Hi guys, nice discussion. I don't mean to be rude here and just jump in. My favorite lense for pets is my Nikkor 300mm. I actully prefer my old Nikon F3 to my new D200, but that is another topic. The 300mm gives a different look to the photo, but more important, I am not sticking the lense in the face of the pet, some customer's pets are extremely shy. The less bashful pets, I like the Nikkor 135mm portriat lense.