Category Archives: bloggy business

Peeking under the tree at the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange

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Fuzzy dog noses and whiskers on kittens. Lighthearted musings and blog posts that are written. The Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange and all that it brings. These are a few of my favorite things.

Seriously, those are some of my favorite things. Especially the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange, which is happening right now (and which I’m honored to be co-hosting alongside the founding blog, Something Wagging This Way Comes). The PBGE (if you’ll allow me the acronym) is, to put it bluntly, magical. Instead of worrying about shopping malls and spending money, pet bloggers give each other the gift of encouragement and blog love. What could be better?

Cream colored puppies and bloggers with poodles. Bulldogs and Great Danes and four Goldendoodles. Greyhounds that snooze while a Beagle howl-sings. These are my favorite things.

This year, I’ve been paired up with Laura from The Puppy Tails. (Love the blog name, right?) I’m still working on my gift, but in the meantime I encourage you to stop by her blog and say hi. (And follow her on Twitter. She’s awesome, you guys. And her dogs are insanely cute. Insanely.)

Cats in white sweaters with protesting scratches. Dog hair that stays on my nose and eyelashes. Brown and white furballs and birds on the wing. These are my favorite things.

Have you signed up yet? If not, what are you waiting for? (If you still need convincing, please see this unassailable argument in favor of participating. I may be biased about the persuasiveness of that post, however.) You can sign up until December 20.

When the dog whines, when my spirit won’t lift, When I’m feeling sad, I think of the pet bloggers exchanging a gift, And then I don’t feel so bad.

Need some inspiration? Check out the gifts that are already under the PBGE tree:

Continue reading →

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Why should you step out from behind that camera? Here’s why.

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Meet the Pet Bloggers HopIf you scour my blog, you might find one photo of me. That’s pretty much it.

I was having a conversation with a few blogging friends the other day, and it turns out that I’m not alone on that front.

As bloggers – particularly pet bloggers – we spend a lot of time behind the camera, but not that much in front of it. We post countless photos of our furballs and share all sorts of personal stories, but – for some of us, at least – it’s pretty rare that our faces grace the hallowed HTML of our own blogs.

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Top 5 reasons to join the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange

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The holidays are approaching. Much like Santa – and Type A personalities everywhere – you will probably make a list, check it twice, make a second list, check it thrice, make a sublist or two related to those lists, enlist your elves to make sure you didn’t forget to add something to the list(s), like taking photos of the reindeer for your holiday cards…

Oh, just me? (Some people get visions of sugarplums in their heads. I just get visions of to-do lists. I’m festive like that. ‘Tis the season to be crazy, after all.)

Well, um, even if you’re not quite as neurotic as Santa, you might find yourself busy with holiday-related tasks. The stress might start to slither in like the Grinch trying to snatch a roast beast. It’ll start to weigh you down.

via giphy.com

Fortunately for you, there’s a solution to your convolution. Some salvation for your situation. Welcome to the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange. It’s like a big virtual hug from a friend. You’ll give (and get) the gift of encouragement and blog love this holiday season. You just have to sign up. Continue reading →

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Honest movie summaries: Dog edition

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Movie summaries intrigue me. It’s a challenge to condense two hours of action into one or two sentences. I admire those who can cut through the fluff and do it with a bit of flair. (Case in point: once I read this blurb, I was never able to look at the Wizard of Oz the same way again. Even Siri has gotten into the act.)

Hence, today’s post. I’ve taken a stab at a few of my own, inspired by some cinematic canines (and one adorably corrupt feline). Some of these movies I love, some I don’t… but they’re all getting the business today. Continue reading →

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Flipping off cancer… the canine way

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Give Cancer the Paw

I’ll admit… when I first saw that there was a blog hop entitled “Give Cancer the Paw,” I thought we were basically flipping it off. You know, a canine twist on giving something (or someone) the finger.

Yeah, I’m classy like that.

For my more sheltered and innocent readers (do I have any of those?), by that I mean:

Giving the finger, verb: (1) Flipping off someone or something (“flipping the bird“); (2) Expressing displeasure using an agreed upon hand signal involving the middle finger; (3) Evaluating a fellow motorist’s driving ability; (4) practicing hand calisthenics while also sending a message;

or

noun: (1) Beloved gesture of irritated motorists everywhere; (2) Reliable pose for rebellious former child stars trying to be edgy.

I mean, it kind of fits. People are always standing up to cancer or walking for a cure. Why not flip it off too? I can think of plenty of instances where I’d like to tell cancer to shove it where the sun don’t shine. Whenever it takes away someone you love (be it person or pet), it sucks. It sucks bully sticks.

November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month – it’s a good time to educate yourself about canine cancer and this blog hop is a great way to start. The Give Cancer the Paw Blog Hop is hosted by Peggy’s Pet Place and Pooch Smooches. Visit those blogs for more information about canine cancer, and be sure to check out the other blogs participating in today’s hop. They’re full of information about prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and more – including personal stories and support.

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#K9Kamp: The little engine that did

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k9kamp canine fitness blog challenge

This… this was a month. A busy one.

You may recall that October’s K9 Kamp challenge was to do more – specifically, to get active with your dog for an extra 30 minutes a few times per week. You may also recall that I found this challenge a bit daunting, given how busy my month was shaping up to be.

So, how did it go? Well, I did not meet my own personal fitness goals, given that I haven’t seen the inside of my gym since September. (Here’s hoping that November will be better.) I ate pretty poorly this month. I had no motivation. I got off to a really slow start with K9 Kamp, having a lot of trouble squeezing in those extra minutes. I wasn’t sure how I would explain it all to you here on the blog.

via giphy.com

(That GIF, by the way, is from the show Being Erica. If you have not seen it, you are totally missing out. Thank you, Canada. I was lucky that a friend turned me on to this show so that I could catch it when it aired on SOAPnet, but I believe you can still buy or download it. Anyone else a fan?)

Anyway, it turns out that doing more with the dogs is easier than getting myself to the gym. It’s also easier than resisting a delicious cookie. Thank goodness!

Once I realized that I didn’t have to do all of those minutes at once (thanks, Kol’s Notes!), the challenge seemed more achievable. A game of tug here, a game of fetch (or my dogs’ version of it, which is not really fetch at all) there, and the minutes added up before I knew it. So, I guess the lesson from this round of K9 Kamp is that even when you’re busy, it can be done!

With that, another session of K9 Kamp has come to a close. Would I do it again?

via giphy.com

The llama has spoken. I’ll see you next time, fellow Kampers. How did you get active with your dog this month?

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#K9Kamp: The Movie

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Tavish makes his debut as a film star, with an assist from Bella…

We tend to rate Tavish’s energy level on any given day using a sliding scale of Tavishes. One Tavish is pretty energetic. On occasion, I’ve rated him at about fifteen Tavishes. So, it should come as no surprise that he’s making sure we keep moving this month. He’s like an adorable drill sergeant.

Are you participating in K9 Kamp this month? How’s it going for you?

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#BtC4A: Turning shelter dogs into social butterflies?

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Blog the ChangeIt’s time for yet another edition of Blog the Change for Animals. This time around, I thought I’d talk about dog socialization and the ways in which shelter dogs can benefit from being socialized. Sometimes, socialization at the shelter can make a huge difference in the life of a dog.

I was inspired to write about this topic today because of a program that’s currently going on at Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA), a local no-kill shelter (and the reason I have a Tavish snoring by my side). FOHA has started play groups for some of the dogs – they get together weekly to work on socialization.  The play groups often result in fun videos like this one:

I love that FOHA focuses on dog socialization. It’s a great way to get the dogs out of their runs and to let them learn how to interact with people and other dogs in a relaxed setting. While this type of group might not work for every dog, it can help prepare some dogs for their future adoptive families. Structured play groups can enrich the lives of dogs while they are in the shelter. In addition, these type of groups can be useful for training and assessment. Finally, they can give shelters a chance to show off some of their adoptable pups having fun and being adorable (like the dogs in the video above).

I’m far from an expert on this issue, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you have any experience with shelter play groups? Would you be interested in implementing this sort of program at your local shelter? For more information about play groups, check out Playing for Life!, a training and behavior program focused on this issue.

I’m not the only one blogging the change for animals today. Check out these other great posts:

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I’ve got 99 problems, but #K9Kamp ain’t one

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You have no idea how much I’m dying to change that “ain’t” to an “isn’t” – I’m feeling twitchy about it. Really twitchy. Anyway…

So, as you may have noticed, posts have slowed a bit around these parts. September and October have teamed up to kick my ass, but not in a useful, personal trainer way. Instead, they’ve just conspired to keep me from relaxing and having any free time to recharge and work on the blog. (Don’t get me wrong – some of the busy is fun or fun-adjacent. Some of it, however, is the opposite of that.)

In addition to September and October refusing to pack in a few more days so I can get things done, other forces have conspired to keep me from my gym, which is currently closed for the foreseeable future. I was finally in a routine, too. Le sigh. So, I’m basically a hot mess right now on all fronts.

k9kamp canine fitness blog challenge

Enter K9 Kamp.

This month’s challenge? Do more.

Um…

I’ll admit – my first instinct upon learning this month’s challenge was to turn off my laptop, put it in a box, put that box in the closet, secure that closet with a padlock, and swallow the key. (My second instinct was to return the padlock and key and purchase a combination lock instead. Why swallow a key – a key, people – when I could just tear up the paper with the combination?) The idea of somehow doing “more” this month seemed… daunting. (Heck, even this post is late.)

However, my crippling Internet addiction weighed against placing my laptop in quarantine, so here I am. Also, considering the gym embargo, I most certainly do need to be doing more. This month, K9 Kamp is encouraging its campers (kampers?) to get active with your dog, 30 to 40 minutes extra, three to four times per week. The theme is fitness fun and games. Bella was excited when tug appeared on that list, so I guess I have no choice but to go for it. I’m working on a plan to get moving…

Will you be joining us at Kamp? Head on over to Kol’s Notes and Peggy’s Pet Place to find out more about this session and to find out how you can win some great prizes, including some fabulous handmade jewelry from For Love of a Dog.

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Barking about books: The Dieting with My Dog Guide to Weight Loss and Maintenance

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dwmd guide cover small sept 13

Click to order!

Today, I have a special treat for you. My friend Peggy Frezon, the author of Dieting with My Dog, is back with a new book. Today, this blog is the next stop on her virtual book tour. Welcome to the Fun & Furry, Fit & Healthy Blog Tour!

I had the chance to ask Peggy a few questions about her new book. While composing the questions, I was engaged in a bout of stress eating (unrelated to that activity). I guess that’s somewhat appropriate. (Seriously folks… if stress eating is ever made into an Olympic event, I will win all the medals. In both the singles and team events. Sad but true.)

Perhaps Peggy – along with her dogs Kelly and Ike – can help me put down the cookies and pick up a leash or a dog toy instead!

Anyway… to the interview! Continue reading →

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