Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Internationally-renowned, award-winning animal photographer Illona Haus created scruffy dog photography inc. as the province's premier pet photography business which continues to serve clients across Ontario, the US and the world. Based in Kitchener, Ontario and photographing exclusively animals for fifteen years - both commercially and for private clients - Illona is considered one of the world's leading and most influential pet photographers.

 

To learn more about the scruffy dog photography, its creator and history, and the scruffy dog experience, feel free to browse through the menu above, and scroll through over a decade's worth of blog entries below!

 

Please drop me a line! I'd love the opportunity to capture stunning, creative, one-of-a-kind photographic memories of your 4-legged loved ones to treasure in artwork for a lifetime, and show you just what makes the scruffy dog experience second to none.

ziggy, model extraordinaire ~ {Woodstock, Ontario pet photographer}

we had a wonderful shoot last week with Ziggy the whippet and his feisty little jack russell sister Nelly.  i’ve shared a few sneak peeks of these two characters on the scruffy dog facebook already … and if you’ve not “Liked” the SDP facebook page in order to keep up with the latest, why not?  🙂

but with far too many images from our lovely, late spring afternoon shoot to share on the blog — as i sometimes do with multi-dog shoots — i’ve decided to split them up, dedicating a blog entry to each Ziggy and Nelly.

so here’s Ziggs …

this is a boy of a hundred expressions.  let’s see, we have “elegant” …

then there’s the: “wait, was that a squirrel?”

and the always-effective “woe-is-me” …

then of course, there’s the: “i’m -way-damn-cuter-than-my-short-stuff-sister”  look …

and, “d’oh-i-dropped-the-treat!”

but whatever the look, this boy is about as handsome as they come.

and a darn fine poser …

… no matter which end you’re shooting.

after spending a a little time indoors for some home shots while the afternoon sun was still very bright, we headed out to one of Ziggy and Nelly’s favorite walking spots … a beautiful trail that resembled an old English country lane.

every turn offered new and wonderful challenges in the light.

and you just gotta love spring-time grasses …

… and funky trees …

lots of great sniffums.

and of course, running …

thanks Robin and Amy for introducing me to your two amazing pups.  and let me apologize ahead of time for the extra-large gallery you’re about to receive.  these two babies of yours are simply too photogenic and i wasn’t able to narrow down the gallery any further.

have a great Monday, everyone.  and stay tuned for Nelly’s blog entry tomorrow!  loads of fun to come!

Facebook Comments
9 comments
Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • SimonLovely stuff! gorgeous dogs.ReplyCancel

  • Holly Garner-JacksonEssence of Ziggy! Perfect!!ReplyCancel

  • AngelaLove both the blogs for this gorgeous pair. I said on facebook that it looks like an English country lane and it does 🙂

    Angela
    UKReplyCancel

  • LindaI needed something beautiful too look at this morning. These photos are gorgeous. Love them.ReplyCancel

  • SarahBravo 🙂 Beautiful illona!ReplyCancel

  • Susan HumphreysYou’re right Ilona, this trail looks just like some of the country lanes
    here in England. This set is wonderful. It will be so hard to choose which
    ones to have. Can’t wait for Nelly’s blog entry.!

    Susan Humphreys
    EnglandReplyCancel

  • MarlaGorgeous!ReplyCancel

  • Donna LukerI’m pretty sure I’ve gotten tears in my eyes every time I’ve visited here. Mostly from joy. The way you represent (if that’s a proper term) all of your animals, personal & clients, so beautifully with your photography just goes straight to my heart.ReplyCancel

  • TatyanaI may have a slight sighthound weakness, but I loved the whole set 😀ReplyCancel

how we start our mornings ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

sometimes a migraine wakes me … sometimes — although very rarely, since the scruffies are highly respectful — it’s a cold nose that drags me out … sometimes it’s the smell of coffee as my partner gets up for work, although i’m usually the first one up in these parts.  this morning, however, at 4 a.m. it was the birds.  yeah, i know the adage about the worm and the early bird, but dagnabbit, whether it’s the excessive rain that’s to blame for a bumper crop of worms or grubs or June bugs, it seemed that at 4:00 this morning, every bird had its worm and they were bragging loud and bold about it to the entire neighborhood.

so this morning, after a couple hours of work, we watched the sunrise … quite the sight after our weeks of rain …

and of course, no morning is a good morning without extreme tickling …

now, i think it’s time for a little ball-fetching out in the back yard.  i don’t have to ask merrick goobernuts mcscruffy twice!

for those curious, the photos in this blog entry were all taken with the Lensbaby Composer.

Facebook Comments
10 comments
Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • MarieWhat a cute dog! He’s so scruffy! adorable..ReplyCancel

  • DaveLove the photos.

    Our bird issue issue was a woodpecker that was convinced our chimney cap had food in it. The sound was like a drum throughout the house. The golden retrievers couldn’t figure out which door or window to defend against this invisible intruder. Fortunately the woodpecker gave up after 2 days.ReplyCancel

  • JackieI would take bird’s chriping at 5am to what I wake up to every morning…my neighbor snoring through his alarm!!!ReplyCancel

  • Holly Garner-JacksonOMD!That’s the way I feel some mornings when the birds start in at 4! Especially if the ravens and crows add their two cents worth of caws!!
    Peter says you should do what the Fonz would do. He just yelled “COOL IT!!!!” and they did.
    Love your tickle shot best but the lensbaby shots are all very cool!
    Hope you aren’t awaken at 4 again tomorrow!!ReplyCancel

  • KarenI love lensbaby. They’re so much fun to use. I hope you’re enjoying it Illona.ReplyCancel

  • Susan HumphreysLove these! I can’t think of a better way to start the morning than
    being woken up by these two gorgeous goobers!

    Susan Humphreys
    EnglandReplyCancel

  • Liz UribeBeautiful photos as always…and what a great way to start the day playing with your doggie.ReplyCancel

  • Jenniferlove the 3rd one down. 4am!!!! Jackhammering wouldn’t get me out of bed at that hour.ReplyCancel

  • karenWe have a bird as well that I could strangle come 5am.ReplyCancel

  • bublynskiThat looks like the perfect morning to me – the tickling shot is priceless!
    I forget about the difference in our latitude… birds don’t start their joyous dawn chorus here until 5-ish. Yours are celebrating spring after a long, hard winter!ReplyCancel

senior moments for dogs ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

i guess dogs have senior moments too … i’m just trying to figure out precisely when it was that my old girl matea figured that we removed the screen door which has pretty much been a permanent fixture in her life no matter which house we’ve lived in.  because this afternoon, with no bird or squirrel or bunny in sight to possibly invigorate any generally-dormant stupid genes, with no one anywhere near the back door to potentially confuse her as to whether or not the screen door may have been slid open, and without merrick outside to trick her into believing that the screen had been foolishly left ajar to let the goober out, matea simply, surely and quite deliberately went sailing through our so-called “dog proof” screen door.

don’t get me wrong … it’s not the first time for this old girl.  but at nine years of age, she’s wise beyond her years.  she knows better, and as mentioned above, there was nothing to compel her.  if i hadn’t been in the same utter disbelief as matea, or worried that the cat could escape through the three-foot gaping hole, i might have gone down to the studio to grab one of the cameras to capture matea’s shock and complete embarrassment.  she stood, unmoving, stopped in her tracks, midway across the deck, her back to the shredded screen, head turned back toward the destruction, hung with what could only be abject apology … although, i’m certain, for a few long moments, she was calculating if it was at all possible to blame it on merrick this time.

after merrick went through the former screen twice last summer — having never lived in a house before and never experiencing a screen door — i’m tired of dismantling the thing and running it off to Home Hardware.  some 20lb fishing line will do the trick for now … besides, matea’s not getting any younger.  i suppose i should expect more of these senior moments?  or maybe after watching me spend almost an hour fixing this, she’s figured it out?

merrick, on the other hand, i’m sure, will have a few more Superman moments when his excitement propels him through the screen … so this home-repair will do for now.  fingers crossed the mosquitoes don’t discover the rift!

happy weekend, everyone.  may it be senior-moment free!

Facebook Comments
10 comments
Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • bublynskiDon’t feel bad, Matea – I’ve walked through (and into) things plenty of times. We may be older and wiser, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still embarrass ourselves. 😉ReplyCancel

  • kelli (alice's mama)tell matea not to worry, i’ve done the same thing before myself!! good quick thinking on the repair job.ReplyCancel

  • KarenWe solved the issue of the screen door and our dogs by getting a stainless steel mesh screen. Our wire shredding girl can now ‘rip at it’ to her hearts content (not so good on the ears but the screen is still perfect). The only problem so far was the first night. When it got dark out and we put the lights on inside, the mesh became pretty much invisible. Out of the dark, we heard this huge bam! against the door. There were two very shaken and bewildered dogs on the other side who were used to seeing when the door was closed. They thought they could just come sprinting inside but slammed right into the door instead. It could have been very nasty but fortunately all was well.ReplyCancel

  • Holly Garner-JacksonOMD! So this is the first of “52 weeks” that she’s done this ? This is pretty funny! Good patch job but I’m glad you aren’t a surgeon!
    I wonder what she was thinking!!ReplyCancel

  • Jenniferoh poor matea! what a crack up. she looks so sad and sorry for herself.ReplyCancel

  • illonadonna, if she had opposable thumbs she’d be fixing it herself!

    lisa, seriously, it’s not a matter of seeing or not seeing the screen for her … in this case, i think she simply wasn’t thinking. i could put big huge X’s of masking tape across it, and she probably still would have trotted right through it. it truly was a senior moment.

    meghan, you should have seen her BEFORE i fixed the screen. you’d think she was ready for a beating!

    AMEN, roger!!!ReplyCancel

  • RogerAt least it wasn’t a glass window.ReplyCancel

  • Meghan GraceThat second picture is soooo funny! Love this post!ReplyCancel

  • Donna LukerOh, the poor girl looks absolutely mortified! I’m sure she’d help mend the screen if she only had thumbs 🙂ReplyCancel

  • Lisa BrencisOMG! LOL! I find myself smiling but it’s not really funny. The fishing line is a fabulous temporary idea, though! Maybe if you put those things on the screen so that she can always tell that there is a screen there? I have 5 beautiful metal ones on mine. There are two pieces to each one and they stay in place with magnets. I have 3 butterflies, a hummingbird and a dragonfly. All in filigree metal.ReplyCancel

…
106
…
…
106
…
X
Return to Top ▲Return to Top ▲