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thor & indy ~ {Toronto pet photographer}

1 February 2012 – 8:02 am

here at scruffy dog we’re still working on the post production of a number of our fall sessions due to the extremely heavy shooting schedule last season.  and even while some clients’ galleries are up, and orders are already being processed, we’re woefully behind in blogging the amazing sessions we’ve had … with dozens of sessions, unfortunately, never making it to the blog.

wherever i can, i’m trying to make room to do up a blog entry here and there, but right now it’s only a dream that i’ll get even a fraction of last fall’s sessions onto the blog.

some of you who follow the scruffy dog facebook page will already have seen a few of these images of Thor and his little sister Indy … and they would have made an appearance in the facebook recaps posted intermittently here on the blog … but since they’re among my favorites from the session, you’re getting a couple of repeats.

Thor is a repeat client from several years ago.  it was so amazing to see this big guy again as he was one of my most memorable sessions early on in scruffy dog history …

and wee little Indy … well, need i say more?  “hey, lady, down here!”

how adorable is this little sweetie?

and those wee, undersized legs work just fine when it comes to keeping up with her big brother …

and how utterly handsome is this big guy?

and this boy can move!

although it’s been my experience that long-haired doxies can be a little on the shy side, i think this little girl actually believes she’s a great dane as well …

we had a lot of fun at one of our favorite locations, and then made our way to the red caboose …

thanks for a lovely session with your two, Jennifer, and sharing them with me.

these two are certainly a couple of my most favorite scruffies …

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our client consults ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

25 January 2012 – 3:39 pm

one of the included features of any scruffy dog session and package is the client consult … some one-on-one time here at the studio to go over your images, see them full size on a properly calibrated monitor, and review the various fine-art products and high-end Signature scruffy dog albums.  clients also have the benefit of our experience and guidance as to which products are best suited to their home decor and which images would work best for the big, framed canvases which have become synonymous with SDP.

of course, it’s also your opportunity to meet the scruffy dog sales team … er … the resident scruffies …

… and while here, clients enjoy a specialty coffee from our new SunCafe single pod brewer.  trust me, when we decided to purchase a coffee machine for our studio guests, we did our homework, and are proud to say that SunCafe is 100% Canadian, like everything else about scruffy dog products … and these Kienna pods are earth-friendly and biodegradable vs. all those plastic and foil “cups” that other single-serve machines throw into the environment (recycled or otherwise).

of course, we have cold drinks as well … we’re stocked.

yup, here at SDP we aim to please …

NOTE: we do not allow the sales team to serve hot beverages.

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darn fleas ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

5 January 2012 – 12:57 pm

well, i’ve heard it was a bad fall for fleas. but then, i hear that just about every fall, and every fall finds us flea-free.

as some of you know, here at scruffy dog headquarters, we’re raw-fed, low-vaccines, and no chemicals unless absolutely required … and that includes topical treatments that may not be needed.  as always, i’d rather treat as needed vs. using a bunch of chemicals as a preventative for something that may never be an issue.  this decision is based on my own experience with my dogs over the years, as well as having researched a lot about the treatments, side effects, and actual cases of reactions.

so, with fleas, i’ve used Advantage maybe once every two or three years.  about six weeks ago, we found a flea on the goober.  for the next hour i was like a monkey picking through his hair, only to find ten more!  and running a flea comb through matea i was shocked to find a couple more of the little buggers, but also a lot of flea poop.

over the weeks, i take time out to search for them on the scruffies, believing i could stave off any impending infestation “manually” … and while the numbers of fleas were no more than two or three a week on merrick and one or two on matea, and even though we ourselves have not been bitten in spite of the goober nestled between us all night every night … last night i’d had it.

so, out came the Advantage, and all three of them were treated (even though Aslan did not appear to be carrying a single flea).   trouble is, matea’s coat is far too thin and after applying the dastardly chemicals, she sat for a couple of minutes waiting for her treat, while we did the other two … and by the time i got back to her, the chemicals — applied to the back of her neck and top of her shoulders — had run all down her back!  and two minutes later, she’s wanting to lick it.

so all last night she wore her Back on Track “blanket”, but it’s not to be worn more than 8 hours … so, today she is sporting a lovely T-shirt …

so pretty …

tomorrow morning i’ll take it off and bathe her back so that there are no more chemicals that she can reach.

of course, no resident-scruffies blog entry would be complete without the goober … so here he is …

hoping you’re having a fabulous first week of the year!

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thank you to all of our 2011 clients! ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

3 January 2012 – 5:04 pm

2011 has been a great year here at scruffy dog photography. Even if it didn’t start out with a bang — the winter months offering very few great “snow” days, and the spring months being rained out — we still managed to fit in a record-breaking number of shoots, with some truly amazing dogs (and cats!).

And while our trip out east in the spring was pretty much a wash, and we had to cancel all of our pre-arranged sessions out there, we did manage to capture some memorable and unique shots of the resident scruffies on the beaches to bring home with us.

But the year would be nothing without our amazing clients.  2011 brought us such a huge variety of models, from seniors to puppies, and clients from as far away as California and New York City, as well as commercial clients on a global level.

Business-wise, we have made some big moves as well this year … trademarking the “scruffy dog” name in several countries, and even as I write this we are on the verge of rebranding, so stay tuned for that!

With enormous thanks to our clients and friends, followers and supporters, we were once again nominated and won the “Best Pet Photographer” category in The Toronto Pet Daily‘s Readers’ Choice Awards for the second year running.  This, along with wins in the categories of “Favorite Photographer” and “Favorite Photography Studio” in the Kitchener-Waterloo’s Readers’ Choice Awards, makes 2011 a pretty stellar year all around. And of course, there’s no way this could happen without the incredible support, word-of-mouth, and generosity of all of you.

But when I look back on the year of 2011, it will be marked more by the tongue-lolling, tail-wagging joy in so many of the scruffy faces I met and had the absolute pleasure of photographing.

We would be nowhere without our clients … and to show our appreciation, I have compiled a video of our 2011 clients. With the number of 2011 scruffy clients far exceeding 100, it took everything I had to choose just one photo from each shoot (for those of you with multiple shoots last year, you will find your dog appearing twice in the video). I hope you enjoy this 2011 retrospective!

Enjoy! And thank you for being a part of the scruffy dog family!

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