If your dogs are as lively as mine it could be a bit of a ‘mission impossible’ to photograph them… Let me introduce you to my dogs Sheba and Dawit. Sheba(the fawn one) is the mom and Dawit(the brindle one) is Sheba’s son.

If you are Afrikaans by
any chance you would understand when I say my hond is da wit en da wit en da wit…:-) 

They are
thoroughbred boxers and let me tell you theyre great family dogs.  We always joke and tell them to repeat

after me:” I am a dog not a human being”.  They thrive under your
attention and need tons of love.  If not trained properly they can be very naughty so I would definitely recommend taking them for training sessions. The day these photographs
were taken we were all sitting outside in the pool when I decided there is no better time as the present to get some great shots of them.  We sprayed them with the water, most of these dogs love to play with water but not to swim in it. No one ever really understands when I tell them boxers are
totally different to any other dogs, they’re like part of the family. At one time there was a Telkom ad on TV with a boxer running over the whole farmyard when he hears the
telephone ring just to hears his owners voice all the way from china.  Pilot the boxer gets so excited that he just can’t stand still and that’s exactly how they are when you
get home from work or a holiday. They just love to be around you and play games all day.  With my dogs if I lie underneath the car to check if something’s wrong they’ll plop
themselves down beside me and watch everything I do.
Friends of ours also has boxers who were always digging their new plants out of the flowerbeds, and one day they realized why.  When a boxer sees you digging in your garden he thinks you are burying something there for him to find.  Simple solution, put them on the other side of the house and don’t let them see that you are gardening.

Tips for photographing your dogs:
Have some treats handy and reward them when they are listening to you (I kept telling them to sit and stay)
Get an accomplice, have them call the dog to them and when it’s over there, get ready to take the shot and call your dog back.
Make everything a game, dogs are eager to please and love playing with you  (keep your camera on sport mode). Try to get some natural shots like when they’re sleeping or playing with each other.
Take photos of all the different things they do as well like swim in the fish pond or lie underneath the car.

As a young kid I always wanted to become a veterinarian (I think all kids go through this phase)  I’m one of those crazy people who has a conversation with my dogs, give them nicknames and spoils them just a liittllle bit   I really adore my dogs and love all animals, and if it wasn’t for my mom I
would probably have my own little zoo!

Riani