Although I may not be a “real” pet blogger, I think I’ve written enough Rottweiler-related content over the past couple of years to participate in today’s Pet Blogger Challenge, hosted by GoPetFriendly and Will My Dog Hate Me?.

So here are my answers to the questions of the day:

1. When did you begin your blog?
This blog started in November 2008 for NaBloPoMo. I did successfully make a post every day that month, and many of the posts were about my dogs and cats. I decided to keep the blog going and attempt to focus on two of my favorite topics: Rottweilers and technology.

My original blog was focused on my pets and their health issues and was active mainly from April-December 2002.

2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog?
My original blog was started to record and share my pets’ health and training issues. This blog was started because I wanted to do NaBloPoMo in November 2008.

3. Is your current purpose the same? If not, what’s different? If so, how do you feel you’ve met your goals?
I’m struggling to find a purpose at the moment. With the dogs on hiatus from training and competition, and thankfully enjoying good health, I often find myself reaching for anything to write about. I don’t feel I have the writing or photography skills to make day-to-day life with my pets interesting to anyone but my family (and I see some of them yawning a bit when they think I’m not looking). So I definitely need some specific topics such as training or health to focus on. It would be completely against the spirit of this exercise to go back to training before we’re ready just to have something to write about!

4. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you? If the former, how often — and what techniques do you use to stick to it? If the latter, do you worry about… well, whatever you might worry about (e.g. losing traffic, losing momentum)?
Over the last two years, I’ve often participated in NaBloPoMo, which runs all year now. In those months, I post daily. During the months I don’t participate in NaBloPoMo, I don’t have a schedule and I don’t worry about it.

5. Are you generating income from your blog? If so, how (e.g. sponsor ads, affiliate relationships, spokesperson opportunities)? If not currently, do you hope to in the future — and how?
No, and I’m not actively seeking to monetize. It’s not why I blog. If an opportunity that makes sense were to present itself, I hope I will be smart enough to recognize it.

6. What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular (bragging is good!)?
I like having a place of my own to say what I want. I like that sometimes one small blogger can make a huge difference just by getting something started for a big cause, an educational effort, or just to help one dog live a better life.

7. What do you like least?
At its worst, the blogosphere (hate that word) is just as cliquish as high school was, and ten times as nasty. No thanks to the internet, it can take less than a day to falsely ruin someone’s name. Maybe I would feel differently about both high school and the blogosphere if I were one of the “cool kids.” Nah, I don’t think so.

8. How do you see your blog changing/growing in 2011?
I’m still deciding whether I will keep blogging at all. As I mentioned in my answer to question 3, I’m still struggling with redefining my purpose.

So there you go. Thank you to Amy Burkert and Edie Jarolim for making the Pet Blogger Challenge happen! There’s a linky list, too. Go and check out what everyone else has to say, and let’s hear from you, too!
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