DogBreedz Weekend Roundup - 6/25/2012

Sunny Southern California - just meant for location Pet Photography!

What a great week I've had - nothing like beautiful weather to make my time with your pets even MORE enjoyable! It may be challenging trying to make a living working for myself in California, but after growing up in the snow it sure is worth the extra effort it takes to call Southern California HOME.

On most Wednesdays I offer free mini-shoots for clients of Su-Et's Kennel (free with a groom, bath or nail trim, scheduled in advance). I get to see so many wonderful dogs throughout the year at this location! So here's a question for you ... what do you get when you cross a Chihuahua with a Scottish Terrier? No, not some exotic designer dog - but you do get 100% grade-A Stinkin' Cuteness! Take a look at Daisy as she strikes a patriotic pose and tell me if you don't agree!

Bennett has been refreshing his basic training by joining his Cocker Spaniel friend Flirt for weekly sessions, training with a CGC test in mind. I enjoy spending time with Flirt's parents and a morning in the park (in spite of the fact that we are working) is a great way to start the day. Flirt just received her "Therapy Dog In Training" vest and a photo session with her modeling it was in order.


I was visited on-set by two darling young Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I originally met these two at a fundraiser shoot earlier in the month so I knew what to expect. They were perfect models for their less distracting private shoot at my studio in Santee. Here is a sneak peek of Harry, the younger of the two:



On Sunday I trekked up to Long Beach and enjoyed a day with my roommate where we were surrounded by Terriers of all kinds at Great Western. My main clients this day were Border Terriers and Scottish Terriers, but I had some time to visit the American Staffordshire Terriers in the ring as well. Pictured here is Best of Breed - American Staffordshire Terrier #25: GCH Alpine's Highwayman (call name Jelly). Great Western Terrier Association of Southern California Terrier Group Show 2012. June 24, 2012 in Long Beach, California. Owned by Zane Smith, Ed & Karen Thompson, CI Lefloch, J Branch and S Janga. Bred by Ed & Karen Thompson, Dan Nechemias and Lois Claus.

I'm also re-working some organizational tricks to help me stay on more on-track with phone calls and projects. I'll be getting back to sending out my newsletter on a monthly basis and am wondering: what would YOU like to see in a regular newsletter? You can let me know on this page: http://dogbreedz.net/NewsletterInfo.htm (and thank you in advance for taking the time to let me know your thoughts).

What did you do this last week with your pet? I'd love to know, feel free to leave a comment! I have a full plate of at-the-computer editing to do, so I had better wrap this post up and get to it ...

Bring on the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels!

I think this is going to be a FUN weekend! I've been asked by my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel friends to set up at their summer celebration party and take some portraits of the cute Cavaliers ... and boy do I *l*o*v*e this breed! Proceeds from the shoot will go to Cavalier Rescue to help with their work. I've also partnered with them to photograph their intake Rescues from this area - professional photos really help the dog to stand out on the adoptable pages of the web site. There are a couple of things that make the fundraising shoots a little different from the similar mini-shoots here at the studio, besides the donation to a Rescue organization. The three most popular sizes (4x6, 5x7 and 8x10) of prints purchased from fundraiser shoots are priced lower than my regular scale and the pet parents get one free 8x10 for each purchased session. And the timing couldn't be better, as the Cavalier is on my "Breedz Wanted" list for this month (you can read about that by clicking HERE)!

Enjoy YOUR weekend - and I'll "see" you online on Monday!

5/21/12: Breedz Wanted to Photograph

BREEDZ WANTED for May/June 2012

If you have one of the following breeds and would like a complimentary session before June 15, 2012, please do contact me. Your dog might appear in a national magazine, on a greeting card or in a calendar! I'm currently looking for the following breeds:

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

American Staffordshire Terrier

Berger Picard

Sealyham Terrier

Bichon Frise

Puppies, adults and seniors - I need them all! They must conform to breed standards, but they don't have to be show dogs; purebred-looking pets and rescues are available for this offer as well.

Contact me at DogBreedz (at) yahoo (dot) com to arrange your free private photo sitting. Shoot participants that are chosen for the National Magazine will receive a copy of the issue they are published in. All participants will receive 20% off any prints they wish to order from the free session.

Studio sessions will be held at my Santee studio and location candids are available at San Diego area parks or beaches. If you are in the SD, CA area and have a great house/yard to photograph in, then I may be able to come to you for the shoot. I would also love to do "lifestyle" shots and include the owner, if you are up to it (playing, walking, everyday life with your dog). Does your dog do a job or fun activity? That is a possible shoot, as well. I look forward to hearing from you!

(pictured here: Penny the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Lucky the Sealyham Terrier)

Busy Busy Busy!

What a fun month April was! If this is any head's up on what the Tour schedule is going to be like, I'll be hopping all summer long! So what HAVE I been up to? Take a look ... April started off with a private shoot, won at an English Springer Rescue America fundraising auction last December. Springer Grace and English Cocker Annie (my God-furDaughter!) were wonderful subjects for the day. Here is Grace in a pensive moment: Next I went down to Chula Vista where Doggie Days in Paradise hosted a shoot to benefit Greyhounds2Go. This day care has such nice clients and the staff is tops! One of my favorites from the day, here is Scuffy the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel loving on her momma: Then it was time to pack up the car and head thru the Eastern Sierras, destination: Reno, Nevada. This was my first multi-group adoption event - the Karen DeSouza Memorial Super Pet Adoption Event and Festival. It was a great day with wonderful ESRA friends and animals galore! At this venue I hosted free photo shoots. Between my time in the booth I roamed the event and took candids. Photos are still uploading (it was quite a day!), but here is one of my favorites - a 5 month Boxer pup looking for his new forever home that weekend: Back in Southern California, next up was a visit to Yorba Regional Animal Hospital in Anaheim Hills. What a facility - wow! My assistant for the day set up this shoot, and the beneficiaries were Boston Buddies and Angels Under Our Wings - two groups that I have a fondness for. We were busy from start to finish with just enough time to take in a quick lunch. This is Sadie, a Cocker Spaniel girl who was adopted from Angels Under Our Wings. She loves to pose for my camera (I've lost count of how many sittings we've had since she picked her new family!): You'd think I'd be ready to hang up the camera bag by this point - but nope ... I was due in El Cajon with one of my regular haunts with my friends at Camp Bow Wow. We (Indie, Bennett and I) enjoy going there! Meet this character - Eddie the Bichon/Shih Tzu mix: May kicked off with a booth in Walnut, CA at the Gateway Cities ESS Club annual Specialty. This was an ESRA fundraiser and a free shoot for the rescue dogs participating in the ESRA Parade of Rescue. Meet Coco, a gal who is thrilled to be in a home with a family who loves her as much as she loves them: Tomorrow has me off to Seattle and Anchorage to deliver Cocker Spaniels to their new homes. Back to San Diego to love on my own fur-kids and then east to MN for a great Cocker Spaniel event: the 2010 Upper MidWest Puppalooza!