unfortunately, speaking with dekka is a lot like talking to a rock. I've actually enjoyed her other posts on other subjects. But the "you don't know what you're doing attitude and I'm the agility goddess" thing has soured me entirely. You can only take so much before you break. Clearly I stated that the dog now loves the teeter. I just KNEW as soon as I posted agility pics negative things would start pouring in, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I thought, well, it's a HUGE part of our lives, I'll share it with these folks I chat to all the time, I'm sure nobody will start harping on me as in the past. Well, lesson learned. Burned twice. I will never post anything remotely connected with agility here again. Apparently I'm a dumbass who is lucky enough to tie her shoes without drooling all over herself.
I used to not mind agility advice - in FACT, I SOUGHT IT OUT HERE, as you'll see if you do a little research and look back on the agility board, where I was attacked like i'm some kind of schmuck for practicing several times a day and owning my own equipment. You ruined it for me. I have plenty of other observations, casual questions, etc that I would love to post - but it was ruined for me. I usually post agility stuff in other forums now - where, by the way, I do NOT get attacked or made to feel like the worst dog owner that ever lived. My agility instructors, who are extremely pleased with me and my dog's progress, are now the only people whose advice I am going to take, just because of the constant negativeness I had previously experienced on this forum's agility board. Those individuals are extremely advanced, with at least a couple of agility dogs each and years of teaching experience, and I solicit their advice. I made sure I got all their e-mail addresses so I can contact them easily. When someone tells me they "fear for my dog's safety" that's a slap in my face, and you can bet your boots I'm going to react angrily and harshly. To me, that's a little shy of calling me an animal abuser. Especially when said person has, in the past, already hinted I'm an idiot.
I personally love the comment that because they originally said my dog was fat (no longer do, btw) and it wasn't true, I must not accept any advice? Where's the logic behind that? One instance? Actually, it was also posted that they like dogs positively skinny for agility as it's easier on the joints - which WAS a helpful response to that issue. That makes much more sense to me than merely telling me my dog is fat. Saying, your dog needs to be disgustingly anorexic for agility would have been more constructive and less insulting. CLEARLY, I would not be passing every agility course (going into my fourth one now) if I did not take my instructors' advice now, would I? It's a 100% positive environment that we look forward to going to every week. They have no problem holding people back and repeating a class if they feel they aren't ready to go on.
Ya'll need to learn to wear a velvet glove, particularly when I only wanted to share some photos of my dog and I doing what we love - not be attacked for being a bad dog owner, repeatedly insulted and made to feel like the sport of agility is a hostile environment (do you remember that we got into this sport for the FUN??). Again, twice burned. Don't worry, I'll keep my photos to the other forums. Clearly this is not a place for sharing my joy that I find in my pets. It's a place where we constantly find faults in others (existent or not) and attack them through their dogs. And no - I'm not the only person here that feels this way. I've had private messages and e-mails from several individuals who likewise no longer post about agility and other areas because every little thing is nitpicked and criticized, whether they wanted help or not. I'm sorry, I guess I don't live up to the incredibly high standards of what you consider to be an agility handler (still not really sure what those standards are in your definition), and perhaps I'd be better off sitting on the sofa watching television while my dog amuses himself. It's reached a breaking point to me - this isn't a place where I feel I can share anything about my dogs any longer. Everything I do is wrong. I'm a horrible person. I don't come here to be made to feel like this. I just wanted to show you photos of my dog and the things we do together. I'm sorry I did. I'm sorry I posted how much I liked your dogs, how cute they were... because I get comments like I'm abusing my dog. I love my dogs far more than I love any person on this planet, and these comments have upset me far more than you guys probably realize.
To anyone interested in getting into agility - do so. It's a lot of fun. It's a great bonding experience with your dog, and it makes them exercise their minds as well as their bodies. Find a good club, and you'll have a ball, even if you aren't interested in competing. But limit what you ask in the agility forum here, because they can make you feel like scum. And some folks in the sport are like that. Try to associate yourself with the positive ones, who ARE doing it for fun, who enjoy helping others, not putting them down.
