Amongst all the big news lately – the new studio, the grand opening, the press & features – I thought it was time for a just-for-fun blog post. So today I don’t have any stop-the-presses news to report; I just wanted to share with you my dog Bailey’s first trip to the Coronado Dog Beach! I think it’s important not to get bogged down in all the chaos of work, and just escape every now and then. Especially when pet photography is my specialty – there’s a LOT of fun places to escape to in San Diego! (And to be honest… let’s just say I need to be taking my own advice right about now!) So here are a few photos from Bailey’s first foray into the Coronado waters.

She had a great time running around and stretching her legs. Is she athletic or what?! Honestly, I don’t take her to the dog beach enough…  she always has the BEST time just sprinting up & down the sand!

It was a cloudy, completely overcast day. Which is good & bad for photography, actually: good because there are no harsh shadows and I can shoot from just about any angle. Not so good because it means no blue skies or blue water. So, a trade-off.

So, when there aren’t any pretty colors: black & white! :)

I love the Hotel Del in the background… what a gorgeous beach.

This, however, is what Bailey loves to do more than ANYTHING. Ugh. I can’t do anything but sit back and watch her, thinking, “oh, yeah, that’s good, I’m glad you got that little spot on top of your head/on your side/in your ear. You had missed it in the first thirty seconds of rolling around like that. I hope no owners forgot about their dog’s poop that happened to be right underneath you. This just sealed the deal on your bath, missy.”

 … sigh. That’s my girl.

If you’ve been reading the blog for a few weeks now, you know that I’m trying to encourage Bailey to develop her social skills a bit. She’s a happy, friendly dog, but sometimes we have not-so-nice interactions with other friendly dogs that leave me scratching my head. I just don’t know what will set her off. (It only happens 5% of the time, if that, but I’m having trouble understanding why.) Lately, I’ve learned (upon paying close attention) that Bailey is a little more likely to be unfriendly to a new dog when she’s already in a stressful situation, or when that dog approaches her too quickly. So, I’m glad that I’m learning about her triggers, so I can help prevent these negative types of situations.

At the dog beach, it’s a happy place and Bailey can aways see other dogs coming from a ways off, so she’s never grumpy or rushed. Which is great! I’m fascinated to watch her play with other dogs there. Sometimes she’s super-outgoing…

and sometimes she just skulks around like this. What a weirdo. Look at that face! Skulker.

She wants to play with most other dogs, but her ridge will often come up. (we think she’s mostly Rhodesian ridgeback, so her ridge gets HUGE when she’s agitated.) Often, though, she seems to “tough it out” and play – even though she’s on edge.

If she finds a dog she likes, she’ll get submissive and start licking their mouth.

And then when she feels REALLY submissive, she’ll just lay down. And get pawed in the face, apparently! (I couldn’t switch to my zoom lens in time to capture this moment… wish I could have been closer up! What a goof!)

And although she doesn’t fetch, she’ll always try and “intercept” dogs that do. I can’t figure out this inclination, either!

 In general, though, I’m definitely seeing improvement in Bailey’s short-term visits with other dogs! I just want my girl to be happy, so this is great to see.

Okay – so apparently my dog looks like she has rabies every time she shakes. Awesome.

When we adopted her, the rescue organization’s guess at her breed was “mastiff”. Probably not the case, but look at those mastiff-like jowls! :)

We finished our morning by breaking out the ol’ fisheye lens for a few fun shots…

Goofball!

Thanks for reading! I’m glad you’re here – even though every blog post isn’t newsworthy, I’m happy you take the time to visit. More fun stuff is coming soon! :)

Tags: San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer