[nagdu] Regarding Recent Messages

[Nicole Torcolini]

This email is in regards to some recent messages, particularly certain ones
that were aimed at me. First, I usually don't write emails like this, or, if
I do, they get deleted and not sent. But I am tired of this, and I won't
tolerate it any more.
Some of you accused me of being harsh and judgmental in my message to John.
I don't write that way. Any of you who have been on this list for any
extended amount of time with me and read some or most of my messages should
know that. If it came across as harsh or judgmental, then I am sorry.
Everyone has a right to express his/her opinions. And agreeing to disagree
does not mean that you don't express your opinion. I don't expect people to
change based on my opinions, but I expect them to at listen and consider
them instead of just saying "mine is better because..." without including
why other alternatives don't work. No, this is not a list for debates, but
any of you who ever took any type of writing class will probably remember
that, when writing a persuasive essay, it was a requirement to not only say
why you choose a certain side but also to say why you did not choose the
other side, which means actually researching the other side.
And, even though there are opinions, there also certain things that are
facts. It is a fact that it is not very nice to punish a creature that has
the mental capacity to learn not to do something, be it human, canine, or
other, without first teaching that creature the rules. Yes, some dogs do not
follow the rules because they forget or they like to challenge authority or
because what have you, but it is still not nice to not at least give them a
chance. Even if a dog does know better, it does not mean that a dog will
follow the rules. Dogs may be trained, but they still often go off of
instincts instead of reasoning. Sometimes, they just need a gentle reminder,
not a harsh correction. I do not know what type of corrections Pilot
teaches, but I know that, sometimes, schools teach people to yank *REALLY*
hard. As some people have already said, that is probably not what you want
to do when you are trying to get your dog to relieve. There are other
methods, such as giving the command again or very lightly tugging on the
leash. If nothing else, just take the dog back inside if the dog does not
go. Just like dogs will eat if they are hungry, they will relieve when they
need to.
Going back to my message, okay, maybe I assumed some things, but I would
like to point out that people who supported the corrections also made
assumptions. No, none of us know Mollie. I don't know what Mollie was doing,
and neither do any of you. Given that it was snow, and most dogs absolutely
love snow, I doubt that Mollie was eating snow instead of relieving to test
John.
Different dogs need different things, that is a fact.
John asked about one thing: Dogs eating *FRESH* snow. If it had been dirty
snow or snow of which he did not know the status, I may have given a
different answer.
I think that that is all that I have to say for now. If you would like to
discuss this, then please feel free to email me either on or off list, but
please don't accuse me of being/doing something that I am not.
 
Nicole