Forum Guidelines 2024

Forum Guidelines Updated 2024

The forum guidelines have been set up to protect the forum, keep the forum a happy place and to ensure it continues to support positive reinforcement training, provide appropriate advice and information for inexperienced dog owners, and to promote high standards in dog welfare (including evidence based healthcare for dogs). (see terms of service for additional information)


When To Start A New Thread

Please don't resurrect old (inactive for several months) threads, unless there is something new or important to add to them.

It's usually best to reply to a current thread or create your own new thread.

Why We May Change Content

Forum moderators may delete posts or entire threads if they feel that those posts or threads undermine our objectives.

Moderators may move or edit content to make it easier to find and / or read.

Please ensure your post title describes the topic clearly, titles may be amended at mods discretion.

What do we mean by content?

Content includes the text and media you post on the forum, both within your posts and private messages (conversations)

It also includes your username, avatar, and profile. A link to your own website is permitted in your signature.


Reporting Inappropriate Content

Mods are not able to read every post and effective moderation of the boards relies on participation of members in reporting posts that break these guidelines.

You’ll find a report button at the top of every post.

Prohibited Content

Prohibited content that is likely to be deleted (there may be overlap between these categories) includes but is not limited to:

• Anything that we consider may be illegal
• Hateful, racist, inflammatory, obscene, shocking, defamatory or offensive content
• Commercial links, links to social media accounts and forums, spamming, advertising, propaganda, or promoting of causes.
• Promotion of punishment based training, pseudoscience,underage puppies
• Diverting topics into the private message system or away from the forum
• Copyright protected material including text and images
• Personal attacks, hounding and bullying
• Trolling, threads about threads, and vexatious posting, vexatious reporting
• Anything that we consider might harm the forum

What do we mean by promoting a cause?

Asking other members to take some action in support of you or in support of another person, organization, charity, political party, religious group etc. Asking for votes, likes, donations, followers, responses to a survey, signatures on a petition. Asking for money or posting in a way that implies you want others to give you money.

What do we mean by personal attacks, or hounding and bullying

• Making a comment about a person’s character instead of referring to the evidence or facts of the argument at hand is a personal attack.
• Repeatedly targeting unwanted posts at another forum member is hounding.
• Referencing another person’s posts, or posting about another person for the purpose of humiliating or embarrassing them is bullying.

What do we mean by trolling, threads about threads & vexatious posting and reporting

Posting content aimed at disrupting the forum, starting arguments, or upsetting forum members is trolling.

A thread posted to restart a topic that has been locked or deleted by the mods team is a “thread about a thread”.

Vexatious posts are those intended to harm the forum, by driving other members away. Repeatedly reporting posts by a particular individual in order to upset the poster or annoy the mods team is vexatious reporting.

How we prevent nuisance members spoiling the forum

If a post is deleted the member responsible will automatically be given one warning point. If a member accumulates three warning points their account will be suspended for two days.

Penalties for posting inappropriately increase with the number of warning points that accumulate.

Moderators may increase warning points or durations of bans, or impose permanent bans where necessary.

Members that post content which breaches the rules, or who support others that do so, may have their posts moderated for a period of time.

Multiple accounts are not permitted and members that have had their accounts closed or deleted may not rejoin without written permission from the forum administrator

The forum terms of service also apply to all those using the forum. You can find more information about the forum on our about us page