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Meet Oakley and Louie, two absolutely adorable shichons.  When they arrived to our photography studio, their mom asked what she could expect from the session.  I gave her my usual reply of, “I have no idea.”  🙂   That’s the most honest answer I can give someone when photographing their pets.  Some pets LOVE the attention they get during a session, while others need some major motivation.  Oakley and Louie were terrific!  We started off with just allowing them to roam around on my posing table and giving them treats there.  Some dogs associate being on a table with being at the veterinarian’s office, which generally isn’t a pleasant experience for most dogs.   After the dogs were comfortable being on the table and realizing that this might not be so bad, they settled in.

This is the first shot we got.  The dogs look sweet, but they’re a little further apart than I’d like them to be.  We actually ended up splitting this image and creating two separate portraits  from it.

shih poos sitting far from each other in the studio

Oftentimes when working with multiple dogs, one looks good while the other does not.  Here, Oakley is sitting up perfectly, while Louie is preparing to launch off the table.

shih poos not cooperating in the studio

Still not quite there.  Oakley must have smelled delightful that day.

shih poo brothers in the studio

I must have barked or meowed or used a duck call or something to get the head tilt out of Oakley.  Louie . . . Louie!

shih poos in the studio looking awkward

Brotherly love or is it neener, neener, neener?

shih poos looking at each other in the studio

Wow!  Sitting close together AND looking at the camera!!!  After getting this shot, I suggested we try to change the position of the dogs.

shih poos sitting together in the studio

So, Oakley decided to lie down and do this.

one shih poo showing his teeth in the studio

Better.  🙂

shih poos in the studio looking serious

Better yet!  Love the head tilts!  And they’re even in the same direction!

shih poo portrait in the studio

Louie is starting to upstage his brother with his adorable smile . . .

shih poos on a blanket in the studio

. . . and Oakley is getting annoyed with him.

two shih poo brothers in the studio

These two were so much fun in the studio.  I asked their mom how they behaved at home because oftentimes that behavior is vastly different from how they act in the studio.  Here, Oakley and Louie were sweet and mannerly and calm.  At home, they play hide and seek around the kitchen counter and have chewed through the support leg on one of the kitchen chairs!  Every toy that comes in their BarkBox has been destroyed within a week of its arrival.

Speaking of chewing, these two remind me of some Star Wars characters you may be familiar with:

shih-poos look like chewbacca and ewok

Playing fetch with these two?  You’ll only be playing with Louie and you’ll need to steal the toy back from him.  He has yet to learn the drop command.  If you throw a toy to Oakley, he’ll fetch it, but he won’t return it.  Instead, he plays with the toy where it lands. Sometimes, he’ll even sneak up on his brother as he is retrieving the toy and pounces on him!  What a riot!  🙂

To learn more about shichons, here are some helpful links.  Thanks for stopping by!

Shichons

Shih Tzu

Bichon Frise

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