BZ Dogs: 2018

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Golden Reindeer

Henry: "He he he!"

Dog Blog Post #2511

You know it's Christmas time when the Reindeer Antlers come out!

Look at what a good boy Toby is. I let him sniff the Antlers, slipped them on his head while giving him a treat, and he was sold on the experience.

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge 2593. "Festive"

Our Daily Challenge - December 13, 2018 - "Squeezed"

That would be their heads... by the headbands.

No, of course it's not tight. When they tip their heads down the headband slides right off.

Which is why I'm standing so close - as evidenced by Henry staring at me out of the corner of his eye.

Scroll over a shot and you see my Plan B image, where Toby isn't wearing Antlers, and I'm standing back by the camera so the boys are looking (almost) forward.

100x in 2018 : #91

Henry - down time

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© 2018 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Santa Dog and his Elf

Good grief - has it really been a month (plus) since I posted last?

As always, my Flickr stream is updated MUCH more frequently (a couple times a week, hopefully working its way back nearly daily): https://www.flickr.com/photos/bztraining

Moving right along...

Today I uploaded pretty much every shot I took, as I worked my from "easy" to "hard"...

Off to a good start

You'll notice that for several of these shots the boys are looking straight ahead. This is because Toby's much improved stay allows me to move behind the camera.

FWIW: In the shot above, Henry is looking at me while Toby is looking at my hand, which is stretched out, waving over the camera while holding a cookie.

Henry: "Toby isn't sitting up"

Yes, dear, I see that.

Not bad

This was my favorite!

Let's turn it up a notch!

Santa Dog and his (wrinkled) Elf

Santa Dog and his Elf

Dog Blog Post #2510

The Elf hat proved problematic, as when Toby's head was down you could see the hat but he looked worried, and when his head was up he looked fine but you couldn't see the hat.

We worked multiple times on Hat Wearing over the course of the day - a few seconds here and there for lots of cookies - so by the time it came to making the shoot he was fine with it.

Toby's hat is held on by a thin plastic headband, which is taped to the inside of the hat. It wouldn't hold if he was moving around, but is sufficient for shoots and goes pretty much unnoticed - at least until I put the hat on it.

Henry's hat is just stuck on his head. But then, Henry's a pro at Hat wearing.

Photography Assignment

Our Daily Challenge - December 6, 2018 - "Cube"

Yes, I should have turned the package so the corner was toward the camera (sigh).

But I was so focused about the REST of the shoot (hint: puppy) that it didn't occur to me at the time.

Daily Dog Challenge 2589. "Holiday Colors"

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© 2018 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Draped Dog

Perfect Pair

Dog Blog Post #2509

The final shot (above)

Although, to be honest, the "less than perfect" (cough) shots tend to be a lot more fun (below).

Toby is laying down this week because he's too tall to be seated and make a comfortable composition with Henry laying down.

And because his down is good enough that I can get the shot.

The real issue was the drape - which Toby found Very Interesting.

On the bright side, he found the drape SO interesting that he (mostly) left the camera alone.

I guess that's an improvement. :)

As before, String Cheese made a wonderful reward. It's not sticky, greasy, or crumbly - and a hit with all parties.

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge 2542. "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

Not Ready For Prime Time Shots

Toby: "What's this?"
Henry: "A prop. Leave it alone."

Toby: (chew chew chew)
Henry: "Mom!"

Toby: "Pfththththth"
Henry: "Amateurs"

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© 2018 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Ready for Halloween

"Trick or Treat!"

Dog Blog Post #2508

Photoshoots with a 14 week old puppy (today!) can be very... entertaining.

Toby has two "poses" right now - this one (which you've seen several times before) and the one where he's charging toward the camera.

(sigh)

A work in progress... the pup is definitely a work in progress.

On the bright side, Henry dutifully stared into the pumpkin even though the only thing inside was a pile of rocks to make it harder for Toby to run off with it.

What a good boy!

What I really need is to draft Hubby into guarding the camera for me, although I'm not sure his presence next to the camera would be a deterrent or a lure.

Photography Assignment

Daily Dog Challenge 2537. "Pumpkin"

2018 Weekly Alphabet Challenge - P is for Plastic

Toby: "Henry made me do it!"

Instigator: "He he he"

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© 2018 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Busy Busy Busy

As I've said before - when you actually something to blog about you probably don't have time to do it.

Here's a few highlights since the last post, or just hop over to:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bztraining/

... to see them all.

Toby at 13 weeks old

An old pro

Retriever In Training

Bitey-Face

The Apprentice

Down Time

Under a Watchful Eye

It's a Dog Thing

More Bitey-Face

Dog Blog Post #2507

Photography Assignment

Click on any image to see if I have anything else to say about it. :)

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© 2018 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Modeling for Momma

New Toy!

Toby is leaving the camera alone (enough) to try for a solo shoot.

Yes, the box entertained him.

Yes, he was about to go down for a nap and so he was a bit slower.

But I still think it counts, don't you?

Don't worry - Henry had a few easy shots to get things rolling (and the camera focused) and got just as many Cookies in the end!

Daily Dog Challenge 2515. "Play Time"

Our Daily Challenge - September 25, 2018 - "Recycling"

Every Amazon delivery comes with a free Dog Toy on the outside!

Glamorous Toby

Dog Blog Post #2506

Photography Assignment

Yesterday...

Good Puppy

Very Good Puppy

Still a Good Puppy

Daily Dog Challenge 2516 "Soft"

Our Daily Challenge - September 27, 2018 - "Just in Case"

A towel, of course!

Photo Shoots with an 11 week old puppy (10 weeks 6 days) is... interesting.

There is no doubt who is in charge, and it sure the heck isn't me.

The lesson for today is that Henry looks at my face and Toby looks at the food. Hmmmm.

I’d love to say that Toby has a wonderful sit-stay. But seriously, he’s an 11 week old puppy. Rather, Toby knows sitting is heavily rewarded and patience gets you the Cookie (string cheese) faster.

The net result (for my purposes) is pretty much the same. Five to six seconds where I’m not in the picture. Best of all, once I get him where I want him, I can treat him between shots and he’ll stay put.

I’ve also found a good time for him - just before his late afternoon nap - and a good treat (tasty but not TOO tasty).

Done being Good Puppy

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© 2018 BZ Dogs - All Rights Reserved

Thursday, September 20, 2018

What Did You Do?

Uncle Henry: "What did you do?"

OR

... just a random shot that made me smile. :)

Dog Blog Post #2505

Puppies are so darned cute

Puppy vs. Hose

Photography Assignment

Drinking from a hose is harder than it appears!

Not that Toby cares, as he happily stands there and slurps, snaps, and paws at the water on a warm late-summer's day.

His "wading pool" is a plastic storage box, possibly intended for large/long rolls of wrapping paper.

When full, the water comes to just bellow Toby's belly - just right for splashing around in!

After playing in the water, he trots over to a sunny spot of grass and rolls around with obviously puppy delight.

Henry keeps watch but abstains from the frivolity, which suits me fine. While I can dry off Toby in a few minutes with an old dishcloth-sized rag, the same can't be said for the Big Dog!

Daily Dog Challenge 2512. "Not Perfect"

Our Daily Challenge - September 20, 2018 - "Surprise"