It is not uncommon to find pawrents who are leery of photography sessions because they know their pet cannot be trusted off leash. Or worry they might be too excitable or too easily distracted.
I am a huge fan of keeping your dog on the leash, during the session, particularly if that is the best way to keep your pet safe. And yes I have also done sessions with well trained dogs who can be trusted off leash. But they are not my focus today, today I want to talk a little bit about their counter parts and how I can make magic with them too. First of all if your high energy dog is food or toy motivated we are in business. Treats, toys and affection can turn your pup into the canine version of Heidi Klum or Tyson Beckford. No disrespect intended to either Ms. Klum or Mr. Beckford but they are both known for being excellent at their craft.
What some pawrents have yet to consider is that even the most lacksidaisical pup is actually on the move. Obviously not as much, as a pooch that only seems to exist at 100 kph but I have the option of adjusting my camera settings to momentarily freeze either dog equally.
A recent session was done with the aforementioned type of dog. A high energy food motivated dog that needed to be leashed for her safety. Regardless we had a great time on her shoot and we ended up with scads of fantastic images, if I do say so myself. Sure there were moments when the squirrels in the trees won out but there were far more moments when she was having fun and working, nay WORKING the canine steel.
Take a look at the comparison below. The first image was how the photograph was made and in it you can see the leash and Perogy’s mom. Swipe to the final image and ta-daaa, Perogy stands alone.
I am told Perogy’s grandpawrents were amazed when they saw the final image. They were not expecting their active granddog with scads of energy to be patiently standing by herself like a good girl.
For the record Perogy is a good girl she just had a little help.