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 Jordyn (Athena & Kai'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?
Our photography and influencer journey started before we got our amazing Athena. Weeks before she came into our lives, we had a foster puppy named Winnie. We were nursing back to health and planned on adopting. Sadly, Winnie's health declined and crossed the rainbow bridge. We were heartbroken, especially Kai. Kai became depressed and didn't even want to play or act like his normal crazy fun loving pitbull self. This continued for a few weeks, while we didn't want another puppy we decided it was best to start looking for a companion for our boy. Ironically on Ann's birthday weekend, we got a last-minute call about a puppy available for adoption. We dropped everything and went to see her. This small little ball of fluff was placed in our laps and had the same markings as our previous puppy, Winnie. We always said she was truly meant for us. So we took this little fluffy puppy home and the rest was history! We started taking more photos and posting after we got Athena. We never wanted to miss a moment without our babies. Thus was born our page, we branched out into sharing not only our dogs but all of our other animals. They have been dubbed “The Land of Misfits" since all of them are rescued and somehow found their home with us! We use our page to share and educate about all different animals and aspects of care. We both have a background in veterinary medicine and use our photography to educate owners in a fun way. Then we branched into capturing other people's pets as well. We believe everyone should be able to have high-quality photos of any of their animals. We want to collect beautiful moments so everyone can cherish the life they have with their pets.
What do you think sets your dog apart from other dogs on social media? What makes them unique or particularly interesting to your followers?
What sets us apart? I would say the diversity! Athena found her best friend (obviously other than her brother!) in our Savannah Hybrid Eevee. These two take on the world together, play together, and hike together! (Maybe Eevee needs her own FI too!) A big part of our page highlights how all of our animals coexist together and the care that goes into that. We want to educate about owning different animals and making sure they live life to the fullest! That means enrichment, training, and care. Showing this highlights how relationships with all types of pets is possible.
How do you come up with ideas for your dog's posts and content? Do you have a specific creative process?
Yes and no! Obviously holidays are a big one so those have planning based on what each animal feels comfortable with. We want to stress that while you may see different types of our animals engaging in poses and photoshoots they only do what they are comfortable with! Our dogs and cats are trained to engage and pose in these photo sets, while our reptiles can leave the set area anytime and only do what they’re comfortable with. Beyond that our content is based on time of year and the places we visit! We enjoy traveling all over and giving our dogs the life of travel they deserve.
Have you ever faced any challenges or negativity on social media, and how have you dealt with it?
Yes we have, just like every creator will face eventually. The internet while a wonderful place to share ideas and create new opportunities is also open to interpretation. Online content only shows a snapshot of what our life truly is and many people have very strong opinions, especially when it comes to the animal industry(which everyone is entitled to). We keep our page positive and share content that we feel everyone will enjoy. While we get the occasional negativity, generally we find the best way to handle that is to ignore it. Everyone will always have something to say, but at the end of the day we are happy with ourselves and creating that positive environment for others to be apart of.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own dog influencer account or share their dog on social media?
Learn to enjoy the little moments. I think life gets obsessed with sharing every piece of life, which sharing online is a great way to share experiences with others. But remember to enjoy those moments with you and your dog. They live one life with you so make sure they see your face smiling back at them just as much as your camera. Remember that if you are doing what you truly feel is best for your pet then that’s all that matters.
How has your dog influenced your life outside of social media?
Each of them have influenced our lives in different ways. I’ll start with Kai, he is our 4 year old reactive pitbull mix. This dog has been through hell and high water with us. And he has given us a different view on a lot of things. We have learned patience, new views, and just overall a lot of different experiences. When you have a reactive dog there is so much more that goes into traveling and being out in the world with him. It’s made us better dog owners, Veterinary Technicians, and better people. Is it easy? No, life with him has been hard work but getting him to the point he is now and seeing him succeed is the best feeling. Now Athena our 3 year old mixed breed, has taught us all about positivity. This dog is just happy to live life! She is constantly happy and wants every animal to be her friend. I have never met a dog that gets upset because a cat or other animal doesn’t want to be her best friend, but that’s her! This dog has taught us another level of love, that I didn’t know even existed. Which is why they balance out each other. I truly believe Athena came around to give Kai the love and best friend he never thought he’d get.
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?
I think the best one was when we traveled up to Georgia we went down to a river trail. We decided to let Athena swim . Ann went down to make sure the water was good the bank was about 10 foot down. Athena got water zoomies and jumped down into the water. She assumed the water was shallow but actually deep. I (Jordyn) hit a patch of mud and slid down the bank trying to get her. Ann already had Athena and was laughing because the dog was soaking wet and I was covered in mud. Don’t worry the camera was fine though.
What is your favorite thing about being a dog influencer?
Having a community and meeting people from all over that understand and support you. I think one of the best group of people we’ve met is some of the reactive dog community. To get to share the good and the bad with them has been so helpful for us. Not to mention making connections with other small business owners. Getting to help each other succeed and make new connections is something we ever dreamed we would be doing. It’s amazing to be apart of creating a positive and supportive community.
Lastly, what's next for you and your dog on social media? Any exciting plans or projects in the works?
For our dogs they have some wonderful collaborations coming up! Yes they get all the good stuff. We can’t wait for them to get to test out some new enrichment products coming out from the companies we work with. They also will be supporting some new tags from Studio Zorya. For the humans, we plan to continue showcasing our rescue photography as well clients, and of course our dogs! Long term we plan to see where this takes us and enjoy this journey together.
