In the Backyard with Bailey

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Bailey.  I'll never grow tired of beagles!

She is trying to pretend she is a serious dog, but we all know better!

She had the best backyard ever!  Tonnes of space to run and jump and lots of things to sniff and explore.

She never really sat still the whole time I was there.  She was always ready for her next adventure and was game for anything we wanted to do.

Like every beagle I've ever met, she loved to fetch and tug.  

She also showed off her great obedience skills. She was a wonderful little heeler and started up at her momma the whole time. It was very cute.

She also goes along for bike rides every day. She is actually attached to the bike in this picture below, but I cloned out the leash.  I think a bike would be the only way to keep up with this active girl.

She will occasionally settle down for a quick chew of a toy, but as you can tell by her alert tail, she is ready to go at a moment's notice!

Thanks Bailey and Pam for a great morning!  If you ever wake up to find a tent in your backyard, don't worry... it is just me, enjoying some "country life".  :)

Izzy Plays Ball

If I'd been thinking straight, I would have brought a baseball to this photo session.  Izzy isn't used to running around off leash so instead of just letting her loose in the coulees, we brought her to a nice fenced area.  These are hard to find around Lethbridge, but if you go early enough in the morning, you just might be able to sneak on to a ball diamond in Dave Elton Park.  Shhh.... Don't tell anyone as I don't think technically we were allowed to be there!

Izzy thought she had died and gone to heaven.  She had a blast running around and following her nose.  And we only had one small opening in the fence to guard to make sure she didn't end up roaming the streets.

After she had her fill of the ball diamond, we headed home for some more pictures where she was a little more comfortable and a little more focused on playing.

There is a reason I love beagles.... Just look at this face!

And they are clever too.  Especially when food was involved.  I think it only took 3 treats to teach Izzy how to catch!

Thanks Roberta and Izzy for spending the morning with me.  I'm glad we all survived Izzy's first off leash adventure!

A Scenic Walk with Abby

We decided to do Abby's photo session at the Scenic Dog Park as the wild flowers are gorgeous at the moment.  They didn't disappoint.

And neither did Abby - not that there was ever any doubt of that happening!

Abby is the only beagle I know of that goes on off leash walks.  Hounds tend to follow their nose wherever it leads them, but Abby did great.

She adopted the squeaky toy I brought to get her attention.  She loved it so much, I sent her home with it. :)

This last photo was itching for something different to be done to it.  I'm not sure if I have it quite right yet, but I love the sea of grass surrounding her.

Have I mentioned before how much I love my "job"?  Every photo session is so much fun, like a dog walk with a friend.  Thanks Breeanne and Abby for a great evening!

Bark in the Park

I volunteered today at the Windy City Canine Rescue's "Bark in the Park" event.

It was a lot of fun.  How could it not be? I got to visit with puppies all day!  I even met a "new-to-me" breed.  This handsome pup below is a Patterdale Terrier.  He looked like a chocolate lab puppy.  Too cute!

And this cute puppy discovered my "Secret to Success"...

...Cookies!

If you want to see all the pictures from the event, you can visit the Bark in the Park gallery.

Davin {Wild in the Rockies}

This is exactly how I feel in the mountains too.

I met Davin and Michelle after hiking with my family for the day on Sunday.  I was tired and as I tried to recuperate in a coffee shop prior to our session, I really didn't know if I had the energy left to take pictures.  But the moment we got out there, I forgot all about my tiredness.

After living in the Crowsnest Pass for more than 30 years, Michelle knows a few hidden places with the most amazing scenery!

Add a goofy, fun-loving dog to that scenery and you get magic.

I love this next picture. Davin was constantly trying to steal the toy out of Michelle's hands.

After we left the knoll with the gorgeous scenery, we headed down to a lake for some water fun.  Davin was equally excited to be playing in the water.

Wet, mucky, messy dog.  I love it!  :)

Thanks Michelle and Davin!  You are definitely going to have to show me more of these hidden places. I think I know a few pups would would have fun out there getting wet and dirty.