Teaching a dog to pose for pictures is not as hard as it may seem. With a little patience and positive reinforcement, your dog can be posed in no time! In this blog post, we will outline a few tips on how to successfully train your canine friend to take pictures.
One of the best ways to get your dog to pose for pictures is to start with basic obedience commands. Sit, stay, and down are all great commands, to begin with. Once your dog has a good understanding of these commands, you can start working on more specific posing cues. My own dogs are trained to put their head down and head up on cue. Of course most pet dogs do not have a higher level of training so you can use food to lure your dog into positions.
Dogs are highly motivated by food, so using treats as a reward for posing can be very effective. When training your dog to pose, have a treat ready and offer it to them as soon as they get into position. Once they start to understand that they will get a treat for posing, they will be more likely to do it on command.
Finally, remember to be patient when training your dog to pose for pictures. Like with any behavior, it will take time and practice for your dog to get it down. If you are patient and consistent with your training, however, you will be sure to get those perfect posed pictures in no time!
Another great way to get good photos of your dog is to place them in a setting and just wait for a candid shot. Sometimes these are the best images.
A Note From Sue
As both a dog trainer and photographer, I often get asked how to get dogs to pose for pictures. The tips above are a great place to start, but there are a few other things to keep in mind as well.
Lighting is everything when it comes to taking pictures, so make sure you have good lighting before you start snapping away. If you're outdoors, early morning or late evening light is usually the best. If you're indoors, a sunny spot near a window is usually ideal.
Also, remember that not all dogs like having their picture taken. If your dog seems stressed or uncomfortable, it's probably best to put the camera away and try again another day. Forcing your dog to pose when they're not into it will only result in some very cheesy photos (and stressed-out dogs).
If you keep these things in mind, you're sure to get some great shots of your furry friend! I've worked with all kinds of animals on movie sets and commercials, and have even written a book on the subject, so if you have any other questions, feel free to shoot me an email. Until then, happy snapping!