As a breeder and trainer of Maremma Sheepdogs and farm owner with a variety of animals there's a lot to do and keep up with. I usually go out multiple times a day to take care of the animals as well as for quick checks on everyone. A little while ago I went out for one of those “quick checks” and it turned into a couple hour project that left me sweaty and muddy and not in the same mood I was in when I left the house.
First I decided to move the two litters of 12 week old puppies to a different pasture so they could get exposure to some different livestock as well as different sights and sounds in a new location. Unbeknownst to me there was a water trough that had been leaking a badly all day and had made a big mud hole. When I went to fix it I sank up past my ankles in mud, being lucky to get out without falling. Of course the puppies found the mud to be very exciting to play in and were soon covered in it. So much for my plan to photograph them for the website. 🤦🏻♀️😆 Next I decided to make a loop around the perimeter fence on my new Cricket Mini Golf Cart. I just got it this week and am finding it very useful for zipping from place to place, hauling feed and supplies and making quick checks on everyone. It's also great for doling out treats to all the dogs as they greet me at the fence. So while I was making my rounds a fight broke out between two young female dogs. One is in heat and it’s just a normal thing for girls in heat to be cranky. I probably should not have put them together but they normally get along so I thought they would be ok. It was, until it wasn't. I beeped on the horn to try to distract them with no luck, so I drove to the other side of the perimeter fence. By that point the fight was over and they were in separate corners, licking their minor wounds. So I separated them, to ensure we wouldn't have a repeat performance. No real damage done. Just hormonal teenaged girls acting out. While I was moving them I found one of my call ducks dead in the pasture behind the barn. Not in the same pasture these girls were in but in with three different young dogs. One is a 22 month old female and the others were 7 and 9 month old pups. Call ducks can fly so it probably wandered in where it didn't belong. I don’t know if the pups killed the duck or if it just died from some other cause and I found it there. It could’ve been either but it's very likely the pups decided to play with it and things got out of hand. Very sad for the duck. I do love these little ducks. But this is what I’m not going to do. I’m not going to write a post or make a video about how "bad" or what "disappointments" these two female dogs are for fighting. I won't call these three juvenile dogs "failures" or "badly bred" for possibly killing a duck. They are all just puppies and young dogs. They are behaving normally for their ages and developmental stages. So I’m not going to label them as failures because they are not failures. Nor will I compare these young dogs to my older, mature LGD's who rarely fight and wouldn't dream of killing a duck. That's not fair at all. That's like parents who compare one child to another. Reprehensible. Am I happy that I have a dead duck? No. Am I happy that my dogs got into a fight? No. But it would be very irresponsible of me if I did blame the dogs for their normal dog behavior, especially since I'm really the one to blame. I should have known not to put those two females together while one is in heat. I could maybe have done more to prevent the duck from wandering in with the pups. It's my responsibility as their owner to set my dogs up for success and to protect the dogs from each other and the livestock from rambunctious young dogs. Mistakes will happen so rather than beating myself up I'll learn to do better next time. But if I blamed the dogs for acting like dogs I would be guilty of betraying dogs that I love. And I will never do that, no matter how frustrated I get with them, and trust me, I do get frustrated sometimes. I'm only human. But even more importantly, because I am a breeder, trainer, farmer and a person people do look to for advice on LGD's it would be very, very irresponsible of me to blame my dogs for normal dog behavior, as well as for my own mistakes. And that's what Abby's owner either doesn't understand or doesn't care about. When people see you as an "expert" on a particular topic you have a great responsibility to be very careful what you do and say. It really can't be all about getting "clicks" and "likes". It can't be only about entertainment, making money, gaining followers, selling videos and T-shirts. Whether you have earned it or not, people are looking to you to help them make important decisions about their own animals, such as whether their perfectly normal puppy who may have killed a chicken, chased their goats too often or fought with another dog is worth keeping or not. Your words literally could mean the difference between life and death for innocent dogs. Are you going to sell those dogs out just to gain more money and fame? Or are you going to be responsible, encouraging and uplifting with your words? I know you will never hear me calling one of my dogs a "failure", a "disappointment" or a "bad dog". I implore Abby's owner to not only stop calling her those horrible names, but to remove those horrible videos where HE failed Abby from his channel. I know it will mess up his SEO and cost him money but so what? What's more important to him? Getting "clicks" and money and gaining followers? Or doing right by poor, sweet Abby and other innocent dogs like her? We shall find out. And remember, if you are bothered by this unfair treatment of Abby and other dogs like her, you have power, too. You can advocate for her. You can speak up. You can share my blog posts about her. You can demand he take down those abhorrent videos and not make any more. You can implore him to treat Abby better and to either seek professional help in training her or send her home. And you can unsubscribe, unlike and unfollow him. You have power to help Abby and dogs like her. You really do.
Mike Manders
8/2/2022 11:15:48 am
You'll have to provide the video title and timestamp where Morgan called Abby a disappointment and a bad dog. He did ask the question as part of his monologue, but the answer at the end was no.
Mars
8/2/2022 11:41:17 am
Idk, I've watched all the videos and even I kind of agree with her. I do believe Gold does love Abby unconditionally but Gold does actually put her picture up on the thumbnails and in big bold letters "DISSAPOINTMENT?" And yeah he says it a lot too. And when people suggest (and A LOT of people do suggest this) to put her in with the cows, he ignores those comments but obviously reads all others bc he brings them up in every other video. And when he was disappointed in Abby bc she killed chickens... well, he knew Abby didn't get along well with them so why constantly put her in that position.
Edgar
8/2/2022 02:28:38 pm
If you watched his videos, as you claimed you did, he has a logical explanation for why he does not put Abby with the cattle. The questions you pose demonstrate that you did not watch as all. Gold is a poultry farmer, he was hoping to have Abby become another Toby in that she would be a guard dog for poultry. Naturally, when training the dog would have to be around poultry; the issue is that Abby's temperament and instincts require more training. She can be a guard dog, but she isn't naturally suitable to become one like Toby. In regards to the title of the videos, it comes down to understanding Youtube. Videos with interesting thumbnails will garner views; it has nothing to do with the content itself but are aims to try to grab the viewers attention. Someone who was questioning whether to get a Maremma would not base their opinion on the thumbnail or title, but would sit down and watch videos. In Gold's videos, he clearly explained that he loves Abby, would continue to work with her, and is not a disappointment. The idea that Gold is a bad dog owner, or is choosing the videos over his dog are unfounded claims; it just demonstrates that people don't understand Youtube at all.
Grace
8/2/2022 03:54:38 pm
Do you expect him to comment on ever question asked? If so, I hope you are willing to flip the bill for the time it would take him. He would have to hire help if that's the case. Watching any of his videos, you would see how much he loves Abby, just because she is not a good chicken/duck dog does not mean she is a bad pet. She has more room to roam then most pet dogs do.
li
8/2/2022 04:54:06 pm
please take a look at his recent video
Mars
8/4/2022 09:02:49 am
I see no one actually read my comment or watched his last video. If they did then they are just seeing what they want to see and just making trouble for the sport of making trouble. In my experiences these types of people actually don’t care about animals, they just want an excuse to yell and belittle someone.
Frank
8/4/2022 03:34:24 pm
Such an amazing Breed that have learned to use YouTube! I'm sure Abby was heartbroken when she saw those thumbnails. You're trying to disguise your nosy tone policing as some sort of Noble concern for animals. He should just give up on his LGD because of early setbacks? He clearly Loves his dog and treats her well. Stop pretending an LGD is your Para-social house pet.
Kim
8/5/2022 06:51:38 pm
Thank you. You are exactly right
Michelle Banach
8/2/2022 12:20:33 pm
Hello,
Kim
8/2/2022 05:30:20 pm
Do not agree with you but I appreciate your opinion.
Kim
8/5/2022 06:52:37 pm
He doesn’t have to blame me as a Breeder. He has his followers to do it for him.
Molly
8/2/2022 01:15:13 pm
I really enjoyed the first part of this article where you offer insight into your own experience and 'failures' with mixing young LGDs and poultry. It was fair to draw a comparison between your own attitude towards this incident and another farmers attitude towards a similar one. Even taking an argumentative stance and criticizing him was reasonable, because hey you are in your right to express your opinion. I was totally with it.
Kim
8/2/2022 05:32:07 pm
I appreciate your opinion. However I believe he is very dangerous and I think people should call him out. And considering the attacks I’ve been receiving in the last day or two he is definitely the one calling people to action to attack. And remember he started this. And remember he is the man who picks fights with everybody. Maybe my mistake was that I should not have engaged him. Maybe I should have just ignored him. But I feel like I had to stand up for Abby and for other dogs like her.
Angie
8/2/2022 08:55:23 pm
Agree. Also the fact that completely fair, polite, constructive critical comments keep going missing from the comment section here is alarming.
Kim
8/2/2022 09:05:39 pm
I am deleting comments that I feel are not helpful and that are just hurtful. It’s my blog I can delete what I want. And I am also on my phone so I might be deleting some by accident that I did not intend to delete.
Kim
8/5/2022 04:29:23 am
I initially deleted the comments because I didn’t want trash on my blog. But I let them all back in so that the world can see what kind of people Morgan Gold encourages.
Edgar
8/2/2022 02:19:42 pm
I understand that you're not used to this much attention, but as a person who claims to love Maremma's, and is judging Gold on this thumbnails and titles, you should also take accountability. I am not sure if this is a main source of income for you, but an ethical dog breeder would be transparent and open to their flaws, not try to minimize warning signs in order to make profit. The genetic issue, Abby's energetic personality, and the apparent lack of true desensitization to poultry should have been enough signs to not have sold the dog to Gold. Furthermore, you make claims that are really unfounded but are being made due to your need to "defend" yourself. You say that Gold is rude for questioning if Abby is a failure, but then state that everyone should reach out to his sponsors in order to cancel him? So one should have empathy for a dog being called a name in a video title, but not for a farmer? You should take responsibility for the comments you put out as well; they are unfounded and if multiple buyers have had issues with you, perhaps the outside individuals are not the issue but you, yourself?
Kim
8/2/2022 05:33:59 pm
Breeding dogs is not a main source of income for me. It is simply some thing I love. And my comments are because I believe what he is doing is wrong and dangerous and I am advocating for Abby and other dogs like her. If you don’t agree with me that’s fine. But everybody has a right to their own opinion.
Chantalle
8/2/2022 03:04:13 pm
I can’t help but feel like this perceived slight is being used as an opportunity to bolster the viewership of your own farm. Now you’ve caught yourself in a bit of internet drama and are looking to capitalize.
F
8/2/2022 03:46:35 pm
"I know you will never hear me calling one of my dogs a "failure", a "disappointment" or a "bad dog". I implore Abby's owner to not only stop calling her those horrible names, but to remove those horrible videos where HE failed Abby from his channel."
Grace
8/2/2022 03:59:49 pm
He never has. Watch his videos. This person is trying to take away his livelihood because he made a comment about the dog he bought from her not being up to par with breed standards.
Kim
8/2/2022 05:36:05 pm
Instead of answering each of the fans individually I will answer you all collectively. My beliefs and opinions are my own and I have a right to say them. I am not trying to make money or sell videos or get clicks or whatever else you think. I actually have a business to run. But I also feel that I have a great responsibility to advocate for the dogs I breed as well as other dogs like them. So that is what these posts about.
Max
8/2/2022 06:16:02 pm
Just because you have a right to an opinion doesn’t make them any less delusional.
Kim
8/3/2022 10:14:49 pm
https://youtu.be/oTrb0ROWTQ0
Mark
8/4/2022 01:21:26 pm
OK so, riddle me this, you've directly called people to action in this very blog entry, but when Morgan tells his viewers to NOT contact you AFTER you explicitly called your blog readers to action, you claim it's like Jan 6th all over again? Ya can't just sicc people on others and then get offended when they don't retaliate in the same lowly manner.
Kim
8/5/2022 04:30:33 am
Well considering how much more traffic my blog has gotten since Morgan told people not to bother me I think my point has been made. Comments are closed.
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AuthorAuthor Hi I'm Kim. I love all animals but goats and dogs are my favorites so I built a business around them, breeding miniature dairy goats and Maremma Sheepdogs. I love sharing my passion and knowelege of these amazing creatures with others. Archives
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