Pictures! For Real-see for yourself!-EDIT

Gotcha! Sorry..but I thought this would entice you all to help me out...

I put this under DG 'cause it involves my sweet Mz Klo

I thought I'd get an early start on attempting to take our holiday picture, seeing as she hates the camera. Yesterday, John and I joined her outside and she was prancing and happy and excited...until..she saw John take the camera out from his jacket. Ears back, tail under legs and no smile and no Logan. She tried hiding in the bushes. Seriously. Even at the bark park the other day she trotted over to the other side and walked the perimeter of the fence. Got a lot of blurry butt shots, but lots of poses from other dogs. Nancy (the pet psychic) is going to get back to me why Klo is petrified of cameras (even without a flash..just cameras in general). Darn! I was so frustrated. My hair turned out great (vanity) and the weather was beautiful.

Any suggestions how I can get her to look into the camera? I show her all your fantastic photos but she just rolls her eyes and shrugs. :rolleyes:
http://k9karen.tafasite.org/logan/07nov07/p1010020a.jpg
H E L P !!!!!

Hmmm - could you disguise the camera in a box or something? Just cut a lens-size hole in a shoebox? The cameraman might feel a little goofy carrying around a shoebox and pointing it, but maybe it wouldn't scare poor Logan as much?

Is there any toy or treat that she's just nuts about? That's how I get Dasher to do it. I hold his prized squeaky tennis ball in my hand. Wherever that ball goes, so do his eyes and it also make him perk up his ears. Then after I get one shot, I let him hold it before I take another shot. I so hope you can get a good pic. I know how important it is for you.

hmm... I would try to slowly teach her to associate the camera with good things, like treats or toys, and praise. When the camera is anywhere in sight, and she is acting calm, give her lots of treats and praise. Slowly increase her proximity to the camera during each session, but don't try to take pictures until she is totally fine with it.

If she starts acting scared, you're moving too fast. And make sure you never, ever praise her when she is acting scared or unsure; only when she's relaxed!

I did this for Gonzo, as he used to be scared of cameras, when he was young. He now tolerates it... that's the best I can do. ;D

Hehehe, you got me. I couldn't open this thread fast enough at the prospect of seeing Mz. Klo. Actually, I was going to suggest something similar to Erica. Do it slow, treat her for her proximity to the camera. Hold the camera in one hand and one of her toys in the other, and treat her for ignoring the camera and hitting on the toy. Or one of you get on the floor and play with Logan while the other person on occasion picks up or walks by with the camera (not taking pictures), so good things are associated with it. It will take a while, but she may learn that it won't hurt her.

Oh man, you had me going. I thought we were going to see some pictures. Your sneaky:p

Bon is not afraid of the camera but I can hardly ever get him to look at it while we are outside. Treats is the only thing that works for me.

Maybe you two could just be sitting and sharing a moment and John could quickly snap a few pictures without her noticing?

I wish you good luck!

Tsk tsk, you know, at this time of year, Santa is checking who is naughty . . . ;) Leading us on to believe we would see pics!

My foster dog Ozzy is the same way with the camera. The only way I can get a shot of him is if someone holds him. Just zoom in on his face. Don't know if this will give you the holiday shot you would prefer, but it is the only thing that works with Ozzy.

Next time, we are going to HOLD you to the title when you say photos! :)

*bump*

you both look beautiful!
just a thought - Have you tried holding a scrumptious treat above the camera like a piece of beef or a hot dog?

Hey, congrats on at least getting the front of her. Nice to see both of you again. I would suggest a toy or treat, also. Can John hold one and the camera at the same time? I see you're making a little progress, though. It should get better if you don't rush her. Poor thing. Give her some hugs from me.

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Originally Posted by shais_mom

you both look beautiful!
just a thought - Have you tried holding a scrumptious treat above the camera like a piece of beef or a hot dog?

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When she posed nicely, I gave her a cookie. She's not food orientated and when it comes to the dreaded camera, she doesn't give a hoot about anything but disappearing! She was a bit better with John's camera then mine. He snapped about 50 and this one cracked me up. At least I didn't have to strangle her to sit still! :rolleyes:

Aw..thanks Staci for the sweet comment.

Sorry Karen, no photo taking help, but it's good to see you and Logan! :D

Forgive me for laughing but sounds like she is intent not letting you get a good shot this year. You might as well go with it and concentrate on one that you like of YOU....like the one you posted for example which I think is cool. You could entitle it...Logan sings Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Well lucky me! I stumbled onto this thread after the picture was posted. ;) What a hoot Karen! She does look like she is singing something or maybe saying Ho Ho Ho!! :D Then again she may be doing what Bella does. Bella closes her eyes when she doesn't want to deal with me (walking over with nail cutters or something). I think she and Klo believe that if they can't see us we can't see them! :D You look terrific too! Nice job! :cool:

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Originally Posted by Rachel

Forgive me for laughing but sounds like she is intent not letting you get a good shot this year. You might as well go with it and concentrate on one that you like of YOU....like the one you posted for example which I think is cool. You could entitle it...Logan sings Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

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I couldn't agree more:D
You look gorgeous Karen!

Funny comments! Exceept for the closed eyes, that's a very nice picture of both of you. :)
I was hoping to pick up some tips from your thread too - Star doesn't run, but always looks the other way - she's sneaky - looks right at me then turns her head just as the shutter clicks! Our best "portrait shots" are either profiles or taken from 50 yards away & enlarged, LOL! She's also not food oriented either, so treats don't work.

My best advice - use a telephoto lens, (then Photoshop yourself in ;) ) :D!

I think the treat/toy/disguise advices are great.... you just need t figure out which one works best for her....

try making some sessions of petting and treat giving while holding the camera.... no pics though.... just hold it as bckrazy suggested, so she associates the camera is harmless and get sused to it being there......

later on try shooting somehting, not her, so she gets used to the sound of the shutter and the flash light....

then you can attempt taking one of her...

but every time shes good for even 5 secs, treats/toys/praise are a must....

you can also disguise it in some clothing, so it´s not another box shaped item, and just peek our the lens, and try be more casual as she might pick the pic vibe also...

Her fear of the camera won't be because she doesn't want to have her photo taken. After all, can anyone really expect a dog to understand the concept of photos. They say dogs can't even see or make sense of 2D images nevermind understand that a lump of plastic and glass etc...can take a photograph which is then printed off for or simply viewed on computer.

The reason she always hides is because she associates the sight of the camera with an unpleasant experience and this usually boils down to owners fussing about too much trying to get the dog to pose and maybe getting a little frustrated and fed up which the dog picks up on, when things don't go to plan. The dog soon realises that this same old unpleasant ritual will take place whenever that camera appears which is why they learn to run and hide when one comes out. Sometimes, the dogs might not like the flash.

The only way to change her is to teach her that the camera brings good things.
Try getting it out when she gets fed. Take some photos of her eating even if they are rubbish. Doesn't matter to her. Don't say anything to her, coax her or anything. This will just encourage the behaviour you've described.
From now on, she only gets fed when the camera is out, she only gets played with when the camera is out...so be prepared to have the camera out a lot from here on, lol. At the same time, the camera must not be put across as being a big deal. It is there but that is it. At first, just get the camera out in view and place it somewhere and then resume in giving the dog something nice and then graduate to holding it but without taking pictures at first.
Later down the line, teach her that the click from a camera is a prelude to something nice...in the same way that you'd use a clicker in clicker training.

Do some general obedience so that you can get her to sit easier for when you take a photo and have a toy on the ready to make her look or find ways of getting her to strike certain poses on her own accord...like the poised stance of a dog waiting for a ball to be thrown. Be sure to throw the toy or let her play with it after the photos are taken as a reward.

This means she'll learn that the sight of a camera brings good things, not bad and she'll look forward to seeing it.

Wow! He really doesn't like cameras.lol Cute picture though!