Can you guys please explain me the whole Jon Katz thingy?

[Bill Fosher]

Katz used to make a big point of saying that he never claimed to be an expert. That was his excuse when I took him to task for some of the unmitigated tripe that he published in "A Dog Year." A couple of years later, he never describes himself as an expert, but he allows others to do it, and he drapes himself in the mantle of the expert in the title of his book on "commonsense" dog training.

 

When he does his call-in shows, it's pretty clear that he's not listening to what the callers say -- he's just trying to figure out which of his stock answers he should trot out, or what story about Orson or Rose or whichever dog he should tell.

 

The most amazing thing about listening to the show is that people who are even more clueless about dogs than Katz is call in with a question, he answers it badly or not at all, and they thank him for it and think he's brilliant.

 

Having seen his unedited writings in e-mails, I have to say that if you think what gets published is bad, you should see the raw stuff. The editors earn their pay on his manuscripts, I'll wager.

[Eileen Stein]

nowwown:

 

The less one knows or cares about border collies, and the less one has read of Katz's writings, the easier it is to take a tolerant or complacent attitude toward him, IMO.