modernmuttshots.com

Work of Art.

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:00:31 +0000

The dogs’ latest project.

Who are you?

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:43:42 +0000

Elf. Blue Heeler Mix.

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:40:06 +0000

You wouldn’t believe how much effort Elf’s owner and I put into this picture! But I think it paid off.

Cody

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:47:53 +0000

Grrrrr…..

Dayzee Mae – Joy Session.

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:31:49 +0000

Dayzee Mae’s favorite place is the local animal shelter. Not for a sad reason. Her mom is one of the beautiful souls who work there to help all the homeless dogs and cats in Manhattan. And Dayzee loves to come to work with her. Unfortunately my reason for meeting her last night was not a happy one. You might not be able to tell from the pictures but she is old and hurt and only happy on painkillers. This is her last photo session before she takes her last trip to the vet on Friday. I hope I could help to let everyone remember her as the beautiful and happy dog she was over the past 10 years. Have a blast in doggy heave Dayzee Mae!

"Her" backyard at the shelter.

Sibling Reunion

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:19:22 +0000

Last weekend I photographed three Great Pyrenees Mixes for the Pott County Calendar I am working on. These three beauties are four years old and have not seen each other since their puppy days, when they were pickedup by Animal Control and brought to the Pottawatomie County Caring Hearts Humane Society. And I think I can safely say there wasn’t much family recognition among them (in case you were wondering why I didn’t sit them very close to each other). They are beautiful big dogs, though. With amazing amber colored eyes. A big thanks to their humans for bringing them back together for me!

Dog Body Language

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:33:51 +0000

I am in love with this new DVD I got. It is about dogs’ body language and what they are trying to tell you. I have been reading about it (much by Patricia McConnell) and tried to see it in my dogs but I guess I am a visual person and it’s not as easy for me to translate my theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge. At least not in this case. So I found this DVD by Sarah Kalnajs, a dog trainer and behavior consultant. It is a recording of a seminar she gave (for shelter staff, I believe) in which she goes through each and every body signal a dog could give and backs it up by examples on video, which she gathered from mainly dog assessments in all sorts of environments. I am in love with it! I think I am just going to keep it in my DVD player for a few weeks and play it over and over again to make sure it is imprinted into my brain

I absolutely recommend it for anyone dealing with many dogs, shelter staff, foster parents, humane society volunteers, or anyone who visits the dog park frequently and would like to know when to back off. That DVD cleared up some signals I see in one of my dogs that majorly confused me. Now I know for sure that she has got some major fear issues. Sarah Kalnajs gets four paws up from us!

*EDIT Sarah Kralnajs website also has some good resources for further information on anything training and behavior related!*

Duke, the Boxer.

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:42:14 +0000

Duke was adopted from the Pottawatomie Count Caring Hearts Humane Society last summer. Shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo treatment including surgery. If you didn’t know, though, you couldn’t tell. He is a sweet, happy and well behaved dog. And he has lots of fun with his new football that no one could pry from his paws!

The power of a perfect reward.

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:08:29 +0000

Watch the video here

I had a nice training break-through this week. I finally found a real motivator for Maize. She was kind of a tough nut to crack. While Mac is crazy food motivated Maize could care less. I mean, she does stuff for food, but only in rare circumstances is she ever as eager and excited as Mac. And that eagerness is what makes Mac’s training so easy. So I tried different things with Maize: different treats, petting, tug, fetch. Nothing. But now I found it. Fetch in the water! She loves run and chase after stuff, but on land she hardly ever brings it back to me… but she looooves to swim and swim after her fetch toy. I have not seen her this excited… ever! So I incorporated her training into our walks by the water and she learned to sit in a perfect heel position after two days. (And at the end of the video you see my super cool new shoes, that I will be writing about here soon)

I don’t believe that there is a dog that is not food motivated, but I do believe that some enjoy other things just as much or even more. Go and find your dogs perfect reward and be amazed by how fast she can learn all of a sudden!

A dogs life.

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:03:24 +0000

I still have not figure out if the expression “a dogs life” is supposed to be good or bad. If you measure it by Russel’s life, it is as good as it gets. I want to live like Russel lives. This boy is so sweet and beautiful. Him and I had lots of fun together… well, I don’t know about him, but I sure loved hanging out with him.