Hello, friends!
I’m coming to you today with a question. Or, more accurately, I’m coming to you today with a request for a discussion.
Let me explain…
I spend a ton of time researching things about dogs, answering questions about dogs, sharing information and memes about dogs, talking to my vet about my dog, following dogs on Instagram… you get the point. My life is largely about dogs.
And if I’m being totally honest with you, right now, I’m so grateful for blogs.
Why?
I feel so. very. done. with social media.
I’m not alone in this, I know. I suspect many of you feel the same way. BTW, I’m not even talking about politics. Just plain old social media. There’s something about the distance that screens give to some people that somehow makes them feel free to be mean, negative, and critical. So few people are open to learning because–gasp.–what you learn might actually change what you think or know about a particular topic. It’s disheartening and demoralizing.
I strive to post positive or uplifting content, even when I’m writing about difficult topics. That’s the best I can do right now, other than step away from most social media.
Blogs, though? I’m totally rekindling my love for all things blog as social media loses its luster.
Blogging puts trust in people with real-life experience.
Every week, I receive an email or DM from someone whose dog was recently diagnosed with tremors. It’s not a common condition, so there’s not a lost of first-hand experience out there. I’m grateful people find my posts and Cooper’s story so we can connect over this shared, bizarre condition.
Likewise, when I’ve faced training difficulties or health issues, especially with the cats, I’ve turned to blogs to gather real-life experience. Information from your vet is vital, of course, but actual experiences are invaluable.
For a while there, I turned to Facebook or Instagram because I felt like I had less time and there’s easier-to-digest info there.
However.
There’s so much inflammatory crap and misinformation. Blogs may take a little more time–searching for the right one, for instance, and digesting long, well-thought-out posts just takes longer than reading an Instagram caption–but the trade-off is completely worth it.
Who do you trust for pet advice online?
I’ve been monitoring my habits lately with one goal: Stop mindless scrolling! And here’s what I’ve discovered…
When I have a specific question about Coop or the cats, I first type the query into Google. I’ll look for a peer-reviewed study or a website with a reputation for sharing knowledgeable, fact-based content. Then, I’ll search for blogs about the topic to see what real people have really done for their real pets. On rare occasions, I’ll search Instagram or YouTube. Never, ever, ever do I search Facebook anymore.
I’m curious: Where do you turn when you’re trying to find pet advice online? Do you go to social? Blogs? Veterinary publications? Message boards? Forums? Somewhere else altogether?
How do you decide who to trust only for pet advice? I’d LOVE to hear from you in the comments. I’m genuinely curious how you are using the internet to learn more about how to live better with our pets, and I’d really appreciate any insights–even if you disagree with me! I love learning from you!
Also, if you want to learn more about blogging, obviously I have to recommend the book I co-wrote with Carol Bryant, Pet Blogging for Love and Money. It’s chock full of advice for working and learning online!
AND! If you want to learn more about pet health and you’re seeing this early in the week, it’s not too late to sign up for the FREE Pet Health Secrets Summit. I’m presenting on Monday, but all the presentations are live and free for 48 hours. Click here to sign up.
Good Morning!! Like you, I’m pretty much fed up with social media – except to keep in touch with friends – so I changed my privacy settings in FB to friends and friends of friends. I can’t remember the last time I made a personal post available to the public. And with Twitter I just block all politicians. But then, I rarely use it except to share blog posts.
So, who do I trust for online pet advice? Well, it depends on what kind of advice I’m looking for. For medical issues, I start with PetMD or Google and then I go to DVM360. And then I talk or email with our vet. Sometimes DVM360 is a little too technical for me, but being a certified vet assistant, I naturally prefer to get input from our vet anyway whenever I can. Thankfully, Ducky hasn’t had any real emergency issues since she was stung by a bee two summers ago. She’s been stung a few times since then, but now I know what to do for her.
For training or reactivity issues, my first go-to is always my friend in the UK, whose courses I’ve been taking for the last six or seven years. And our lovely course community. And, of course, there’s always my training course materials if I’m stuck and can’t get hold of Janet or someone in the community. And we have a private FB group, too.
Great topic, I also need to stop the mindless scrolling. I do trust some of the advice in a cat kidney disease Facebook group I’m in and I like to check out another Facebook group on running with dogs. So I do use groups for information. I turn to blogs I trust like yours as well if I think it’s something you might’ve written about. We all use Google but of course google has its own biases and so many of the top placements are paid. So yeah, it can be a mess finding the right info!
I hope more people do shift away from social media bullshit and turn to blogs and other long form content. I guess people have certainly turned to longer form video content and podcasts.
So different than 2008. Haha.
Actually I have learned a lot from your blog! I adopted my first dog 7.5 years ago, and I am now 60. So as an older novice dog owner who was told the dog was a boxer collie mix, well I ended up with a pitbull. And so, after 3 different vet visits to confirm this breed, I ended up researching the breed and everything I could find. Your blog came up and I started reading it, learned a lot and loved it. That said, you mention Canine Good Citizenship on your blog, training, food, etc. My dog and I went to obedience school, we did get our canine good citizenship, and I no longer believe what I used to believe about pitfalls! And I cook for my dog frequently. So Thank You! I still read your blog, we have a regular vet we see and have a great relationship with, we also do alternative medicine, massage, accupressure, supplements, etc. I will check on line, never Facebook because truthfully I don’t know how to use it, but I probably wouldn’t because when I am looking for information I want facts, not opinions!
Your blog is always chocked full of terrific, well reasearched information! Being a healthcare professional for humans, I’m all about the science, so blogs hosted by vets or someone I’ve come to trust like you.
I have been careful about the FB groups I join and leave if they are rude or legitimately giving false information. Having said that the blind, cushing’s and diabetic FB groups I’ve chosen to belong to have been great.
The ohmydogblog.com site has been verry helpful over the years. Thank you so much!
If it is for health advice I really like our veterinarian, who encourages questions.
I like to look to some one that is having the same issue I am to see if it works for me what they are doing. When it comes to the health of my dog I look more to the professional.
I left all social media around 2013 because of all the negativity and drama, keyboard warriors and the “ganging up” mentality that seems to be easy for even good folks to par take in when others are pressing buttons.
My veterinarian is my first go to (yup, actually got a decent one). Internet search is always my second option if I do not already know of a blogger or other site that has specific knowledge. I search for peer reviewed documents on Google Scholar. After consuming advice, I return to my vet-and sometimes, I teach him stuff! Which is nice.
But yeah, FB? No thank you.
I do know there are several FB groups that ARE great resources, and I have been tempted, more than once, to rejoin just to be a part of those few groups I know are well moderated and dedicated to helping, but I just do not want to open myself up to the possibility of the doodoo that I know is in that environment.
That’s a very wise decision and a wonderful way to care for your own mental wellbeing! There’s something about the anonymity of sitting behind a keyboard that makes people feel they have license to behave poorly. It’s exhausting. And you’re right… lots of disinformation is out there.
Google Scholar is a big favorite of mine, too! Maybe I should share some information about it because I’m not sure it’s a well-used resource? Thanks for sparking that idea! 🙂
I will sometimes, in my searches, encounter a link or other way to contact an individual from my searches. And usually I will reach out, introduce myself, how I found them and (hopefully) engage with them through email about the issue. More often than not, I am introduced to others, other resources etc. that can help expand my knowledge.