As pet lovers, we are blessed to share our lives with furry companions who bring boundless joy, love, and loyalty. While every stage of our dog’s life is precious, there’s a unique magic that radiates from a senior dog—the gentle grays around their muzzle, the wisdom in their eyes and the deep bond that time has forged. Beautiful Daisy here was 18 years old during her session. Her mom was 21, which means she had literally shared almost her entire life with Daisy. What a gift 💖.

Moments Fleeting, Love Eternal

Our senior dogs are truly priceless. With age comes a special kind of beauty and charm. Their personalities are fully developed and their quirks and habits are endearing reminders of the years spent together. And everything from leisurely strolls to heartwarming cuddles on the couch is a precious treasure.

As much as we wish our beloved companions could stay by our side forever, the reality is that their time with us is so heartbreakingly limited. Having just lost my beloved Border Collie, Twister, I know all too well the heartache when our constant companions leave us. Twister’s “fancy” agility champion name was ADCH Bronze, LAA Bronze Talisman’s Force of Nature. But above any ribbons and titles he was my best friend, my constant companion, my shadow. He was literally never more than an arms-length away from me.

He has been gone for 3 months now and I miss him every day. I miss his sweet presence, beautiful smile and his joy in everything he did. The house is painfully empty without him. But thankfully I have the countless photographs I took to capture our days together. These images make me smile and remind me of the wonderful bond we shared. And the artwork I have in my home of my sweet Twister has become a source of comfort and a celebration of a life well-lived.

Remember to Capture the Everyday Moments

That’s why I want all of you to take LOTS of photographs of your dogs🐶. Cherish and capture all their wonderful quirks and the love that shines in their eyes when they look at you! And then don’t just leave them to languish on your phone or in the depths of your computer. Print them out, make a photo book, create something tangible that you can see and enjoy every day. Because in the end, these photographs become more than just images—they become timeless testaments to a love that transcends time itself 💕.

Now maybe you’re struggling to capture the types of images you want. Or you want images of you and your dog together to celebrate your bond. Even as a professional pet photographer, my dogs have always been my toughest subjects😊. That’s why I want to offer the services of professional pet photographers to help you preserve these moments.

Through the lens of a professional dog photographer, the unique personality of your senior dog is captured in every glance, every wag of the tail and every soulful expression. These images will tell the story of a life filled with love, companionship, and shared experiences. These photographs become more than just images—they become timeless testaments to a love that will never end.

I Would Be Honored to Create Portraits of Your Senior Dog

I always feel incredibly honored when someone contacts me to photograph their senior pet. It’s a privilege to photograph dogs at this stage of their life. That’s why these sessions are very special to me. Senior dogs are given priority scheduling and I make any accomodations needed to assure the dog’s comfort and respect any physical limitations they may have.

The best piece of advice I can offer, if you’re considering a professional portrait session, is to schedule NOW. None of us can know what tomorrow or next week or next month may bring. . My Twister was only 10.5 when he passed and while I knew it was coming, it was still much too soon. And it breaks my heart when I meet people and they tell me about the dogs they’ve loved in the past and how much they wish they had more or better photographs to remember them by.

As the years pass with our special senior dogs, their companionship becomes more and more meaningful. As they age, their presence becomes priceless. Capturing these moments is essential. The images of these days hold memories, experiences, and the love that defines their lives. In a photo, their story is saved, reminding us that their time is short but their influence is lasting – a tribute to the bond we’ll always share.

---

Would you like to read about keeping your Senior Dog happy and healthy, click here for a blog on that very subject.

I’d love to hear about your special senior dogs. Please share their stories and photographs on my Facebook or Instagram page 💖

a pet photographer’s baby dog turns 10, WHAT!!!

---

I still remember when he came home. He was so squishable and sweet and definitely an old soul. He was also extremely handsome (you may think I’m a bit biased, but I don’t think so). And being a pet photographer means that I photographed him ALOT. You can see how thrilled with modeling he was in the third photo – he had perfected his bored supermodel look. I’m so glad that I have so many images to remind me of those early days. Those days when he was tiny and new and when neither of us really knew anything about the other. Images to chronicle time passing and the love growing.

• April 12, 2020

On this Easter Sunday, we enter another week of social distancing, working from home and our new lives with a scary pandemic. I think all of us, our dogs included, could use something new and different as a little distraction. As much as our dogs are enjoying having us around more to let them out of the house and back into the house and then back out of the house ALL day long, I thought I’d share some fun ideas for different ways to keep our pups entertained. So, I’ve complied a list of ideas and resources to get you started. Feel free to add something new you’re teaching or doing with your dogs to the comments below.

• Scent Games

Our dogs sense of smell is 40-50 times greater than ours. We all know of the amazing feats search and rescue dogs perform. So why not teach your dogs some fun games using this amazing ability of theirs. I enjoy playing a version of “Hide and Seek” with my dogs by hiding treats around the house and then sending them off to find them. I start by letting them watch me hide them in pretty obvious places and then fairly quickly make the hiding places more challenging. They think it’s super fun and it can keep them busy for a long time. For more scent games you can play I’ve included a couple of links below.

https://suzanneclothier.com/pdfs/Scent%20Games.pdf

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/indoor-scent-games-for-dogs/

• Tricks

Tricks are not only fun for our dogs to learn, they’re fun to show off to your friends. Some, such as “sit up” and “bow”, are even great to keep them strong and limber. Try a few from the list below.

https://dogtime.com/reference/dog-training/34027-10-fun-impressive-tricks-can-teach-dog

Need more ideas and in-depth instruction, “The Everything Dog Training and Tricks Book” authored by my friend and guru Gerilyn Bielakiewicz and photographed by me 🙂 is an awesome resource.

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Dog-Training-Tricks-Book/dp/1605500224

• Training Games

While my dogs love to play fetch and chase their frisbees, we all especially love brain games. Shaping (the process of teaching a behavior in little steps) games are great since they are such an amazing mental workout for our dogs. “101 things to do with a box” is one of my all time favorites. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

https://www.clickertraining.com/101-things-to-do-with-a-box

• 

• 

• Food Toys

There are more ways to feed your dog than in a simple, boring old bowl. There are puzzle toys, slow feeding bowls, snuffle mats and the classic stuffed kong toy. You can even just scatter their food in your house or yard and let them hunt it up. These ideas are perfect for when you have work to get done and want to keep your dog quiet and busy. Below are some food toy stuffing ideas.

https://www.kongcompany.com/learn/stuff-a-kong

• Virtual Training Group

Looking for a positive training group for more enrichment and play ideas. My friend and fellow trainer Jenny Stieglitz has started a FB group just for you. Check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SavvyCanineClub/

• Reading List

What? You haven’t taught your dog to read yet…. what have you been doing all this time :-). Okay, these ideas are for the humans here. Two of my favorite non-fiction dog books that will offer great insights into our dogs and how they feel and think are: The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell and Bones Would Rain from the Sky by Suzanne Clothier. For some other ideas:

https://us16.campaign-archive.com/?u=4c2848b623ab6cf1f28959e5a&id=b9120b0fa0

• March 22, 2020

As I sit in my yard with my dogs this afternoon, I can feel that spring has returned. The sun is warm on my face and the birds are singing all around. I’m watching the dogs romp and roll in the greening grass with huge smiles on their faces. Spring has always been my favorite season. A time of hope and infinite possibilities. But this spring is so very different… this year it’s a time of fear and uncertainty for the future. It’s really scary not knowing what the next weeks and months ahead may hold. But I also see reasons to hope – our dogs and their boundless optimism, all the families out walking and spending time together, neighbors checking in and chatting (from respectable distances) and people running errands for those who can’t go out safely. These small gestures remind me not to give in to despair. That we must take this time to reach out, more than ever, to those around us. Times like this are so stressful and the isolation (and loneliness) this pandemic brings only makes these days even harder. So let’s make sure we’re looking out for and taking care of each other. A text, or even, gasp, a phone call (you know those things we used to make with our phones in the “olden days” 🙂 can help us all feel less alone. I know I’m incredibly grateful to have my dogs at my sides right now, but let’s face it, they’re not the best conversationalists. So if you find that talking to your dogs isn’t enough, reach out. I am always available for some “virtual” human contact. Feel free to message or call (my info is below) and we’ll (remotely) share a cup of coffee (or a chocolate martini) and lift each other up. We are all in this together and we will all get through this together.

So, in the interest of keeping connected. Tell us what you and your dog are doing to stay sane? Getting fit? Teaching a new trick? Working on a rock solid stay for a future portrait session :-)? Cuddling on the couch eating popcorn and watching mindless, sappy movies? I think I’m working on all of the above. Let me know in the comments. And I can’t wait to SEE you all soon!