Look out #BARKWORLD, here we come!! ;)

I have GREAT NEWS!!!  Jasmine has a sponsor for BarkWorld next month!  Well, two actually!!
Petco and Natural Balance are going to sponsor our trip to Atlanta next month!  YAY!!!  I'm so excited!!  

For those of you who are unfamiliar with BarkWorld, it's a pet social media convention.  There are great classes and tons of networking opportunities.



We went last year for our first time.  It was SO MUCH FUN!!  My friend Lauren (and her trick dog Paige) met us out there.  Together we gave a presentation on "How To Make Your Dog a YouTube Rockstar!" (and of course Jasmine and Paige did a trick dog demo!) It was so incredibly fun! We learned tons, and met a lot of new friends!

Networking within the pet industry is the biggest perk of BarkWorld!   Jasmine got a chance to be on the Anderson Cooper show because of a contact I made at BarkWorld last year.  People from the show emailed Denise (the founder of BarkWorld) asking for some video recommendations for a show about pet parents.   Denise emailed a bunch of us, and I wrote back and sent in Jasmine's video.  They liked it, and voila- Jasmine's trick video aired on Anderson Cooper.  :)  How cool is that?



I absolutely cannot wait to go back this year!!  :)   THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Petco and Natural Balance for making this dream come true!!

And FYI- a little background info about us- this is our first sponsorship to BarkWorld.  Last year, we didn't have a sponsor. (not for lack of trying!)  I probably emailed 35 different companies, but no one knew who I was back then.  (and a lot of my emails went to generic email addresses I got off websites, such as info@______ rather than a specific rep.)   Jasmine had been on TV a lot (mostly news), but I didn't have any contacts with pet-related companies.  BarkWorld changed all that!  :)  Now I know quite a few!

One last little funny story-  last year, I was sitting in the lobby our hotel with Jasmine and Paige.   (Lauren was talking with some friends over in the restaurant, so I was watching both dogs.)   The lounge connected to a bar/restaurant.  (Which had a live jazz band in the background.)  Very nice ambiance.   This guy and his girlfriend walk by and notice the dogs.  The guy asks if he could pet them.  I said yes.  Both dogs love the attention... and I probably talked to this guy and his girlfriend for about 5 minutes.  We talked about their breeds, BarkWorld, where I was from, etc...  And the guy tells me about his dog, and how much he likes border collies.  He was a very nice guy. I didn't think much of it.  Everywhere Lauren and I went, strangers were talking to us, and wanting to pet our dogs.  

After they left, the guy on the couch behind me turned around and said, "Do you know who that was?!??"   "No", I admitted.  
He said "that was Malcolm Jamal Warner!!"  I was still trying to figure out how I knew that name... and so he clarified.... "You know... THEO?  From the Cosby Show??"  "And that's Diana Ross' daughter".  

Ooooh!!!!  LOL.  It's a good thing I have people to tell me these things, otherwise I would have never known!!  
 This created quite a buzz among our BarkWorld friends who joined us later.  (and yes, it was for sure Malcolm and Tracee.  We saw them later in the lobby leaving the restaurant.)  So Jasmine and Paige got to meet a few celebrities while in Atlanta.
 This just goes to show you that I don't get "starstruck" very easily.  They're just regular people.  (And it's really cool when they just act like regular people and don't let it go to their heads.)  I can tell you firsthand that Malcolm and Tracee are both very nice people to talk to.  And both dog-lovers. :)

BlogPaws' Red Carpet Award Ceremony

Photo credit:  Rebecka Jeffs

On the last night of BlogPaws, they had a formal banquet and awards ceremony.  This was so much fun!

We all had a chance to walk down the red carpet, and get our pictures taken. 

Jasmine and I spent most of the conference hanging out with my friend Lauren and her trick dog Paige!   

 This is my friend Rick- (who works for Natural Balance). The picture unfortunately turned out blurry, so you can't really see his dog Sheldon (a black standard poodle).  He's in the picture too!

 

Photo credit: Rebecka Jeffs

This is my friend Diane Silver and her Havanese named Cosmo!!  We were in the Havanese Club!  :)  (I just made that up!)  But as far as I know- Jasmine and Cosmo were the only 2 Havanese at BlogPaws!

 After a delicious dinner, they had an awards ceremony.  Jasmine was nominated for "Best Video" for her "Santa Paws- Santa's Little Helper" movie!  But I honestly didn't think she was going to win, considering who the other nominees were!

Photo credit: Rebecka Jeffs

So I was shocked when they said My Favorite Pup Jasmine was the winner!  I had to go up on stage and give an acceptance speech.  (Which I was completely unprepared for!)  I didn't know what to say!   And I actually can't even remember what I said.  I'm hoping it including the words "Thank You."  LOL  I was shaking when I first walked off the stage... (because that kind of stuff makes me nervous!)  But once I was breathing normally again, we had a good time.  And it was a lot of fun.  The rest of the evening was just a party.  :)

Photo Credit: Rebecka Jeffs

This is Jasmine and her buddy Preston (from PrestonSpeaks.com).  (with Lauren and Paige in the back!)










Now THIS was a cute puppy!!

Cue Music!  Everybody Dance Now!

It was great meeting up with everyone!  It felt like a reunion, even though we had never met before!  (We had only known each other online!)

Jaz was SOOOO tired at the end of the night.  Trick shows, award shows, classes, interviews, pictures...
 It's hard work being this cute!!  (Actually we were both pretty tired after this pet convention!)  But wow, what an experience!  It was awesome!!!  :)

Going to #BlogPaws!!! :)

Well, it's FINALLY HERE!  After looking forward to this for what feels like forever, BlogPaws has finally arrived!  I am SOOO excited to go to Utah and meet up with my friends from all over the country!  (and learn a lot too!)


I was looking at the BlogPaws website, and check out who's video was featured!!  Jazmaztaz!!  :)  
http://community.blogpaws.com/





This is going to be such a fun trip!!  Lauren and her trick dog Paige are coming too!  It's a Jasmine/Paige Reunion Tour!! :)  :)  :)   


We'll be giving the presentation on Friday afternoon about "The Power of YouTube".  (Since both of our dogs have very similar stories!  They're just regular dogs- who have had some amazing opportunities just because of some simple YouTube videos!)  


I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!  It's going to be a blast!!  I'll keep you posted!!  :)

Free Ticket to #BlogPaws!

As I'm sure you know, Jasmine and I are flying to SLC, Utah later this month to speak at the BlogPaws pet convention.  I'm giving a presentation about YouTube with my friends Lauren and Paige!  (Friday afternoon session)  Afterwards, we'll do a trick dog demo so people can see Jasmine and Paige live!





And fitting enough, Jasmine's blog was nominated for the "Best Video" award at the "Nose-to-Nose" awards at BlogPaws!   http://awards.blogpaws.com/   They are going to announce the winners at a red carpet ceremony on June 23rd.  Pretty fun!

The best part is... by being nominated as a finalist, Jasmine earned a free conference pass that I can give away!   So, if you are considering going to BlogPaws, let me know and I'll submit your name in the raffle!   (I'm going to do the drawing on Monday.)  You can leave your email address in the comments, or write to me on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MyFavoritePupJasmine


Even if you don't win the raffle, you can still get 20% off your conference ticket if you mention us.  (Because we're one of the presenters.)   Just use this code when you register:
BlogPaws2012-Speaker-Jackson-20 


It's coming up quick!!  Lauren and I are super excited about this!!  :)  If you do come, please come say hi to us!   It's going to be so much fun!  

BarkWorld 2011- Reminiscing

Good ol' Barkworld! Every time I see photos from that event, I get the biggest smile on my face! (Obviously Jasmine does too!) I just LOVE this picture of her!


I just discovered these photos that were taken at the Barkworld Expo last September. (All photo credits belong to the BarkWorld Expo.)
Look at Paige!! Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?!? We brought the dogs to Barkworld for a trick dog demo. If you wanted to know how to do tricks w/ a large dog- Paige showed you. If you wanted to know how to adapt it to a small dog- Jasmine showed you. :)

Oh... to have a nice camera... and know how to use it!! I've always loved photography. I think I have an artistic eye for how to frame a photo. I just need to 1) save up the money for a nice camera. And 2) Learn how to work it! I just love these amazing photos of the dogs. Look how clear Jasmine's bright brown eyes are. Man, I wish I had that talent! Guess I need to add that to my list of things I want to learn how to do! :)

Lauren and I gave a powerpoint presentation on "How To Make Your Dog A YouTube Rockstar". Then we had Q & A. Then did a trick dog demo (whatever they wanted to see!) This was my first time attending something like this, but we had a blast!! It seemed like everyone fell in love with Paige and Jasmine. (They were being extra adorable... because there were tons of new people to meet and be friends with.)

I talked to Lauren, and we're talking about going back next year!! :D So... we'll see you there in 2012! :D

Interviews from BarkWorld!

Jasmine had a FANTASTIC time at Barkworld- in Atlanta, GA!

Here's an interview we did with Nylabone while we were there!



We roomed with our really good friends Lauren and her dog Paige!

Jasmine and Paige were the YouTube Rockstars- and gave a presentation on how to make good YouTube videos, and how to clicker train. At the end of the class, we did a trick dog demo. It was so popular, there was standing room only!! It was awesome! We met a ton of new friends. And had a blast! We'll definitely be back next year!!



I didn't even realize that we did pretty much the same tricks until after I saw Lauren's interview! LOL. Hey- great minds think alike!! ;)

They also taped part of our trick dog demo- but that will be coming in a separate post!

BarkWorld Movie Teaser... :D

Jasmine and Paige went to Atlanta, Georgia for the BarkWorld Expo!! I can't even tell you what a fantastic time we had!! I can't wait to write all about our wonderful trip! But in the meantime, here's a little teaser video for you!!! :) (It makes me grin just watching this!)

I LOVED BARKWORLD!!!!