You know the kind of baby mama with NO drama? Just barking… lots and lots of barking? Well, we gals, just like you, are obsessed with being a dog mom and are proud of it! And when you love a specific something like we do, you go on crazy Instagram binges searching for pictures and following stories that match your obsession. This practice (hobby) brings us to a new section on Gal’s Best Friend where we get to highlight our favorite #dogmoms all over the world! So without further ado… We are SO excited for you to get a closer look at and meet our very own West Coast Blogger, Chelsea, and her pups Abbie and Gunner! 

How did you and your pups find each other?

ABBIE: About a month after getting married, I knew I wanted a fur baby to love and to hold and to cherish until dea… whoops! Wrong love of my life! Lol. In all seriousness, I missed my dog back home in Texas and really wanted someone to love on while my husband worked late nights. I wanted a pup to cuddle and train and all that good stuff! And let me tell you, it took a LOT of convincing as a newlywed. But my charm and good looks worked after a month of… nagging. I’ll call it what it is! I nagged day and night until Sean fiiiinally gave in and said I could get a dog! SO! The search began (actually it continued because I was already looking before he said yes. Hehe.) I searched high and low. I searched countless websites, visited a few shelters within an hour’s drive, stalked listings on Craigslist and KSL until finally… I saw her. Abigail! The prettiest German Shorthaired Pointer I’ve ever seen! Ohhh that sweet little thing and her beautiful, emerald green eyes! I fell in love. I immediately left work to “go on my lunch break” and I picked her up and brought her back with me! The rest is history.

GUNNER: After getting Abbie, I just felt like she needed a little sibling. So I, again, nagged day and night to get her a playmate. This went out for years (literally YEARS, no exaggeration) until Sean got tired of me asking and finally agreed. I found and fell in love with an “oops” litter of GSP/Vizsla mixes on KSL and I devised a plan to get Sean up to Cottonwood Heights to see these pups. I made a detailed plan of how everything would work out perfectly with a new pup. LOL. Little did I know that this little oops litter would bring so much joy as well as tears. He was such a frustrating puppy!!! VERY hard headed and didn’t really care to please like Abbie did as a pup. Nonetheless, Gunner Bummer was meant to be part of our family. And he’s the sweetest bubba to his little brother, Liam. Melts my heartttt.

What are your top 3 favorite dog brands and why?

When it comes to food, the pups love Orijen! Abbie and Gunner loooove their Tundra freeze-dried food. If I could afford to buy this stuff all the time, I would. But in addition to a puppy baby mama, I’m also a mama, and I’m ballin’ on a budget these days.

Hands down, Playology for toys. We just received some of these bad boys and Abbie and Gunner go CRAZY over them! They are scented toys that keep dogs occupied for hours at a time! Abbie and Gunner’s fav is the Dri-Tech Rope toy! Check it out here.

There are too many good apparel shops to choose from! I reeeeally love Pupcycled stuff though… although we don’t own any of their neckwear because it’s a little outside of my budget. #2018goals!
 

What is the perfect day date like with your pups in your city?

Oh, man. For me or for them? Haha. If they could have it their way, they’d just run free in the mountains or wide open fields! Any place they can chase wildlife. We’d have to start there, that way they’re good and tired so I can take a nap later! After letting them run around for a couple of hours, I’d head to a pet-friendly restaurant with breakfast food. I loooove breakfast. And I’d, of course, sneak the pups some goodies! After that, we’d all take naps! You thought I was kidding about the nap? These days, a nap is equivalent to PURE GOLD! And these velcro dogs give some amazing cuddles to top it off. After that, we’d take photos for their Insta and they would behave and listen so that pictures aren’t such a chore. LOL.

How did you build your dog’s account?

Time. Lots and lots of time. Lol. Okay but really, the recipe for success, especially at the beginning, is INTERACTION! You haaaave to interact with other accounts. And that includes people commenting on your own account as well as you commenting on others, that way you’re visible to people who don’t follow you! I’d also suggest tagging like-minded accounts in your pics. I don’t mean personal accounts but like.. accounts for a specific purpose (i.e. Pointers of Instagram for Abbie and Gunner). I’m not going to lie, I took some pretty crappy photos at first (I don’t suggest it) so I tried to make up for it with clever descriptions. That only goes so far. I suggest NOT posting unless it’s a good, quality-photo.

Megan Rose

Megan is the Co-Founder of Gal's Best Friend and the East Coast Editor. She lives in New York City with her 3 dogs. Megan works in the pet industry on the marketing side, Megan is also the Pet Contributing Editor at Bestprodcuts.com is an author of Rescuing Rumba (coming Fall 2021), and a border member of Global Strays.