Throughout this blogging experience I focused on a topic that was important to me and had significance in mine and my family's everyday life. The treatment of dogs is very important to be because I am very affectionate for many animals. To me there is nothing like a good companion to always be there for you. While doing this blog, I learned a whole lot of new stuff. First, I learned how to express myself freely by using "my commentator". It's a very obvious thing that everyone has, you just never really realize it. This is where I learned my bias comes from. It's like a judgemental part of me that shows it's own true feelings, even when thoughts are secret that should not be shared with others, it's a place to keep my own ideas and judgements. When I became fully aware that I, along with many people, have their own bias, I then was taught how to get passed that and realize that everyone doesn't think or feel the same about certain subjects. Everyone is different in their own ways and have been raised differently in various lifestyles. Through knowing this, it is easier for me to understand that having bias thoughts, I will most likely come across many people who feel differently from me. The bias in me causes me to think of one side of a binary as the right side. As I think one this is right, it limits my knowledge of the other side. I have learned that this is bad. By not being able to see both sides of an argument, I cannot get rid of my bias. To do this, I must become an authority. With knowing both sides of an argument, I can have information to win and be the right one. There is not really anything to make a huge argument go away. For example, people are always going to have their own opinions about how dogs should be treated. Different people will think that it is okay to have dogs bred or participate in dog fights. What it dwindles down to, is finding a common ground. In all of my arguments, the common ground of eliminating the controversy would be through knowing that the binary is not whether or not there should be dog fights, or whether or not there should be dog breeding, but rather the question should be posed as how do you feel dogs should be treated, and what are their rights.

It is apparent that it is hard to get a good conversation/argument going unless there are people who feel passionately about the topic. That is a driving factor in fueling the person's incentive to even care about the subject.

Through research of different things, one can find out a lot of information that they were not aware of that they didn't know. People can be ignorant about things because they never put forth the effort to learn new things about certain subjects. My topic of the treatment of dogs can represent a subject that has a wide variety of information that many people do not know. This then adds to the topics which I discuss. For example, if a person doesn't know how to train or keep a pet dog, then they shouldn't be allowed to own one. Being unaware of knowledge can be fixed through the help of others and the want to learn more. This ignorance is the ethos of the group of people who do not deserve to have the privilege to own can care for a dog. The controversy between a dog's rights and their owners wants gives the example of the dog having no control because they are most likely inferior to the humans. Unless it is a vicious dog, the human can basically control the dog's behavior and if the dog doesn't obey, they could either let it go or lock it in a room. In any place or situation, a dog has no voice to speak their own thoughts. We, as humans, cannot understand a dog's feelings or know for sure what they are thinking in certain situations. We can guess and try to keep a dog comfortable, but there is never a correct answer to know exactly what a dog is going through. That is why in the cases of dog fighting or breeding, the owner is in control and the dog's opinion doesn't matter. If you believe dog's have feelings too, then you would probably be more susceptible to being kind-hearted and loving to an animal.

Credible History

Research through my school library search engines, I found a lot of interesting information about different aspects of dogs. First, when searching about dog breeding, I found information about different things that can happen through breeding. For example, it is possible to to breed dogs together to get an expected outcome. Also, through certain types of breeding, specialists can determine the behavior of a certain dog based on how they were bred. Beginning in 1835 The Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was established. AFter trying to convince Parliament to disallow animal fights for several years, they finally pursuade them to criminalize the keeping of places for animal fights. It was found that there is an problem with overpopulation of stray animals. This is a problem because the animals that do not get spayed or neutered and are able to mate outdoors with any other animal, causing a litter to be born outside without a home. My beliefs can be easily seen through certain histories about my topics.

My Bias for Dogs

I chose the topic of the treatment of dogs knowing I had bias beliefs because of my affection for most animals, especially dogs. All of my life, growing up, my family has always had a pet dog, whether it be my daddy's bird dogs in the back yard or our toy poodles in the house, there has always been some influential dog in mine and my sisters' lives. My middle sister is the ultimate dog lover. Through her example, I have learned to appreciate and understand dogs a lot better. She actually has 6 dogs at her house (she's the one that just got married); 2 Toy Poodles (Jackson and Colby), 2 Westies (Cotton and Sadie), a Miniature Collie(Ladie), and an English Setter (Bo). My other sister has 2 Toy Poodles, Nate and Honey. So, obviously, as you can see, my family has a load of dogs. Anyone that knows all of our pets would say that they are the sweetest and cutest dogs they've ever seen. So apparently, my bias comes into play with how dogs are treated. I believe that the way a dog is treated is directly connected to the way they behave and learn. I believe the only way to treat a dog is to praise it for being good and punish it for doing something bad. That bias from me can be different from others. Others may not pay any attention to what their dogs do, which then leads the dog to think they can dig up the flower garden, or mess on the floor, or eat shoes, or do whatever they want without being punished. All of my beliefs are based on how I grew up treating our family pets. To me, my bias is good, but others may differ in thought.

Note: Right is a picture of my dog Ladie, the Miniature Collie. Yes, she looks like Lassie!

Dog Breeding

Sorry it's been a while, I have been very busy--my sister got married this past weekend! It was beautiful! But anyway, getting onto the topic, breeding. Breeding is something crucial in a dog's life. I, personally, feel that breeding can be good and bad. I do not see a problem with breeding for a couple of litters of puppies, but I do feel that excessive breeding can have negative effects. First of all, I think for anyone to breed, they should have a certain license to do so, and if they are caught without it, they should be penalized. The reason I feel this way, is because some people probably just do it to see what will happen, for example with two different breeds. In some cases, such as a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle, this makes sense, we all know about the Cockapoo. But in other cases, dogs may be mixed with each other that should not be mixed, causing abnormalities with the puppies. Reproduction is a natural process and some side effects come along with it when put to the task of something that should not be done. Also, to the point of numerous breeding sessions, I am not sure if there are any side effects of breeding a certain dog too much, but just think, can a mother of children even imagine being forced to keep having children? It is apparent that the dog has no choice because they do not have a voice of their own, rather they rely on humans to know when enough is enough. I think there should be certain standards and restrictions on dog breeding with the best interest toward all dogs.

Resources for Information

The following websites give information on breeding dogs. Each of them have bias and give examples of what good and bad effects there are after breeding a dog. Also, some give information on knowning whether or not it is healthy and when it breeding should occur.

Breeding - Pros and Cons
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Choosing_the_Right_Dog/thread/371908

Breeding
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeding.html

To Breed or Not To Breed?
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/breeding.htm

Pros and Cons to Breeding Your Dog
http://ezinearticles.com/?Pros-and-Cons-to-Breeding-Your-Dog&id=337945


These websites give information about having your dog spayed or neutered. Do you agree with Bob Barker?... to help the pet population, by having your pet spayed or neutered? To have this process done, there is a lot of information that should be known. There are many positive and negative examples given in these websites.

Pros and Cons of Spaying and Neutering in Dogs
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/pros-and-cons-of-spaying-and-neutering-in-dogs/page1.aspx

Dog Spaying-Is it Good Idea?
http://www.edogadvice.com/dogspaying.htm

Get to Know Dog Neutering
http://www.edogadvice.com/dog-neutering-benefits.htm

What you should know about spaying and neutering
http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/spay-neuter/spay-neuter_brochure.asp

Spaying and Neutering
http://www.healthy-dogs.net/spayingneutering.htm


In the world today, dog fighting is an issue for people in certain circumstances. On these websites, there is information about what dog fighting is and how it effects many factors. Also, there is an article about the penalties of being caught in the involvement of dog fighting.

Everything you want to know about dog fighting
http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ddusdogfighting.htm

Dogfighting Fact Sheet
http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/animal_fighting_the_final_round/dogfighting_fact_sheet/index.html

Dog Fighting Penalties May Worsen
http://dcist.com/2007/06/06/dog_fighting.php

Dog fighting in the United States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_fighting_in_the_United_States


Here listed is a website about the things that could increase aspects of life by owning a pet. Also, there is a blog where someone expresses their concerns about owning a pet.

BENEFITS OF OWNING A PET
http://www.hopeforpets.org/Benefits%20of%20Owning%20a%20Pet.htm

On Owning a Pet
http://www.zilf.org/pets.html

Owning a Pet Dog

A man's best friend, always the cliché saying about a dog. Many people in today's society own their own pet dog. It can be a very simple task to obtain the ownership of a dog. There are many resources and places to get dogs. Some of these places, including pounds, pet shops, and breeders, sell the dogs off to just anyone who wants one. Sometimes when a person buys a dog, they do not understand the reality of the whole idea. The responsibility of owning a dog is huge and a lot of people are unaware of this and how much of a burden it can actually be. During the process of picking out the perfect dog and yearning for the love of a new companion, someone can be very easily persuaded by all these wonderful thoughts and ideas. When the reality of some people's lives is that they are completely incapable of obtaining a dog in their home. The task of owning a dog can be exceptionally demanding and call for a lot of attention. When a person’s want exceeds their abilities, some difficulties tend to fall into place. For a dog to survive, there are certain things it needs. The continuous feeding and watering routine is a necessity. Sometimes people cannot pull through for their dogs and have nothing to feed them. This falls under their inability to obtain what they want. I feel that someone who wants to own a dog should be able and willing to understand and know the colossal duty. If someone is not capable of owning a dog, then there goes a dog whose life might not be what it deserves.

Topics of Discussion

In this blog, I hope to enlighten my audience with some problems or issues dealing with the dog population in today's society. The issues I will debate are; the relationship between a person owning a pet dog and their actual ability to do so, the relationship between the dog's life and their owner forcing them to breed, the relationship between a dog being spayed or neutered and their own way of living, and the relationship between forced dog fighting and the owner's penalty when caught.

Before I discuss my topics, I want to share my own personal opinions. First, I think owning a dog and caring for it is a very rewarding and wonderful experience. One learns responsibility and the importance of being able to take care of something other than themselves. On the subject of a person owning a dog, I think that there are some people who should be banned from being able to have their own dog. Some people are simply not capable of taking the necessary care of a dog and some just do not care enough. On breeding, I feel that an owner should be certified and have special permission. Having a dog spayed or neutered can be a good thing, I think, because in some cases it saves a lot of hassle for outside dogs and sometimes, I have witnessed the process to go to the extent of "calming" the dog's behavior. Finally, I am completely against the idea of dog fighting. I think that people caught forcing dogs to fight should be sentenced just as if they were doing the same thing to a person. Just because a dog cannot speak for themselves they should still be treated with respect because they are living and breathing, just as people.