You may not be aware that WDJ is more than just a printed publication: it’s also available to subscribers in a digital form. (To read it online, subscribers simply register for access. Then they can read current issues before they are available in print, and follow links given in articles to back issues and articles.) The WDJ website also contains a blog, where I (and sometimes, guest bloggers) post more personal stories and topics for discussion. It’s a place where we can discuss more intimate, emotional, moral, spiritual, and even judgemental ideas and opinions relating to our relationships with dogs.
Please don’t confuse my editorials on this page, or the blog posts on the WDJ site, with fact-based “articles” in the magazine. Our foremost mission with WDJ is to provide paid subscribers with solid, well-researched information that they can put into immediate practice to improve their dog’s health and training. The subscription price you pay gives us the ability to deliver this information independently, without having to consider the feelings or bottom line of advertisers (who support most mainstream publications). We don’t want to waste the limited amount of space we have in the print edition on personal stuff that may have no relevance for you. With the exception of this small space on this one page, the magazine is about fact-based service to you, our subscribers. (And sometimes, I offer facts here, too.)
On the other hand, lots of you enjoy reading, thinking, and talking about life with dogs. Some of you want to share personal stories, whether they are negative – like recitations of frustrating encounters with loose dogs, irresponsible owners, bad veterinarians, or incompetent trainers – or heart-warming and positive – like people who do an amazing job at rescue, vets who save the lives of difficult-to-diagnose dogs, and trainers who rehabilitate formerly frightened, unhappy dogs into well-adjusted members of the family. The place for these things is our blog, as well as the WDJ Facebook page.
The Facebook page begs for an additional explanation. We frequently run links to past articles on the WDJ Facebook page (facebook.com/wholedogjournal), so that people who don’t currently subscribe (or have never heard of WDJ) can see what sort of unique and valuable, independent information we deliver monthly to our readers.
We also frequently post links on the Facebook page to those personal blog posts, as well as articles or videos produced by other people that we admire. Neither should be confused with our own fact-checked, expert-written articles in the magazine.
Am I wasting too much space on this? I just wanted to let you know that if you don’t like or don’t want to be exposed to my opinions or stories, or stories and opinions from other thoughtful dog owners, skip this page and skip the blog; our mission of delivering solid, fact-based training and health-building advice will always appear in the rest of the magazine.
