New Folks! Please read!

Exactly -- I think this EVERY time I try to answer a post on allergies -- particularly contact allergies (which it seems like NO one ever thinks of at a vet's office -- it's such an obvious thing!) -- even something like "a rural area of Delaware" or "somewhere in Rhode Island" -- that's not going to tell where you are unless you are using your 'real' name in your email (which I personally tend to think is dumb because then ANYbuddy can find you any time at all!!). 
 
I haven't gone by my 'real' name online in years -- since the beginning really ... but telling folks I'm in a suburb of Orlando would make me findable in a city even of THIS size. 
 
My point is, I don't blame you for not wanting to give people a path to your door -- but certain things about where you live help SOOOOOO much -- like:  urban or country, what state and what part of the state (e.g. - there's a whole different Climate in Miami vs. Jacksonville, FL -- but knowing someone is in cent. Florida is a huge help and knowing "suburban" or "country" tells us a ton about the availability of vets, how far you may be from a good vet school, what climate, what plant life is indiginous, what your seasons/weather may be like NOW, etc.
 
It also avoids dumb suggestions like -- I'm not going to tell someone miles from any urban area to 'shop around' for the best deal on specialty dog foods -- but I might suggest a good online source.  It just plain saves time and people's effort.

ORIGINAL: cakana

Just as a precurser I'm famous in my house for saying we have no milk or what ever and having my wife walk up and point to it - so basiaclly sorry if it is right infront of my face!

My husband does the exact same thing [].  If you click on "my profile" at the top of any page and you see the box "from:"  In there is where you can type where you live.

 
OMG - thats embarrasing! LOL [] Don't put things right infront of my nose, I'll never find them!
 
Anyway, thanks Cakana!

hello everyone thanks for this post l forgot to edit my profile just did it thanks again

ORIGINAL: jeano

I'm not an admin, and this is just my opinion, BUT

It makes it much easier to help you if you fill in the FROM part of your profile, so that we at least know which state, province or country (if in a country other than USA or Canada) you are from. You can put your state or province, you can put your town, and state, you can put NE Washington, for instance, that still gives far more information. No one is going to stalk you here, general location is all that is needed! []

WHY is this so important? Well......there are many, many people asking for breed recommendations and other help, and it's very hard to answer those questions without knowing where you are.

Climate has a lot to do with care of dogs. Indoor/outdoor, doghouse questions, grooming questions, food questions....

Local laws are different everywhere. Questions about what's okay and what's not okay, reportable, etc. can't be answered with any real data unless we know where you are and a member from that area knows the answer.

Breeds of dogs vary by locale. If you want to know the breed of a mystery hound, and you post a picture, it helps to know where you are because in Australia there are kelpies, in the US, there are very few, for instance.

Resources for help vary greatly over geographic areas. Dog parks, clubs, veterinarians, specialty clinics at universities, foods, etc. all vary greatly and you have more of a chance of gettting an answer from someone close to you who really KNOWS what's around if you post where you are.

Jaime, if you have anything to add to this please do! Or if you want to add this to the new folks section go ahead. []

Thanks for the tip.  You have a good point.  I went back to my profile, found I had not filled it it and added it.

i agree with you jeano....and you are right, all the reasons you gave are correct, that kind of information does make a difference...
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i went and looked at "my profile" but couldn't find a place that asked for where i live.  what am i missing?