So you want to make an Instagram account for your dog? @lucywrinkles is ready to share 8 tips for managing your dog’s Instagram account.

And by @lucywrinkles, I mean, um, me. I’ll share the tips I’ve learned from managing an account for my dog. I got my puppy in October, and immediately knew I wanted to put her on Instagram. Here’s why:

1. Because I really love Instagram.
2. Because she’s VERY weird-looking.
3. Because I’m a glutton for self-punishment.

Kidding on that last one, but real talk, having your dog on Instagram is a lot more work than I thought it was going to be. Here are some tips for managing your dog’s Instagram account.

1. Follow other dogs, and then follow the dogs who follow them.

There are communities of “dogs” – owners who are just as overzealous about their pets as you – and they stick together. Befriend one of them (comment and like their photos frequently), and then follow the other dog accounts that do the same. Having an Instagram account for your dog is like trying to be the most popular kid in school. You have to kiss a lot of asses (sniff a lot of butts?) to get followers.

2. Your account will be “challenged” by other dog accounts to post photos.

So far, Lucy has been challenged to “share facts about your mom!” “share your nickname!” “share the most recent photo that was taken of you!” – don’t feel obligated to do these, but they are useful for growing your audience. It gives you “followers for life” – usually other dog accounts who like you.

3. The more descriptive hashtags the better.

The dog community loooooves their hashtags. Go hard on those things – more hashtags seemingly work better than being conservative. Most of the “large” accounts (8K followers and up) use excessive amounts of hashtags, until they get to around 20K, and hashtags aren’t as necessary. At that point you’re relying more on your current fan base and word of mouth for likes.

4. Use brand hashtags, too.

We used “#petbox” a lot in photos, and they reached out to us with a sponsorship as an official SpokesDoggy. (Use code: LUCY for 10% off a PetBox!) Tag brands that you respect and think your photo could relate to. I recommend dog food brands, collar brands (the one your dog is wearing, that is) and box subscriptions. If they share one of your photos, that’s a sure way to get some followers, too.

5. Respond to comments.

It takes me (er, I mean Lucy) a lot of time to respond to comments she gets on her photos. But don’t be a snob. If you can respond to comments, do it. You have to figure if you have time to post photos of your dog, you probably have time to respond to people who think your dog is cute. I mean, that’s a pretty #blessed life.

6. Find other dogs that look like your dog.

Owners are vain. They love seeing other dogs that look like their dogs. We started engaging with @_deeks_, a dog account with more than 9K followers because he looks like Lucy. Sure enough, we’re now “instapals,” and are happily one of the few accounts Deeks follows.

7. Update consistently.

Remember, there’s always a cuter, punnier dog out there! I try to update Lucy’s Instagram at least twice a day to keep the follower count up and interested.

8. Remember that haters gonna hate.

There’s always going to be some asshole who talks crap about your dog. Don’t take them too seriously. Anyone who has the time to comment that a dog is ugly has a horrible soul.