Ok, pretend you know nothing about dogs?

Question

For some that wont be hard. How do you tell if a person on here is experienced of not?

I'm not being a smart ars. Some do come on here without having ever owned a dog before, with real questions. How do they choose the best advice?

Sorry for asking you to think so early in the morning. I guess I should have thought about the time change messing with people. LOL

So true Naturegirl.
Tony111? What is going on? are you telling the truth again and getting deleted. You really need to email me. I know where you will fit in just fine.
The troll fairies are after you here.
Oh, good morning :)

Answer 1

PRETEND????
Why pretend, most people here don't have to pretend!!! I can count on my 10 fingers who really knows anything about dogs here out of the thousands that post daily.

Tony, you nailed it as usual and with great humor too I might add. Good luck with your new name, just let me know what it is so I can still look for you and have a good laugh!!!

St Lady, how many people on YA do you honestly think have any idea on what a real dog is, without pretending?
Yeah, it is too early for such a "complicated" question, you should know better!!!

Answer 2

Sometimes you can tell by how an answer is presented if the person knows what they are talking about or not:
Examples:
- "My dog likes XYZ so it must be the best product ever!" (No research or even mention reasons of *why* they say this.)
- A lot of the werdz are mispelld in the anser, butt the pirson clames two be a vet.
- All their answers are copy/paste from Wikipedia.

But at the same time, I've seen answers that are flat-out completely wrong, not even a bit of truth to them, that were written very eloquently and could easily convince a newbie that the person knew what they were talking about.

My best advice to anyone asking questions would be to research what people have said in their answers. (Of course, a lot of the questions could have been answered with a little research anyway to start with. If they had no idea where to start so they asked a question here, then they need to research what the answers said to make sure they are actually getting accurate advice.)

Although I often wonder if many of the askers actually want to learn anything, or just want to find someone that agrees with them. Even if there are 15 'good' answers and 1 'bad' answer, I see the 'bad' answer get picked as best answer with the reason "That's what I use." or "That's what I think too". The asker obviously didn't learn anything, they just wanted to find that one single person that would agree with them to make them feel better about what they are [incorrectly] doing. (Disclaimer: My comments in this last paragraph pertain to factual information, not opinions. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but when the informations is flat-out not factual, that bothers me.)
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Answer 3

This is a really good question, but also a tough one. Those of us that have been hanging out for a while know the folks that know what they are talking about and have some basic dog knowledge. But for someone here for the first time, it really is hard to determine.

I think, something that is helpful... and I see this sometimes, is when users support the answer of another user and then maybe add in a little more that they deem suitable for the situation. If other members are agreeing and supporting an answer, at least there is a better chance of it being correct. Or maybe they are restating the same answer. I'm not saying this is always correct, but I think many times it is.

Answer 4

Well... There are a lot of people who answer, as soon as you read it you KNOW they have no idea what they are talking about.
But if I was new to dogs, and had no idea, there are some that I might fall for and think they were telling the truth.. The Top Contributor thing does mean anything, when I first started I read answers and thought " WTH "

That's actually why I started answering questions, reading thru some of the answers people were giving, I had to try and dispel the untruths that were being spread.
People shouldn't guess, when they don't know the answer.

Answer 5

Obviously, the same way I decided people were experienced when I knew more about dogs: pretty dog pictures.

Think about it: you, Jennifer T, got Newfs, walkinglady, nekkiddoglady, Bassetnut, shepherdgirl, Vet Tech, DP, Goldengal, Greekman, howldine, Cindy, Liz, Laura, katslookup, Shadow's Melon, Abbyful... there are many others, but you get my point.

ETA: HOLY CRAP, tons more people are getting pretty dog pictures now. I doubt I caused it, but it amuses me!

pretty dog picture = knows stuff about dogs

Why do you think I put a picture of my dog up? TO SHOW THAT I KNOW MY STUFF... some of it.

In all seriousness, pretty dog pictures show a dedication to dogs, which may or may not make someone more likely to be right (due to research for the love of dogs). However, logic doesn't always work. Take crate training for example. There's a common sense argument for and against it. To the uneducated person, "would you like to be put in a cage all day?" makes as much sense as "dogs like their dens." A lot of it comes down to willingness to read and change minds. That's how I ended up changing my dog food - this site. :)

When I first came here, I knew a lot less, but I believed breeders, trainers, and rescuers who seemed to make sense and were corroborated by other seemingly knowledgeable people.

Answer 6

I don't need to pretend. My knowledge is basic but it doesn't keep me from being a loving and caring owner. All of you special people can advise anyway is to crate the dog, as if it's the only answer to any problem. I have own dogs all my life but never own a cage and all my dogs lived happy and did not misbehaved.

When I have a question I read books, ask dog trainers I know in my real life. If I ask a question on here I welcome the information but I will always back it up with my vet or my trainer before following through.

Answer 7

If I knew nothing about dogs I would not be on Yahoo! Answers. I would be at the library reading books by professionals, or I would be at the vet's clinic, or I would be at obedience class. That is where all hopeful dog-owners should be, not trawling the Internet looking for answers that don't guarantee quality.

A lot has been posted about how the answerers like to think they know everything. What about the askers? They are the ones who are going to millions of faceless people for help with no knowledge of their experience. I'm not saying that Yahoo! Answers is a bad idea, but I do think that it's irresponsible to ask on Y!A for medical help of ANY kind (from scratching to bleeding after birth) and for instruction on big problems like aggressive or obsessive behaviour. They should know better than to seek out a source that just screams "unreliable". The answerers are just going to give their opinion - what more can you expect from them?

I would never go to Y!A to ask a question about something I knew nothing about. This is based on the answers I've seen in the sections that I DO know things about. I would only ask questions on things I've already researched at least a little; and I certainly would never ask Y!A about something as serious as a health problem.

And when I do ask a question, I look out for the people who I know are experienced. I won't try to name names since I know I can't get them all but there are answerers here whose answers tell me they know things about dogs and aren't just making it up. Surprisingly, just as a sidenote, good grammar seems to make a lot of difference. I am not a spelling-Nazi but I usually skim over the answers that say "hold itz scruff of neck til it cams down then she will bhave hop this helped bye".

Answer 8

Oh St Lady, How long will this question be up here?

If I knew nothing about dogs, I probably wouldn't have found YA and the dog section. Then I probably wouldn't have started hanging out here.

I certainly wouldn't read tons of questions and answers. I also wouldn't go look up things that made me wonder.

Then I'd band with a bunch of idiots and start reporting the questions and answers of anyone who looked like they DID know something just to make them angry. I'd also make sure only picked answers that agreed with my opinion because I certainly wouldn't want to learn anything new. I'd yell at anyone who disagreed with me and call them rude.

Yeah, that's what I'd do.

But seriously, if I "really" didn't know anything about dogs, I'd read and learn. I'd look up things and I'd call my vet a LOT. If you don't know dogs, you can see there is a pattern here. Most of the fairly knowledgable dog people are well spoken, well educated, can SPELL, can write a clear sentence and can be polite as well as passionate. Plus, they are very very, VERY consistent in their answers. They never waiver in their responses on a topic. They always say go to the vet, they always say get an education before breeding (even those who breed) and they are dog advocates first and foremost. That is what sets them apart.

And Tony - you really should email SOMEONE who as asked you to. Because many of us would love to talk with you. Please =)

Answer 9

That's a hard one because I can tell when someone doesn't know anything about dogs....but if I were a person who didn't know anything about dogs, it may be hard. I've asked a couple questions in the gardening section and everyone answering sounded like they knew about gardening...but I don't have that experience...so it is hard for me to identify the real experienced ones. Some people put info in the source box and that helps me realize they have experience.
Another thing I noticed that people who don't have experience say is...."my dog did this"...if they are using their one experience to give advice..I would say they don't have enough experience to really answer...but along with all the other answers, it can help if they all answered with similar experience.

Answer 10

Even if a person does seem to know alot about dogs..it is a constant learning process... I have been into dogs and some sort of dogs sport my entire life and still hear info that I had no clue about.
I pride myself on trying to research and learn as much about every type of dog out there...but do not know it all at all

Currently my crew consists of
V2 Mutz Von Der Piste Trophe Sch3 Fh2 Kkl1
Dwicky Vom Lichtetal BH
Farina V. Bockerter Land BH
MultiGroup Placing Ch. Serandida Karcz IX-XI Living Tribute
Ch. Serget Rio Afortunado
Ch. Strangedays Hairway To Heaven
Ch. Avalon Willlowwinds Jumanji JC
Ch. Desert Mirage So Serandida
and working dog extrordinaire
Daniska's Hazelnut Khave Ve Krem Chiz

up and coming
Alambre D'Mirage Mirko Cro Cop &
Alambre de pelo aspero Cazadora

these are all dogs I own or co-own.... and even with a crew like this.. I am still learning.

the biggest mistake a person can make is to think they are all knowing... things change.. advances are made...and we all must grow

Answer 11

How do they choose the best advice?

When asking about health or behavioral issues, I would recommend that they look more seriously at the answers that tell them to seek the advice of a professional, or at the very least, those who can back up their opinion with a credible source (web site link(s) or reading material, not a simple "I'm a vet / behaviorist/ trainer" in the source box.

And anyone who answers with "Watch the Dog Whisperer", "Alpha roll your dog" or "Hit your dog on the nose, head, or anywhere else" is someone that inexperienced askers would do well to ignore.

(I'll probably get a thumbs down for this answer huh? Ha!)