I love prompts that encourage reflection, so when this Pet Blogger Challenge was forwarded to me, I decided to jump right in. It’s been going for an impressive 8 years, but this is my first time joining. Be sure to head over to find other awesome responses from people who know a lot more about blogging than I do!
Below are the questions and my (Nate’s) answers.
Here are the questions for the 2018 Pet Blogger Challenge:
For those who may be visiting your blog for the first time, how long have you been blogging and what is your main topic?
This current blog has been running since 2014. It focuses on dog training and behavior modification for pet dogs, and dog-related events in the Fresno area. We train pet dogs almost exclusively and the content of the blog reflects that.
What was your proudest blogging moment of 2017? Which of your blog posts was your favorite this year and why? (Please include a link.)
This answer will be a little weird. I’m going to point to this post: Fresno Dog Training News – End of May 2017. This is a remarkably unimpressive post but I’m proud of it because it marks our move from Oregon to the Fresno, CA area. This move and the subsequent integration into a new community in Clovis has been the biggest challenge and reward of the year.
In terms of your blog, how do you measure success?
This blog has 3 key purposes.
1). It allows people looking for dog training help to get to know us better. (I use Facebook for the same purpose.) The dog training industry can feel very overwhelming to pet owners and full of contradictions. I like to give people a sense of what working with us is like. This way you can find out quickly if I’m the right person to guide you and your dog. If not, click on over to the next trainer!
2). It provides learning opportunities for people who are too far away to work with us in person, or who cannot afford full training programs.
3). It allows me to test out ideas and get feedback before incorporating ideas into our online or in-person training.
I measure success against these key purposes, with an emphasis on the first.
In what ways has your blog changed during 2017?
More content is now posted to Facebook and Instagram, or delivered via our email list. I try to be flexible to reach people where they are, even if the new media does not come as naturally for me.
What was the biggest blogging challenge you overcame in 2017, and what did you learn that could help other bloggers?
I’m no expert at blogging and I hesitate to give advice to bloggers. I mostly just answer questions that I receive repeatedly and try to provide useful information.
When things get hard, what keeps you blogging?
My clients and their dogs. The business keeps me honest in that way.
Looking forward to 2018, what are you hoping to accomplish on your blog this year?
I’m working on ways to better organize the site’s content to make things easier on new visitors. I also want to better integrate other forms of content (audio and video). Finally, I intend to add weekly Q and A’s as another teaching opportunity. (If you’ve got a question you’d like covered, you can submit it below.)
In addition to what you’d like to accomplish, is there one specific skill you’d like to improve or master this year?
(Question submitted by Jodi Chick of Kol’s Notes)
I’d love to more consistently produce video and teach via video. I’d also like to expand the online portions of our courses to help even more people get the best out of their life with their dog.
These questions were a lot of fun. Thanks to gopetfriendly.com for hosting!
Need help training your dog in the Fresno area? Let us know what we can help you with!
Nate Hess is a dog behavior specialist and the owner of Dogspring Training, which provides premium dog training and behavior services in Fresno and Clovis, California. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the Karen Pryor Academy, a member of the International Association of Animal Behavioral Consultants (IAABC) and Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), and an evaluator for the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and S.T.A.R. Puppy programs. He lives in Clovis, CA, with his wife, Elaine, and some lovely dogs. You can reach him by email at nate@dogspringtraining.com.