Adopting

[take4roll10]

I don't care WHAT people call it as long as they get their dogs from somewhere other than a pet store/byb. Rescue, rehome, adopt, anything just don't buy from a pet store. There are too many dogs waiting for homes to support byb.

I agree. As long as your dog is from a reputable breeder, rescue, rehome, etc. It doesn't matter. Call them whatever you want. Just don't go to a pet store or byb.

Everyone has different background, different lives and don't all perceive dogs the same way. Some people consider dogs as family members and some just an animal. Personally, I have never heard anyone refer to their dog as adopted unless the dog was from a rescue until I started following this forum. And I have never been criticized for saying "I bought my dog..." or telling someone she is from a breeder and not a rescue. I consider my dog more than just an animal. She is a furry family member, but I have no problem saying I bought her... because I did.

I also never heard of the term "furkid" or "furmom" until this forum. I don't refer to my dog as my child or call myself her mom. However, I did grow up with my mother referring to herself as my dog's mom and even calling me my dog's sister. Maybe it's that I'm in my 20's and I'd freak out at the thought of being a mother. I don' get offended when someone else refers to Bailey as my child or me as her mother, I just don't personally think of myself that way and trust me, I probably treat my dog better than some people treat their children.

There is no right or wrong in how you refer to your dog. To each their own!

 

[Ann]

As a writer, I find this conversation about terms so interesting. I write online content about dogs for a major publisher who supplies several outlets with copy. I recently got into a disagreement with my editors about the use of the word "bitch." I was writing a series of breeding articles and noticed that "bitch" kept getting edited out of my copy and changed to terms like "mother dog" etc.

When I questioned it and noted that bitch is the correct term for a female dog, I was told the word has negative connotations and "we don't use it." Oooookay. But it's still wrong! And silly! And certainly makes one wonder what kind of substitute they come up with for certain male birds....

The bottom line is that it's all about semantics. Like Linda, I roll my eyes when I hear the term "adopted." We all "adopt" our dogs in one way or another, but the connotation associated with "adopt" is that no money changes hands and every rescue I know now charges upward of several hundred dollars. This, to me, is serious false advertising when you're suggesting that breeders are the bad guys as most of them do (i.e. the ad with the tag line: "Adopt, don't buy."). Perhaps those of us who breed purebred dogs have become overly sensitive to terms like that now that we're frequently portrayed in such a negative light.

 

[Emmasmom]

The world has become too politically correct - to use proper terms might just offend someone and we can't have that. Good for you Ann for questioning why they edit your articles and shame on them for taking out a word used in correct and proper terminology.

I find the use of words interesting. I refer to my dogs as my kids, my family. The breeder calls herself Grandma. When Mom and Dad were alive, they were called Grandma and Grandpa to everyone, including the dogs, just because it was simpler with so many grandkids around. I have received presents all my life from my animals - the pony, the calf, the chickens, the cat, the dog, just because Mom and Dad thought it was fun to do.

I personally think it is time we go back to simpler ways and simpler phrases. You buy a dog, you adopt a child. Doesn`t matter if the the dog is from a breeder, the pet store or a rescue. Legally, they are chattel and as such are bought and sold. It is different with a child when you adopt. Money can and does change hands but you aren`t buying a child because legally you can`t.

This has been a very interesting thread.

 

[JLSOhio51]

Ann:

After reading your latest post, I suspect that you and I are of a similar mind in the way that we look at this issue. That said, I think the root of the issue is contained in your own words. (BTW, I am a sometime writer so I share your pain of the editor/writer relationship. )

As a writer, I find this conversation about terms so interesting... I recently got into a disagreement with my editors about the use of the word "bitch."

As painful (and ridiculous) as this issue is, this is one that I truly do understand (detest, but understand). Blogs, magazines and forums are ultimately businesses and as such, they have what many call a "brand" to protect. There are circumstances that I find analogous to this same problem here at SN, but I understand that the owner has a brand to protect, so I get it. There is an American comic that has a favorite tag line that goes, "I don't like it (long pause) - but I understand!"

When I questioned it and noted that bitch is the correct term for a female dog, I was told the word has negative connotations and "we don't use it."...
True enough, this is the height of Political Correctness, but as much as you and I may decry such hypocrisy, not everyone thinks that way. Not everyone has the same sensibilities. People will complain to (or leave) a blog, forum, whatever over the smallest perceived slight.

The bottom line is that it's all about semantics... We all "adopt" our dogs in one way or another, but the connotation associated with "adopt" is that no money changes hands and every rescue I know now charges upward of several hundred dollars...

Agreed, it is about semantics. Quite frankly, (IMO), it matters 0% which of the terms one uses, but it's also my opinion that this entire conversation truly goes back to our constant and incessant desire to label things. Labels serve as lines in the sand. Anyone who uses different labels than we do is wrong (whether we verbalize that point of view or not). Holding fast to these differences in semantics simply hides our efforts to claim the upper hand in discussions.

 

[Mom2Melli]

. . . as much as you and I may decry such hypocrisy, not everyone thinks that way. Not everyone has the same sensibilities. People will complain to (or leave) a blog, forum, whatever over the smallest perceived slight.

I doubt anyone would drop an article, say about dog breeding, for the word "bitch". You get a mental jar the first time, remember that is the term for female dog, and with further uses you take it in stride throughout the article. PC has gone beyond avoiding slight to an intended audience. PC has gone so far as an actual agenda of its own, boiling everything down to generic simplicity controlled by the PC Police. Say this not this. Do this but not this. Allow others to do this but not this. Think this but not this. Next step, another dark age even in the midst of all the information and technology at our fingertips.

I hold a degree in English and taught for 12 years.

 

[JLSOhio51]

I doubt anyone would drop an article, say about dog breeding, for the word "bitch"...

I hold a degree in English and taught for 12 years.

I am not suggesting that someone would drop an article because of the word "bitch" (although I would be willing to bet that in the annals of history it has happened). My suggestion is that forums/organizations/groups of various kinds make decisions based upon what the organization believes will appeal to the widest base of potential targets. Quite often, that equates to what we call Political Correctness. As far as anyone controlling what someone "says" or "does", that can only be done when someone chooses to play on a field controlled by someone else. At that point, it is a choice to stay or move one. As far as controlling what one thinks, my motto is: "You can't drive me anywhere I don't agree to go."

I assume that the addition of your credentials was for validation of your point of view. Thank you, although I accept your point of view whatever your background. I too have an undergraduate degree in English, however I did not remain in the field (teaching English) for as many years. My additional training is in Education and Business.

 

[Mom2Melli]

I am a conspiracy theorist. Go figure.

By "drop" I meant put down, stop reading. I am ridiculously tired today after pulling an 18 hour shift yesterday. As to publishers and the like, as Ann said, they are changing it which I agree is ridiculous.

Yes, teaching was good in the old days but now, shudder. I added my credentials because I always say I do Medical Transcription here on the boards -- I had a former life outside the medical field too which has only been mentioned, I think, in one thread of mine. Whether any of my credentials validate any of my points of view . . . well, that's a different story.

Back to shopping for my next puppy from a breeder, likely not a bitch though . . . one in the house is plenty these days. However, if I find the right little one in a shelter setting, well, that would be great too.

 

[JacqueZ]

I'll start out by prefacing that, I have no strong opinions about any of this but I thought I would provide the opposite point of view in terms of female terminology.

I didn't grow up hearing female dogs referred to as Bitch, and I admit, no matter how many times I do hear it now it makes me cringe. As someone stated above it does have strong connotations and no matter how many times I see it in it's correct context it jars me out of my enjoyment of what I'm reading and I lose whatever train of thought I was following as I readjust to the word. Seeing her referred to as the mother dog avoids that. It's pandering and silly, but to a magazine or website that wants you to continue reading more articles, it's worth taking into consideration.

As for our terminology for our own dogs, one of my friends laughed at me recently because I called my husband, "her boy" in referring to him and Honey. I explained that I call him that and myself "her girl" because although I'm not comfortable referring to her as our kid, I do consider her our companion and I want to acknowledge that I belong to her just as much as she belongs with me. Not because money has changed hands, but because of the relationship we've built.

I view the phrasing adopted, kids, furbabies, ect as an attempt to reference that we belong to each other, rather than saying I am her owner.

(also, I don't think I could ever get around calling our parents Honey's grandparents, they want an acknowledgement of the fact that they love her too)

 

[JLSOhio51]

Mom2Melli: This is turning out to be a much more interesting thread than I anticipated.

I am a conspiracy theorist. Go figure.

I hear you on this one. At one point I didn't count myself as a conspiracy nut (my term not anyone else's), in retrospect, I do have some "They're out to get us" type leanings . If you don't believe me, reread my comments earlier about labels and line drawing. Sounds conspiratorial to me!!!

By "drop" I meant put down, stop reading...

I picked up on that, and I agree that dropping a publication for something so trivial (to me) isn't likely, but stranger things have happened. Like I said, it wouldn't surprise me if someone not only dropped an article, but would drop affiliation with an organization for something this trivial. (See, I told you I had a bit of conspiracy theory blood in my veins).

Back to shopping for my next puppy from a breeder, likely not a bitch though . . . one in the house is plenty these days. However, if I find the right little one in a shelter setting, well, that would be great too.

Two quick things: 1). You do realize that if one of the guys here said that, we would be in BIG trouble! 2). I live in fear that I will find a "mother dog" that I fall in love with before I find my male companion. I WANT A MALE!!! But, I know I could easily fall in love with a "mother dog" after looking at some of the gorgeous pups shown here.

 

[Ann]

I doubt anyone would drop an article, say about dog breeding, for the word "bitch". You get a mental jar the first time, remember that is the term for female dog, and with further uses you take it in stride throughout the article. PC has gone beyond avoiding slight to an intended audience. .

I couldn't agree more. Especially when what we're saying -- or in my case, writing -- is for the purpose of instruction when breeding, how are we teaching people if we can't use the correct terminology? PC has run amok and is out of control.