I love them!
What lens are you using? Are you shooting manual or using a mode?
Dance's little face in the water is adorable. Jason is desperately wanting a Rotti, I showed him your pics so he could get all excited
Thank you! I am using my 70-200mm f2.8. I saved a long time for it, but it's pretty great when I happen to use it correctly haha. It's way sharper and more accurate than the 55-200mm I'd used prior, but I liked that one too. I only got this one because the D90 I had before my current camera was a lemon at the best of times, plus also really didn't cooperate with the 55-200 lens for some reason.
I pretty much always shoot in manual now. Sometimes if I'm lazy I'll use Aperture or Shutter priority, but all of these and probably like 98% of my other pictures are always in manual.
Ruca is great! And also great at reminding me that eventhough I grew up with Rotties, I don't want another haha. She's a lot of fun but SO exuberant and in your face. She's adorable though.
Great shots. Those black dogs shine and your toller is a lovely little thing.
I'm curious to see your pics because it looks like the dobermans rarely get taken out for these adventures. How come? I know four dogs is a lot to take out, but it always makes me sad when the "new dogs" replace the old ones in terms of companionship and adventures.
Maybe that's why your dobie is so grumpy - I would be too. LOL
Thanks for the compliment!
And... I am sure that's probably what it looks like, so I don't blame you for thinking that. The Dobermans actually do pretty much as many things as the other two do, but I don't take my camera with me with them very often because they're a lot more dog to watch and handle and I feel like if I'm taking pictures, I'm not watching them quite as closely as I could be. I am kind of an over-the-top responsible dog owner sometimes and don't like to hinder my ability to make sure they're being respectful of our park environments and other users, and I feel like a camera gets in the way of that with them sometimes. Not that they're bad, but Ripley can be leash reactive and both of them also just kind of run aimlessly every which way, which makes me busier, as opposed to the other two who just stay close and want to be involved with what I'm doing. If that makes sense. And I don't always take them to pretty places either, because it's hard for me to get to different parks with them due to lack of a car (out of respect for transit users - they're decent sized dogs and a 'scary' breed) so pictures would be rather boring. Plus, I do have to watch them more closely as I said, because I don't want them bugging people and they're much less apt to stick close than the other two. So much of my walks with them is spent not only having fun, but also calling them off of people and other dogs, making sure they don't chase bunnies and don't run a billion miles away, etc. They're just a totally different type of dog for me and take more diligence.
But yes, they do go out a lot. There's just no photographic evidence usually. And to be frank, it's not really that much fun to take them places all the time either, so I don't post about it as much. Not that it's not fun, but it's just more work rather than play I guess is how one could describe it.
As for the "new dogs", Dance is hardly new. She's the oldest of my crew, and my life and things I do with her haven't changed at all. Journey is new, but she just happens to come along on some of the activities that I do with Dance, plus being a puppy, I make sure she has a lot of 1:1 time as well so that the other dogs don't rub off on her with any undesirable behaviours. And because she needs to get out and do different things way more than my adults do too.
And I wouldn't call him "so grumpy".
He's still his normal, sweet self most of the time... just with a lesser tolerance for things that he was fine with in the past that had me a bit worried, because it's not something I expected out of him and I falsely hoped that he'd be his goofy, laid back, not-a-care-in-the-world puppy self forever. And like I said, between watching some of his older relatives mature and all of the stress that's been going on in my house for the past couple of months, I am pretty sure that's why.
Another factor is the fact that very rarely do I take all four out with me at once, because the Dobes are enough for one person to watch on their own. Nevermind them plus two more. And my mom is barely home anymore, so I basically live by myself, and so I tend to do outings in pairs. And if I take my camera on one outing, often I don't feel like taking it on the second.
Also, as was already said, as bad is it might sound to those that haven't experienced it, Dance and Journey are the two that I sought out as my own dogs and are likely the only two dogs that will be coming with me when I move out of my mom's home. They're mine in every sense of the word. I do consider the Dobermans mine as well while I live with them, because they're totally unsuited to my mom and I don't want to make her responsible for them until she really needs to be. But it's just different with them. They're different dogs, they enjoy different things, they're a lot more dog than the other two, etc. Doesn't mean I love them any less or neglect them in any way, it's just a little bit different. I am a pretty awesome four dog family home if I do say so myself and all of them are always my priority and I make sure everyone has their needs met.
But you're right, I definitely haven't taken any pictures of Keira and Ripley lately and need to fix that! Today was supposed to be that day, but it's pouring rain and not only do I not want to go for a hike in the rain, they probably don't either judging by the looks on their faces when I opened the back door for them this morning haha.
I know you didn't mean any harm in your comment and were just curious, so I hope that helps a bit!
It's my understanding the the girls, Dance and Journey, are her dogs while the Dobe's are more her moms. And she does often take them on hikes.
Thank you.
Gorgeous pictures as usual! When I die, can I come back as one of your dogs?
Thanks!
THey are living the good life aren't they. I love seeing Dance, always makes me smile.
Great photos.
Thank you!
OMG- that Rott is GORGEOUS!! Of, course, so are Dance and Journey, but we already knew that.
Wonderful pictures.
Thank you! She is beautiful, isn't she? Sometimes she just stops and stacks herself like a perfect little show dog and we both (my friend and I) just stare and admire her haha. She knows she's pretty, too!
