ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kat's Dogs]

I tried to watch it. But I got sick after the first 20 seconds.

[Chase Me]

Sorry, while I am not a big Katz fan, I don't get all the venom spewed toward him on this board. He loves his dogs, so do we. He took a dog given to him by a rescuer and tried to do what he could with him...as do we. It didn't work despite his best intentions. The dog had to be euthanized.....there are people on this board who have done the same.

 

So, I don't know why there is all the venom. Just don't buy his books....

 

Oh and I guess don't give any authors your rescues.

[Bill Fosher]

Actually, in the case of Devon/Orson, he bought a dog from a breeder after it was returned to her because it had washed out at obedience.

 

I make no judgment on Katz's decision to put Devon/Orson down because I don't know all the ins and outs of the situation. I spew venom at him for the idiotic things he describes doing to Devon/Orson in A Dog Year as if they were perfectly rational and normal things -- which they weren't -- and talks about Devon's reaction to them as if the reactions weren't utterly predictable by anyone who had the sense that God gave a grape -- which they were.

 

I also spew venom at him because of some of the horrible things he has talked about on a local public radio call-in show, such as letting a five month old Border collie puppy "have a couple of hours of unsupervised time" with the sheep to "let her get to know them." He also claims that highly-trained Border collies are trained with clickers and treats and that poses and postures are trained, rather than actual stock work. He says things like this as if he knows what he's talking about, and in fact he doesn't know sh!t from shinola about sheepdogs, sheep, farming, or -- based on some private e-mails he has sent me -- writing. His editors can salvage his spelling, grammar, and syntax, but they can't salvage the basis of his stories, which are self-serving pap written by someone who claims to be an expert in one breath and then disclaims expert status in another. Similarly, he calls Devon/Orson his "soul mate" in some contexts, but in others will tell you that dogs don't have souls. Yet somehow he states -- as if it's a proven fact -- that Orson is happier dead because a shaman told him so, and he claims to feel Orson's presence at times.

 

And finally, I spew venom at him because he has had the temerity to simultaneously depict and profit from a twisted version of the Border collie culture, while at the same time deriding the real one with false information because it makes his twisted version seem somehow more legitimate.

 

In the end, I really almost don't care about what he did to Devon/Orson. I care about what other people might do to their dogs if they emulate him.

[Shetlander]

^^^^

What he said, though I'm still bothered by what happened with Orson.

[Black Watch Debatable]

[golf clap]

 

Bill's summation of the reasons Katz is loathed is so spot-on that I am totally going to steal it for my blog link to it in the future.

 

Though I hate giving Katz even that much free publicity.

[Bill Fosher]

Steal away, Luisa. It's an honor to be included on your blog.

[Eileen Stein]

I do make a judgment about what he did to Devon/Orson, but it's based solely upon what he wrote in his books. If what he wrote in his books is accurate, then (1) the dog did not have to be euthanized, and (2) the dog's problem behaviors were aggravated by Katz's arrogant rejection of other trainers and sources of help, his insistence on his own heedless, haphazard and hare-brained "training" methods, and his refusal to supervise the dog in problem situations. But so little of what he writes (when he's writing about stuff I do know about) is accurate and honest, that I have to acknowledge that drawing any conclusions based on what he's written is a risky proposition.

 

Quite apart from all that, Bill has summed up the main problems with Katz very well.

[JohnLloydJones]

But so little of what he writes (when he's writing about stuff I do know about) is accurate and honest, that I have to acknowledge that drawing any conclusions based on what he's written is a risky proposition.

I think the principle is: Never let inconvenient facts get in the way of a good story. I have a journalist in the family, so I am aware that most writers know little about the subject they write about.

 

Overall, I don't think PK's writings have had much influence on the public. At least around our way, I am asked "what sort of dog is that?" more often than not. Even when they identify her as a border collie, the next question is usually "they're very intelligent, aren't they?" [or, as one newspaper journalist asked, "I bet your dog is smarter than my colleague over there?" -- and after a quick glance at his colleague, I didn't hesitate to answer, "quite likely" ].

[Bill Fosher]

I haven't had the stomach to read anything other than excerpts since "A Dog Year," so I don't have even his own jaundiced view of the situation.

 

As a former newspaper journalist, I have to say that one of the reasons I loved the job was that I had to understand the things I was writing about -- at least well enough to describe them to people who didn't. Did I always get it right? No. Did I ever understand it as well as the people who were in it up to their necks. No. But I made an honest effort, and I never claimed to be anything I wasn't. My writing was an accurate reporting of what I was told on a subject by people who professed to know what they were talking about. Katz is uninterested in any information that doesn't fit with his pre-determined narrative -- actually it's worse than uninterested; he actively denies the existance of such information. I hope that in the last 14 years newspaper journalism hasn't gotten that bad.

[clara]

I haven't had the stomach to read anything other than excerpts since "A Dog Year," so I don't have even his own jaundiced view of the situation

 

I had an opportunity to find out the other night. An agility aquaintence brought a bunch of Katz books to class to give to whoever wanted to read them. So I was able to gently explain why "border collie people" might not automatically LOVE Katz just because he writes books about the breed we love. On the other hand, it was tempting to read "A Good Dog" and form my own opinion about what he did.

 

However, I have a long reading list that I already have a hard time getting to most of the time and decided not to waste brain space with his words. Part of me is still curious though. I think it's the same urge that prompts me to occasionally listen to conservative talk radio and the 700 club ... just to see what they're saying.