#american spitz

[dogfancier]

Flossie (esquimaux dog) 1907

[theartdaleterrier]

Ran out of cards 😅

[p5kun-luvr-69]

Fuck it we scottie posting

[squidjee]

[doggiedrawings]

Dog breed names

Dog breed names are very arbitrary. The Great Dane is really from Germany, the Australian Shepherd is from America, the Labrador Retriever is not from Labrador... and so on. Dog breed names also change over time (A German Shepherd Dog used to be called an “Alsatian”), and they are different depending on which country or kennel club you listen to. Dog breed names tell us more about people than about the dogs themselves.

It has come to my attention that some dog breed names are racial slurs. Some words we take for granted are derogatory labels given by colonizers to groups or nations of people they colonized. These are culturally insensitive, triggering words. They may have no effect on me personally but that is not the point.

Dog trainer Grisha Stewart (via this facebook post ):

Here’s the thing about culturally (in)sensitive terms: the person or group being harmed by it is the only one who knows if it’s triggering, if it feels hurtful or not. To do otherwise is gaslighting.

If we care about a person or group of people, we make whatever healthy choices we can to avoid hurting them, and only they can tell us what hurts.

For example, say you have a girlfriend and you call her honeybear. That triggers her PTSD because kids at school beat her up with a honey bear (bear-shaped bottle filled with honey) and it became her nickname. So she asks you not to call her that. It doesn’t make her feel loved, quite the opposite.

It’s not your intention to hurt her. It’s not your fault that it happened. You’re not a bad person, you just didn’t know. But once you know that it feels painful to hear that name, it would be unkind and counterproductive to keep using it.

Here are dog breed names that are culturally-insensitive:

AMERICAN ESKIMO* 

Non-racist alternatives: American Spitz, White German Spitz

People in many parts of the Arctic consider Eskimo a derogatory term because it was widely used by racist, non-native colonizers. (source)

CANADIAN ESKIMO*

Non-racist alternative: Inuit Qimmiq 

The word qimmiq is being used because it’s the language of the people that developed the dog in the first place. And understanding that the Inuit have always referred to the dog as qimmiq, it came fairly easily in the discussion.  (source)

SAMOYED*

Non-racist alternative: Nenet Laika

Samoyed means self-eater or cannibal in Russian....it is a word that applies to the Nenets in much the same way the n-word applies to African-Americans. (source)

Although I am not able to change the names that are on already-printed Dogs of the World posters, this is what I will keep in mind for the next print edition.

- Lili

RELATED READING:

https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/featured/decolonisation-and-natural-science-collections/

[pandakong]

Doggust Day #17 - American Spitz

[eskiworks]

In the silent white forest, an eternal playground of infinite possibilities, a newfound friend appears!  Nym's younger brother Lapi explores the woods during his favorite season, and finds a playful chickadee spirit to play chase with.  Lapi is based off my childhood dog, Wolfy, and he's the only character who is safe from harm in the story.  I just wanted a place where he would live forever in a way, and be able to indulge in all manner of tasty foods, snow-filled winters, and tons of playtime!

This piece was made possible by the support of my patrons on Patreon, thank you guys!  <3

My Patreon

[fluffytales]