Dog Lovers Love #FF on Facebook and Twitter, but What Does it Mean?

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Every Friday I see it all over the social media sites. I've never asked. Sometimes it's obvious; sometimes not so much. I'm talking about the acronym or hashtag FF.


I've searched and searched for an official meaning of #FF. I've come down to one conclusion: Bloggers and other social media users love it and use it for whatever acronym works for them. Here's a few I've found that you may find relevant: 

• Follow Friday (as in Twitter)
• Facebook Friday (duh)
• Friend Friday (I guess this works for both)
• FIDO Friendly
• Friend feed (on Facebook)
• Furry Friday (pet bloggers?)
• Friends Forever (as in BFF)
• French Fries
• Firefox
• Fat Free
• Frequent Flyer
• Full Figured

Let's collect some data here. Leave a comment with other meanings for the acronym FF that are family-friendly (no pun intended) and might be useful to our readership. Then answer 1 question: Do you use Twitter and/or Facebook for social networking? If so, which or both? 


Don't use either? Check my pages out here, just for the fun of it:  Facebook and Twitter. Comments? I'd love your input. What were you expecting to find? What would you like to find? Hit that comment button at the bottom of the post and spill!

Now, let's move on to today's drawing winners:

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

No! You're not seeing double. Well, maybe you are, but there really are 2 mugs up there! Today we're giving away these two adorable dog-lovers' coffee mugs from one of our favorite sponsors, MANKINDdog™. They have a ton of cool dog and dog owner gifts, and they also have Phil and Gotham greeting you as you arrive on their site. It's definitely worth a visit, just to get a glimpse of these two fine specimens (tongue in cheek). Haven't seen them? Be sure to visit after you read this prize giveaway post.

Last week's Magical Mystery Mutt Tour and Blog Hop offered a fun guessing game for many visitors, trying to determine the genetic makeup of many of my blogging buddies' mixed breeds. It made for a fun-filled afternoon of guessing, for sure, and there were many interesting Heinz 57s to ponder. With 18 comments on my one post, this clearly was a big hit with you, my readers.

As a little added bonus, I offered to give away something that signifies the meaning of  "Mans' Best Friends" to me--the 2 mugs from MANKINDdog™. The winners are:

Patti S.

Lillij (no last name!)

Dust off a spot on your desk, ladies, right after you drop me an email with your address to LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com. This will be the perfect office coffee mug--it affectionately identifies your love of dogs. Watch for some other surprise freebies in your package as well, something I do just for fun. Enjoy!

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Pet Charities Funded and Prize Package Awarded from MANKINDdog™

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© courtesy MANKINDdog™
Gotham and Phil Welcome Visitors

It was a leap of faith to take on this fundraiser and promo even with MANKINDdog™, being the passionate and dedicated company that they are. Did I mention that they have a furry support staff of 7? If you visited their site, you've already met Gotham, the spectacular Mastiff on their header. 

It's time to wrap up this campaign. MANKINDdog™ will be offering a gift to their local Humane Society in Nogales, Arizona, in response to the blog links that came in to help us raise money for this struggling organization. And me, well, I plan to give A New Beginning  my donation. Their windfall of 257 Labs has continued to tug at my heart. Thank you to the folks at Cesar Canine Cuisine for matching our fundraising dollars. This will make for a much happier holiday for these dogs in need. Cesar Canine Cuisine has been extremely supportive of All Things Dog Blog; be sure to watch for upcoming giveaways of their products and some adorable Tshirts too!

MANKINDdog's prize package, well advertised on my site, as well as Facebook, has been earned by someone from my own ranks. Congratulations to Yvonne DiVita of Scratchings and Sniffings, for her winning raffle entry. Yvonne will get the following prize package: a MANKINDdog™ canvas tote bag filled with 2 boxes of organic dog treats, a dog sculpture, a MANKINDdog™ coffee mug, a MANKINDdog™ Tshirt, and an Isola Luce candle. Congratulations, Yvonne, you earned it!

I have some thank yous to offer to those of you who supported me in getting the word out with your blogs. If you linked to our original blog post and notified me where you did this, I thank you for your help. Each link earned more money for our chosen charities, so you can be proud that you followed through on your promise to "Be the Change." If I have missed you in the following list, feel free to send me the link to your post and I will amend it.

AfFURmation

Blogpaws 

Bunny Jean Cook 
Cesar Canine Cuisine

Dogingham 

DogTipper

Freaky Dog People

Go Pet Friendly 

Happy Tails Books

The Pet Book Lady

Scratchings and Sniffings

These bloggers, some new friends, and others simply met via the Internet, have helped me to work toward a goal. For that I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. When you need me, I'll be there for you. I am easily reachable at LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com anytime you need a paw up. I'd like to help you Be the Change as well.

I am aware that a good number of my fellow bloggers Tweeted about this charity fundraiser and I would be amiss not to thank them as well, although I cannot thank them by name. As the folks at Freaky Dog People say; "You know who you are."

Thank you also to the folks at MANKINDdog™ for offering this opportunity to show off their wonderful products and upstanding business practices. They have been a joy to work with and I thank them for enduring all the bumps in the road, as well as the small successes we enjoyed together. It was a journey of learning and spreading my wings, and one in which I am pleased to have had a partner. Happy tails!


P.S. Be sure to stop in at 5 Minutes for Fido, where Tanner and Oliver are ready to take some time off from all this latest hoopla. I suppose I wore them out with all the photos, bandana fun and even the Woof and Meow series. Have you missed it? Follow the link to the latest post and all the links are at the bottom. Enjoy!

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© Carrie Boyko, all rights reserved

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Your Dog Choice: What a Hat Says About a Guy

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko

Tanner in his Thinking Cap

While cruising through the website of MANKINDdog™ last week, I realized something. Their signature hat, emblazoned with their logo, screams out that all dogs are for all people--the whole of MANKIND. Yet, until that moment, I had always seen a guy's hat as a signal of the type of dog he would choose. 


Call me an amateur profiler if you like, but this is all in fun, so please just sit back and enjoy the sillinesss that is me today. Hang in there with me for a moment while I explain. Visualize this...okay.


A guy in a cowboy hat is often found with a herding or a hunting breed. These dogs typify his association with ranches, the West, and the mountain wilderness lifestyle. 


Your typical preppie type from an Ivy League college is probably wearing his Princeton baseball cap (and don't forget the sweatshirt) while walking his dog in the park--his Labrador Retriever. These days Yellow  and Chocolate are the Labs du jour.


Tanner's favorite hat for 'thinking', shown above, sends an image of foreigners to my mind. And maybe a suave, debonair, elderly gentleman. Well, that certainly doesn't define Tanner, but I suppose he's not really part of this hat association thing I've got going today. He's cute though, huh?


Now picture a frequent flyer in the fighting dog genre--a black hoodie with low-riding shorts that show off his boxers, pants held loosely at his thighs by a heavily-studded black belt. What kind of hat is he wearing? A black baseball cap with a 'boarding' logo, but backwards on his head. Right? And maybe tipped a little off center just to add some extra cool.


Now I get to use one of my son's funny words--jarhead. I guess it comes from the haircut our servicemen get when they first join up. Their hats? Typically a flat topped military-style cap in camouflage. Their dog is often the German Shepherd that serves in so many of our deployment areas to sniff out bombs. A natural choice--protective, loyal, obedient--just like their owners.

© Carrie Boyko
My Version of
the Military Style Hat

Funny thing about this game I'm playing here. As I was looking at various types of hats that are prevalent today, I found fishing hats too. You don't see them often, but then I don't see many fishermen. They tend to take to the lake before dawn and are back in by mid-morning. These hats look cute with flies and hooks and worms all over them. I never did come up with a typical dog for the fisherman, though. Any ideas? I'm actually stumped on this one.

Now, a bird hunter will also be wearing a camo hat, and sporting a Retriever to return the duck, quail or pheasant to him after he fells it over the water. Now there's a job Tanner would love. Sorry boy; I'm not much for guns. We'll stick to fetch in the pool and at the dog park.


Today I had some fun looking through my husband's hat collection. It's more like a baseball cap collection, actually. It's sort of a fanatical hobby that makes him kinda cute to me. (Go ahead and say "awwww!") After 32 1/2 years of marriage to the guy, I'm glad I still think he's cute. But I digress.


He's acquired a couple of very nice cowboy hats (western style, anyway) over the years and a recent addition of a Fedora that I think he pulls off quite well. Occasionally he wears Tanner's hat from the photo above. It's a good look on him. What do you call those? Not a beret....


The majority of hubby's hat collection seems to be easily sorted into 3 areas of distinction: golf courses he has played, colleges and universities he likes (lord knows we've supported enough of them with 3 kids and an attorney in the family) and a third category that is sorta corny. Working in the children's book industry, hubby has all sorts of hats from various book series, publishers and characters. His choice of hats says a lot about him. He likes to read, golf and show off his favorite universities. You may find this humorous, but I like a guy whose appearance says something about his interests. 

©The Stray Dog™

So, what hat is he wearing today? You'll love this. While on vacation this summer we ate at a restaurant called The Stray Dog. They have a shop and quite a bit of custom imprinted clothing, hats and all sorts of personal items--really adorable. Their logo is a scruffy, indeterminate dog of the pound puppy sort.


What's unique about this, other than it's lack of a logo with AKC papers, is how they designed their hat. I'll plug that is here too. The frayed outline of the words really add to the image of the scruffy dog, don't you think? It's a perfect design fit for the company's image. We had such fun shopping there.

© Carrie BoykoShall I Steal Hubby's Hat?

All that said, I have had some great times shopping at MANKINDdog™ recently. I'm particularly proud of the doggie sculpture. "No, mom, you can't have it!"

I suppose now I'll need to pick up one of their hats for hubby. I guess if he'll wear a "Stray Dog" hat, he's likely to enjoy wearing a macho MANKINDdog™ hat:

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

Now I just have one problem. Red or olive?


Today is your last chance to place your order to get in on the big drawing giveaway. Good luck everyone.

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Dog Lover Raffle Offers Great Prizes from MANKINDdog™

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© courtesy MANKINDdog™ images
Your Prize Package Awaits

Times are tough for consumers and businesses alike. We recognize this. That's why we're trying to run an event that helps out all of our favorites: rescues, the Humane Society, our Facebook fans, our All Things Dog Blog™ readers, dog lovers and even our partner, MANKINDdog™. They've been wonderful to offer these two great prize packages. But to win one, you'll have to enter. 


If you'd like to help out your own wallet, while aiding in donations to pet charities, and getting a chance (odds are high!) at the big prize pictured above, read on. All you have to do to get into the raffle is:

• Place a $40 minimum order from MANKINDdog™ no later than November 19, 2010. Maybe you can start your holiday shopping early?
• Send me an email letting me know you ordered from them. I'm at LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com. I'll personally make sure your name is in the raffle bucket.

More good news: You'll receive FREE shipping of your order and save time and gasoline, while avoiding the crowds at the mall. PLUS, there's a free gift for your order that includes a super cool coffee mug from MANKINDdog™ and their signature bandana--for you or Fido to enjoy. It's no-brainer and a WIN-WIN for both you and the rescue groups that we will donate to. 

Did I peak your interest? Let's tour their site. First, you'll go to www.MANKINDdog.com and be greeted by Phil and Gotham. Go ahead and drool over the guy and the dog. I do.

Now choose a tab with a category to shop in. Here's a few highlights, starting with the perfect hat for your dog loving guy friends:

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

What dog loving guy doesn't need a hat for sunny walks, dog park visits and Frisbee games? The perfect gift!

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

These beautiful metal vases are offered with lighted flowers in a variety of colors to suit your decor. Is there a lady on your gift list that would enjoy flowers she doesn't have to water? They're stunningly perfect!

© courtesy MANKINDDOG™

These ostrich-backed collars are definitely high-end, but it's always fun to drool. Pretend you're shopping at Tiffany's for your dog and at least do some window shopping for fun!

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

I know. I know. These are spectacular bowls, and perfect for that guy on your list who enjoys doling out the chow. Consider your Mastiff or Great Dane friends and think about surprising them with an unexpected holiday sign of friendship and love. Don't forget the Chihuahua lovers either!

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

These Butterfly Forever Candles are magnificently beautiful. MANKINDdog™ offers a number of variations of these, including a seashell version that is perfect for your beach-loving friends. Be sure to check them out under the Candles tab.

© courtesdy MANKINDdog™

This ladies tote is ample in size, made of durable, heavy-duty canvas-like material, and zips shut for a secure carryall. I ought to know; I have one!

If you're looking for something for a teen or someone with wanderlust on your list, check out their backpack and travel duffel under the Duffel Bag tab.

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

For a very special gift, this spa collection includes everything needed for a day of pampering. From candles, soap, body wash, lotion, and much more, she'll enjoy luxuriating in this goodie bag, for sure.

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

Got a big cook on your shopping list this season? Check out the Pomegranate or Peach infused Balsamic Vinegar, sure to please the most discriminating of palates. 

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

Can you guess which book I'd most like to read? Nice choices for all you dog lovers out there!

© courtesy MANKINDdog™

Looking for something a little less tough on the wallet? The Fun and Fresh tab has your ticket, like this adorable, disposable camera made just for the dog lover in you. Fun and Fresh includes an assortment of smaller gifts that are perfect for co-workers, dog park buddies, kids and even the stocking on the mantle. You know the one I mean. ;)

I hope I've given you enough of a peek to get you shopping. The clock is ticking. You have till 11:59 on Friday, November 19th to place your qualifying order for the Dog Lovers' Raffle. We'll announce the winners on Saturday, November 20th. Good luck, and don't forget to let me know when you place an order. Happy tails!