2011 Update

Mercury, Gemma, and Dublin bask in the sunset.

Subscribers:
Beyond all expectations, this blog now has 125 feedburner subscribers.  My goal for this year is to reach 150, so if you like something I post, please share on Facebook or other social media sites.  Tell your friends.  Develop multiple personality disorder and subscribe twice.  Adopt an orphan from the third world and teach them English by reading them my posts on inbreeding.  Do it for the children!

Comments:
So far you’ve left 785 comments on the blog.  My goal for this year is to reach 919 comments (a prime number, ooooh) and I’ve installed “CommentLuv” to encourage you bloggers to advertise your posts and get traffic when you comment.  The 919th commenter will win a free copy of DogJoy so you can stalk my beautiful dogs even more than you do now.  Want more snark? Leave a comment.  Something I said really piss you off? Do tell.  Have a lead on a new topic for me to pounce on? Suggestions welcome.  I very much appreciate corrections, so if you think I’ve got it wrong, make the case.

Blog Roll:
If you’d like to appear on my Incoming! blog roll, just link to this blog or a post on your own blogroll or side bar.  If I don’t catch it right away, drop me a comment or an e-mail so I can include you on the list.  I know several of you dropped me off your blog rolls during my extended absence but haven’t put me back on since I’ve been back.  The current Incoming! Fan Club:

• BCxFour
• Confessions of A Pet Store Employee
• Desert Wind Hounds
• Dinsdale Schnauzers
• Dog-li-ness
• Flyball Blog
• Growing Up Border
• Hoof & Paw Blog
• Little Heelers
• Lochinbrae BCs
• Niagara Dogs
• Old Time Farm Shepherd
• Pet Connection
• Retrieverman’s Weblog
• Spot Check
• The Hairy Edge
• Time 4 Dogs
• Zephyr’s Zoo

This is my only blog roll and it’s so much easier on the ego linking back to people who already link here than trying to solicit link trades or what have you.  Why waste time flirting when you can just reciprocate the good will of others?  So if you thought I didn’t link to you because you suck, not so, just link to me and I’ll link back.

Product Reviews:
I guess the blog has reached some minimum threshold of size to be considered for product reviews (books, TV shows, pet supplies) and invitations to pet industry conventions. I’ve arrived!  I’m a firm believer in capitalism, free markets, and focused advertising but I can’t guarantee I’ll like your stuff just because you send it to me for free.  But I do appreciate companies that do community outreach looking for feedback and viral marketing… this is how it should work: responsive, in-touch companies meeting the needs of the community.  Some bloggers think this is “payola” but I don’t think you can really send me enough free stuff to lie for you.  The time it takes to test products and write up reviews is considerable and if your product sucks, the prospect of a “free” sample is rather crappy compensation.  Even if your product rocks, most dog products don’t cost enough to provide more than minimum wage renumeration for the time and effort it takes to review them.  If I like your stuff, hopefully you’ll agree to send out an additional free sample to a blog reader too.

Inspiration:
I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Scottie at Retrieverman for helping me improve the quality of the blog and for his relentless marketing of my posts.  I appreciate the camaraderie and leadership he’s taken in questioning the dog culture status quo and raising the level of the discussion from petty insults toward actionable solutions.  “Get a cat” and “adopt a shelter mutt” are not actionable solutions to the problems facing purebred dogs.

I’d also like to thank Jess at DesertWindHounds for being a role model as a breeder who is putting theory into action and spearheading the sort of breeding program that can keep both new and ancient breeds genetically healthy into the future.  Not only has she brought an awareness of the MHC complex into the dialogue but she’s also been a great source of advice and tips on breeding and raising dogs.

And of course, thank you to all the readers and active commenters, those who show up for Scottie’s chats and those who send e-mails.

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Comments and disagreements are welcome, but be sure to read the Comment Policy. If this post made you think and you'd like to read more like it, consider a donation to my 4 Border Collies' Treat and Toy Fund. They'll be glad you did. You can subscribe to the feed or enter your e-mail in the field on the left to receive notice of new content. You can also like BorderWars on Facebook for more frequent musings and curiosities.
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