You make me laugh (or smile), the funny, sweet, loving things my dogs do that bring a smile to my face or a laugh to my lips.
Delilah, the way you take a toy and flirt with the camera….
You make me laugh.
She has to be in the right mood to pose for the camera and those times are usually the ones where I can’t get a decent picture because her eyes are glowing!
What’s your secret to taking a great photo of your pet, without the glowing eyes?
Welcome to the 5th Annual Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by Go Pet Friendly.
This is my third or fourth year participating in this challenge. Seriously I could look it up, but right now I’m too lazy, so let’s just say three and jump into the questions, okay?
1. How long have you been blogging? And, for anyone stopping by for the first time, please give us a quick description of what your blog is about.
I celebrated (with no fanfare mind you) my fourth blogaversary (really, how do you spell that?) on December 1, 2014. Heart Like a Dog is a personal blog where I write (mostly) about life with my two lovable labs, Sampson and Delilah. At times there is drama and sadness but I do try and infuse my crazy sense of humor when sharing some of the (let’s call a spade a spade) bizarre outrageous insane situations I find myself in with these two nutty dogs.
Who you calling nutty?
2. Tell us one thing that you accomplished on your blog during 2014 that made you proud.
In September the Caring for Critters Round Robin took place. Forty two bloggers participated with over fifty posts! Those posts are all linked on the Community Page of this blog. I’m so proud at what we accomplished together and while I’m sad when someone needs to use it, I’m so grateful the page is there for those looking for some support.
3. What lessons have you learned this year – from other blogs, or through your own experience – that could help us all with our own blogs?
Have I learned any lessons? (Honestly, I’m quite dense sometimes.) Can I read everyone else’s response before I answer this?
4. What have you found to be the most successful way to bring traffic to your blog, other than by writing great content?
Shit! This is a lot harder than I remember. Truthfully when I stopped expecting this blog to make money, I stopped worrying about the traffic. BUT I have discovered that you have to expose your blog to many different venues. What I mean is, don’t be afraid to try new things. Join a different blog hop, add your voice to a Round Robin. Also, if you have a feature on your blog you’re not loving anymore, let it go. If your heart is in what you are doing, it will show, and it will bring traffic to your blog.
Reach out to other bloggers and bounce ideas off them. See if you can combine your creativity.
5. What was your most popular blog post this year? Did it surprise you that it was your most popular?
My most popular post was Five Pills in One Gulp. Don’t ask me why it was popular, maybe a lot of my readers give multiple pills to their dogs? And yes, it did surprise me. I have some damn funny posts and that one was serious!
6. What was your favorite blog post to write this year?
I like writing the funny posts and to me, nothing is funnier than poop, so I’d have to say, “The Grimm Business of Poopies.”
7. Has your policy on product reviews and/or giveaways changed this year?
My policy on product reviews has not changed. I really feel like I should be paid for sharing a product with my readers, HOWEVER if I really love the product or the incentive is great I will do a review. This past year I think I had four reviews, which is a lot for me.
If you do reviews, what do you find works best, and what doesn’t work at all?
If I’m not getting paid to do a review, I do like to be able to offer something to my readers in the way of a giveaway.
If you don’t do reviews, is this something you’d like to do more of? What hurdle is getting in your way?
8. What’s your best piece of advice for other bloggers?
Stay true to yourself and if you aren’t loving what you are doing, don’t be afraid to try something new.
9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2015?
Ideally it would grow, really, really big. So big I’d be making mad money and I could stay home and spend time with the pups. Baring the blog exploding, I think it would have to be continue to develop and grow my readership.
10. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one challenge you’re having with your blog, what would it be?
How do I get my blog to grow really, really big? 🙂
Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.
I’m going to apologize up front y’all, this post is long. It was already over 900 words before I started responding to comments, but there were some awesome comments!
Emma said, “At the end of the walk, we wait until we come in the house and Mom almost has the towel over us and then shake. It makes Mom all wild and crazy…something about snow everywhere. We think she loves it because she gets to clean the floor at that point.
”
LOL Emma, you girls are so nice to help your mom clean the house.
Frankie and Ernie asked, “OMD there is SNOW on you…. Where are your COATS??? ”
We still don’t have coats! I need to talk to my sister-in-law and see if she can make us some.
Monika said, “Sam generally wears a ‘coat’ and boots if the white stuff is too deep to keep the ice balls at bay (he is a wuss, remember 
) and rain or snow, he totally channels Taylor Swift…Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake…I shake it off, I shake it off. ”
BWA HA HA, do you sing that when he does?
Blueberry’s Human said, “We don’t get much snow here, but the one year we did, a single flake landed on her and she shook herself like a mound of snow had landed on her.”
LOL she’d never survive up here.
Well here’s the sad thing. Amazon only ships to the States. WTF Amazon? I’m hoping that once Steve gets his website up and running he will get something worked out so everyone in the world that wants to try this will be able to. Remember the giveaway is open through Sunday, so make sure you enter!
Kathryn said, “You definitely need Jack Wolfskin gloves.”
OMG I do. AND they have little paw prints on them. SQUEEEEEE, except I haven’t been able to find them in the states. 🙁
Blueberry’s Human said, “I wish I lived near you. On windy days, I would totally hide in those woods and in the eeriest, sing-song voice I could muster, you would hear, “JOOOOOOOODDDDIIIIIIII…JOOOOOOODDDIIIIII…YOU ARE NOT ALONE JODI…”. Bahahahahaha – of course, Sampson would probably totally find me and give away my location. Maybe you can get one of those life-alert doohickeys. I’d certainly look into it given that your dogs don’t seem overly compassionate and I can totally see them leaving you in the woods with a heavy branch across your chest. ”
HA HA HA oh that would freak me out and when I found you…..but yes, Sampson would definitely find you.
Jan K said, “When I got home from work yesterday, a few things were askew in the house, and I know it’s because the dogs (especially Sheba) were freaked out by the wind.”
It was so windy and then it was windy again on Wednesday. Poor Sampson he was so freaked out he had to be touching one of us all night. If we left the room he’d jump up and follow us with his tail tucked between his leg. My poor puppy, his tail is usually in one of three positions 1) up and happy 2) flat out and wagging or 3) wrapped around his body. It breaks my heart to see it tucked.
Sampson tucked his nose in so it was touching my hand.
2 Brown Dawgs said, “One day when hubby was out hunting the wind was pretty strong. He had no big trees around his ground blind but he had to walk past big trees to get to it or back to his truck. I said: don’t get hit by a falling tree or branch. They really need to go through that part of the forest and clear cut or really really thin it there are so many dead trees. He fluffed it off. Well walking out after dark he heard a giant branch fall very close to him. Next morning he realized it just missed him. That is why I make sure the life insurance is paid up. ”
What a scary thing to happen. But I did laugh about the life insurance comment.
Emma said, “On a serious note, last summer a real active woman (like mom, runner, walker, can’t sit still) not too far from here was walking her dog with a friend in the woods and bam. A tree fell, missed the friend, barely missed the dog, and the woman dead instantly.”
Geez, that’s awful! But I agree with mom, when your ticket is up…
Pamela said, “Sailors have a saying you’ll appreciate. They call the weather we’ve had recently “blowing like stink.” I have a different image of Delilah if you were hit by a fallen branch, btw. I see her leash getting caught on a huge log and carving a path of destruction as she goes on her merry way. Sorry, it makes me smile. But I’m not really wishing any ill toward you.”
I do like that saying and I appreciate you meaning no ill will, but I hate to burst your bubble, Delilah is actually the dog who would come back and see what happened. She’s a very caring girl. 🙂
Jen Gabbard said, “Laika is not a fan of eerie sounding wind. Like Sampson I find her going from window to window, trying to find out what’s making that creepy sound.”
Poor little guys, you gotta feel for them!
Beth said, “My gloves are anything but good, but they are warmish. I get the Old Navy fleece gloves–they hold up fairly well, but they do absorb the smell of salmon treats, so I have to make sure I don’t accidentally put them on when I go somewhere without Barley, and if you have to wipe snow off the pups’ paws, they get wet, but they are way better than nothing and I think they’re less than $10, so it’s not a big loss if they take a beating.”
Good to know, thank you. I see a trip to Old Navy in my future.
Cupcake said, ” I never care much when Mom fusses about me. Just like your fur kids, that part is all, “Wha-wha-wha. Blah-blah-blah.” It’s all about the treats when I’m a good girl. Just cut the chit-chat and gimme the goodies! ”
Are you sure you’re not a Lab, Cupcake? 🙂
Daisy said, “Daisy could never be allowed off-leash, she’s a silly girl first and an obedient girl second. I doubt we could ever train the silly part out of her!”
Delilah was like that. And it’s baby steps, really. Just little bits of off-leash in a place where the odds are stacked in her favor.
Leah said, “Nicely done! Sometimes I forget to celebrate the little things that actually make a huge difference after all.”
You are right, little things actually do make the biggest difference.
Thank you all for hanging in there and don’t forget, tomorrow is the Pet Blogger Challenge sponsored by Go Pet Friendly.
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