PuppyGate 2015: Let's Keep It Positive

Enough has already been said about the problems coming out of CLAW regarding pups and inappropriate behavior. These actually aren't new problems or the first time we, as a pack community, have had them happen and tarnish the image we, as a whole, are working to portray. What makes this different is that the pup and handler community is rising to the challenge to affect a positive change.

And that's what I want to reinforce here. Not as a kumbaya moment, but as a chance to do what's needed to be seen with the respect with which we want to be seen.

Some very positive and constructive conversations have begun within the community itself. Some of our leading figures have stood up and faced the issue head on, a difficult task and one I applaud them for. Ideas are already being brought to the fore and looked at objectively.

It's important, not only that we keep this going, but that we do it maturely, constructively and respectfully. Right now, feelings are definitely running in the extreme. No one likes being put on the spot. But those negatives should not - must not - eclipse this opportunity.

Right now, it would be all too easy to say we aren't the only ones with some among us who act out or engage in inappropriate behavior. However, while that statement may ring true, it's an unnecessary distraction. What we need to remain focused on is our part of the communal whole and how we, as a pack, engage with it.

None of us are perfect. I know I'm not. But those imperfections don't have to hold us back. Heck, given the right circumstances, they give even more depth to our pack as a whole. So let's avoid getting hung up on those.

Let's listen to each other, discuss those ideas that can propel us forward, and avoid the ones that divide or set us back. We're one pack, and we're in this together.

Pup Tripp
IPC International Puppy 2014
Co-founder & Past Alpha, Mid-Atlantic Kennel Korps