens that the hunter's dog finds its way to a show. Most of all because it has to in connection with breeding, but as with so many other things, it quickly becomes competitive. So not only do I take my own hunting dogs to the show ring, it is not unusual for me to also take other people's dogs. Firstly because I enjoy it, but secondly because I can get a completely different dog in the ring than the owner himself can - a beautifully presented hunting dog. Unfortunately, this also has its downside, because with victory also comes prejudice. The prejudices can vary greatly, but usually they are based on the judges' preferences of the gender that is showing the dog, but in addition it also depends on whether the dog can do anything else. Yes, because a show dog is not a very good dog in other ways or...
The same applies when I go among hunters, because here the prejudices are that the dog is a master's man and certainly also aggressive as an owner is as a hunter. Because that's how we are as humans. We are guided by what our first experiences tell us, regardless of whether it comes from our own experiences or those of others. And I could go on like this, depending on the world we move in. But instead of letting ourselves be guided by the negative front, we can choose to work with it.
The power of prejudice
We fall for a certain breed or dog because of its characteristics, but do we also let them control us? I often hear on the training field that “my breed can’t do that” or “my dog shouldn’t learn his way around, because then he won’t be able to stand properly in the show ring”. Many times I just let it pass, but how do prejudices affect us and our relationship with our dogs? Do we let them affect our attitude to what our dogs can and can’t do to such an extent? But most of all – why? And are we also in a community with what we consider to be like-minded people with shared prejudices? Personally, I am controlled by prejudices, but most of all to disprove them. Because that’s the type I am and my prejudices in relation to others are not much better. In other words, I am not much better than everyone else.
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
My name is Cynthia Jensen and my biggest interest lies in dog sports. My boyfriend and I have 5 dogs, all of whom are hunting dogs and who are with us (almost) everywhere for tests, exhibitions and not least on the hunt. I have previously written for "Vi med Hund" and am currently writing for "HUNDEN".
I am looking forward to coming on board as a Blogger at DogCoach and sharing my thoughts on dogs in everyday life as active working dogs.
The land of prejudice
You know them well. All those prejudices about dog breeds, dog people, hunters' dogs, agility people, etc. They are all there and probably hit the spot on some points. I myself come across a lot of them, but instead of just accepting that they are there, I choose to refute those I can and work with the rest. And if I don't get to brag too much, so far it's going pretty well.
A life in multiple worlds
I jump into several worlds a bit, depending on which dog I work with. First and foremost, I find myself among the hunters and working dog people, but since I myself enjoy looking at a beautiful hunting dog, I can also be found among the show people. This is far from normal, but it still happens that the hunter's dog finds its way to a show. Most of all because it has to in connection with breeding, but as with so many other things, it quickly becomes competitive. So not only do I take my own hunting dogs to the show ring, it is not unusual for me to also take other people's dogs. Firstly because I enjoy it, but secondly because I can get a completely different dog in the ring than the owner himself can - a beautifully presented hunting dog. Unfortunately, this also has its downside, because with victory also comes prejudice. The prejudices can vary greatly, but usually they are based on the judges' preferences of the gender that is showing the dog, but in addition it also depends on whether the dog can do anything else. Yes, because a show dog is not a very good dog in other ways or...
The same applies when I go among hunters, because here the prejudices are that the dog is a master's man and certainly also aggressive as an owner is as a hunter. Because that's how we are as humans. We are guided by what our first experiences tell us, regardless of whether it comes from our own experiences or those of others. And I could go on like this, depending on the world we move in. But instead of letting ourselves be guided by the negative front, we can choose to work with it.
The power of prejudice
We fall for a certain breed or dog because of its characteristics, but do we also let them control us? I often hear on the training field that “my breed can’t do that” or “my dog shouldn’t learn his way around, because then he won’t be able to stand properly in the show ring”. Many times I just let it pass, but how do prejudices affect us and our relationship with our dogs? Do we let them affect our attitude to what our dogs can and can’t do to such an extent? But most of all – why? And are we also in a community with what we consider to be like-minded people with shared prejudices? Personally, I am controlled by prejudices, but most of all to disprove them. Because that’s the type I am and my prejudices in relation to others are not much better. In other words, I am not much better than everyone else.
Behind the scenes of this week's blogger:
My name is Cynthia Jensen and my biggest interest lies in dog sports. My boyfriend and I have 5 dogs, all of whom are hunting dogs and who are with us (almost) everywhere for tests, exhibitions and not least on the hunt. I have previously written for "Vi med Hund" and am currently writing for "HUNDEN".
I am looking forward to coming on board as a Blogger at DogCoach and sharing my thoughts on dogs in everyday life as active working dogs.