Welcome to the ultimate destination for dog enthusiasts and social media mavens alike. At Dogfluencers, we're passionate about showcasing the best and brightest in the world of four-legged fame.
Whether you're looking for adorable photos, heartwarming stories, or expert tips on how to turn your own pup into a social media star, we've got you covered.
Today we got the honor of interviewing Celeste (Grímr's Human). You can find a direct link to their Instagram here.
Here is their story:
Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a dog influencer? What inspired you to start sharing your dog's adventures on social media?
Devries: It started out as a way to share local dog friendly places with others, my partner and I love being able to jump in the car, head out to a great walking spot for Grímr, but also make a day of it by going out for dinner or checking out a local winery/brewery etc, having Grímr with us meant looking for somewhere she could come too and we found some great little gems and wanted to share them. Along the way, we found some amazing products that worked well for us, and started sharing information about those with our followers as well. I really enjoy the content creation aspect of things, and my girl loves going on adventures, even if it means a few minutes are spent with her humans taking pesky pics! 😂
What do you think sets your dog apart from other dogs on social media? What makes them unique or particularly interesting to your followers?
Devries: We’re still finding our niche but having an urban working dog really pushes us to think about ways to enrich her and pushes us to focus on rural outtings, finding cozy little gems along the way! We’re also slowly shifting focus to show casing what it’s like having a border collie as a pet, and really want to advocate for working breeds who are overstimulated. Often the advice to people with working dogs in the home is that they must be bored (do more, push harder, you shouldn’t be a BC owner if you can’t handle bad behaviours, when in many cases, their dog is overtired and needs a nap.
How do you come up with ideas for your dog's posts and content? Do you have a specific creative process?
Devries: Usually we will pick a random location and then start researching the area for a good walking spot and good dog friends pubs etc. We tried a new snack/product that we think is beneficial to dogs and want to share that with our followers. I love having fun with silly trends too. Honestly, my creative process is just having fun. The content is secondary. Fun with Grímr, fun with the images or footage, fun with my partner. Our content comes from a happy household and a happy pup. Thats not to say there are no challenges though, but that also keeps it fun!
Have you ever faced any challenges or negativity on social media, and how have you dealt with it?
Devries: We’re not big enough for negativity yet, I don’t think! I think going into a space where we advocate for overstimulated working breeds in the home, we’ll probably face some negativity from people who believe working dogs need to be doing something more, being pushed harder, that they don’t make good pets but I disagree. Grímr is only still quite young but my old boy was also a border collie and he taught me so much and we had an absolutely wonderful relationship, even though it was filled with lots of mistakes and lots of learning. I want to share that with other owners who are struggling but love their dogs enough to not just simply give up! I can only let my experiences speak for themselves and look forward to challenging those beliefs.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own dog influencer account or share their dog on social media?
Devries: Do it! Have fun with it! Keep posting even when no one is watching. Don’t stress about not having it all figured out, learn along the way! Post the content you want to see, engage with others and build a community of your own. You’ll grow, even if it’s slow, it’s still growth!
How has your dog influenced your life outside of social media?
Devries: In every single way. Mostly, my mental health. When I don’t want to get out of bed, I do it for her. When I don’t want to leave the house, I do it for her. And then I get to experience her joy and happiness, and you look at any dog loving hard, being happy, exploring new wonders and try stay sad in that very moment.
Can you tell us about a particularly memorable or funny moment you've had with your dog during one of your photo shoots or adventures?
Devries: She’s always rolling in some type of wild life poop. The first few times it happened while I was trying to get content, I wanted to cry! We were taking videos that included her harness on one of our adventures and before I could get some nice shots, she rolled straight in some poop and it was covered! But it happens so often since we’re out and about in nature, I just laugh about it now. I’ve learned to get the photos and videos as early in our adventures as possible if we’re creating content with a new product that we’re showcasing, and then letting her have her fun because that’s what our adventures are about.
What is your favorite thing about being a dog influencer?
Devries: Sharing my gorgeous girl with the world! She makes my soul happy and I hope she has made people smile especially someone who truely needed something to smile about that day!
Lastly, what's next for you and your dog on social media? Any exciting plans or projects in the works?
Devries: I am planning to start my own education journey into dog behaviour so that I can back my experience up with science! It’s going to be a long term goal, but super excited to get started!
For more helpful articles about pet-parenting tips, check out the Off Leash blog at TryFi.com.
Want to know more about TryFi.com? The Fi Dog Collar is a GPS tracking collar that not only keeps track of your dog’s location, activity levels, and sleep patterns, but it also alerts you if your dog escapes your backyard. This is the fastest way to find your dog after an escape. Try the Fi Dog Collar today!
