[Moderator 1]

Hi folks ~

We've had some growing concerns over the percentage of this forum that's become devoted to asking and answering general pet care questions. As a likely huge number of us also own dogs, cats and other companion animals, the amount of interest is understandable, BUT we do want to keep the focus of this forum more specifically on topics that relate to maintaining a farm as part of our involvement with horses.

When we opened this forum, we said we'd have to keep an eye on things to see if we needed to tweak the objectives at all, so we wanted to provide this clarification for posts going forward:

If it's a question that uniquely relates to keeping a barn cat or dog (not just a general question about a dog who might accompany you to the barn occasionally ), or unique dog/cat issues that come with maintaining property (addressing strays, for example), please feel free to ask.

But, as there are countless pet forums as big as COTH devoted entirely to these topics, we do have to rein in the general pet topics so that they don't overtake the threads more closely related to our unique community's interests.

We can always re-tweak in the future, but for now we want to highlight this forum's utility as a resource for farm owners vs. one for pet owners.

Thanks for your understanding!
Mod 1

[egontoast]

Thanks very much.

The Around the Farm forum was a great addition to the board.

Yes, most of us have dogs and kitties but agree that is not the place for general pet questions.

I think the moderators here do a great job of keeping CoTh horse related. Even Off course is restricted to horse related topics so I'm glad to see that ATF will be at least FARM specific.

[Larksmom]

some of us no longer have horses. I only go to off course, around the farm, racing, and rarely eventing. [Once in a blue moon I will wander into Hunterland looking for a train wreck.] I think alot of duplication can be eliminated, but the best threads here were about a stray dog, and the IBKs.
Granted, there are other dog and cat forums, but really, they do not COMPARE to this forum. [not sucking up, just a fact.] Besides, this is sort of a family, no?yes?

[JWB]

Most of us "horse" people also have our dogs and the board has until this point been a fantastic place to discuss our other fur-kids.

Obviously the focus of the forum is horses but why not make a Dogs and Cats forum, along the lines of the off-topic forum to allow us to discuss our other furry family member. Dogs and horses go hand in hand...

[analise]

Dogs and horses go hand in hand...

Or hoof in paw.

[trubandloki]

Obviously the focus of the forum is horses but why not make a Dogs and Cats forum, along the lines of the off-topic forum to allow us to discuss our other furry family member. Dogs and horses go hand in hand...

I think the reason is simply they want this to be a horse forum. Not a dog and cat forum.

[Bluey]

I was a moderator on a dog training forum, with a cat section and we had over 50,000 hits a day and that was some years back.
I am not sure COTH can handle even a small part of that load, over what it already has, or has the bandwidth for it. That may have been a consideration, although I don't know that, is just a guess.

As we have seen in this forum, dog and cat questions can come in overwhelming numbers and ground out the rest of the posting.

There sure were many very interesting threads about cats and dogs and other, I agree.

[MistyBlue]

Thank you thank you thank you!
No offense to the pet owners/lovers...I've got pets too. But there were getting to be almost as many pet threads as actually farm related threads and there's only so much bandwith for Chronicle of the Horse.

[Sithly]

If it's a question that uniquely relates to keeping a barn cat or dog (not just a general question about a dog who might accompany you to the barn occasionally ), or unique dog/cat issues that come with maintaining property (addressing strays, for example), please feel free to ask.

But, as there are countless pet forums as big as COTH devoted entirely to these topics, we do have to rein in the general pet topics so that they don't overtake the threads more closely related to our unique community's interests.

Thank you!

COTH is a fantastic and unique forum. I don't feel it needs to expand to dog and cat topics. There are plenty of pet forums out there already.

It's like saying that lots of riders ride both western and english, so why don't we expand hunter shows to allow western riders? Oh yeah, because then it wouldn't be a hunter show any more.

[MHM]

Please don't get too hard nosed about this.

If the board is supported by those ads on the right hand side, do you really want to encourage horse people to leave this forum and go post somewhere else? Horse people with dogs and cats are still horse people who buy horse products from your advertisers.

I agree that there have been perhaps too many pet threads lately, but the thread about MM's stray dog, for example, is one of the best threads EVER, and has certainly attracted many, many, many views to this forum and its advertisers.

[vacation1]

Rats. I already have to really stretch to wedge my non-owning, non-riding self into this board. Now I'm really up a crick. Worse, now I might be tempted to return to the dog boards, and God, I hate dog forums. All those crazy/angry/loud young women whose reaction to any disagreement is WTF!!!! ARE YOU CRAZY!! YOU MUST BE A CRAZY MONSTER!!! YOU ACT LIKE YOU ARE A VICIOUS B@TCH WHO LIKES TO SEE PUPPIES DIE!!!!!

[Bluey]

Please don't get too hard nosed about this.

If the board is supported by those ads on the right hand side, do you really want to encourage horse people to leave this forum and go post somewhere else? Horse people with dogs and cats are still horse people who buy horse products from your advertisers.

I agree that there have been perhaps too many pet threads lately, but the thread about MM's stray dog, for example, is one of the best threads EVER, and has certainly attracted many, many, many views to this forum and its advertisers.

That is a good point, Smartpack is one advertiser that has much for dogs in their catalog, as they know dogs are part of horse life for so many.

There ought to be a middle ground.
I think the Moderators are looking for that, that is why this request that dog threads don't become so overwhelming to the forum as they were doing.

[Moderator 1]

Yup, we're trying to find a good middle ground. Previously, COTH allowed NO dog and cat threads, NO truck threads, etc., so this forum has been a testing ground for opening things up some more, and it's been a great addition. The original intent of the forum has been stretching further, however, with the increasing percentage of general pet care questions, etc., which is why we want to refocus things a bit more tightly.

Please also recognize that per the OP here, we're not putting the kibosh on all dog and cat threads. One of the examples given in that first post of an OK topic was dealing with strays on your property, so the popular "making friends with a stray" thread is still just fine.

Please feel free to continue to provide feedback. We want to make the best choices for our overall community with the resources we have and always take into account your input when considering our option now and in the future.

Thanks again!
Mod 1

[MHM]

SmartPak is the perfect example of an advertiser who benefits from consumers who have both dogs and horses. Many of the other tack shops (Dover, Beval, etc.) also carry dog items.

The stray dog thread alone has more than 85,500 views at this point. That's a lot of potential customers on this forum.

Thanks again to the Mods for all their efforts here!

[SMF11]

I love Around The Farm! The only thing I'll add is that I don't have time, or really interest, to find a dog or cat forum that I like and then spend time reading it. I usually don't open the threads about dogs/cats, but I did recently and just found out why you are not supposed to feed a cat dry food. I didn't know that -- my vet didn't tell me -- and my cat with recurring cystitis thanks COTH!

My point is I wouldn't have looked for a cat forum, and taken the time to stumble upon that info. I do agree that we don't want the forum to be just pets but I appreciate the Mods tweaking it so it is in balance again.

[katarine]

talking about how to manage outside dogs in the winter? cool.
How to capture feral cats taking over the barn and peeing on blankets? cool.

OMG my dog farted/threw up/is sooo cute lookie- stupid.

[ShadyLover]

Rats. I already have to really stretch to wedge my non-owning, non-riding self into this board. Now I'm really up a crick. Worse, now I might be tempted to return to the dog boards, and God, I hate dog forums. All those crazy/angry/loud young women whose reaction to any disagreement is WTF!!!! ARE YOU CRAZY!! YOU MUST BE A CRAZY MONSTER!!! YOU ACT LIKE YOU ARE A VICIOUS B@TCH WHO LIKES TO SEE PUPPIES DIE!!!!!

I completely agree about the craziness on Dog/Cat threads on other websites. You have people that jump down your throat for anything (if it's not correct or right for them). I've used those websites and had tooooooooo many problems.

I once went asking for advice on my very very sick dog to see if anyone had experienced it before (I won't get into details on his disease). I was reemed out because the dog had come from a breeder (that i worked off to pay for right out of college) and how dare I ask if anyone else had experienced the disease before. It was awful. That has NEVER EVER happened to me here.

[CatOnLap]

you know, you can find just as crazy horse forums if you want. There are many GOOD dog and cat related sites that will give you good advice on things like "My dog's paw wound won't heal" or "Help! I need a psychic to find my lost dog."
Good grief.

The tractor and truck threads are helpful because farm owners with horses have unique issues with tractors and trucks, not always shared by general truck owners or owners of other types of farms. Most of the dog and cat issues that have been brought up are things that are not unique to horse farm owners, but would apply to all dog and cat owners.

[Sithly]

you know, you can find just as crazy horse forums if you want. There are many GOOD dog and cat related sites that will give you good advice on things like "My dog's paw wound won't heal" or "Help! I need a psychic to find my lost dog."
Good grief.

The tractor and truck threads are helpful because farm owners with horses have unique issues with tractors and trucks, not always shared by general truck owners or owners of other types of farms. Most of the dog and cat issues that have been brought up are things that are not unique to horse farm owners, but would apply to all dog and cat owners.

This.

Good dog forums are out there. I lurk on a nice, non-crazy, breed specific dog forum. It's like a small scale version of COTH for dogs: lots of knowledgeable people and good discussions. Some people are very passionate about their dogs, but I've yet to see them rip into someone for no reason. That forum is way tamer than COTH, anyway.

Good dog forums do exist. (I just don't think COTH needs to become one.) Let's get real, people -- this is not the last bastion of sanity on the Internet.

[bludejavu]

I am just now reading this but had to comment. I understand that dog and cat threads can overshadow the main reason for this board which is horses, but...if it wasn't for this board, I would NEVER have had the encouragement and the help I received when my Sweetie showed up - thread entitled "Stray Pit Bull". The overwhelming kindness and response I got from COTHER's is the reason I let Sweetie win me over. Then COTHER's pitched in and helped me financially when I couldn't afford the vet care needed. I don't own a typical sport horse breed - I own Saddlebreds. But the folks on this board didn't care what breed of horses I had - that makes this board a true exception in my book !

My suggestion - if a dog or cat topic seems to be too far astray from what is desired, simply lock it and we will all learn what is and isn't acceptable.