One of my favorite things to do is take pictures of the puppies. If I don’t get good pictures then the puppies won’t sell because after all for some a picture is all they see before picking up their new member of the family. I just want to give a little insight into what all goes into taking pictures. I don’t just walk out to the nursery grab a puppy and start taking pictures. In order to get those 4-7 pictures of each puppy it takes about 30-45 minutes. Take a litter of 9 and add that up. It would be between 4 and a half to 5 hours for one litter and sometimes we have 2 litters like now. I start with deciding on the theme. I have a huge plastic container of props and the collection just keeps growing. I just can’t help myself. I see something that would be cute for pictures and I get it. Then comes the fun part…the bathing. This is an interesting task if it is the first bath for them. Some of them don’t react at all and some are crying the whole time. They learn to get used to it and that there is nothing to fear. Then we blow dry and brush them out. We have a show goat blower so it decreases the dry time. Then the best/most frustrating part comes..the actual taking of the pictures. Those few great pictures you see on the website and on Facebook are just that a few of about 40-50 taken of each puppy. Puppies don’t like to sit still for pictures. They don’t know commands like sit, stay, or lay. So each pose has to be set up. Then you pray they stay still and snap away. Then there is the yawning. Puppies are always yawning which can make for some really great pictures and also some really horrible pictures. I have learned certain ways to rub their faces and such to make them stay still for a second especially when they are younger. Before their eyes are open they like to be touching something so getting them to stay still is a challenge. When they get to 5 weeks sitting still is a real challenge for them. They have learned that playing is way better than sitting and it’s a battle of keeping them out of my lap and in the camera view. Here is where pictures playing in the grass and such is sometimes the only option so I can get some while they are playing. If all of these things work out then I end up with what I love, great puppy pictures that capture the beauty I see in them. So when you wonder why the puppy pictures might be a week or so old just think about this. The time and effort I put in our pictures is more than most. It does take time to get pictures. I try my best to get new ones every 2 weeks. I know that you want to watch your new family member grow. Like they say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Here are some of my favorite pictures. Of past and present puppies and our dogs as puppies.
