Dog Blogs

Blog Writer Beth Philley From Doggies.com
Shares Her Experiences As A Blogger

Beth Philley
from Doggies.com

Finding good dog blogs that provide a great deal of knowledge about issues and topics related to dogs is a valuable resource. Finding such a blog that also allows you to interact with other dog owners is even more inviting. Beth Philley, aka “The Dog Lady,” is the primary article and blog writer for Doggies.com, a website that offers a diversity of information for dog lovers.

The articles and blog postings on the website demonstrate Beth’s knowledge about dogs, and her love for the animals. We were thankful she agreed to chat with us about the website and her experiences writing dog blogs as “The Dog Lady.”

I have a great time doing the research for my writing, and dogs are a good topic because there are so many different aspects you can get into. Everything from dog names to health issues to sporting events to the craziness dogs introduce into your everyday life ~ especially when you live with four big dogs inside the house!

Here is my first post in the doggies blog, which features pictures of my dogs and a bit about our life. http://doggies.com/blog/2008/04/30/new-blog-editor/

If your readers are interested in more about me personally, they can check out my other new blog, at http://4dogs2cats3kids.wordpress.com/.

Also, I’ve just published a book called “101 Things You Should Know Before Getting a Dog”, which is available at https://www.createspace.com/3382322, and my first novel, “Caribbean Destiny” is available at https://www.createspace.com/3380369

Q. How long have you been writing dog blogs for Doggies.com as “The Dog Lady,” and how did you come about this job?

A. I’ve just completed my first year working for Peter Buongiovanni, the CEO of doggies.com. He contacted me through my small business, ProBizAssoc.com, and asked me to write for him. Doggies has been a very steady client for me, and we have a great working relationship.

Q. Has writing and working as “The Dog Lady” changed your relationship with your own animals? How?

A. I’ve definitely become more aware of the things my dogs do. I’ve learned so much through my research for doggies.com, and it’s taught me to be more observant about how my dogs are acting. For example, after writing a series of articles on dogs’ body language, I became more attuned to what my dogs were trying to tell me. (My beagle is very submissive, and my Viszla wants to be the leader of the pack.) And, since I’m always looking for blog topics, I try to pay attention to anything my dogs do that I can turn into an interesting post.

Q. Considering all the great dog information that the website offers, what is it that your readers and subscribers seem to enjoy the most?

A. I recently conducted a survey to ask what people liked most about the site. As far as the blog, people seem to be most interested in the news stories such as dogs who rescue people from fires or people who do exceptional (good or bad) things with their dogs. People also like the polls we run every week called “Saturday Survey”. For those, I ask a variety of questions about how people interact with their dogs.

In the articles section of doggies.com, people reported that they like our articles on dog psychology and the breed guides we have posted. We’re still working on getting in-depth articles completed for every breed, but the most popular breeds are already completed, and can be seen at http://www.doggies.com/dog-breeds.html.

Some of our other features include a forum where people can post what’s on their mind (http://www.doggies.com/community/), and a video section where we have short training and grooming clips free for the asking (http://www.doggies.com/videoden.php/).

We also have a sister site that allows people to search for breeders in their area (http://www.breeders.net/search.php).

Finally, there’s a directory section where we list dog businesses and vets by zip code to help our visitors find the services they need (http://www.doggies.com/directory_main.php).

Q. You have some really interesting and insightful blogs and articles, things many dog owners may not have thought of otherwise. Where do you come up with your ideas for the blogs and the articles?

Q. The different dog blogs and articles must require you to research dogs extensively. What are some of the most interesting stories or tidbits on dogs you have uncovered?

A. I’ve never done any breeding, so the series on dog pregnancy and puppies was really interesting to me. At one point in my life I wanted to be an obstetrician so writing on this topic, even for dogs, gave me a “baby fix”. I’ve also learned a lot about dog training, although my own dogs pretty much rule the roost!

Q. Are there any particular dog news, stories or blog postings that received a lot of feedback/commenting from website subscribers?

Probably the biggest posting as far as comments was the one we did on a product called the Indoor Potty Patch. I asked for feedback from anyone who had tried the product and found out that several readers had ordered the product and not received it, so there was some concern about identity theft or stealing of credit card numbers. I was able to track down the guy who ran the ads. It turned out that he had run a few test ads before actually manufacturing the product, and he had every intention of shipping the products as soon as possible. I think that put a lot of people’s minds to rest.

The biggest post as far as unique visitors is far and away the post on the top ten most aggressive dog breeds. I try to post a top ten list every Tuesday, but none of them has ever gotten as many views as the aggression post This is apparently a big concern for a lot of people, and rightly so, given the statistics on dog attacks. I have mixed feelings about the post, though, because I think so much of the problem is poor socialization and training, not necessarily genetics. For example, the dog we had to put down due to aggression was a Basset Hound we had rescued. This is not a breed that anyone in their right mind would consider aggressive, but she had been abused and had some chronic illnesses that made her cranky. When she started lashing out at my kids, we had to put her down, but I would never advise anyone not to get a Basset Hound because of that.

Q. Since you are “The Dog Lady,” subscribers must look to you for answers to questions they have about their dogs. Are there any unusually interesting questions or emails you have been sent from readers?

A. Honestly, I get a kick out of all the e-mails I receive. I have no specific training such as vet school or anything like that, but people know they can rely on me to research their concerns and get back to them. I also get a lot of e-mails from people who have products they want me to try out or dog-related books they’d like me to review. I’m always happy to do so, and my dogs love all the extra toys and treats!

Q. Any final thoughts you'd care to share about Doggies.com or your work as The Dog Lady?

A. The whole staff at doggies.com works really hard to bring our visitors a quality site with reliable information. It’s a lot of fun to write the blogs and articles, and I hope that shows. It’s my goal to not only draw visitors to the site, but also to provide them with an enjoyable experience while they are there.

Be sure to visit Doggies.com to read her Dog Blogs as well as fetch all the latest from the doggie kingdom, it’s definitely one of the better dog sites we’ve visited.

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