Blogpaws- w/ Tillman, the Skateboarding Bulldog

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs   

Lauren and I (as well as Paige and Jasmine) were really excited about our 1st time at BlogPaws!   We got there early on Thursday, checked into the hotel, and had to attend a meeting for all speakers.  (We were giving a presentation the next day about "The Power of YouTube".)

I was pretty impressed with the hotel!!  We stayed at the Sheraton SLC.  Having traveled a lot with Jasmine, I have stayed at a lot of hotels that claimed they were "pet-friendly".  (Which meant they technically allowed pets, but weren't real happy that you brought one.)

However, the Sheraton SLC was by far, THE MOST PET-FRIENDLY HOTEL I've ever stayed in!!

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs

It was crazy how warm and friendly they were to us!  (and our pets!)  (Now, granted we were there for a pet convention, so they knew we were coming!)  But I was still impressed with the set up!

We had a room on the first floor.  There was a sliding glass door that led out to a grassy courtyard in the middle of the hotel!  So when Jaz had to go to potty, it wasn't a big ordeal to get her from my room to the outdoors.  It was just like being at home.  It was SO NICE!!   So a big THUMBS UP from me to BlogPaws for the hotel selection!!

Opening night of the conference was pretty awesome!  I had seen the Natural Balance tour bus in the parking lot, so I knew these dogs were here somewhere!!  For the BlogPaws opening ceremonies, Tillman, the skateboarding bulldog, and Norman, the Scooter Dog showed off their stuff!

Photo Credit: Becka Jeffs

Photo Credit: Becka Jeffs

They're not kidding when they say Tillman loves to skate!!  Ron (his owner) had to take the board away from him at the end so Tillman wouldn't try to keep riding it!  

The rest of the night was just socializing and waiting for the rest of the BlogPaws guests arrive.  Here's one of our friends, Niqqi!!  (Who looks like a living teddy bear!)  Just adorable!

Photo Credit:  Becka Jeffs

Here's another one of our friends- Sheldon!  I know his dad Rick, but it was fun to meet Sheldon in person!  He's so soft!!!!  Very friendly and sweet!

 Here's a new friend we just met!  It's Zoey!  A beautiful white pitbull.  Such a friendly dog.  She was so great!!!  I just love that pittie smile!

 I have great news!!  I got to interview Tillman and Norman on camera!!  I'm going to be posting the videos in the future.  But rumor has it, there is going to be a Season 2 of "Who Let The Dogs Out"!!  (That's the TV show that Jasmine was on back in April.  Tillman was searching for America's Most Talented Dog.  Jaz came in 2nd place!) :)  We had a blast participating in the show- so we know how fun it will be for next season's contestants!  It's cool watching watching Tillman on all his adventures... traveling the country, searching for talented pets.  So I can't wait to see what the next season holds!  I'll keep you posted!!!

This is Norman and Jaz... posing for some photos!  Norman's such a goofy dog!  He likes to ham it up! He's fun to be around!

OK, speaking of people who like to ham it up... check it Eric.  (He's on the Natural Balance team.)  We were waiting to interview Tillman, and so he and Jaz decide to have a trick contest.  So- who do you think does this trick better??  ;)   He cracks me up!

By the way, all of the really good pics in this post were taken by Becka Jeffs- a very talented photographer who lives in Utah!  If you want to see her other BlogPaws pics, check out her Facebook Page!   https://www.facebook.com/photographybybecka  She was nice enough to let us share her great pics!

When it doubt, here's how you tell you took it:

  If the pic has a zombie dog with glowing green eyes, I took it!  ;)

If the pic is great quality, with artistic style, Becka took it.

Now you can tell the difference!!!  ;)

Also- if you want to see more cool pics from BlogPaws- here's our post about the Red Carpet Awards Ceremony on Sat. night!

http://myfavoritepup.blogspot.com/2012/06/blogpaws-red-carpet-award-ceremony.html

#BLOGPAWS pics

Where to even begin??

Jasmine and Paige met up in the SLC airport.   For some reason,

 Lauren and I both had the song lyrics "Reunited and it feels so good"...

 stuck in our heads!!!!  :)

Then we got our rental car.  Who hired this driver??  If we never make it to BlogPaws, you know who to blame!!  ;)

OK, we made it.  (But Jaz doesn't use her turn signals!) 

 (Just kidding- she can't reach the gas pedal, so I had to drive.)

We attended a "Speaker's Meeting"... and saw the room we would be giving 

our presentation in tomorrow (Friday) on "The Power of YouTube", 

and basically how to make your dog a YouTube Rockstar.  :) 

Then look who I ran into!!  It's Sheldon!!  (a.k.a. @SheldonGryiffin from Twitter!)  I've always wanted to meet him in person!  He's very soft!!  And loves to be scratched on his neck.

We saw some of our other friends too!!  It's Norman the Scooter Dog!! 

We sat around talking with Ron and his skateboarding bulldog Tillman.  

(Who has got to be exhausted from all the skateboarding he did today!!!)

Who does the trick the best??  Eric or Jasmine??   I think Eric is hilarious.

 Paige & Jasmine.  #Best Friends.   Enough said.  :)

So... that was Day 1 of BlogPaws.  It's been awesome.  I'm having a fantastic time.  We've seen a bunch of friends from all over the country.  Lauren and I have picked out the classes that we want to attend tomorrow.  I can't wait.  It's going to be great!!  :)   

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!!  :)

And the #BlogPaws Winner Is.....

I can't believe it's almost time for BlogPaws!!  And I had an extra ticket to give away!  We get one because we're a speaker.  (We're giving a presentation next Friday about "The Power of YouTube".)   But then earned a 2nd free one because Jasmine's video "Santa's Little Helper" was nominated for a "Best Video" award.  (If you remember the video from last December!)


If you have just stumbled across our blog, and have no idea who "My Favorite Pup Jasmine" is or that we make YouTube videos...
Here's a little sneak peak at our history...

So... back to the exciting part!   Last week, we had a raffle to help pick the winner of the FREE ticket to BlogPaws.   

And the winner is....

SUMMER!! 

Summer has a blog about crafts, recipes, and life.  
Check it out!  http://summerscraps.blogspot.com/

She also has 3 kids and 2 dogs who keep her busy!

When I wrote to Summer to tell her she had won, she wrote back:

"CJ I am so excited!!!!  Some of my friends are going to blogpaws but I wasn't going to be able to go because it wasn't it my budget.  That is so awesome that I was able to win the conference pass!!! 

Jasmine is such a cute dog and my kids just love her tricks.  I am so excited to be going to BlogPaws!  Thanks so much!!!!"


If you don't know, kids and dogs are my two favorite things ever!  


So of course, I wanted to hear all about her 2 pups!

MEET MAX and JACK!

Max is our German Shepherd.  He will be 2 in October.  His full name for any who are curious is Maximus Vanhelsing (named after a famous gladiator and vampire hunter) :)  Max is very loving and even though he is huge always wants to sit in my lap.  He is very loved and a bit of a sissy, but becomes quite protective when strangers are around.  He is fun and cuddly and lets our three children cuddle with him constantly.

Jack is our Jack Rat (part Jack Russel and part Rat terrier).  He will be 4 in July.  He is named after our most favorite pirate Jack Sparrow - yup we love movies around here.  Jack is a bit tempermental and even though he is sweet I keep him away from small children just to be safe.  He kind of reminds me of a cat - he will sleep the afternoon away or can be found sunning himself in a sunny spot in the house.  Sometimes I can't find him and he will be curled up and sleeping under a blanket. 

I haven't really blogged about my dogs on my blog and am considering it since they are part of the family as well.  

 

I can't wait to meet you Summer!!   CONGRATULATIONS!!!  See ya at BlogPaws!!!   :) 

WHO IS JASMINE? BlogPaws Intro Video

Many of you know Jasmine's history, but some of you do not.   Since we're going to be speaking at a pet convention next month called BlogPaws, I thought it would be good to make an introduction video!


Here's a little background on us:





Jasmine is a 6 year old Havanese who LOVES to do tricks!  I've had her since she was a puppy.  She is clicker trained, using positive reinforcement.  She loves to learn, because she enjoys the mental stimulation and she LOVES good treats!!


We've had a lot of wonderful adventures together.  I had no idea when I got this sweet little pup where it would all lead.  But... one thing just keeps leading to another... and here we are.  :)  And now she's been on TV all over the world.  I don't even know where we'll end up next! LOL.