Dallas-based photographer, Teresa Berg offers these five easy tips for taking portrait type photos that you’ll want to frame and hang all over your house (not to mention wallet-size to give away to friends)!

  1:  Lighting…You’ll want the light to fall directly on your dog’s face.

   2: Background….Declutter is key to the background area. Keep the focus on your dog, not the kitchen table stacked with plates and empty pizza boxes or the couch strewn with pillows. 

   3: Eye level…….Get down to your dog’s eye level. Don’t just bend over a few inches and expect the dog to look up into the camera…he isn’t always going to do that.

   4: Posture……Berg likes good posture with ears up. She makes it a point to have the

         dog she is photographing, sitting up with their ears up.

   5: Eye contact….Berg also wants to make sure the dog is making eye contact with the camera.

For the more ‘natural’ look, here’s a few more tips from the pros.

  1:  The treat trick. Give your pup a few small treats to get him comfortable and happy. After he knows you have the treats and you are giving them out, keep them in your hand and near your camera while you start to photograph. Another trick – tape a treat to the top of your camera – your dog’s eyes will always be towards the lens!

  2:  Challenges your dog can’t resist.  What can your dog NOT resist? The open bag of dog food that happens to be sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor? Chasing leaves blowing in the wind? Jumping five feet over a tiny puddle of water after a rainstorm?  Tailoring it to your own dog’s quirks, you can get some really funny action shots! 

 3: Simple backgrounds, colorful blankets and toys. Keep the background simple – a blank wall, light background or blanket with your pup in front centers all the attention on him.  A colorful rug, blanket or a toy are also perfect ways to brighten up a photo while keeping your dog at the center of attention.

 4: Make your dog smile!  Here’s a trick the pros say works like a charm! Take your subject for a quick walk around the backyard/block/living room or throw a toy around to get him active. Bring him back to the spot you want to photograph. He’ll be panting and looking up with a big, cute, tongue-hanging grin! Point and click!

And now for a few things the pros say NOT to do when taking your dog’s picture.

Don’t do a non-stop dog photo session. Give them a break…let them have fun and play for awhile.

Don’t make them do things you know they’ll hate (like: clothes, go places they don’t like).

Don’t think you need a fancy camera. Point and click!

Don’t restrict yourself. Experiment and, have fun!

Don’t suddenly throw a camera in your puppy’s face. Let them get used to the camera.

I’ll still be taking lots of pictures of Frank, Rachel and Norman doing every conceivable thing they do! But, I am going to try some of these hints to see if I can get that perfect “too-adorable!” shot. All I can say is – thank goodness for digital cameras!

           For those in the sporting dog world, it’s probably obvious, but if you are like me, I couldn’t say what a retriever training test really is but, being a dog owner, I’m always interested in events for the canine world. To find out I picked up James Spencer’s latest book, “Retriever Training Tests”.

       The long standing, more well known Retriever field trials were developed during the depression, in 1932. From the start, the trials were highly competitive, requiring a major commitment of time and money. Retriever hunt tests were developed for and gained popularity with dog owners who wanted to keep working their dogs during hunting off-seasons in a more relaxed atmosphere.

      Real life hunting seasons are short. Spencer calculates that if a person hunts regularly with his dog from the opening day of the first season through the closing day of the last, he still only hunts about four months a year. That leaves eight months without much to keep his canine buddy ‘in tune’. Dog owning sportsmen fill the gap with off-season games which, in the past, were the competitive field trials.

       That’s where Retriever training tests come in. They are non-competitive dog games with multiple testing levels, each offering an appropriate title for dogs that qualify multiple times at that level. Each dog/handler team achieves their own level of success, not competing against any one else, as in field trials. The multiple testing levels encourages each person to participate at whatever level he (and his dog) find comfortable.

        From the beginning, retriever training tests have been promoted as ‘most like hunting’. Hunting decoys, realistic duck blinds and duck-calling sequences are in use while the length of retrieves is limited to practical hunting distances.  However, according to Spencer, the continually growing popularity of retriever training tests stems less from the “just-like hunting gimmicks” and more from the non-competitive format, graduated levels and meaningful titles. These features allow all the people who own retriever breeds to participate successfully at whatever levels and frequencies their time allow. Professional training is not necessary. Each retriever owner can set his own goals, train his own retriever at his own speed and, since there are three graduated testing levels, each person can set his own training threshold – low, medium or high.

          It took almost forty years to develop, but today there are training tests from the AKC, hunts from the United Kennel Club and field tests from the North American Hunting Retriever Association. There are separate AKC hunting tests for pointing breeds and for spaniels.

        Retriever training tests are a great way for a retriever owner and his dog, to have fun, learn, and compete at his own level. It’s a great way to keep a hunting dog active and using his capabilities during the off-hunt season and provide opportunities for a dog and his owner to work together.

         Jim Spencer is world re-known sporting dog trainer and the author of several more training books besides “Retriever Training Tests” – “Training Retrievers for Marshes and Meadows”; “Hup! Training Flushing Spaniels the American Way”; “Point! Training the All-Seasons Birddog”; “Retriever Hunt Tests”; “Retriever Training Drills for Blind Retrieves”; “Retriever Training Drills for Marking”; all published by and available at Alpine Publications. He is also a regular  contributor to “Gun Dog” magazine.  

      I picked up First Aid for the Active Dog, by Sid Gustasfson, DVM. It is simple to read, arranged in categories and filled with specific instructions and how-to information for common injuries and illnesses.  I’d highly recommend it for everyone who has a pet. He outlines symptoms, what to do in emergencies and importantly, what not to do to make a situation worse. He also explains the difference between healthy and normal pulse rates, tongue color, breathing patterns, etc. and when to be concerned.

        The best thing you can do for your dog is to know what symptoms to look for, know what to do to help him if he is in distress and to be prepared for an emergency situation.

    Following is a list of items for your own home first aid kit for your dog, as recommended in First Aid for the Active Dog.

• sterile gauze pads

• blunt-end scissors

• hemostat

• tweezers

• rectal thermometer

• 3-cc syringe, sterile

• 14-gauge, 1” needle

• 20-gauge, 1” needle

• staple gun

• cotton balls

• Q-tips

• 2” gauze roll

• non-cortisone based antibiotic eye ointment

• padding or cotton roll

• disinfectant solution

• sterile Telfa pads

• eye wash

• baby buffered aspirin and regular aspirin.

      The first aid kit, and the information in the book should enable you to give the first emergency help your dog might someday need if you cannot get immediate veterinary help.

          Puppy raisers are those individuals who bring the puppy into their home for the next 15-18 months. Partnered with a service dog agency, they provide a warm, loving atmosphere, socialization and basic obedience training, with the singular goal of giving a puppy all the tools necessary to develop into a service dog. Puppy raisers come from varied walks of life…men, women, teenagers, even prison inmates. What they have in common, besides volunteering their time and taking on the responsibility of the pup’s vet care and other costs of raising a puppy, is a total commitment to raising a successful service dog.

         According to Marcie Davis, Working Like Dogs: The Service Dog Guidebook, there are two key components vital to the successful development of a service dog.

       The first component begins at home, by maintaining a loving and safe environment that will help build the puppy’s self-esteem and sense of wellbeing.

       The second key component is to provide a social life filled with a variety of activities and interactions that help to produce an outgoing and self-assured puppy. Puppy raisers are generally required to train the puppy in basic obedience by attending puppy-training classes at least once a week. They also agree to engage the puppy in socialization activities at least three times a week. Puppy raisers are encouraged to expose the puppy to a variety of environments. The more exposure a puppy can receive to varying situations, the better his chances for success as a service dog.

            As Davis explains, some service dogs actually begin their service to others before they ever learn their first command.

         Programs where service dogs are raised and trained by prison inmates have proven so successful, they are expanding throughout the country. Inmates learn how to make a commitment to a goal and work toward achieving it. They learn patience, what it is like to be completely responsible for another living being, how to work as a team. They in turn receive unconditional acceptance and love from the dogs. Statistics have shown that dogs trained in prison experience advanced training in half the time as dogs raised in foster homes because of the greater number of contact hours the dogs receive from the inmates.

         Through volunteer, 4-H and community programs, teens have become puppy raisers, learning valuable lessons about responsibility and service to others. ‘Power Paws Assistance Dogs’, in partnership with state, county, and local educational and juvenile justice facilities, administers a vocational/educational program designed for at-risk youth. Research indicates that this program increases the participants self-esteem and school attendance. All the teens experience that wonderful unconditional acceptance and love from the dogs.

          The gifts imparted by service dogs are immeasurable – as puppies, to their puppy raisers. As adult service dogs, to the people they are partnered with.      

        If you’d like to learn more about becoming a puppy raiser, start by contacting a service dog organization. You’ll find a list in the back of Working Like Dogs: The Service Dog Guidebook. 

The Service Dog Guidebook

           According to Charlene LaBelle, author, Backpacking With Your Dog (training books – Alpine Publications), one advantage of having your dog walk in front of you on uphill trails is for their pulling power. Assuming, of course, he’s on a leash and a breed big enough to pull, (LaBelle has Malamutes).    

         It’s best vantage point to watch for signs of dehydration, overheating or exhaustion. Most dogs are generally more comfortable walking in front of you and you can free up both hands simply by attaching the leash to the padded waistband of your own backpack.

         On the flip side, your dog will see things on the trail before you do. You’ll have to keep him from running after anything that attracts his attention, which out in the wilderness could be quite time consuming.  There’s liable to be any number and assortment of critters sunning themselves right on the trail. If your dog does like to pull, you may find yourself being pulled along the trail even when you don’t want the ‘extra’ help.

        Not much can beat walking along a beautiful wilderness trail, sun shining, birds singing, your fido friend walking along next to you. Works just fine on those nice, wide trails. You’ll still get a good vantage point to keep an eye out for him without breaking your own stride. LaBelle cautions to keep a close check on you dog’s tongue and mouth – the best indicators of when he needs a rest. A dog with a normally pink tongue that turns blue needs a breather. A foamy mouth on a dog whose mouth is normally dry is in need of a drink and a rest stop.

         If your dog is already trained to walk in the heel position, he’ll probably feel the most comfortable walking next to you and you can easily attach the leash to the D-ring on his pack.

           If the trail gets narrow though, or has obstructions like overhanging branches or big rocks, your dog’s pack may bump into you and could cause one or both of you to fall.

           Keeping your dog behind you might be a better choice when walking downhill. He won’t be able to pull you or pass you on the trail. (It also works well when you’ve got a dog like my Norman who likes to greet everyone he meets on the trail with big slobbery kisses)!

          You’ll also be more in charge of the speed you are hiking but you won’t be able to keep a good eye on him for those first signs of distress.

          To train your dog to walk behind you, LaBelle offers the following tips.  Hook the leash to his collar and hold the leash in your hand. Walking with your arm behind you for the first few steps, keep repeating, “Stay behind me.”  (You can also use a walking stick to keep him in the correct position).

                Don’t keep holding your arm behind, just for those first few seconds to cue the dog to the ‘behind’ position. Most dogs pick up on this very quickly.

           Trail hiking with your canine companion is a wilderness adventure you both can really enjoy! Where he’ll walk will depend on trail conditions, weather, time of day and even the direction you’re going.