Dogs have been shaming and embarrassing themselves throughout the ages. What’s new is the perfect platform for sharing such behavior through hilarious and adorable pics on Pascale Lemire’s Dogshaming.com. Lemire took some time out to fill us in on the history and work that goes into running this incredibly popular and addictive site:
Q: When and why did you start Dogshaming?
A: I started Dogshaming in mid-August. It all started when my fiance, Mike, and I caught our more mischievous dog under the bed, chewing on Mike’s underwear. There was only the elastic band left. After laughing so hard that we cried, we started to get concerned. Was he going to be okay? Then he threw up part of them and the rest…well, you know. So Mike thought it would be funny to shame him, so he took a picture of Beau, which I posted on my personal blog. Within 12 hours, we’d amassed over 600 likes. So we started up Dogshaming, and the rest is history.
Q: How many picture submissions do you receive on average?
A: We receive probably over 500 submissions a day.
Q: From those submissions, have you found that any particular breed tends to be more frequently shameful?
A: Oh, yes: pitbulls, wiener dogs, labs and weimaraners are some of the most submitted.
Q: What pets do you have? Have they been featured on the site?
A: I have two weenies. They’ve both been showcased numerous time on the blog.
Q: What do your family and friends think of the site?
A: Everyone thinks it’s so funny. I’ve been really fortunate to have received very little backlash from this blog.
Q: What blogs do you read?
A: I read quite a few personal blogs from friends, but the popular ones I check are The Frogman, CuteOverload, Buzzfeed (we were featured in the 54 Best Tumblrs Started in 2012) and Awkward Family Photos.
Q: How much time do you spend on Dogshaming daily?
A: I spend approximately 6-8 hours a day working on submissions, Adoptable Fridays, correspondence, charities, etc. I’m a one-woman show, so it’s a full-time job!
Q: How much do you correspond one-on-one with readers?
A: I try to respond to all inquiries on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr within 12 hours. I am very active as our readership is the reason we’re still in business. Often, our readers have good ideas on how to improve the site.
Q: What joys did you not expect when you started the site? What pains?
A: The Adoptable Fridays is definitely the most fulfilling part of the blog. Being able to help these wonderful dogs who have no permanent home definitely makes up for the less fun parts. Every once in a while, I’ll receive a lude picture as a submission, or someone will tweet us about how terrible our site is and that we should quit Twitter. But then I realize, I have 18,000+ Twitter followers for a reason, and more than how many people read our blog every day? One person who hates our blog vs. hundreds of thousands who love it. Makes it easy to get past the negative.
Q: Which post has made you LOL the most?
A: Having seen close to 50,000 submissions, it’s hard to remember the ones who make me laugh. I think this one is probably one of the funniest, though.
ADVERTISERS: Make sure to check out Dogshaming’s current 300×250 and 160-wide ad units. Use Discount code “Blogads25” to receive 25% off when you purchase an ad within the next week. Dogshaming will donate another 25% of your purchase amount to an animal rescue center.
