Can't connect to sessions database Unknown database 'sessions' sessions Unleashed! Notes from Dogster HQ

Unleashed! Notes from Dogster HQ

 

11/12/09
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New Feature: Make Your Dog Profile & Group Buttons Any Color You Wish

Woofs everypaw!

Now introducing: a tool a colorize the top buttons on your dog or group home pages.

3 color

Today's update is very special because it marks the first time a feature has gone live on the site that was made by a member. The one and only Alice Billman, pawrent of (Callie Jean and PJ) who has helped hundreds if not thousands of members decorate their pet and group pages thanks to her amazing javascript and design abilities she shares on Pawsome Pages has started making features that we can embed directly into our site.

It hit us, why should we try and replicate what she has already perfected and it's been a great getting to work together.

Our first joint effort is a new version of a tool she made so you can pick what color you want your dog's or group page buttons to be. We streamlined the process to only require you copy and paste and tiny snippet of code, and we tried to do it in such a way that when we have to change the buttons to modernize the site, hopefully we can handle keeping your button colors without you having to do anything.

At the moment the best way to get to the new button tool is to click this link, but feel free to repost in your forums or groups, bookmark or whatever!

We're going to be rolling this out slowly, but it's open for anyone to use now. If you use, please feel free to give a comment and let us know how it goes.

Finally, a note to anyone already using custom button color code on their pages that it would be best to either delete your current button HTML/CSS from your pet bio/ group HTML field, or simple make sure that the new code you generate is the last HTML in the last field.

Screenshot:

Button Maker

11/10/09
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iPhone Users, Try Our Free Chat App!

Hi everypaw,

We love the Internet so we couldn't help but make an iPhone application. It's called Dog Park and if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch we very much hope you'll install and try out. We made it so people could talk and meet other dog people on the go. You make a profile for you or your dog and then can see other people nearby or online and chat with them.

A screen shot of who is online in the Dog Park

Dog Park - Who is online

 

A screen shot of a chat conversations I've had

chat_view

 

You earn free points to give gifts to other dogs simply by using the app gift_store

 

11/03/09
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Hiring: One Social Media-Savvy Dog Blogger

Update: This position has been filled.

We are looking for a dog-loving, fun-loving, social media-savvy writer who can add to the Dogster family of blogs by writing pawesome dog-related posts for Dogster.com's For The Love of Dog blog.

In addition to contributing up-to-date, educational and member-serving posts, you will build and maintain a community of readers and guest contributors so as to further enhance Dogster.com's presence as a leading online social networking site.

Expectations:

* You are not only self-motivated and driven, but disciplined as well - able to write 15-20 posts per week and cover a variety of dog-related topics with a good balance of cute and fuzzy photo-centric posts and hard-hitting dog news.
* You are able to surf the Internet and find interesting, dog-related articles and material that you can then paraphrase and make available to your readers.
* In-depth knowledge of the dog universe is critical, as is a general awareness of dog food recalls, dog health and animal rescue/shelter issues. The right candidate will be a dog person through and through.
* You are familiar with the blogging platform in general and are able to implement micro-blogging tools, online community and social networking features so as to be able to cultivate, encourage, and expand your reader base.
* You are a social media maven and avid self-promoter and are already active on sites like digg, stumble upon, reddit, yahoo buzz, facebook and twitter. (Do send links to your profiles in your application.)
* You understand the importance of tapping into the blogger network and developing relationships with other online publishers for cross promotion and support.
* You have a general understanding of basic HTML code and can produce polished blog entries that are visually appealing and include source images and quotes from cited articles.
* You are sensitive to and aware of the Dogster.com community and can tailor your posts (and writing style, in general) to appeal to the particular needs and desires of our Dogster members.
* You want more out of a gig than just a paycheck.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will understand how our reader-targeted communication efforts impact the greater web marketplace. He or she will demonstrate the ability to think creatively and work well independently. Qualified candidates have at least 3-5 years experience as a writer and an excellent command of the English language. They will be familiar with the entire family of Dogster.com blogs, and will communicate openly and regularly with the other bloggers, offering ideas, suggesting material, and cross promoting when appropriate.

Send your resume and cover letter to: jobs@dogster.com - and please put "Dog Blogger" in the subject line.

This is a part-time paid position.

 

10/14/09
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World’s Coolest Prizes Posted: Get Zealies Just For Voting!

Entries and voting in the World’s Coolest Dog & Cat Show is cruising along!

The prizes page has just been posted! Check'em out.

Here’s how it will work:

  • Cast between 500 and 999 total votes, and you’ll earn 10 Zealies.
  • Cast between 1,000 and 1,999 total votes, and you’ll earn 30 Zealies!
  • Cast between 2,000 and 3,499 total votes, and you’ll earn 50 Zealies!
  • Cast between 3,500 and 4,999 total votes, and you’ll earn 70 Zealies!!
  • Cast more than 5,000 total votes, and you’ll earn 100 Zealies!!!!!

    • So best luck to all contestants and have a ball out there everyone.

     

    09/02/09
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    New Navigation Bar – New Code Needed for Custom Colors!

    **UPDATE!!**
    The new color codes are now available and you can go here and get them!

    ALSO - PLEASE MAKE SURE that your style sheets are CSS3 compatible!!

    ****************************************************************************

    We are very happy to announce that we upgraded our top navigation bar today! As you can see, the far left button now allows you to go straight to our new photo galleries, the pet profiles and the option to add a pet. We think that you'll really like this new improvement.

    BUT, we know that some of you use custom color buttons, and the new upgraded code enhancement was not backwards compatible, so that means that the code that you were using to customize the colors no longer works and may be causing your page to load improperly.

    SO, super star member allybill will be updating her button custom color page shortly, so you can just remove the code from your style sheet and replace it with the new codes when they are up. I will update this blog post when that happens.

    If you can't wait and want to get going on making those changes now, you can...

    • copy and past the code below into your style sheet
    • replace all instances of "darks/rust" with the "category/color" that you want (see allybill's site for those)
    • save your style sheet
    • if you view your pet page afterward and the change has not taken place, please give your pet a treat and the cache will clear, so the change should be noticeable

    Otherwise, just remove that section of code from your style sheet and the default tool bar will reappear. And then just check back here to find out when allybill's site is updateed, and then just swing by her site and get the new codes!

    Thanks for your patience!

    Woofs!

    Tags

    custom colors, update

     

    08/30/09
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    Can You Digg It? Or Do You Stumble Upon It?

    su-digg

    Do you use Digg? Stumble Upon? Do you want to?

    If you're a Digg user and would like to join our Dogster Digg Crew, send an email to us at diggers[AT]dogster.com with your Digg username and a link to your Digg profile page. We'll visit your page and befriend you - that way we can see the items that you find interesting and Digg them as well. And, we'll also email you hot Dogster posts that we'd like for you to Digg, so that you can help us get all of our best posts out there for the world to see. Want to check out our Digg profile page and friend us up right away? It's right here.

    And if you use Stumble Upon, and would like to join our Stumbling crew, send an email to stumblers[AT]dogster.com with your Stumble Upon username and a link to your Stumble Upon profile page. That way we can be friends and share/promote stories together with Stumble Upon as well! Want to go straight to our Stumble Upon page and be friends right now? It's right here.

    Not sure what we're barking about? Both Digg and Stumble Upon are social bookmarking services that allow online friends the chance to share, promote and read articles and blog posts that are of interest to them. It's like a customizable news feed, since you decide what you want to read and how you want to read it. If you like pets, for example (and we sorta think you do), you can go to specific areas of both Digg Pets and Stumble Upon Pets to get your pet news/photo fix.

    We've been using both Digg and Stumble Upon and we love it! We've been enjoying the feedback that we get from our Digg account followers and our Stumble account followers, and really love sharing pet-related images, videos and articles with other like-minded surfers. It's really proven to be a great way to get a VIP pass to the hottest dog and cat stuff on the Internet. We're big fans of these cool social bookmarking sites and are curious to find out if you are, too.

    To read more about Digg, go here; to read more about Stumble Upon, go here. And then come back here and join the Dogster Click Corps!

    Woofs!

    Tags

    digg, socoal bookmarking, stumble upon

     

    08/28/09
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    Half a Million, Baby… Half a Million…

    Just in case you missed it, a few days ago we shot up over

    500000

    That's a lot o' dogs. And a lot o' love.

    Our special thanks to all of the pooches out there who have joined Dogster over the last five years! You're BY FAR our favorite group of a half-million pooches EVER!

    Tags

    dogs, dogster members

     

    08/24/09
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    Dogfighting and Michael Vick: Where Do We Go From Here?

    Michael Vick. The name not only turns heads - in our community, it makes pets and their people cry themselves to sleep. The Dogster "Jerk of the Year" award? No question. Paws down, done deal. Congratulations, Mr. Vick.

    Michael Vick - Dogfighting

    From the Dog Blog to The Cat's Meow, we've been covering the issue and providing a place where people can let their feelings out and express themselves. A special group on Dogster has even been formed: For the Love of Every Dog is actively taking a stand against Michael Vick, and is open to our canine and or feline friends. Obviously, it's a situation that really affects dog and cat lovers. It's a horrible, disgusting story that we certainly wish we didn't have to cover. Things would be so much easier if none of this ever happened and Vick was just a football player playing football. Running, passing, getting sacked every now and then... same old, same old.

    Sadly, that's not the case. Vick's involvement in and support of organized dogfighting and consequent dog deaths led to his being caught, tried, imprisoned and (temporarily, at least) banned from play in the NFL. But as we all know, he's out of jail now, and he's back in the NFL. Vick was recently signed to a $1.6 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, is allowed to play in the last Eagles preseason games, and will attend all practices and meetings. After that, he'll be eligible for full reinstatement to the NFL, and, should NFL commissioner Roger Goodell give the go-ahead, Vick will be allowed to resume play as before.

    If there is any good that has come out of the Michael Vick situation, it's that his cruel and irresponsible actions have brought focus to the dogfighting situation in the United States - it is seriously out of control, and it is something we should all be concerned about. Vick's arrest and conviction also made one thing very clear: dogfighting is not just a low-brow but harmless sport - it's a gruesome, murderous, disgusting "hobby." Largely an underground activity, the number of people involved in dogfighting is difficult to guess, but the estimate reaches well into the tens of thousands. Again: it is a prevalent epidemic in this country, and one that needs to be addressed.

    So the question is: where do we go from here? What's done is (unfortunately) done and we have to move on and address the issue of dogfighting in the United States and abroad. This grim issue requires the attention of every pet lover out there. The scenario involving Michael Vick has brought to light the fact that dog-fighting (and killing) is actually an acceptable form of sporting entertainment in some social circles. Allowing this to continue is dangerous, cruel and inhumane. It has to stop.

    We'd like to know what your suggestions are for eliminating the dogfighting problem. How can we learn from the actions of Michael Vick and proactively reach out to the individuals who are involved in dog-fighting (or may be tempted to start) and stop them in their tracks? How do we send this message and who delivers it? Is it Vick? Is it you? Is it us?

    Please take a few moments to consider this horrible problem and then leave your suggestions in the comments section of this post.

    Together, we can make a diffurence.


    Woofs, tail wags, purrs and meows,

    Moxie, Lucy, Tailer, Alice, Griffin, Sherpa, Pubby and Leo.

    --The Dogs and Cats of Dogster HQ

    Tags

    animal abuse, cats, dog fighting, dogfighting, dogs, football, Michael Vick, pets

     

    07/27/09
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    Tips on Dogs and Kids from Trainer Casey Lomonaco

    Casey Lomonaco is back, stepping in as the guest tipster on The Daily Dog Tip, the Dogster blog that serves up a juicy tidbit of canine information every weekday. We love having Casey as part of our team of talented pet experts and can't wait to see what else she's got in store for us this week. Parts 1 of her series on kids and dogs is live already and can be seen here.

    More about Casey: Casey is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner, a Professional Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, and a business partner at Clicking with Canines in Endicott, NY; where she teaches classes with Steve Benjamin and Abbie Tamber, also KPA CTP.

    At this stage in her training career, she focuses on family dog training; with a goal to eventually specialize in the application of scientifically supported behavioral modification techniques to save the lives of aggressive and reactive dogs while promoting improved and safe relationships with the humans who love them.

    Continuing education is a vital factor in her ability to continue offering her clients innovative, effective, efficient and scientifically sound training techniques. She enjoys reading every training book and watching every training video she can get her hands on, observing and networking with other trainers, attending conferences and seminars given by many of the world's most respected trainers and behaviorists. She also values the opportunity, as a KPA graduate, to continue assisting Steve Benjamin at KPA workshops and watch the training development of future KPA CTP.

    She is a published author of training material for both professionals and the pet owning public, available on www.clickertraining.com (Karen Pryor Clicker Training).

    AND, as if all that grrrreat stuff wasn't enough, she's also the proud human who's owned by Dogsters Mokie and Monte! So with tips coming from a fellow Dogster, you know you're in good paws!

    If you'd like to sign up to receive The Daily Dog Tip via email, so that you don't miss tips from Casey or any of our other grrreat pet experts, you may do so here, or to add the RSS feed to your reader, click here. Want it all? You can also get them via Twitter when you follow @dogster.

    Tags

    Casey Lomonaco, dog tips, tips, trainers

     

    07/21/09
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    Pet Writer Kelly Modzelewski’s Cranking Out the Tips This Week!

    Hey everyfur, pet writer Kelly Modzelewski is joining us again this week to dish out tips on The Daily Dog Tip, the Dogster blog that serves up a juicy tidbit of canine information every weekday. We're excited to have Kelly on our team of talented pet experts - she's already been providing us with Daily Cat Tips - and we can't wait to see what else she's got in store for us. Kelly's first two tips this week are up already and you can check them out here and here!

    More about Kelly:

    Kelly Modzelewski has been a dog and cat writer for a good fifteen years. She started when her dog Kingfish pointed out that canines needed more coverage in news and entertainment. She has published in People, Hoflin Dog Publications, Boston-area newspapers, Fetch, DogBoston, Modern Dog and more. She writes about anything dog, from health issues to history to humor. Her experience with dogs has been enlightening. Her experience with cats has been a reminder of where humans fit on the feline totem pole - the bottom.

    The best way to get The Daily Dog Tip is via email, and if you sign up now, you won't miss a single tip from our grrreat pet experts. Or to add the RSS feed to your reader, click here. Want it all? You can also get them via Twitter when you follow @dogster.

    Tags

    dog tips, kelly modzelewski, tips
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