Jim,
I am personally offended by this post. You used the term

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rowdy dog

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.

I own a dog named Rowdy and I object to this capricious use of the term. This is a dog named Rowdy.



And this is a rowdy dog:



There is simply no comparison

Jim

I stand corrected

Jim, I would not tell someone to take their dog to training. Part of being a pet photographer is being able to deal with those spoiled spastic animals. The owner is not unhappy with the behavior of the pet. It is like telling a mother their kid is a brat and a good spanking might cure their problems

I had two, sweet, but spastic standard poodles in my studio and I think they were one of the toughest clients I have had. I did manage to get some really nice shots of them. It took awhile and I had to have a lot of patience to let them wind down first.

Yeah, Jim, seriously you may be tempted to lecture but our job as photographers is to deal with the dog the way it is. Most owners don't understand the training issues and most think their pet is perfect the way it is.

We met a Boston Terrier last evening that the owners want me to photograph. They think he's just the sweetest, nicest dog in the whole world. He growled at Linda and was afraid of me. To put that in context, that is only the second dog that has ever growled at Linda in the 40 years that I've known her and no dog is ever afraid of me. So, I layed on the floor and lured him with little bits of dog food until he finally was comfortable enough to come over to me and let me pet him.

He's still going to be a challenge because his owners have spoiled him beyond even my capabilities (and that is truly saying a lot ) But by the time we left, the dog was finally reacting to my ping pong mouth noises with great "ears".

My job was to get him to be comfortable with me. I've really never had to work at that and it was difficult to play down my dominance but that's sometimes what it takes.

It makes you appreciate the ones that are well-trained and confident. Those are the ones that are a joy to photograph.

Jim

Oh I definitely wouldn't say anything like "man, your mutt really needs obedience training." But I'd like to be ready to recommend a trainer should the inquire.

I know that "correcting" someone's dog is akin to trying discipline someone else's child. :O

Hmmmm. Well I guess I've broken that commandment more than once .

I feel that in my venue, I'm in charge. I get to order the owner around; I get to tell the dog/cat what I want from them. And, most importantly, I'm qualified to do so. I've trained hundreds of dogs over the years. I've handled -- in the ring -- several dozen more. So when I give a dog a command on my set, it is to be obeyed. And most owners know it.

Yes, I do respect the relationship between the owner and the dog. But, frankly, most owners have no idea how to pose a dog; how to bait a dog; how to tell a dog to do anything. You can see it in the eyes of the owners and, more importantly, in the eyes of the dogs. When the dogs meet me, they understand that I will ask them to do things and they have a strong need to please me. That's how you get good pictures.

So, I guess I'm guilty of violating your law. But I intend to keep doing it.

Jim

There are no laws

I wanted to come back to this after I had a good night's sleep. At first, I couldn't reconcile the:

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Yeah, Jim, seriously you may be tempted to lecture but our job as photographers is to deal with the dog the way it is. Most owners don't understand the training issues and most think their pet is perfect the way it is.

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and

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I feel that in my venue, I'm in charge. I get to order the owner around; I get to tell the dog/cat what I want from them. And, most importantly, I'm qualified to do so. I've trained hundreds of dogs over the years. I've handled -- in the ring -- several dozen more. So when I give a dog a command on my set, it is to be obeyed. And most owners know it.

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sentiments, but now I think my wording my have confused the issue.

I'm not talking about telling someone their dog is a brat for sure, but I'm also not talking about letting the dog run crazy during the session.

I did a lot of informal training of SPCA dogs and still do a lot formal training of my own. Outside of the extreme "you need professional help" cases, I can train most dogs for sit, down & stay for long enough to get a good image if time in the session permits. I can even do it without it looking like formal training to the owner if I really need to.

If the dog thinks it is having fun, that's pretty much all that matters (in a simplified way of course )

But say I have good images of my own dogs in great poses and the owner asks about how to get them trained to be such great models. I could then whip out the card of a trainer that I know. Hopefully there would be some reciprocity, but if not, it really is not hurting me at all. Plus, next time around I might end up with a CGC in front of the camera

Wow, has it really been two years?

Time just kind of zooms by doesn't it?

Diana