# Forum Rules. Please Read to Stay Out of Trouble



## RonE

*Recent updates are indicated in Red.

Moderators*

We are a small group of volunteers for a very large forum. We want to be helpful, but we have lives and families and dogs and jobs, so please read the rules and respect them to improve everyone's forum experience and make our jobs easier. Most violations will result in a temporary or permanent ban. We cannot possibly issue multiple warnings and expect to stay on top of things.
Only the moderators can moderate. Members are not allowed to tell others what posts, responses or behaviors are acceptable. If you see a post that you believe violates the rules or spirit of the forum, please report it for moderator review. You report a post by clicking on the three little dots at the upper right corner of the post and selecting report. Please don't quote posts that violate the rules. That complicates the cleanup.
Disagreeing with a moderator about canine matters is expected. Disagreeing with moderators about forum rules or policies will get you banned from the forum.

*External links*

Most spam on this forum occurs in the form of external links to stores, blogs, videos, products, or services. Below we've clarified what kinds of links are and are not allowed:

External links, either in the body of the post, the signature, *the forum Showcase* *or the member profile* for the purposes of advertising or increasing traffic to certain sites are considered commercial posts and expressly forbidden. This may include but is not limited to Etsy stores, YouTube channels, blogs, vlogs, online training programs, books, or obscure webshops. *Commercial avatars or user names are not allowed. *Posts that fall into this category are grounds for immediate permanent bans.
External links for the purpose of providing relevant information, advice, or resources are more likely to be acceptable. For example, posting a YouTube video of a training or behavior issue you need help with, linking an article related to a poster's question, or linking to a product when the original poster has asked for recommendations.
External links for the purposes of asking forum member's opinions may or may not be acceptable. For example, asking for reviews about a product don't necessarily require an external link, and it may be suspicious if one is included, especially to an obscure webshop. However, linking to a breeder or trainer's website may be necessary for forum members to provide accurate feedback.
Your history matters. Members who are active and engaged will be given more benefit of the doubt than brand new members making their first post. Just because a member who's been active here for seven years posts a video of their dog doing something silly doesn't mean mods won't treat a brand new member's post to a funny animal compilation video as spam.
Editing links into posts will almost always be considered spam. If you want to include a link that you forgot, create a new post for it.
Requests for petition signatures, financial donations, surveys or contest votes are not allowed, because we cannot verify their validity.
Spamming via private messaging or via your avatar or user name will not be allowed.

*Forum behavior*

This forum strives to be an accepting and safe space for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or disability. Bigoted, insulting, demeaning, or otherwise offensive language is not tolerated here even if it's not directed specifically at another member.
This forum is open to all ages, and so crude language or profanity is forbidden. Technical or medical terms that might otherwise be considered crude are allowed in the appropriate context.
Because of the anonymous nature of Internet forums, it is tempting to be more abrupt than you might be face-to-face. Please resist this temptation. Keep disagreements as polite, civil, and respectful as possible. Extreme aggression or rudeness towards other users or personal insults are grounds for a temporary or permanent ban. Please do not report a post that merely disagrees with you, as long as it's done respectfully. It would be a truly boring forum if we all agreed on everything.
Repeatedly asking for advice and then refusing to answer questions or follow any suggestions, only to come back weeks later asking why you're still having the same problem is grounds for a temporary or permanent ban if done in excess, as it's a waste of everyone's time and energy.
This forum does not condone harassment, doxing, bullying, etc. outside this forum as well as on it. In the event that a trainer, breeder, social media influencer, or any other persons are discussed here in a negative light, it is not then okay to go find them on other platforms and send them hate or harassment.

*Pictures and signatures*

Please keep posted pictures no larger than 620x460. Because the actual physical size of your photo will depend on the monitor being used, this is what 620x460 looks like:












Please keep signatures no larger than 600x240, including any additional text. This is what 600x240 looks like:










Oversize photos or signatures may be deleted by the moderators with no warning.

*Health questions*

The health forum is to be used only to discuss conditions which have already been diagnosed by a qualified vet. For the protection of your dog and this forum, any requests or responses for a diagnosis or "guess" regarding a medical condition will be deleted and the thread will be closed. If you persist, you will be banned.
Persistently offering medical advice, whether at the request of another user or not, will be grounds for a temporary or permanent ban. Even if you're a veterinary professional, because the mods have no way of verifying that. Even if your dog has been through something very similar, because every dog and every medical situation is different and what worked for your dog may be actively harmful - or even deadly - for another.
Even once a medical condition is diagnosed, refrain from offering advice that should be discussed with a veterinary professional, such as changing medication doses, using off-label OTC drugs, specific exercises for orthopedic recovery, etc. Recommending that someone consult with a veterinary specialist about such things is fine.

*Buy & Sell Forum*

This section is for members only and should be used for private selling. Any selling or spam promoting a website or retail sales will be deleted and your account may be banned. You may sell other items that are not dog related.
Sales or owner surrenders of live animals are NOT allowed anywhere on the forum.
Advertisements for stud services or available breeding bitches are NOT allowed anywhere on this forum.

*Posting*

Whenever possible, post under the most appropriate sub-forum and never post on more than one. If you accidentally post in the wrong sub-forum, a moderator can move it for you.
Try to use descriptive topic titles. Nobody has time to read every single new post and a post with the title, "Questions about winter dog boots" is more likely to get attention from people that know about dog boots than one with the title, "HELP!"
Even though the forum software allows you to post in oversize, alternative fonts in hot pink, we strongly advise against it. It will annoy everyone, including the moderators.
This is a dog forum. Discussions about religion or politics, while fascinating, create discord on a forum of mostly gentle souls and will not be allowed, even in the off-topic sections of the forum.
Do not post from uncited sources. If we see a long copy-and-paste with no listed source, we'll assume you are just trying to bump up your post count and establish a credibility you haven't yet earned on your own.
Sometimes, for reasons that remain mysterious to the moderators, a post will hit moderation before actually appearing on the forum. We try to watch for these and release them (unless they have actually violated a forum rule) but you can private message a moderator for quicker action. We have no other control over these occurrences. They are based on some algorithm that sometimes seems pretty arbitrary.
While posting your personal details (real name, address, phone number, etc.) isn't explicitly against the rules, we urge forum members to avoid this as much as possible for their own safety and privacy. Even for buy and sell items, many of these details are best kept to private messages to better protect your identity.
*Zombie Threads*

This forum has been around quite a few years now, and has a wealth of information archived in old posts that are well worth a read. However, unless you're the member who originally posted said thread popping by to give us an update, replying to months or years old threads is discouraged and will get the thread closed to further replies. Reviving old 'zombie' threads like this leads to confusion where new members try to interact with the original poster, who may be long gone, and completely miss your reply, and it clutters up the forum making it hard to navigate current topics.

Even if you just want to say thank you for the information, please don't. Even if the information is outdated or wrong, or there's a discussion you have very strong feelings on, or your dog is having similar behavior/training/health problems, you will get much more engagement with current members by starting your own, new thread on the topic (but refer to *Health Questions *on this list in regards to medical concerns that haven't been diagnosed by a vet).

While it'd be nice if these old threads locked to new replies automatically after a set period, that is not currently a feature available to us. Please note that many of the threads that show up on the 'Recommended Reading' list at the bottom of the page are from deep in the archives, so double check dates before you engage!

*Multiple accounts*

Each member is allowed exactly on registration account. If we discover you have registered multiple times, for any reason, it's likely both (or all) registrations will be banned. If you forget your password, there is a process to recover it. If you forget your password, your user name and your registration email address, you life is already too complicated.
*Training/Behavior Questions*


This forum allows discussion, debate, and advice from a wide range of training techniques, methods, and philosophies. We acknowledge that many people have very strong beliefs about the way they choose to train, and disagreements are going to happen. While we will almost never ban someone for suggesting a certain technique, tool, or method (see below for exceptions), we will ban people if they allow these disagreements to become aggressive, excessively rude, or otherwise violate the guidelines set out in *Forum Behavior*.
We will NOT tolerate training or behavior advice that is abusive or dangerous to the dog or handler. Posts containing such advice might be edited or deleted, and the poster may receive a temporary or permanent ban depending on the severity.


*Leaving the forum*

This forum doesn't appeal to everyone, though I'd recommend you give it some time before deciding it's not for you. If you decide to leave, have the grace to do it quietly. Just log out. There is no account to delete and, no, we aren't going to go in and delete everything you've ever posted. Try to remember your log-in information in case you later change your mind. If, on the other hand, you make an indignant announcement about your departure and slam the door on your way out, it's likely we'll lock it after you and very unlikely that anyone will miss you or beg you to stay.


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