Being a dog momager is a serious business, and Nina Dobrev would know. Sure, Nina’s film and TV roles have garnered her a fleet of devoted fans over the years, but as of late, it’s her job as manager to her dog Maverick that has really gotten people talking.

As the next big step in Mav’s burgeoning influencer career, she and Nina (but like, mostly Nina) are collaborating with the pet treat company Milk-Bone and the streetwear brand OnlyNY on a line of dog collars, bags, and (human) clothing.

The proceeds for the line (which is part of Milk-Bone’s More Dog campaign) are set to go to Canine Assistants, a non-profit that places service dogs with people with mobility difficulties. In Cosmo‘s chat with Nina, we got word from the star on what motivated her to join this campaign and what life as a famous dog mom is really like.

What initially inspired you to join the More Dog campaign?

I mean, you just said it! As soon as you say the word dog, for the most part I’m in. I once accepted a movie without even reading the script because it had [“dog” in the title]. Luckily, the script was good. And I got to hang out with dogs all day long, so I made the right call.

Yeah, that could have been a gamble!

I know. But my dog Maverick’s is my best friend and she’s an actual, legitimate fan of Milk-Bone. That’s how. I trained her when she was a puppy.

When they approached me and told me about the collaboration between Milk-Bone and a fashion line, the street style aspect of it led to an immediate yes since it piqued all of my interests. And the fact that, on top of everything, the proceeds go to a charity is really cool.

You’re a momager of sorts, since you run Maverick’s famous dog account. I gotta know: What’s it like? What’s the weirdest part of it? What type of DMs and comments are you getting?

I only have it set to where Maverick gets DM alerts from people that she follows, and she only follows me! I’m sure deep in the DMs there’s some weird stuff, but I have to be honest, I’ve never opened it.

So fans shouldn’t try and blow up Maverick’s inbox.

There’s not enough time in the day between, like, Instagram for me, Instagram for her, TikTok for me, and all the things. I don’t have time!

Speaking of TikTok, I saw your iconic bang reveal to Maverick and Shaun [White, Nina’s boyfriend]. Were they easy to direct? TikTok productions can be a whole thing.

That one was just one take for all of it. I just happened to be recording a press record, and she yawned right in that moment. It was perfect.

A natural! Do you have a favorite item from the collection that you found yourself or Maverick really wearing out a lot?

I’m wearing the shirt right now! It’s really cool in the back, too. I like it because it’s simple, cool, and lightweight.

Okay, that’s so fun. I need to know, is there anything Maverick’s done lately that’s just made you laugh out loud? I know we have moments with our dog where we’re like, “Are you a person?”

Maverick has this bad habit that I, unfortunately, taught her when she was a puppy. She would bark when I got home, and in order to get her to stop barking, I would pet her, and so now she just barks when she wants to be pet. Which is *all the time*, and we’re trying to wean her off of that habit because it’s very loud.

But also every morning, every single morning without fail, she comes and she’ll like to lay on my body and nestle her head inside and then put her little paw on my chest. And it’ll be like a human just cuddling with you.

What recent buys have saved you recently? Pet-related or otherwise?

I got something on Amazon; It’s this water dispenser with a little cup at the end, so that you press a button and the water comes out, and dogs can drink it out of your hand. Then you press another button and the water goes back and filters out the dirt when it goes back into the bottle, so you’re not wasting water. It’s small and compact for when you go on a hike, and it’s super functional and easy.

But if we’re being literal, as in “savers,” I live in The Hills and there are coyotes up here. These leashes Milk-Bone made with this collab are really strong. I always get so paranoid that sometimes leashes aren’t as durable, but they look cool. These ones look cool and they’re durable. But with these coyotes, she might run off or the coyote might grab her, and I’m so paranoid about that.

That’s understandable. Has Maverick ever been recognized before you on any of your walks?

Honestly, yes. It’s definitely happened where somebody will notice her and then sort of look up and look at me and be like, “Oh my God”. It’s my fault for making her Instagram famous.

The perils of fame. Next is a situation when someone will give you the camera to take a picture of them with Maverick.

Sometimes people will ask me for a photo. I’ll go take a photo with them, and they’ll be like, “Oh, no, we need Maverick, too,” so she’s definitely part of the package!

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