Wendy Diamond's Rude Comments on Greatest American Dog Last Week!
 

Many of us were very angry with judge, Wendy Diamond's comments on America's Greatest Dog last week (which were reshown at the beginning of this weeks episode). http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/off...atest-dog.html She ridiculed one owner for dressing her dog and told her "A Dog is not a barbie. A dog is a dog." She insulted all of us who enjoy dressing our dogs with her comment, and it was rude and unneccessary.

Wendy Diamond is the Editor of Animal Fair Magazine. Not only did she make rude comments, but she is a hypocrit because there is plenty of video footage of her with her own dog, Lucky, in clothing!

If you were angered by her rude comments, please send an e-mail to the staff of Animal Fair magazine to let them know how you feel about their editor, Wendy Diamond. She needs to know that her comments were NOT OKAY!

Here is a list of the e-mail address for the staff members:

rsmith@animalfair.com
aleks@animalfair.com
sama@animalfair.com
kris@animalfair.com
puppylove@animalfair.com
lucky@animalfair.com
editor@animalfair.com
bizdev@animalfair.com
publicity@animalfair.com
yappy@animalfair.com

I plan to find a copy of a recent magazine as well and contact all dog clothing & accessory advertisers of their magazine to ask them to drop their advertisements with this magazine. If any of you are interested, let me know and I'll pass along their contact information when I get it.

What a hypocrite she is turning out to be! You bet, I'll email the staff of the magazine and will gladly contact the advertisers in the magazine.

You know, I don't care if people dress their dogs or not. But the fact that some choose to, shouldn't be a reason for others to be so critical.....what difference does it make to them?!?!

I think she made those comments on the show just for the drama....she might be sorry she opened this pandora's box!

I agree, I didn't like how she treated the contestant. But in a way I kind of understand her complaint. They were judged on manners & grooming. You can't see much of the grooming if she has clothes on.

I'm not condoning her actions, just my 2 cents.

I won't be watching this program anymore btw, just because of this.

Also, Cynthia (crb) started this thread on CBS's message board about Wendy Diamond being a Hypocrit and how rude how comments were. Feel free to comment Greatest American Dog Community Message Board - CBS.com

I just wanted to make it clear that no one is angry about the grooming aspect of the comments. If she had stopped with "we couldn't judge your dog for grooming because it was covered up" then that would be completely understandable. But her comment "A Dog is not a barbie. A dog is a dog," along with her attitude are what everyone is so angry about. And the other judges sure didn't help. The man said "a dog already has a fur coat" :rolleyes:

I see what you mean.

I think her remarks were only meant to be humiliating, not informative. I don't know if it's because of Simon Cowell's popularity that so many "judges" seem so belittling in their commentary, but you need a certain charm to pull that off. Her comment about dog's not being Barbie dolls suggests that people who dress their dogs trivialize them and treat them as some inanimate object, and I found this very offensive. You don't have to dress your dogs if you don't want to, but what's the point of belittling others who choose to do so. I wish they would use a little humor in their judging and not take themselves so seriously. I looked forward to seeing Bella's "outfits."

I was so disapointed that Bella wasn't dressed tonight? She looked like a different dog, and I liked seeing what she was wearing :(:(

Nancy, I think you hit the nail on the head....she is trying to be the "Simon Cowell" of the show. And she definitely didn't have the charm to pull it off!

Thankyou very much for that valuable information! Wendy used to have a show that was titled Lucky travels but it tanked. Personally I enjoyed it and Lucky was always in matching outfits with Wendy and enjoyed dogie spas.

rude comments
 

Right on! And by the way, Simon Cowell doesn't have the charm to pull it off either. I don't watch American Idol because of him.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was scripted for her to be this way and say those things------ unfortch:

production didn't do their research and she didn't enlighten them.

Here is my rant to the people working for the Mag.
 

In regards to the comment Wendy Diamond made on the Greatest American Dog show last week about dogs are not Barbies, dogs are dogs:

In almost every photo I could find of Diamond and Lucky , the dog Lucky was wearing some sort of clothing, coat or scarf.
Here is one example:
Wendy Diamond

I am sure Donna Karan, Vera Wang, Kate Spade, John Bartlett, Tommy Hilfiger, Pamela Dennis and Todd Oldham would be very disappointed to hear Diamond say that clothes are not for dogs since they so graciously made dog clothes for Diamond's fund raising efforts in the past.


Or What about this year's, (just 2 weeks ago!!! ) 9th Annual Paws for Style: Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Nautica etc.???
Its ok to spray a dog PINK for an ad but it is not ok to put a T-shirt on a dog?? Talk about supporting the fairness of animals! I have a 6 pound Yorkie that has hair NOT fur. She shivers when it is cold.

NOT only does Diamond dress her dog, but she and her dog have MATCHING Clothes!!!

AnimalFair.com | Events

I believe too that all of the current advertisers need to be made aware of her ridiculous comments and hypocritical attitude.


Lisa J.
Tampa FL

I will also email these people and let them know how I feel! I so agree that she is a hypocrite!

Like the new honda pilot commercial...she's "got my blood a boilin"..lol

Thanks for starting this thread. I'll be firing off a couple of emails myself. I think dressing our dogs is our own personal decision and shouldn't be belittled. :(

CBS Thread
 

Someone just posted this to my thread at CBS:

chaznee - a wrote:
You've apparently missed the other conversations regarding this...

The comments about not dressing a dog is completely valid. Just because its a booming industry does not make it right. The alcohol industry is a booming industry...does that mean that its completely healthy and has no side effects? Uh no. The tabacco industry is a booming industry...again doesn't make it right or healthy.

Anyone who has really spent time researching dogs, dog behavior, dog communication or any of that know that they were 100% right in their comments to Beth Joy. Despite the fact taht Wendy may be a hypocrite, the comments were spot on. Their are nuances that the untrained human eye will not pick up in a dogs body language and covering a dogs body does mask those nuances. Its one thing to put a dog in a sweater in the middle of the winter to keep them warm for their health...its a completely different story when its for the owners vanity and nothing else.

Children are abused every freaking day...does that mean that abusing your child is right? Absolutely postively freaking no way on earth is it. I know its not right of me to compare dressing a dog and abusing a child but the SOLE reason I'm using THAT comparison is that it gets the point across...just because it is popular (or common) does not mean that it is healthy or right.

This was my reply:

I have read numerous books on dog behavior, communication and how to read a dog and the most important signs of a dogs demeanor/attitude come from facial expressions, with the tail being next, not the torso of the body, which is the only part covered up by clothing. A happy dog will do a full body "wag", which you can definitely see under clothing. A dog who is about to attack, will stick their tail straight out, hold his head up, chest out, snarl, and have fierce looking eyes, the only thing you would not be able to see is the hair standing on their back, but with all the other signs a dog/person will know that it is an unfriendly dog.

And yes comparing dressing a dog to child abuse is absolutely ridiculous and in no way helps "sell your point". Dressing your dog is not abusing him/her, yes there may be some dogs that don't like it, however there are some children that don't like peas, if you make your child eat peas are you abusing them??? I think not!!!

I saw the posts on the forum and couldn't help but comment. I also emailed all of those on the list you provided, Michele. Here it is:

Hello,

It has come to my attention that the Editor, Wendy Diamond, of your magazine has recently made some rather rude comments to a pet owner on the new CBS show, "America's Greatest Dog". The comments were made in regard to a contestant's dog wearing a dress. Coming from someone that has had her own pet wear dog clothes before, she does come off as being a complete hypocrite.

The pet clothing industry no longer consists of only a few dog sweaters for those short-haired dogs during the winter months. Pet clothing has become a multi-million dollar industry in recent years, as you are well aware of, given the number of pet clothing manufacturers/vendors advertising in your magazine.

I think your magazine really would not want to be associated with someone that has most likely offended millions of pet owners by her disparaging comments. Also, your magazine's advertisers most likely would not want their customers to be told that dressing their pets is wrong.

I'm not a subscriber of your magazine (wasn't aware of it's existence, before this) and most likely will never be now, because of Ms. Diamond's comments. It's a shame too because not only do I spend thousands a year on pet clothing and supplies, I also spend a good sum on pet reading materials.

I wish we could put half of the energy that has been spent on this topic (a comment about dog clothes) and put it towards puppy mill legislature, stopping animal abuse, or just writing to a rescue group to say thanks.

Here is the email I sent to all of the contacts you posted in this thread:

Hello,
I recently watched an episode of Greatest American Dog on CBS where the judging was on obedience and grooming. I was very upset by Wendy Diamond's comments to the pet owner that had dressed her dog. While I understand the reason for the comment was to explain that the judges couldn't judge Bella Scarlett on her grooming because part of her was covered, I think Wendy went too far in her point and was condescending and attempting to humiliate the pet owner.

It further upset me when Wendy said "a dog is not a Barbie doll, a dog is a dog" when the pet owner was defending her reasons for dressing Bella in "appropriate attire" as instructed on the invitation. I have since seen videos of Wendy and her dog Lucky on different TV shows and Lucky has been dressed in each of those episodes. Why is it ok for Lucky to be dressed and not Bella? Is Lucky considered a Barbie doll since she is dressed up?

I think each owner has the choice to dress or not dress their pet as long as the dog is not in harms way by wearing the clothing or visually upset by wearing an outfit. I believe your magazine advertises for pet clothing and I would think some of your advertisers would also be offended by Wendy's comments as I was.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to my comments.

I will let you know if I receive a response (which I am doubting).

People CAN put their energy into two causes...how do you know those standing up for dog clothing AREN'T putting their energy into stopping puppymills and BYB's? We already do have some great threads going about what we can do to stop puppymills...this thread is about another topic though. If you have no interest in this cause, that's your right..but we have the right to stand up for our interests as well :)

I have spent time and money on purchasing and distributing puppy mill material (as posted on the puppy mill thread) and I have made plenty of donations to the ASPCA, I think we can all be passionate about more than one thing.

I can't believe the opinion of a few people could cause this much outrage. I agree with SimonandHallie wholeheartedly. It was an opinion, and they are entitled to it, just as you are. I think it's been blown way out of proportion. In todays world with the economy, the war, etc. the issue of 'to dress or not to dress' our babies seems very pale in comparison. I would want each one of you on my side campaigning for pulling the troops or lowering gas prices, and fighting puppy mills and abuse, but to the right to dress a dog somehow pales in comparison. It was an opinion. Aren't you glorifying the people who said it. Making them feel their opinion somehow is more important than it actually is? Just my thoughts.

I hope not to sound rude, but who is to say just because we are putting our time and energy into the "clothing comment" that we have not or don't put our energy into stopping puppy mills, animal abuse, our local shelters, or even other causes that are not even animal related also?

Thank you, I plan on writing an email and sending it tonight:thumbup:

Again I hope not to sound rude but as a moderator I am extremely upset at your comment. Everyone here is passionate about puppy mills and I am in the process of trying to shut one down where I live. Your comment is off subject of this thread and totally uncalled for. IMO I have been known to stand up for people being attacked on this forum but again I think what you just said was kind of wrong. Especially when this thread us supported by several donating members and you made ygrm sound like they are wasting time and space on something they are also passionate about.

Sorry for misspelled words I'm using my phones internet.

I am also saddened by this comment. I spend a lot of time talking with my YT friends and learning about yorkie care etc. In that comment, what I hear is that I am just wasting my time on YT too. That all my efforts to brighten peoples day or share stories or my input is just a waste of time and not nearly as important as my efforts to shut down puppymills or protest the war.:( I think moderators should be leaders and helping to keep the flow going and stepping in when things get out of hand. Critism should be constructive and well...not so critical.

I disagree, moderators are also members of YT and entitled to their opinion just as everyone else. No one wastes their time coming to YT, there is an endless wealth of knowledge here. No one is against ever dressing dogs, it's just the level of outrage for a couple of people's comments that I don't understand. Who cares what the people that made these comments think. There is an endless wealth of knowledge here. Let's show pics of our babies and talk about the cute things they've done today, or ask questions if something doesn't seem right. I could care less what Wendy whats her name thinks about it! Her opinion means nothing to me and influences my life in no way!
ETA. Moderators are just as passionate, if not more, about their animals, otherwise they wouldn't be moderators.

You're right, the moderators are entitled to their opinions. There is also a poll here today asking about thoughts on freedom of speech, taking responsibility for your posts, and hurting others feelings with your posts.

IMO, Kim has hurt feelings by her assuming because we care about the original topic of this thread that we can not also be passionate about and spend time and money on other causes. It was uncalled for.