Your dog is NOT to crazy!
If you have a pup like mine who is crazy energetic (and I do mean crazy, lol) and your worried you may not be able to get them photographed because maybe they don’t have a solid stay, wait, or they cannot contain their energy and want to jump around and pull every which way then this article is for you!
Hi! I'm Mariah with Mariah O Photography and if you have read my first blog post you would have read that I have 3 dogs (a lot, I know!). Two of them are Border Collies, so probably one of the world’s most energetic breeds. They are both bred to work farms and have very high working drives. So you’re probably thinking “it must be hectic taking pictures of them” and in a short answer: Yes! Lol
Well, what if I was to tell you that even with my 2 year old, she will listen, sit, stay, down, etc even when she is feeling herself and very hyper.
One helpful bit of information to know:
Is your dog food or toy driven?
Knowing whether you have a food or toy driven dog is a very helpful bit of information and can make a huge difference in your ability to get their attention and maintain it. Of course, some dogs when they get out to location they may be too distracted, but there is also an easy fix for that!
I recommend taking a short walk, 30-60 mins before the session, on the session location (that bit is important) to let your dog get familiar with their surroundings and get all his/her sniffs out of the way! When I arrive on location I do not greet the dog (that may sound funny) but whether your dog is timid to people or boisterous, by me not acknowledging them or giving them the direct attention it allows them to greet me on their own terms and be comfortable. There’s nothing worse than a stranger coming up to my face trying to touch me! I want to give the pets the same respect. We will discuss a little bit of the session details and when the dog(s) has had a chance to investigate we will proceed with the next steps.
I think the image above of the beautiful Siberian Husky is the most suitable image for this blog post. Why? you might ask.. because she's a Husky, and Husky's are extremely energetic and most do not sit still for very long.
So if your dog is boisterous a few simple pre-session preparations will make all the difference!
Food or toy driven, location walk, and allow them to investigate!
