Inspirational Blogs

I was very excited and honoured to hear that Hawk, over at browndog cbr, awarded me with the Inspiration Award. Hawk's blog is one that I love to read. He's always got so many beautiful pictures that highlight his life and the scenery in the southeastern U.S., and also has helpful posts about his training. It's therefore a great honour for me to receive this award from him. Thank you so much, Hawk!

The rules for accepting the award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded this to you.
2. Link posts by you and ten fellow bloggers that you find inspirational.
3. Forward the award to those ten fellow bloggers.

As someone who is still relatively new to dog ownership and to blogging, I gain so much inspiration and knowledge from my fellow pet bloggers. You have been there with encouraging words when I go through frustrations with raising a stubborn puppy, like when he eats everything in sight (and I mean everything), pulls on his leash, or barks like crazy. You are quick to provide advice and guidance to a newbie dog owner/blogger like me, like when I run into training difficulties. You appreciate my random stories (like my first and second dog-sitting adventures) and my cute pictures of little Oscar. In short, you have made blogging a great learning experience and a lot of fun. I hope that my blog has provided you with inspiration, entertainment, or knowledge in return.

There are a lot of blogs that I love to read, and they are inspiring in their own ways. They motivate me to work harder at my training, to take better pictures, to teach Oscar new things and take him to new places, to make better treats, or to be a better blogger. I'm more than happy to pass the award on to ten of these wonderful blogs. While the rule is to link to posts that are inspiring, I'd rather link to the blogs themselves and talk about why I find them inspiring, since what I love about these blogs can't really be summed up in just one of their blog posts. Here goes, in no particular order!

1. Just a Pup

Just a Pup is Catalina's blog about an absolutely adorable Tibetan Terrier pup named Tibby. I am always impressed by Catalina's dedication to Tibby's training. She also blogs about Tibby's adventures, whether it's walks or visits to doggy day care. Last but not least, I love her pictures of Tibby!

2. The Chronicles of Cardigan

This is Elizabeth's blog about her Cardigan Welsh Corgis, Jon Farleigh and Dewi, and her cats! I love Elizabeth's blog because it's always so entertaining. Her pictures and captions never fail to crack me up, and her pups have so much personality.

3. Honey the Great Dane

Honey's blog is fantastic. Her owner, Hsin-Yi, has posted many fantastic training tips and videos on her website. Hsin-Yi's dedication to training shows in Honey, who looks like a sweet and very well-behaved Great Dane, and I really admire her dedication to helping other dog owners like me work on their training.

4. Rubie a Miniature Schnauzer

I enjoy reading about other miniature schnauzers, but Rubie's blog is one of my favourites. I love reading about Rubie's many adventures, which she often shares with her miniature schnauzer cousins, Scarlet and Zoe. Rubie's mom posts delicious-sounding treat recipes and pictures of Rubie's amazing-looking training classes.

5. Gardening With Wyatt

Reading Wyatt and Stanzie's blog is always a lot of fun. They are very charming Airedale Terriers who help their humans out in the garden. The pictures of Wyatt and Stanzie are always cute and entertaining, but I also love the gardening pictures and tips. I am an amateur gardener, so tips and new ideas are always appreciated!

6. Schnauzer Days

Dex and Louis are handsome miniature schnauzers who live in England. I like reading about their adventures and I am always amazed at the beautiful places they get to romp through. It makes our local dog park look a little boring in comparison!

7. Pet Blogs United

If you're a pet blogger, you probably already know about PBU. I'm very impressed by Oskar (a miniature schnauzer who has his own blog, The Daily Oskar) and his mom-person Pam creating a place where pet bloggers can find other pet blogs, and being so great with encouraging pet bloggers to go visit other blogs. They were the first ones to link back to Oscar the Pooch when I first started the blog, and they're great about visiting other pet blogs and leaving comments. I think that they are a big part of the pet blogging community, no question about it!

8. Tail Waggin

This is a blog about Sadie, an English Springer Spaniel puppy. I love reading about Sadie, because it reminds me of my early days with Oscar. The puppy days go by so quickly! The posts cover a range of topics, from training to treats to general puppy adventures. I also think Sadie is adorable, so I love the cute pictures of her.

9. PupLove

AJ's blog is about more than her dog, Jack. AJ blogs about positive reinforcement training, her experiences in raising Jack, and about adoptable dogs. PupLove offers a lot to read and learn about, which is one of the things I like best about it.

10. I am Santa, a Miniature Schnauzer

This blog is about Santa, Minnie, Christmas, Jingle Bell, Happy, Pinky, and Beckham. It's great to see them all interact with each other in the many pictures and videos in the blog, and they always get such interesting and delicious-looking treats!

If you haven't visited these blogs before, I'd encourage you to, and I hope you find them as inspiring as I have.