Maybe I’m just a little too snarky for my own good…but lately there has been a lot of negative buzz over the site Dog Shaming, and I just don’t get it.
Dog Shaming is a Tumblr, the ever popular micro-blogging site, devoted to dogs that have done wrong. Each dog is given a sign telling us of their misdeed, usually at the scene of the crime, to document the mishap.
Some people find this amusing (me, and half of the Today show).
Other people find it awful and spout out comments like “The owners should be shamed instead!” and whatnot (majority of pet bloggers I’ve seen comment on the issue, and the other half of the Today show).
Here are most of the reasons I’ve heard from people objecting to the website, including a few from my peers in the Nutro Knowledge Network, as well as many from my friends on Twitter and Facebook:
- These behaviors have been learned from the owners; most are training issues that aren’t funny, but instead something to be remedied
- The owners are usually the cause of these behaviors, so the dog should not be the one being shamed
- Some of the behaviors exhibited could be caused by major health problems…let’s not laugh at the sick puppies.
Here’s the thing: I agree with every single one of these points. At the same time, I don’t think Dog Shaming is as sinister as some people have made it out to be. Let’s face it: We’ve all had that moment. Dog training is a process, and there are always mishaps along the way. In the moment, as a pet parent, you have no option but to deal with the issue, reinforce your training, and move forward, often laughing about what happened after it’s over. To me, this is what Dog Shaming is.
Should owners be ignoring the negative behavior? No. Should they be working on their training? Yes. Are medical problems funny? No. Does humor help you deal with hard situations, like a pet having a serious illness? Sometimes, yes. I think most of how you enjoy this site is based on your perception of it and how you approach it. Are some of the post harsh? Of course–but so are many on various humor sites across the web. Some of them are just meant to be funny, and don’t comment on issues with the dog’s behavior, like this one:
This little Frenchie isn’t profitable, but his owner isn’t calling out misdeeds or “shaming”. They’re just having fun. Photo via Dog Shaming
While I love the site, I think it would do well to do an area for bragging rights as well. Perhaps a previously shamed dog could brag about a behavior being corrected after training was completed. After all, balance is the healthiest way, right?
What are your thoughts on Dog Shaming? Do you think it’s a truly negative thing, or all in good fun? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
This website was discussed within the Nutro Network and inspired this blog post, though the opinions contained within are solely my own. This post was written by a Nutro Knowledge Network Member and sponsored by the Nutro Company, though the opinions contained within do not belong to or represent the Nutro Company.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
whoever has a problem with that website needs to lighten up. it just made my day! I am fallllling about laughing
and for the record i dont think any of the owners ignore bad behaviour or illnesses in their pets – they all seem to be paying plenty attention! I’m sure they then helped their pets, or tried to train them better.. but come on if you don’t laugh about it you neeed to lighten up. Otherwise you might lose your head every time there was a hole in your sofa haha!
I totally agree with you. While I haven’t really seen the dog shaming tumblr blog I have seen some of the pics circulating around the blogosphere. I think you hit the nail on the head with this post and that is that “…I don’t think that Dog Shaming is as sinister as some people have made it out to be.”
After reading many comments about dog shaming I understand both sides a little better. I do believe for the most part that shaming is not as sinister as people make it out to be. However, I am worried that some people who don’t understand dogs and training too well will be misled by some of the things they see in these pictures.
I am in the camp that think the site is hilarious! We’ve all (well most of us anyway) had moments like the ones pictured and once the health risks are addressed sometimes all you can do is laugh. We tease because we love. It doesn’t seem like any of the posters are neglecting or not training their dogs. And who doesn’t love to see cute pictures of dogs with guilty faces?
My husband and I have had several good laughs over that site! I think it’s all a matter of perspective. I used a lot of humor on the blog to help us cope with Lilac’s CCD and it helped us to get through those last few years with her without many regrests!
There were several times, while clicking through Dog Shaming, I thought “Well, that could have been avoided….easily.”
But, I did get some laughs as well. It’s one of those things; not all “bad”, not all “good”.
I think some of the pictures are cute, meant to be funny and actually show some sentimentality on the part of the owners. (There are breed enthusiasts who actually have competitions over how bad their dog is.)
However, ultimately, I guess I just don’t have as good a sense of humor as everybody else because I’m in the camp that thinks it’s encouraging dangerous situations for the sake of a laugh.
For example: check out this picture and please tell me what you see: http://dog-shaming.com/image/29786963495
What I see is a dog that is cowering in fear. Judging by the size of the person’s feet, there is a young person standing over this frightened dog for the sake of a joke. These owners are probably lucky in that this frightened dog will never retaliate for the ‘shaming’ but some other young person may not be so lucky. And then we’ll kill the dog.
I haven’t seen the site so I can’t really comment, but what I can say is sometimes when I have a mishap with one of the dogs my only option is to laugh. Otherwise I would dissolve in a puddle.
Believe it or not my family finds it humorous to make fun of their ailments. My sister with a traumatic brain injury wears a sweatshirt that says ‘drain bamaged’ on it and one that says ‘I spill things.’ I don’t find that humorous but I do suffer from Thyroid and she told me, “Lighten up Thyroid Mary.”
I’m not sure I would find the site funny, I would probably be one of those ones getting my panties in a bunch.
I visit this site about once a week. Some of the pictures make me laugh so hard I cry!! The pictures are all in good fun and I think that those who are upset by it need to lighten up. How can you NOT think this is funny?!?!
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9l8mulwRU1re4ne0o1_500.jpg
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m98iq9p1Oe1re4ne0o1_500.jpg
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m98odqiAlL1re4ne0o1_500.jpg
People are seriously nuts. When did everyone in America become so freaking sensitive? No one can take a joke anymore and everything is such a big deal all the time. Makes life seem like such a chore. We should all be having much more fun. We get to do this only once.
Exactly, people DO need to lighten up a bit. Jeeze. Does this photo depict anything negative or suggest that the owner is as fault, or better yet, suggest that the dog is sick? You decide… http://www.shamingthedog.com/i-like-to-let-out-stinkers-dog-shaming-photos/
I totally agree with everything you have said. The dog’s (and sometimes cat’s) owners are obviously posting the shaming photos with some love. No pet is completely perfect, especially when they are still young and learning/training. Although it can be annoying, those “faults” are part of why we love our pets. Dog Shaming is something that is meant to make an irritating situation or habit funny and less stressful, not to make the dog out as a bad pet. Yes, many animals are a lot like humans in many ways, but they are still animals and will always do animal like things – like eating poop, humping others, and chewing on household items.
Anybody who doesn’t understand that Dog Shaming is done with love and is not meant to be mean really doesn’t understand and needs to lighten up a little bit and learn to laugh at life.
What isn’t funny is when people get out of hand with it. Personally, I think it should never be considered funny if an animal is hurt or frightened. So to all of you out there how are trying to get a “funny” picture of your pet and are scaring the poor thing in the process, cut it out.
I agree with you. It’s not that serious…the site is funny. Some people just don’t have a sense of humor though. I love to laugh
I work with patient’s that are going to die. It’s very stressfull, but a very rewarding job. I google dog & cat shaming to lighten my day and for a laugh. I see no harm in a little fun.
I’m glad that you can enjoy it as an outlet–When working with such an emotionally intense job I know it’s important to be able to have a moment, and an escape to balance. I don’t think there’s any harm in a little fun either.
{ 1 trackback }