Dogchannel.Com Website: A Review

Dogchannel.com is the online branch of Dog Fancy magazine (published by Bow Tie Press). If you do not receive or like Dog Fancy magazine (or Puppies USA Annual or Dog World), then there's going to be slim pickings for you at Dogchannel.com. This website is geared for purebred dog showers and breeders with a lot of extra spending money. It's not geared for someone who really loves all dogs purebred or not or for someone who quickly wants to find dog-related information. Anyone with a mongrel will feel quite insignificant after looking at a few screens.



Those Darn Ads



They're everywhere on Dogchannel.com ads on the sides, to of the screen banners, pop-up browsers, imbedded links inside of articles you blink and there's another ad. There are also sections entitled "Dog Books" and "Dog Videos". When I read these, I clicked on eagerly, thinking I'd finally have a way to sort through the best of the huge piles of dog books and DVDs on the market.



Bu these sections did not offer reviews, reader recommendations or even a compressive catalogue of the best dog related books and videos available. All they are are more ads for Bow Tie dog books and videos. Sneaky!



I also looked for articles on dog health. They are there '" but hard to find and nearly buried in advertisements.



The Myth of the Purebred



Most of the products are geared for purebred dog owners. The books, videos, even certain dog food ads feature purebreds. This is a shame, because that puts out a subliminal message that the only "real" dog is a purebred. Actually, there is no such thing as a purebred dog, if you go back far enough into any dog's pedigree (just as there is no such thing a pureblooded person, so there isn't with dogs).



Also, the abundance of ads for purebred puppy breeders is disturbing. These ads are not checked in any way, so you have no idea if you are contacting a puppy mill or not. There are many beautiful ads for puppy breeders in Bow Tie Press books and magazines that have American Kennel Cluc (AKC) certification but they are for puppy mills. Although Bow Tie Press will not knowingly take an ad from a puppy mill, they do not have the resources to check up on all of the people who place an ad.



In Conclusion

There are far too many unwanted dogs in the world. Just in the United States, the Humane Society of the United States estimates that between 4 and 6 million are euthanized every year, and at least 25% are purebreds. That's usually because someone bought a purebred puppy on impulse and then abandoned it when the cute phase wore off. But then again, the Humane Society of the United States is not welcome in Dog Fancy, because the AKC does not like the HSUS or just about anything the HSUS supports, even when dog welfare is at stake.



As you can see, it's hard for someone who cares about all dogs (purebred or mongrel) to get through a few clicks of Dogchannel.com without wondering why dogs are presented more as products rather than as companions and friends.