[Dog Owner's Guide to the internet (www.canismajor.com/dog/inetg.html)]
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From Afghans to Yorkies and agility to working dogs it seems that somewhere on the internet someone has written about everything of interest to dog owners. Unfortunately, finding it isn't always easy. There are web sites, search engines FAQs, newsgroups, mailing lists, on line services; the list seems endless. If all you know is that the web isn't a blob in the corner of your ceiling, here is a brief guide.
Web sites range from those put together by knowledgeable groups or individuals with a commitment to presenting some of the most accurate and complete information available anywhere to home pages by individuals who just want to share with the world how wonderful their housedog is -- and everything in between.
Their World Wide Web addresses can be found by using the search sites or browsing the sites maintained by those who make a hobby of locating and listing dog related web sites.
Many of these sites come, go and change addresses far too often for most to keep track of them. Dog Owner's Guide tries to link to some of the more complete breed pages from our profiles and leaves the listing of dog-related pages to others. They do a far better job then we could.
Search engines are web sites that are collections of indexes to other web sites. (Two of the best known are Yahoo! and Alta Vista.) A visitor to these sites specifies a search term like "Akita" or "dog+nutrition";) and gets back a list of web pages containing the search phrase.
These lists are made up in one of two ways. either people register their site with the search site by filling out an electronic form on the seach site page, (in which case the information available is limited to what they say about their site), or the search site computers actually locate, request, read and index every word of every page at all the sites they know about. (This is more complete but increases the number of false hits.; A search for "dog"; will return not just canine sites but any page with hot dog recipes too!)
These search sites are always a good place to start looking for a specific subject. Use specific terms to restrict the search, if you receive too many hits respecify your search.
Sometimes certain information is requested so often that it's kept available online for reading and downloading. Dog related FAQs include subjects like choosing a puppy, crate training your dog and general vet care information. These are referenced in the search engines, and a comprehensive list and set of links is available directly at [rec.pets.dogs FAQ Homepage].
Regional and local newsgroups may also contain dog related material.
Reading these groups of messages requires newsgroup access, something most internet access providers give their customers. The newsgroups allow opportunities for lively discussions as people ask questions or make comments and often get spirited answers.
A mailing list is similar to a closed, moderated newsgroup. If the subject interests you, you "subscribe" (Most are open to anyone) and receive messages as e-mail. A subscriber can originate a message or respond to an existing one and all members of the list will see it. Mailing lists differ from most newsgroups because they are supervised, ("moderated") by individuals.If a message is off-topic or too antagonistic, the moderator can delete the message and warn the poster or remove him from the list.
Be aware that some mailing lists can generate quite a few messages a day and they will accumulate until read and deleted from your mailbox. (Some mailing list software has a "digest" feature that combines messages into a single e-mail message.)
Many list moderators maintain home pages about their breed that contain information about subscribing to their dog related mailing lists. Lists of these pages are available from the search sites.
Although currently somewhat out of favor and not really part of the internet, the on line services (CompuServe, America On line and Prodigy) offer many of the advantages of the world wide web and newsgroups while eliminating some of the disadvantages.
Members of these services can contribute articles and graphics to the libraries for downloading by others and post messages for comment. These message boards are moderated by volunteer staff members. All have pet and dog sections. On CompuServe's DOGS forum (GO DOGS) any dog-related topic is acceptable for discussion; all opinions are encouraged but rules of decorum are strictly enforced (as on most services) and hostile or insulting messages are moved to a nonpublic section. The DOGS forum operator allows advertising only in certain areas of the message board so there are no "MAKE MONEY FAST" posts, litter advertisements or "wanted to breed" ads in the discussion areas.
If you're tired of the irrelevant chatter of some of the newsgroups, try one of the on line services. All offer access via local phone calls in most areas and a free trial. They currently use proprietary software but CompuServe in particular is moving towards a standard web architecture that can be read with a browser (although you still will have to join to participate.)
Just because something is posted "on the net" doesn't mean it's worth bothering with. No matter where you go and what you download, all information is only as good as its author. Most dog related information on line is unedited -- no one checks it for accuracy or fairness or evaluates the author's knowledge or experience before the information is made available It's up to you to use common sense in evaluating all the information you find, and discarding material that seems biased or inaccurate.
[Dog Owner's Guide to the internet (www.canismajor.com/dog/inetg.html)] is a part of the Dog Owner's Guide internet website and is copyright 2007 by Canis Major Publications. You may print or download this material for non-commercial personal or school educational use. All other rights reserved. If you, your organization or business would like to reprint our articles in a newsletter or distribute them free of charge as an educational handout please see our reprint policy.
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