Dog Life – Singing Dogs

Sleeping Dogs for National Dog Day [PICS + VIDEOS]

In case you didn't know tomorrow, August 26th, is National Dog Day! What are you supposed to do on National Dog Day? Celebrate all things dog of course.

As part of the fun and celebration for dog owners a mattress start-up is encouraging dog owners on social media and various websites to post pictures of their dogs on beds, couches, or furniture sleeping.

Originally we didn't want to allow Cody and Sierra, the singing dogs, on the beds and couches in the house. Since Cody is nice soft fun like a teddy bear and Sierra makes sad faces when she isn't allowed to get on the bed… this rule quickly vanished into thin air.

I guess some members didn't really stick to the rule in the first place (me). It probably also didn't help that we let both Cody and Sierra on the beds when they were puppies. How can you resist sleeping with a puppy?

Since our “No dogs on beds and furniture” rule is no more, we now have instituted what we call a “dog blanket.” This is an attempt to prevent complete anarchy and all the beds and furniture in the house to be completely taken over by dogs. “Dog Blankets” are specific blankets which are all the same color and pattern. We put these on top of the covers on the beds or on the couches and then invite the dogs up to sleep and rest on these. This is where the dogs are allowed to to sleep or cuddle, but nowhere else. It's worked pretty well for us… somewhat. Look at this picture of Cody and Sierra on one of the beds.

As you can see Sierra, the tri-color, is on the designated dog blanket. However for some reason Cody, tan and white, is practically sleeping on the pillow there. Don't worry we are not singling you out Cody since Sierra does it as well. Is it so much to ask that you guys stay on the dog blankets?

Once in awhile both dogs will sleep together NOT on the beds.

This is a rare occurrence since we all know the bed is much better than a rug. Cody also doesn't generally like cuddling next to his sister, he's a guy after all.

Sierra and Cody won't just use the beds. Oh no, they have taken a liking to the chairs we use.

Sierra is ready for a chat with a cup of tea. Her human servants will bring it to her while she relaxes in her chair. Since she is an English Shepherd and we all know how those British love tea. 😀

Sierra also love sleeping in this same chair. As demonstrated by these graceful shots.

If you noticed we had to put a blanket over the ENTIRE chair so that it wouldn't get dog hair all over it. We love Cody and Sierra, the Singing Dogs, but not the shedding. Definitely not their shedding. We even rotate the blankets now. We love our English Shepherds but not the way they smell.

Cody likes the chair as well but he usually curls up like this.

Puppy Singing Lesson

The dogs being on the furniture has even made it into our videos. Remember when Sierra gave Scout, the foster puppy, a singing lesson. Scout was lounging in the chair.

Here Sierra is in a leather chair. For some reason we didn't let our last dog who was a German Shepher mix, Roger, on this chair. Sierra and Cody have managed to breakdown the dog civil rights barrier on leather chairs.

Love Me Tender

Sierra was also in this leather chair for our breakout video “Love Me Tender” a song from the late and great Elvis Presley.

Here Comes the Bride

When my brother got married we decided to shoot this version of “Here Comes the Bride” also known as The Wedding March on the couch. Hey, they get up there anyway.

Dogs have the Blues

Also Cody likes to perch himself on the chair and Sierra on the windowsill. You got to protect the house, except when you have the blues.

Do you allow your dog(s) on the bed, couches, and furniture? If yes, what happened? If no, how are you holding out? We'd like to know. 🙂

We are so dog crazy we even made a makeshift hammock bed in the backseat of our Toyota Camry. That means the dogs have a place to sleep while in motion. The dogs slept quite well on the drive back after our appearance on Anderson with Anderson Cooper.

If you are interested head over to our press page to see our additional TV appearances and Cody and Sierra kissing Anderson Cooper.

What are you dogs sleeping habits? Do they sleep all day or are they active pups? We'd love to hear from our fans for National Dog Day. Share pictures with us as well via Twitter @DogsSing.

The Singing Dogs won’t Be attending BlogPaws this Year

blogpaws

We've gotten some emails and questions about whether the Singing Dogs and I will be attending BlogPaws 2014 next month in Las Vegas. Unfortunately the answer is ,”No” we won't be.

While I could definitely go myself without Cody and Sierra, and obviously it would fun to go to Las Vegas, it doesn't make sense for us to attend this year. At last year's BlogPaws in Tysons Corner, Virginia we made a lot of great connections and had a lot of fun. I was totally blown away by all of the pet products and services and the whole online and offline community there is centered around pets. We even won a Bissell Spotbot which has come in handy several times.

I know I would probably have a good time at BlogPaws this year. The issue is most of the people attending BlogPaws from our experience last year have vastly different goals.

Some might be wondering what the ultimate goals are for the Singing Dogs? We'd like to see Cody and Sierra or their videos on a commercial or used in a movie or TV show. Especially since both Cody and Sierra are good looking dogs. 🙂

We did actually have an offer from a company called Viral Spiral to license our videos. However they were clear they don't promote the videos. They just wait until companies come to them and they have a stockpile of funny clips a company can use for a commercial. From exchanging with the Viral Spiral representative they do not promote the videos in front of companies at all. I found this a bit odd and they didn't want to talk with me on the phone so we passed.

Also we'd like to publish a children's book series about the Singing Dogs. Since the dogs are real, and when you pet Cody it's like petting a stuffed animal, I don't see why a publisher wouldn't want to market children's books about the Singing Dogs. We've had a really hard time trying to find an book agent though. Little did we know that children's book publishing is the most competitive publishing industry niche. 🙁

Most people that attend BlogPaws are thinking of catching small fish. Basically what I am saying is we are working on catching a big fish or whale. I don't just want to do sponsored article posts or whatever. I'm sure they are a lot of big dreamers at BlogPaws too but most of the conference is catered to people who are just starting out or don't have that much knowledge.

Also I've been active in the private BlogPaws community and people don't seem to appreciate advice. Well at least advice we leave. We've answered question about Worpdress, SEO (search engine optimization), monetization, and basic things regarding starting and running a website. When I do answer questions here and there people don't seem to notice or care. We are happy to give advice but it really only makes sense when people genuinely appreciate an answer. Everyone in the forum really just seems interested in discussing social media too. This is fine but but we not that interested in just social media talk. It is called “BlogPaws” right?

To accomplish our goals we will probably have to go to different conferences and conventions outside of BlogPaws. (Hence attending Affiliate Summit last Summer.) Since we have limited funds we have to pick and choose. If we had a movie deal or a company sponsored our trip we'd probably would have attended this year. 🙂

If you are looking for connections in the pet industry BlogPaws is a conference we'd recommend you attend. I've been asked about BlogPaws a few times and have actually recommended it to several people. We don't' see it benefiting us this year though.

Anyway for those of you attending BlogPaws in Las Vegas I hope you have a great time.

A Nice Spring Day Again

It was finally a nice Spring day again… shockingly. It was a nice 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit but there was a nice light breeze.

The dogs seemed to enjoy the weather and we had a nice long walk today. On the walk we saw a ton of runners and people doing yardwork on our walk. We took them to Sherwood Gardens which was teaming with people. We saw other dogs, people doing Yoga, someone playing a recorder, people reading books, and kids playing, It was quite an active place and we were surprised by how busy it was. We realized since it is was Easter Weekend some people are maybe trying to enjoy themselves. It could have just been the nice weather as well.

Sierra at home while Cody goes to the Vet

Yesterday Cody had to go to the Vet to get two shots. We usually take both dogs since it's fun to have a dog pal at the Veterinarian's office for moral support. In addition the dogs don't really like getting left behind.

Instead of taking Sierra to the vet with Cody though we decided that she would stay at the house. Cody went to the vet by himself. We realized if the dogs are going to catch something from another dog it's a lot more likely when you go to the vet, where they are likely to be sick dogs, rather than at a dog park or walking them around. (This is true of humans as well.) Also it's a lot less hassle only taking one medium-sized dog in the car rather than two. Sierra tends to be a menace in the car and whine doing the dog version of, “Are we there yet?”

Generally I think it worked out pretty well. Sierra got extra playtime at the house while Cody went to the vet and got some nice treats. Sierra was unhappy and dejected when Cody was getting his harness and into the car without her but she's a big girl so she was fine.

How do other people with multiple dogs (or pets) handle vet appointments? Do you go to the vet's office and only take one dog at a time? Are you like us and feel bad about only taking the dog that needs shots or a check-up?

Wet Rainy Day makes Cody not Want to Play

Today was a really wet and rainy day. Unsure of where Spring went but Winter was definitely trying to clay it's way back. It wasn't just Spring showers though as later in the day, probably aroudn 3-4pm the temperature started to drop rapidly. Right now as I'm writing this it is about 36 degrees, according the computer, outside but if you went out it feels colder because it is so wet.

Even though it's cold and rainy as most dog owners know… you still have to walk dogs so they can do their “business.” Today like other days we decided it would be best to use our dog raincoats to save ourselves time from cleaning up wet dogs when we got back from a walk. I've documented before how both dogs hate wearing dog raincoats though.

I put Cody's raincoat on, which I could tell he wasn't happy about, but assumed he would get used to after awhile. I then started getting ready to outside, putting on boots, getting a raincoat on and then I took a look at Cody. He hadn't moved at all from where I put the dog raincoat on him and he just looked quite sad. I reassured him, “Cody you look good! You look like a rescue dog.” (I mean a dog that rescues people and not a dog that needs rescuing.) He didn't seem convinced as he just kept looking embarrased. Admittedly I did take a picture of him which seemed to add insult to injury as Cody flet wearing the dog raincoat was pretty terrible. I'm sure he thought, “Yeah right I look like a rescue dog, your taking pictures and smiling.”

I tried to get Cody to move from his position by pushing him and pulling him. It was no use since his embarrassment ran deep and he was staying put. “I'm not going outside like this!” is what he seemed to say. To get him to the front door I took off the raintcoat temporarily and he seemed very happy about not having the raincoat on. Of course I put it back on him before we went out for a walk.

Sierra seems to feel embarrassed by her red dog raincoat but she doesn't have expressions like Cody does. She usually just tries to run away.

How do you deal with wet dogs on a rainy day? Have any similar stories you want to share?

As for the bad weather today we can only hope that April showers bring May flowers.

Does your Dog hate Baths? [MEME]

With it being officially Spring now and the weather finally nice and warm and I'm sure all of you are doing Spring Cleaning. When doing Spring Cleaning I'm sure you include your dogs in the mix. By that I mean baths.

So instead of posting a picture of the dogs today I thought I would post a funny internet dog meme about bath time for dogs. Check it out.

Loves to swim

And play in water

Act's like it is the end of the world when it's bath time.

This is totally Sierra! She loves to swim and play in water but absolutely HATES baths. She does act like it is the end of the world when we give her a bath. I have now idea why as she's never had a traumatic bath experience or at least that's how we see it.

If we even if we say the word. “bath” Sierra starts getting frantic and will jump on us if to say, “Please don't give me a bath.” and “I don't need a bath.” It's actually kind of funny but annoying when we actually need to give her a bath. Like now since she hasn't had one for awhile due to the harsh and cold winter.

Cody is not a fan of baths either but he at least tolerates it. To make things easier on ourselves we sometimes like to use a local DIY dog washing facility. It can be sort of annoying to have to have wet dog smell in the car for awhile but it saves a lot of time.

How are is your dog when you give them a bath? Do they put up a fight or do they like getting clean?

Category: Dog Life