We Heart Dogs

Updates

2012-02-16T14:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't been very vocal about what I've been up to these past few months, but really I haven't been up to anything new, so there really wasn't much to share. The big news is I'm upgrading my camera finally to something that will greatly benefit the business, my customers, and will just plain make me happy. :) So I'm tackling all sorts of ideas with doing discount photo sessions so I can have some fun with my new camera, but I haven't come up with anything solid yet. I'm definitely trying to get away from selling toys, treats and clothes. I love doing it, but it's too much for one person. Maybe some day I can open a studio/gift shop, but that's a dream that I have to admit might never be reality. It's time to change the focus of We Heart Dogs, and it's all about the dogs! I'm thinking, doggie screensavers, calendars, breed-specific mugs, t-shirts, mouse pads...all made to order so that I'm not cramming my tiny apartment with boxes of inventory. Kitty stuff too, of course! But we're We Heart Dogs, and my heart belongs to my 2 doggies, so I will start with dog stuff. It's a lot to take on when I've literally got nothing to work with except just this idea right here, but I have options, and I think it will work out much better for me and for YOU, to take this new road, rather than stay on the same path that I'm on.

I'm excited, I hope you are too!

Changes coming to We Heart Dogs

2011-11-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

As most of my blog followers know, We Heart Dogs is run and operated solely by one person - me. Due to some personal things in my life I haven't done anything with We Heart Dogs in the past 4-5 weeks. I apologize to all of our fans and those that are interested in We Heart Dogs.

We Heart Dogs is alive and well, but there will be some pretty noticeable changes. We had been working on a deal with a well-known all-natural dog treat vendor that is local and that went no where, so we will no longer be selling treats. The time and financial-toll it takes to maintain the online store means that we will now have to close out the bulk of our online store items, except for a few things. I will still sell items at events, but I'm afraid I wasn't able to do as many events this past summer. I am so sorry to everyone that invited me out and I wish I could have been there!!

I love We Heart Dogs. I just got in over my head way too fast. I tried to start big and form an entire business overnight. Now it's back to my roots. The whole business started because I love photographing my dogs....and other dogs...I just love these wonderful, intelligent, furry creatures. I wanted to express my creativeness. So here I am, not trying to be a photographer, but instead trying to be a business-owner. I want to be a photographer!!

I do still have a few holiday sessions left if you want to get your pets photographed for the holidays, give me a call!

No longer do I want to stress out about how to sell dog clothes and toys or how to ship items or postage or wholesaling....I want to create designs for redbubble...maybe open a cafepress store for furrkid designs...my own designs. Just be creative :)

WoofStock - This Sunday, September 18th

2011-09-16T07:19:00.000-04:00

I will be at WoofStock this Sunday if you can make it! I will have many toys, clothes and accessories for sale as well as free pens and free treat samples. Any purchase will receive a free tote bag and frisbee.

I will have catalogs available for ordering sport-related items, steelers jerseys, eagles toys, etc. I will only have a couple teams available, all PA teams, but I will take your name and email address if you're interested in other team items. If I have time before Sunday I will get the catalogs uploaded to my website, unfortunately everything will need to be ordered using an order form and I will have to send you an invoice via email.

**On Sunday morning I will post on Facebook and Tweet my location so you can find my booth.**

1-800-PetMeds & Advantix

2011-09-07T07:56:00.001-04:00

This has to be the best website I've found for Pippin and Twinkles' medicines. I used to get the Rx (Sentinel) for heartworm + flea and 1-800-PetMeds would contact my vet for the prescription verification. Now I use Advantix for fleas and ticks - which works WONDERFUL by the way!! My dogs have not had a single tick latch on to them since I started the Advantix. The price on Amazon is slightly higher than the price on 1-800-PetMeds, you can compare here:

Also, Pippin is 16 lbs and Twinkles is 8 pounds, but instead of spending the money on 2 boxes of medicine (plus the pills for bigger dogs are more expensive), I use the under 10 lbs for Pippin and there have been no adverse side effects - and no ticks! We live in the suburbs so we don't have to worry about ticks except in the spring and summer when we take them to play in open fields and wooded areas.

Through fall/early spring I will continue to give them the Sentinel pills the vet prescribes, but they are very expensive so I may just take them off any meds completely once I run out of my current stock of sentinel.

It's official! We're going to WoofStock!

2011-08-09T07:11:00.000-04:00

We're signed up to be a vendor at WoofStock again this year. http://www.cpaawoofstock.com/2011WhosComing.html

September 18th, 2011 - 11am to 5pm in Harrisburg, PA - Riverfront Park

I'm not sure who is going to help me run my booth, but Pippin and Twinkles will be there for sure! We'll have lots of freebies and LOADS of cute dog stuff to purchase - even some cat stuff!!! I'm donating quite a few things to CPAA to raffle off and if you purchase ANYTHING at my booth you get a free tote bag! Spend $5 and you get a frisbee! I won't know my booth location until the day of, but I'll be sure to post a facebook status and tweet my location upon arrival!

Furrkid Shop Item Availability

2011-08-04T08:05:00.000-04:00

Items in the Dog Toys and Dog Clothes sections of the online store are currently not up to date. Some items listed may be unavailable in the color and/or size you want. If you order something and I do not have the exact item, you will have the option to choose a different color or item of equal value or have your money refunded.

The online store is a lot more work than I had anticipated and although I do want to offer lots of toys, clothes and supplies for sale, I just do not have the time or money to dedicate to keeping the store open. Instead of closing it like I had been planning, I am adding a disclaimer to my shop to warn customers that stock and quantity is limited and there are no guarantees that I can provide the exact item they are ordering. HOWEVER, I will be sure to get in touch with each customer personally that there is an issue with their order, so please do not hesitate to order things. I guarantee a refund if I do not have an item.

I believe soon I may have to shutdown my shop and only sell items at events. It is a big decision, but I am not making enough money to keep inventory on hand to be able to sell online.

For now the store will remain open, and thank you to everyone who supports us!

In the works...

2011-08-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of projects in the works and not much time to work on them. Running We Heart Dogs all by myself with only a few hours a week to dedicate to it is really hurting me. I have so many ideas and not enough time to even perfect them all! I'm considering getting out of having an online shop selling individual items and go back to my initial plan - selling pet giftbaskets. It will make my life a whole lot easier and reduce the clutter in my home from inventory.

This business was suppossed to be about pet photography, and now it feels like all I'm doing is worrying about inventory and selling pet supplies. So things are going to change in the near future. I'll still sell individual supplies at events - which I always post on facebook, so if you don't already "like" my page, "like" it now!! Also there is a giveaway if you like my page, see the previous blog post for more details.

Giveaways! How to get your hands on some free stuff...

2011-07-13T07:13:00.000-04:00

Spend $5 now through the end of August...and you're automatically entered to win! Every $5 you spend, either in our furrkid shop or by sending us a donation, you'll be entered to win a free doggie or kitty gift basket delivered to your home! We're doing this giveaway so we can earn the money to attend upcoming events! Most events we attend charge a fee which is considered a donation to the organization hosting it. These can get quite expensive and being so small we lack funds to attend all the events we get invited to! With your help, either through purchases or donations, we can attend the events and show our support for the rescues, charities, and organizations that are trying to help animals in need and provide lots of fun for families and their furry friends to attend!

We're working on getting a bigger facebook following. Once we have 100 fans on our page, one of our new "likes" will receive a dog treat gift basket! They're all natural, healthy treats, that your pup is sure to love! If you're already a fan, you have a chance to win too! Once we reach 100 fans one of our current fans (as of today) will also receive a dog treat gift basket! So recommend our page to your friends so we can reach 100!

Click here to go to our facebook page!

Once we have 100 facebook fans, we'll start doing contests on our facebook page. Photo contests, caption contests, you name it! All sorts of prizes will be awarded. So get out there and recommend We Heart Dogs to everyone you know!

Yorkie Day, Website Updates, and Changes Coming Soon

2011-06-27T07:54:00.043-04:00

Yorkie Day in PA was a huge success. It was hosted by the Save a Yorkie Rescue in Reading, PA at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The biggest surprise was the guest celebrity - Rick Caran and Jilli Dog! If you don't know Rick and Jilli, visit http://www.jillidog.com/. They were featured on Animal Planet on Dogs 101 - the Yorkshire Terrier episode. I saw that episode about a year ago and told everyone about "the poker playing dog"...I had no idea they would be at Yorkie Day...or that I would be able to HOLD Jilli and Rick's new 3lb Yorkie, Ruby. They are amazingly talented dogs and fame has in no way spoiled them! :p

I even got a few pictures with Jilli, Rick and Ruby - they can be seen with some of my other pics from the event here:

The highlight for me was when Rick asked ME for MY business card!! ...well, it wasn't the only highlight, but it was a huge ego boost for me...The real highlight had to be getting to hug and kiss Jilli...and have Ruby kiss me like crazy!! I couldn't stop smiling and she just kept on licking my teeth!

On another note, I've been trying to get a lot of website stuff done. I changed the home page navigation and I'm hoping it's a lot more user-friendly now. I'm preparing to list all my photo gifts on my site, pictures and prices of every single item there is for purchase - I don't offer photo gifts JUST to photo session clients, I accept personal photos to be placed on photo gifts too.

I also have changes to make to the online store and want to offer MORE products for purchase.

If you have any suggestions for the website, please email me at Diana@weheartdogs.org.

Yorkie Day in PA

2011-06-23T07:45:00.000-04:00

Saturday is the big fundraising event for the Save a Yorkie Rescue. You can read about the event here. Pippin and Twinkles will be with me and I'll have all kinds of goodies for Yorkies - or small dogs in general! Clothes, accessories, hair bows, treats, and more!

We always give away free treat samples and free pens. And of course, if you spend $5 at our booth you get a free tote bag! Also, at this event, were giving away a free frisbee if you spend $10!! I'm so excited for the event and to see all of Twinkles' distant relatives!

My First Canvas Print!

2011-06-17T08:14:00.000-04:00

I ordered my very first canvas print today of Pippin and Twinkles!

I'm excited to get it and hang it up!

Click here to see my prices for canvas prints! Prices include shipping directly to your home!

KPETs Pet Expo was yesterday!

2011-06-13T20:06:00.000-04:00

I have tons of pictures from yesterday's KPETs pet expo in Ephrata. You can check them out on my facebook or on Flickr. The event was fun and I got so many great pictures! Thanks to everyone that came out to support us!
Some updates to come in the future:
New layout of home page on http://weheartdogs.org/
A REAL online store including more products (I know I put a LOT of work in to the current store, but it's too difficult to manage)
Pictures and prices of ALL photo gifts, which includes all purses, handbags, wallets and more!

Miracle Odor Eliminator - How to get rid of Pet and Household Odors

2011-05-16T19:06:00.000-04:00

Pippin had a really hard time with potty training. Twinkles is wonderful - she was trained almost immediately! Pippin left our living room smelling AWFUL. He would pee anywhere he felt like in the living room and whenever our back was turned he would sneak and poop in the living room too!!

I used nature's miracle enzyme stuff, shampooed with pet odor and regular shampoos...tried vinegar, oxyclean, distilled water, baking soda, and used different air purifiers! The carpets looked brand new, but no matter what I tried, the carpets stunk like dog urine.

I was considering having my carpets and padding ripped up and replaced and the floor underneath cleaned. Then a friend told me about Zero Odor.

I got a bottle - which is pricey - $13 for 16 ounces. Definitely worth every penny though. I sprayed a ton of it directly on my carpet - really close to it - and the stuff was really stinky - it left a weird lingering odor. The next morning the odor was gone, and to my surprise, ALL the smells were gone! I could sit on the floor and NOT smell dog pee anymore!

I spent MONTHS working so hard trying to get the smells out of my carpet. I can't tell you how many times I shampooed, researched different remedies or how much money I spent trying to fix the odor problem. Zero Odor is a miracle.

My friend is a dog breeder - she keeps her dogs in the sunroom attached to her house. A skunk got in to the sunroom and sprayed - the walls, the tiles floor, everything. She was told she'd have to rip up the floor and replace the walls if she ever wanted to get rid of the odor. She sprayed Zero Odor 3 times and the skunk smell was gone.

You can try all the natural home remedies you want. You can buy expensive products or hire professionals. What you really need is a product like this that is affordable and does the job quickly!

The scent of the spray is weird - maybe because I sprayed so much, but living with that smell for a few hours was worth getting rid of the real problem.

Amazon also offers a Zero Odor Pet Odor Eliminator - but I bought the original because that is what was recommended to me.

Online Store Shutdown - New Online Store to Open!

2011-04-12T12:29:00.000-04:00

http://www.shop.weheartdogs.org/ - Our online store will unfortunately be shutting down on April 30, 2011. Thank you to everyone who made purchases in our store, however we can not afford to keep the store open.

Instead, on April 30, we will be launching a new online store operated by paypal-only. It's completely made from scratch (by me!) using paypal buttons that are free for merchants. So you will still be able to make purchases - the same types of items in the online store, just a different format to purchase, and a different layout. You can still pay any way you would like, and you don't have to have a paypal account.

So really, not much will be changing, except the fact that I can't offer zanies toys unless I have them in stock...which stinks because zanies offers some great items. However, I now have a wholesaler that does dropshipping, so I will be able to add some items to my store that will be directly shipped to you from the manufacturer! I'm so glad I can pass my low savings on to you!

Look for updates in the near future!!

Thank you!

2011-04-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

I would like to thank a very generous donor that has decided to make a monthly donation to We Heart Dogs. I can't express how grateful I am to know that there are people in the world that support us and our future. Our donor will be receiving several free gifts to show my appreciation.

Recurring donations are not something I am equipped to do unless you have a paypal account, or would be able to set up automatic payments through your bank.

If you would like to donate to us and help our cause, you can find a "donate" button on this blog or on our website.

Website Changes & Updates

2011-03-28T13:12:00.000-04:00

http://weheartdogs.org

http://www.doodledeephotography.com

I made quite a few changes to my sites and any feedback is appreciated. The sites are time consuming and being uneducated in entrepreneurship, it has taken me quite awhile to figure out what works best and what I am and am not capable of.

I have discovered my own personal taste and talents with my photography and I now have a new slogan: I create memories, not photographs. I mean, I really don't produce photographs unless my client orders them, and then I just order the prints from shutterfly...and to me the whole experience of going out to meet my clients and get to know them and take natural photos of them is really why I love photography. It's about the experience...about giving something to my clients that they'll cherish and love. Something I created. I don't just snap a picture and be done with it, I probably spend about an hour a picture on post-photo editing. I love editing photos...I love taking the picture and turning it in to something beautiful.

I feel my websites need to represent me while still being inviting and easy to navigate for potential clients...I hope I've accomplished that goal. I'm "cheating" and using a website editor because I don't have the time to create my own sites from scratch.

...and another problem I'm having is my online store. Although I'm getting sales, they are not enough to keep my store open. So I'm planning to have, by June, all my current inventory for sale on my main website by creating using paypal and creating individual buttons for each item. Time consuming, yes, but at least I won't have to pay for an online store.

I'm currently looking for donations or investors to keep We Heart Dogs afloat. Contact me at Diana@weheartdogs.org for more information.

Do you regret your dog?

2011-03-23T07:49:00.000-04:00

I was reading an article on bundle today titled: 10 purchases you will regret

What was #10? A dog. Read below:
There will be many times in your pet-owning life that you will cuddle with your dog; go on walks with your dog; play with your dog; laugh with your dog; and love your dog and the fact that you bought your dog. But there will also be times when you will pick up poop (everyday! multiple times a day!); clean up pee stains on your expensive carpet; return from vacation to realize your house smells like dog; not be able to go on vacation, because although you can afford a plane ticket, you can't afford a plane ticket and a dog sitter; write checks for $1,000 to the emergency vets for removing the bone shard from your dog's jaw or making sure his cough doesn't mean congenital heart failure. During these times, you will never, ever forgive yourself for having purchased a dog.
Read the full article here: http://money.bundle.com/article/ten-purchases-that-you-will-regret/1?gt1=33009

I don't think the writer has ever owned a dog, or else doesn't develop emotional attachments to living creatures...I wasn't a dog person several years ago. I liked dogs and cats, I didn't have anything against them, but it wasn't until I brought Pippin home and raised a puppy that I became a dog person. I only decided I wanted a dog because I was a single girl, living alone. My boyfriend lived nearly an hour away and I only was able to see him once a week. I had so much love to give and no where to put it. I wanted a puppy so I could raise a dog, I was too afraid to rescue what could have potentially been a difficult dog with issues.

Do I regret Pippin or Twinkles? Never. Not even when I'm yelling at Pippin for peeing AND pooping in my living room because he refuses to be potty trained. (He just did that last night. Since I've run out of ideas, I picked him up put his nose in it and spanked him. He growled at me and then ran and hid under the bookshelf, but this morning he peed AND pooped outside, no fooling around, sniffing every blade of grass, he did his business almost immediately.) But even yelling at him was heartbreaking, trying to give him the silent treatment and be mad at him is darn near impossible. He's adorable and I love him...I'd do anything for him. ...and if you can't afford a dog sitter, you can't afford a vacation, that's all there is to it.

There are a lot of rumors as to how much the "cost" of owning a dog is. I did some math and I came up with some numbers. Keep in mind, I have 2 small dogs. Pippin is 15lbs, Twinkles is 7lbs. The bigger the dog, the more expensive they are to care for. Also, unlike most people, I did extensive research before I got my dogs - they don't shed, they're hypoallergenic, they're generally well-behaved breeds that don't need a lot of space or exercise, and they're pretty low maintenance.

On average, it costs me about $180 a year to feed them, $500 a year to have them groomed, and $300 a year on vet visits. My vet visits are cheap because I shopped around for a good vet at a low cost.

The cost of owning a puppy is much more, it cost nearly $600 to have both Pippin and Twinkles neutered and spayed. Of course, I opted for the works, anesthesia, pain meds, IV, laser surgery, etc. because I'm one of those crazy-pet people that doesn't want my dog to experience pain.

It also cost several hundred dollars to buy them from their breeders. It may seem outrageous to spend so much to buy a dog...but I spent more on my 42" plasma TV than I did on those 2 combined, and I get much more pleasure and entertainment out of my dogs than I do the television. I probably spend about $1,500 a year on my dogs on average. I don't buy them many toys or treats because they get many, many gifts from people, especially from their grandparents. Occasionally I buy them a toy, but they usually get their new toys out of my inventory for my online store. I just can't say no to Pippin when he's crying at the box of toys.

So now I have one question...Do you regret your dog? What about your other pets?

Celebrate Mother’s Day for Furkid Parents

2011-02-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

@ the HodgePodgery on

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011

from 12pm-6:00pm

Packages to choose from:

A.$65 – sitting fee and Two 5x7 & Two 4x6

B. $85 – sitting fee and Three 5x7 & Three 4x6

C. $100 – sitting fee and Three 5x7 & Three 4x6 & One 8x10

*Package inclusions and details*

One Dog/cat- Add $10 per person/per additional dog/cat

40 minute session

one outfit for person - pets may change outfits

Private website to view your images online

Retouching done on all pictures

Personal props welcome

** Additional prints and gifts can be purchased through me**

Within 2 days after your session, I will email you a link to your personalized website. There you can view and pick out which pictures you want for your package inclusions and also purchase several types of prints. Your package prints will be available within a week of your confirmed image choice order and available for FREE photo delivery to your home or pickup from The HodgePodgery.

Call To Make Your Appointment! 717-236-0150

The HodgePodgery

http://www.thehodgepodgery.com/

1100 N 3rd St

Harrisburg, PA 17102

New Services from Doodledee Photography

2011-02-07T18:25:00.000-05:00

I have been freelancing several services that I will now be doing as part of Doodledee Photography. I have not published these services on my website yet, but I will soon.

Contact me at 717-314-3392 or Diana@weheartdogs.org if you are interested in any of the following services:

Photo restoration
Photo editing / touch-ups
Digital photo manipulation
Photo gifts using your own pictures (including purses, tote bags, etc!)
Prints to Digital conversion
File format conversions

If you have any other photo needs, please contact me and I will see what I can do. Prices are negotiable at this point, typically $5 per photo depending on the number of photos. It would of course be cheaper per photo the more photos you have.

Vote for Pippin!

2011-02-05T12:24:00.002-05:00

"Pippin"

Pippin's picture featured on the news site!

2011-01-26T19:42:00.000-05:00

I sent Pippin's picture to the local news website and they added him to their photo slideshow!

Click here to view the slideshow:
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/21/343132

$5 Photobook and 5 FREE photo cards!!!

2011-01-13T16:43:00.000-05:00

Hurry and schedule your appointment for a photo session with me and get an 8x8 photobook for $5! Or you can get 5 free cards...Only 1 offer for each available so the first customer gets it! Offer ends January 23, 2011.

Doodledee Photography

2011-01-02T21:00:00.000-05:00

We Heart Dogs has officially expanded our photography services. Visit http://www.doodledeephotography.com/ for more information. A portion of profits from Doodledee Photography will also go to help animals in need.

It's been awhile

2010-12-23T13:12:00.001-05:00

I just want to post an update since I haven't blogged for awhile. The holiday season has been busy - the photo sessions have been fun and the doggies oh-so-cute! During my last shoot I had the pleasure of photographing the most adorable little purebred Bichon Frise. He had so much personality and loved to play. I chased him all around his house! He was too cute and too much fun. I did a 2nd round of photos of him so I get to go back and see him and I can't wait. I love that little guy. :)

Soon I will post options for buying photo purses and bags - high quality photo bags at that! I will be ordering some samples soon and I will upload the photos of my bags. I'm so excited to order a purse with Pippin and Twinkles on it!!

UPDATE

2010-11-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

The sports apparel and accessories have been removed from my store. I will be bringing them back, but I am not sure when. If you would like to order something please send me an email at Diana@weheartdogs.org.