They’re not Competition; They’re Inspiration - the BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Finalists
It happens every award show season. Someone trips while wearing their fancy dress, someone shows just a bit too much skin, winners take too long with their acceptance speech and are kicked off stage with a crescendo boost of music, and at least one person says “it’s just an honor being a finalist, it doesn’t matter if I win,” as they bat their eyelashes and smile for the camera. It’s almost a cliché, at this point, for finalists to make that statement. That isn’t the case when it comes to the BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose awards! I am so inspired by my fellow nominees in the “Best New Pet Blog” category, that I wanted to share information about their sites, the authors, and why you should be visiting them regularly!
With no further delay, please allow me to introduce the three other sites that fall into this category:
The wonderful and fun part about all of the nominees is how different we all are! It’s one small example that shows there are so many ways and facets for pet blogs to be successful and to have their own unique voice! The constant for all three fellow finalists is creativity, attention to detail, and compelling writing skills. What an amazing group to keep company with! Let’s delve into each individual site so their unique platforms can be illustrated in further detail.
Belinda Jones, the person at the helm of Bodie on the Road states that their page began “as the personal quest of a mad dog and English woman – visiting 30 US states in the Dogged Pursuit of Happiness!” Sounds like our kind of adventure! Belinda and her pup discovered tons of dog-friendly “gems” on their travels and wanted have a way to share them with the world.
As a former magazine travel editor, Belinda understands the importance of showcasing a curated list of places that can deliver on providing an “experience.” She doesn’t focus on the most costly hotels, she intends on sharing sights and stays that help to make a vacation even more special. She enjoys seeking and finding spaces with character and style that have staff that will go the extra mile to make humans and pups feel welcome.
In the future, Belinda has her sights on Europe along with additional spaces in the United States. They also plan on adding to their general travel tips that will be useful regardless of where the reader is traveling with their pup.
I, for one, would love if she met up with fellow bloggers in the states/countries where she visits so that they can bring her on a “locals” tour of the sights and sounds in their local haunts. If she ever decides to visit Massachusetts, we’ll happily bring her around some of the special nooks that have helped our pups feel special. So, in other words, this is our open invitation to come on over whenever you wish. There’s a place for you here if you’d like to see the sights and sounds of western Massachusetts.
First, and incredibly important, squeeeeeee CATS!! I adore all things kitty and am sadly allergic, so I enjoy living vicariously through the adventures, posts, and photos that other folks share of their feline friends! Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let’s learn more about Rachel Loehner and her Three Chatty Cats.
Rachel’s site originated from her love of cats and writing. Like many of us pet bloggers, she didn’t have a set purpose when she started out. She started to have fun (and, by the looks of her page, she’s still having a great time)! Early in her blogging, she featured a post on a husband and wife team who rescued and adopted animals. This post helped to spark a desire to feature rescues and to highlight any individual who “is doing their part to help cats.” She rightly states that rescue work can be tiring and oftentimes, thankless. Hopefully in featuring the people who are helping animals in need, will help them to realize that they’re cared for and appreciated. Her focus on rescue has also earned Rachel an additional Nose-to-Nose nomination for “Best Cause Blog.” I can’t think of a better way for BlogPaws to help recognize her on her hard work and dedication.
In the future, the site will continue to highlight rescue work and adoption stories. They will also be featuring more posts on her own cats and collaborating with brands to showcase how they are helping to support rescue organizations and charitable causes.
I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing stories of rescue organizations, and success stories. Highlighting the positive difference people have made in helping animals to be cared for, loved, and matched with their forever homes is incredibly important and much appreciated. If you’d ever like a guest post for any dog related rescue stories, feel free to let us know!
The first key words that immediately caught my attention are “positive” & “training!” Learning and implementing positive training methods is hugely important for dogs of all sizes. Lindsay Pevny realized the importance of positive training shortly after her pup Matilda joined her family. In an effort to find training information, she located antiquated insight from library books and other sources that still touted the “alpha dog” theories and encouraged squirting water and shaking cans of coins. When Lindsay tried to implement some of these training methods, she noticed immediately that her tiny pup was not going to be able to tolerate punishment-based training.
Since then, she dove headfirst into learning more about positive reinforcement training. She witnessed trainers who never relied on scolding tactics who had some of the most well-behaved and happy dogs. In an effort to have the same for her own dog, and to share her knowledge of training with others, she has created an informative and fun site called Little Dog Tips.
Lindsay will be adding expert interviews in future posts and is also implementing references to scientific articles that help to prove the value of positive reinforcement training. I would love to see addition of videos that show examples of positive training methods. This may also result in even more foot traffic to her page. Either way, her site is already an amazing resource for dog owners regardless of their dog’s size. Learning is ongoing. Just because you’ve worked on training your pup, doesn’t mean you can’t always learn new things together. I encourage you to stop by for tips and helpful information!
Cheers!
It is a sincere honor to be included in such amazing company! I can honestly say that each of these sites and the humans behind them are wonderful resources that I’m sure will grow exponentially in the years to come. Cheers to each of you on all of your accomplishments thus far! Only 21 more sleeps ‘til BlogPaws!
