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Merlin and Gwen, Mixed Breed Dogs with Engaged Parents!

Tuesday, April 11th, 2017

Step 1: Adopt two adorable dogs.

Step 2: Schedule a photo session for aforementioned dogs.

Step 3: Get engaged!

Step 4: Turn your photo session into a pet/engagement photo session!

 

Don’t worry, these aren’t required instructions for anyone – except Merlin & Gwen’s parents, haha! I’m so excited for this new family of four! :)

 

As you can probably imagine, this photo session was slightly different than one of my usual, all-about-the-pets sessions. We included mom & dad in many of the photos, which was a lot of fun! And Merlin & Gwen loved sharing the spotlight – they absolutely adore their parents. These mixed breed dogs have such fun personalities; Merlin is the older brother who will do anything for a treat, and Gwen is the younger (yet bigger) sister whose favorite activity is annoying her brother! Haha! (Isn’t that what younger siblings are for?) They were a lot of fun to work with, and I think they had a great time in front of the camera.

 

We started at their home in Rancho Bernardo, snuggling on the couch and relaxing.

mixed breed dogs at home

 

Merlin is a terrier/border collie mix, and I think there might be some spaniel in his heritage too!

mixed breed terrier dog

 

Gwen is a mini-husky! (Okay, I just made that up, that’s not a real breed. She’s a husky mix, but her parents don’t know what the other breed(s) might be, and she just looks like a slightly-smaller-than-normal husky!)

mixed breed husky dog

 

We ended up with so many adorable family photos… I really agonized over which one to post here! But this image immediately jumped out at me as an early favorite, since it’s a candid, natural moment. And I personally love the calm tone of this photo – especially with how crazy this little family’s life is going to get, as they’re about to plan a wedding! Eeek!

mixed breed dogs with parents

 

 

Angela & Ricky, I’m so happy for you two!! Can’t wait to get together again soon! :)

 

San Diego Boxers, Gunther & Sandy! (Photos)

Thursday, April 6th, 2017

Some dogs that I work with are timid, fearful pups that need extra time & attention to feel truly comfortable… new situations make them nervous, and therefore it takes a few minutes to “warm up” to the camera. And that’s okay, since I’m pretty darn patient and I don’t mind coaxing a dog out of his or her shell.

But Gunther and Sandy are NOT that kind of dog!

These fearless San Diego boxers are confident, happy dogs with plenty of energy to spare! If they have a “shell” to break out of, they did it years ago and smashed the pieces everywhere! Haha! I met them at Mission Bay Park and they bounded out of their parents’ truck, ready to run around the grass and chase down the nearby football that a few people were playing with across the field… is it possible to be a little too outgoing? Haha! I should have known that these dogs would have no fear; they’ve been around construction sites their whole lives, surrounded by loud noises and changing environments. So we enjoyed a photo session in which I knew the dogs would be up for anything I suggested! (Anything except containing their excitement, that is!)

This is Gunther, a handsome gentleman with a penchant for purple frisbees.

boxer dog photo

 

And this is Sandy, a fun-loving girl with a sweet spirit. (Except when that frisbee is involved – then she’ll do her best to steal it from her brother!)

san diego boxer photo

 

See what I mean?

san diego boxers playing

 

I loved working with these pups… I know I’ll have fun with any session that includes a pair of San Diego boxers, but these two have such unique personalities and quirks that they kept me laughing (and on my toes!) all afternoon. They’re such great – and yet different – siblings.

san diego boxers in flowers

 

Adrienne & Clay, I’m so glad I met your awesome dogs! Can’t wait to see you both again soon! :)

 

Sundance the 7-Month-Old Shepherd Mix Puppy (Photos)

Saturday, April 1st, 2017

First of all: you should all be very proud of me for not stealing this dog.

I’m joking, of course – but I just love some of my clients’ dogs so much that I want to bring them home with me! And who wouldn’t want to bring home Sundance? This gorgeous German shepherd mix is an amazing dog. His parents rescued him from Helen Woodward Animal Center just a few months ago. Our photo session was actually the day before his seven-month birthday! (Fun fact: his (assumed) birthday is the day before my birthday!)  So although he’s young and hasn’t learned every trick in the book yet, his parents have done an amazing job with obedience training so far, and as a result Sundance was an absolute dream to work with. This well-behaved pup knows several commands, and in general is a happy, eager-to-please dog.  He was ready to sit (and begrudgingly stay) when we wanted him to stay, and excited to run around the park when it was time for some action photos! And when he laid down, let his head rest on his paws, and looked up at me with his big soulful eyes… I just about melted.  I’m so glad his parents came to me so early in Sundance’s life – he’ll never be this small again, and we had a great time capturing his puppyhood spirit!

 

 We started our photo session in the studio – because Sundance doesn’t need anything else in the photo to look this good.

shepherd mix dog

 

 Then we played fetch at Balboa Park…

shepherd mix dog running

 

…  and Sundance showed off his stellar sit-stay in front of the gorgeous scenery!

shepherd mix puppy

 

 You see why I wanted to keep him for myself??

shepherd mix photo

 

Elaine and Michael, I hope you both had as much fun as I did during our photo session! Can’t wait to see you again soon!

 

San Diego Vizslas: Sundance, Russ & Cisco! (Photos)

Tuesday, March 28th, 2017

If you’re not familiar with the Vizsla breed, let me be the first to tell you: choosing to own a Vizsla is less a breed choice and more of a lifestyle choice. Imagine you have a roommate with BOUNDLESS energy, who wants to eat, play and hunt small animals all day long. Every day. Forever. And if that doesn’t sound exhausting, imagine you have THREE of these roommates! Haha – you’ve just imagined the household of Sundance, Russ & Cisco!

These three San Diego vizslas are gorgeous bundles of energy with an awe-inspiring zest for life. I absolutely loved watching them sprint around the park & beach we visited for our photo session; you can see that these athletes were born to run and hunt. And it made the session a lot of fun for me, too – since I love capturing dogs in action! So these handsome boys kept me on my toes all afternoon, and we had a great time as they ran around to their hearts’ content. The weather was perfect, and I’m so grateful since we’ve had more than our fair share of scheduling challenges – fingers crossed we’re finally done with these last couple of rainy months! Plus, less rain = safer beach water to play in, and I have a feeling these pups are ready to get back to the beach already! :)

 

This is Russ, the “adopted” brother and 100%-certified treat-monger. He tried to make me believe that he needed ALL the jerky treats. Nice try, Russ!

san diego vizsla

 

This happy boy is Cisco! The smallest of the pack, Cisco has excellent recall and it was awesome to watch him tear off in one direction, only to come sprinting back as soon as his mom called his name!

san diego vizsla running

 

And last but certainly not least, this handsome gentleman is Sundance. I just love his fur’s coloring against the blues of the ocean!

vizsla at the beach

 

Believe it or not, we actually ended up with a few group photos of all three dogs! It was a rare moment to catch them all in the same spot – but aren’t they a gorgeous group?!

san diego vizslas

 

Lynn & Kevin, thank you for a wonderful afternoon! I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon!

 

Chester the Encinitas Shih Tzu! (Photos)

Friday, March 17th, 2017

I’m so thrilled to introduce you to Chester! This handsome Encinitas shih tzu is a very happy, content boy. He’s not the type to get in your face and whine because he’s bored, he won’t beg for food, and honestly, he’s happy to simply be with his mom. You could say that he’s quite polite! And I saw his easygoing attitude from the first moment I met him, at my studio for our Pre-Session Consultation: he strolled right in, said hello to me, sniffed around a bit, and laid right down to relax while his mom & I chatted. He’s such a good boy!!

I wish everything is Chester’s life could be as even-keel as his happy attitude. He & his mom have been fighting against the c-word, and various treatments haven’t been successful… so our photo session definitely had a bittersweet tone. But leave it up to Chester to keep us laughing throughout the afternoon as he would run (well, trot) from place to place, and then get tired and plop down to catch his breath! He would look at us at certain times – clearly asking us “why did you put me on this big rock?” or saying “oooh that water is cold!” He’s an expressive dog, and incredibly devoted to his mom… so I loved working with them both, and Chester had a great afternoon in the process! :)

 

This is Chester’s sweet face! Don’t you love his soft, warm coloring?!

shih tzu photo

 

This moment came right before one of those “why am I on this rock?” looks – and then he jumped down to prove his point!

shih tzu encinitas

 

Despite the clouds’ best effort, we finished our photo session at the beach underneath a spectacular sky. Chester hadn’t been to the beach in a while, so he was pretty thrilled to run through the sand and wade through the surf again. And I don’t think this will be the last time Chester goes to the beach – but something tells me that if it is, it was time well spent.

encinitas shih tzu

 

Teri, thank you so much for introducing me to your sweet boy. I’ll talk to you again soon! :)

 

 

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