Just a bit about my boys! Also an excuse to post lots of pictures of them :)

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Hello to all,

So today was one of those magical days were the lighting was PERFECT for taking pictures. For those who have black/dark chocolate doodles you understand  the pain, blood, sweat and tears that go into taking a picture of a dark colored dog. And then we have to get them to pose! Any ways the lighting was perfect and I actually got some great images of the boys that I think do a pretty good job of show casing their personalities. There really is no point to this post except for me posting pictures of my boys. So here they are! Loki is in the green and Moose is in the Blue.

What is the most amazing to me is that they are BOTH sitting still in this picture. They are both puppies(Loki is 18months and Moose is 6 months), something I get told I'm crazy for on a daily basis and even though Loki is super calm, Moose has a way of getting him hyper over anything. Also I now have one good picture of Moose- see below but Moose is the class clown and apparently is not a fan of "serious pictures". Their personalities are so polar opposite that its almost that perfect combo were opposites attract. Loki is so calm and gentle and some how manages to look regal and elegant in almost every picture I have of him. 

Sometimes he manages to look crazy and goofy but usually he looks happy and smiley. If he were a person, he would be that person that would age well. I think I would fall face first into the category of aging horribly and I think Moose would be right there with me. Moose has a knack for at the last second whipping out this crazy face that is never in existence except for when the camera is out. I swear when my camera is put away, he is a normal do dog. 

But- most of the pictures of him look like exhibit A here to the right... I personally think he looks like a shark. Part of it isn't his fault because his adult teeth are still growing in and his tongue is way to big for his mouth to begin with and now that there aren't large teeth to go with that large tongue, there's not anything holding it in place. The other part is that I think he seeing me and whoever else just laughing non-stop at his antics and figures "Hey! These people love me!" Which is true. The fun thing is, the picture I thought I was taking was one of the two of them posed so nicely and at the last second this sneeze/ bark/cough/ squirrel hunt/ whatever else happened. Thats Moose, If he were a person he would be the class clown because even when he's in trouble he still doesn't look serious for a second.

Here are a couple of them playing with each other. I am thankful every day that they are good play mates because I know that is a risk you take with two doodles, maybe they don't like each other? Thankfully, after an adjustment period that seemed to take forever they now are attached at the hip. Loki is so much faster than Moose and it's cute because as long as Moose is just having fun, Loki will chase him. 

However if Moose gets a little full of himself and thinks he's the pack leader then Loki is take off sprinting and leave Moose in the dust. Whenever I see pictures of doodles running, I always smile because to me they all look like Chewbacca from Star Wars. Side note- I have no clue what Loki's ears are doing in this picture. Dogs that are out running and having fun always make me laugh but when they look funny and are having fun- thats even better! 

These next pictures kind of come at Moose's expense because I managed to get some good pictures of Loki trotting along... But the few that I got of Moose just make me laugh so much! I'm sure part of it is that he's my puppy and I know his personality to go with the pictures but I also just think he looks like such a goofus. There's a few more pictures that are great of them and I will probably be posting them in another post but this is will do for now :)

Cheers, Jess, Loki, Moose

[Bonnie and Kona]

Love the photos of Loki and Moose. They look like real sweethearts! 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Great series of photos of your two happy boys.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Thanks guys! Richard, that's such a pretty picture and I find the same with the open shade or overcast. This day was over cast so I had to seize the moment! Mindy, I was afraid of that and I have heard of that happening but it worked out just perfectly in the end :) Nancy, he really is such a clown! All the time and he never stops!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Both Loki and Moose are super cute, and you really seem to have their personalities pegged perfectly.  What a clown Moose is!  I enjoyed reading about them and seeing their pictures.

[Mindy G.]

They are soo cute! I love the natural happiness that shows in your photos, and it makes me want to get a playmate for my Max. But what if they don't get along????

[DJ & Chance]

They are adorable.

[Richard Crowe]

Great looking doodles.  I will agree that dark coated dogs pose problems when photographing them (as do pure white dogs).  

I prefer to shoot dark dogs (actually any dogs) in open shade or on an overcast day.  I also prefer to use fill flash outdoors for dark dogs.  The fill flash will pump some light into the coats of the dark dogs.  Here is an example of Coco who is not black but, who is a very dark brown in color.

I photographed her at dusk and added some fill flash. 

OTOH, fill flash is even more valuable when shooting a dark dog in bright conditions, the flash will fill in the dark shadows.

[Jenny and Cooper]

Great pictures of Loki and Moose! :) They're both so cute!