Modelling « Honey the Great Dane

Me & My Special Human – In Honour of MaxDog

February 10th, 2010 Posted in Fun things to do with your dog..., Life in Auckland, Life in Brisbane, My Humans, Puppy Time

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As many of you know, my blog friend MaxDog in South Africa and his family have had some devastating news: Max has an inoperable tumour in his liver and he has come home from the vets to spend time with his family. It is a very tough time for them but Max is a fighter and we are all fighting for him too and keeping him in our thoughts.

Max’s ‘Mom’ realised that she didn’t have many nice photos of her and Max together and is capturing those precious moments now – but she reminded us all to “seize the moment” and get more ‘ Together Pictures ‘ with our humans. I am very lucky because I have a maniac camera human who has to take a million pictures of every small thing every day – so I have quite a few pictures with my humans already!

So this post is dedicated to Max - here are some ‘Together’ pictures of me and my special human, Hsin-Yi:

The first time we met…

(4 weeks - look, my brothers are trying to climb into Hsin-Yi’s lap too! I was the first of all the puppies in my litter to get my very own human and I think they were all jealous!)

The last time Hsin-Yi could pick me up…

(9 weeks – 10kg/22lbs)

Graduating from puppy class!

(16 weeks)

Helping in the garden…

(4 months)

On Hsin-Yi’s 30th birthday…

(5 months – Hsin-Yi waited 30yrs for her dream of having a dog!)

All grown up now!

(14 months)

Sharing a hug…

Having a nap together…

Winning our 1st ‘doggie dancing’ trophy…

Enjoying a girlie moment together…

Exploring the ‘City of Sails’ …

…or just ‘hanging out’…

Maybe a spot of modelling…

…and a TV appearance or two…

…but quiet cuddles at home too!

Being a lap dog…

Posing for Christmas photos…

Doing the ’beach babe’ thing…

And sharing a joke!

But most of all, those special, quiet moments together…

And here is Hsin-Yi’s favourite photo of us together:

I hope you will join us and post some ‘Together Pictures’ of you and your human – in honour of Max…and if you haven’t got many, as Max’s ’Mom’ said – seize the moment and get some more now!

* For all those whose humans say that there is no-one to take the photos - Hsin-Yi says “Use the self-timer!” A lot of our photos are taken with self-timer and the mad rush to run back into the right spot always gets a natural smile!

————————————————-

* Hsin-Yi is going away tomorrow to attend a conference with Dr. Ian Dunbar back in Auckland and she will be away until next week – so I won’t have anyone to help me visit your blogs – sorry! I will catch up with you all when she gets back.

And guess what? Instead of kennels, I will be going to stay with a pet sitter this time, as Paul works such long hours and is on-call on weekends, so I would be alone for too long at home…but this lady lives on a big farm where I can run free and she has a Great Dane too so I will have a friend to play with! In fact, I already had an overnight ”trial stay” a few weeks ago to make sure that I was happy with the arrangement and I loved playing with Harley the Great Dane – so I will tell you all about that when I get back!

I also still have lots of ‘catch-up posts’ to do, like telling you about my “doggie dancing camp”, my visit to Nudgee Beach and the latest tricks I’m learning - I always seem to be having adventures faster than I can post about them!

cuddle, dog, great dane, growing up, human, Maxdog, memories, Modelling, photos, pictures, pose, puppy, special moments, together

'Fun with a bandana' and a parcel from Chicago!

February 8th, 2010 Posted in Dog Equipment & Accessories, Dog Play, Dog Toys, Friends, General Dog Information, Life in Brisbane, Modelling

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* Thinking of my friend, Max Dog in South Africa and his family, at this difficult time – wishing them happiness, peace and love in their time together.

Can you believe it – twice in the last few days, the Postman Human stopped by our house and said he had a package for ME!

Max & JD the Schnauzer Brothers

How exciting! The first package was from my blog friends, Max & JD, who live in a faraway place called England. Their humans had been travelling to another faraway place called Egypt and they had got a little present for me from there…a personalised bandana!

See? The bandana has my name on it written in ‘hieroglyphics‘ which are special writing pictures used by humans living in Egypt a long time ago…how cool is that?!

Well, as some of you know, I have a LOT of bandanas - my humans love to put bandanas on me when we go out walking – and this new one is a great addition to my collection! I couldn’t wait to try it on…and then I had an idea! Remember that clicker training game “Fun with a Box”? Well, I could do my own version: ‘Fun with a Bandana’!

Starting with the traditional look…

Then how about a bit of rustic ‘peasant style’?

Or I could do a cute retro Minnie Mouse look:

Or how about an elegant corsage?

Then there is the hot pink miniskirt… (oh, la! la! )

…or maybe a bit of Ascot flair - work those accessories, dahling!

Not forgetting (Hsin-Yi’s favourite!) – the evil Emperor from ‘Star Wars’ (er, pink version!) !

"The force is strong in you, young Jedi...but do not underestimate the power of the PINK Side"

Kasha the Dainty Dane

And as if that wasn’t all exciting enough, I then had another package from my blog friend, Kasha the Dainty Dane, who lives in a faraway place called Chicago.

This was a little thank you for me helping her to set up her blog…you’re very welcome, Kasha!

Ooh, I love opening presents…

What beautiful wrapping paper!

Yay! A tug toy! I LOVE tug toys!

This is me doing my “Happy Dance”: When I’m happy and excited – like when my humans come home - I always have to grab something in my mouth and do a little “prancing walk” around the room…do you do this too?

Nothing like a good game of tug! Grrrrrrr!

Of course, I still have to remember my manners even when I’m playing tug – like I must always immediately let go when my humans say “Give” – I learnt this from when I was a baby puppy, otherwise they just won’t play with me anymore and it is no fun. I also learnt that I must never put my teeth (even accidentally!) on their skin – if I did, the tug would “go dead” and my humans won’t play with me anymore…so now I’m really careful when I’m grabbing the tug toy.

Some people think that we doggies must never win a tug game otherwise we might get a bit bossy but it’s no fun if we lose all the time! My humans let me win sometimes – as long as I will always let go when they tell me to. And they always end the game when it’s still really exciting, so I know that they are the boss and they decide when to start and stop.

A lot of humans think that it is bad for us doggies to play tug – some even have silly ideas about it making us dominant - but as long as we are taught these important rules for playing, then it is a great game which most doggies LOVE playing and is a fantastic way for us to bond with our humans.

And guess what? There was also a present for Hsin-Yi in the box: special cards with our names and pictures on them! Isn’t it gorgeous! We love it! Personalised bandana…and now personalised stationary too!

Whew! And then as if all that wasn’t enough excitement, I also found out that I had got 2nd place at Niamh’s ‘Train Your Dog Photo Contest’ and the Reader’s Choice Award in the MangoMinster ‘Hard-Working Group’!

Congratulations to all the other winners and thank you to Niamh and Mango for hosting such fun competitions!

bandana, dog, dominance, fun, game, great dane, hieroglyphics, Modelling, package, parcel, personalised, play, presents, rules, stationary, tug

My Hard-Working, Sit-Staying, Fun-Training…Dog Pile!

January 26th, 2010 Posted in Friends, Just For Fun, Modelling

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Most of my doggie blog friends will know that there are some great competitions on at the moment – if you haven’t heard about them yet, don’t worry – there’s still time to join in!

And although my human, Hsin-Yi, is (still!) too busy with Settling-In and Catching-Up-With-Work to help me do much blog stuff, I have been working hard, training for these competitions! But I’m having a bit of trouble deciding which entries to submit…

First, of course, there is Mango Minster 2010 - the Greatest Dog Show in Doggie Blogland – created by my great friend, Mango the Mastiff. It has been really difficult to decide which category I fit in in: Cat Dogs, Hound Dogs, Herding Dogs, Sporty Dogs, Non-Sporty Dogs, Cracker Dog Insane Terriers or Hard-Working Dogs…in the end, with a bit of advice from Mango, I decided on Hard-Working Dogs. But which picture shows me at my Hardworking best??

OK, if any of you know my human, you’ll know what hard work it is living with her – that Camera Machine thing never stops! From the moment I came to live with them as an 8-week old pup, I’ve been modelling 24hrs non-stop…and as if that’s not bad enough – not only do I have to pose for photos but I have to take them too!

But anyway, here’s a picture which I think really shows me hard at work modelling – and it was hard work, I tell you, because I had to stand there in that pose – in the cold water - until all the ripples had disappeared so Hsin-Yi could get the perfect mirror image…

So what do you think, eh? Do you think this is good enough to be my Mango Minster entry?

(The deadline is midnight EST (USA) on Wednesday, January 27th – that’s tomorrow! - and strictly no late entries!)

Next there is Niamh’s Train Your Dog Photo Contest - which is looking for a picture of you and your human doing some training together. It can be basic obedience skills, tricks, any dog sport etc or any activity you like to do together – and the photo needs to be taken between Jan 1 and 31, 2010.

Well, my human hasn’t had time to do much training with me lately because she has been so busy with the Moving and Settling-In thing but last weekend, we managed to get some photos while I was at this new training class I’ve just started at the Brisbane RSPCA (tell you more about it in a future post!) – but again, it’s really hard to decide on the best picture!

Should I go for this – which shows my human using clicker training to help me practise my dancing…

…or this, which shows my happy focus & attention at the end of an Obedience Recall?

The deadline for this competition is midnight Jan 31, 2010 so there’s still a bit of time for you to enter if you haven’t yet! (Go to Niamh’s site for more details on how to enter)

OK, next there is Tucker’s Sit Stay Contest where doggies have to show their best ‘Sit Stay’ although it doesn’t have to be a traditional one! It can show the funny things you sit on or the strange ways you plant your bottom down…

Deadline for this is Jan 30th midnight (EST – USA) – again, go to Tucker’s site for more info.

Well, at least this time, there wasn’t any debate about the best photo:

THIS is my best Sit Stay!

* CAUTION: Young Pups – do not try this at home. This is an advanced Sit Stay formation only to be attempted by very experienced Bum Manipulators.

And last but not least, there is Biggie the Kuvasz’s fantastic Dog Pile Competition.

Well, you’ve seen my entry for that on my previous post (Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary) and you might have though that was impressive but – wow! – you won’t believe some of the entries that have been coming in since!! I think the best one so far is El’bow the Mastiff in Belgium – check out his dog pile: http://elbouwii.blogspot.com/2010/01/our-late-wordless-wednesday.html (scroll to the bottom) – you really have to see it to believe it!!

But special mention must also go to my Pairs Routine dancing buddy, Bodie the Border Terrier, back in NZ – check out his blog for an entry which shows that small dogs can take on the big guys too! http://smallbrowndogs.blogspot.com/2010/01/competition-entry.html

Here is my (now looking pathetic) entry again:

The deadline for the Dog Pile contest is Feb 1st, 2010 so that’s still loads of time to get your entry in! Go to Biggie’s site for more details.

These competitions are great fun and a wonderful way to join in and make friends in the doggie blog world, especially if you’re a newbie – it doesn’t matter if you haven’t got the perfect entry – it’s all about just joining in the fun!

So if you haven’t entered any of these contests yet – what are you waiting for??

Biggie, competitions, contest, dog, great dane, Mango Minster, Modelling, Niamh, pile, Sit, train, Tucker

My 1st Aussie BBQ!

January 15th, 2010 Posted in Human Pups (aka. children), Life in Brisbane, Modelling, Socialisation

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The Human Pups & me at my 6th birthday party back in Auckland last year...

Remember my friend, DizzyMum, who brought her Human Pups to my birthday party back in Auckland?

Well, she and her family are actually from Brisbane and they have just moved back here!

I am so happy because it is so nice to have friends in a strange new place…

…and I love her Human Pups because they always give me lots of cuddles and play fun games with me!

And guess what? They invited me and my humans to their place for my 1st Aussie BBQ!

There were lots of meaty yummies that smelled really delicious…!

But while we were waiting for them to cook, the Human Pups played some games with me. We played football (my favourite!)…

…and then we played some Modelling ‘coz the Human Pups wanted to get some photos with me…and you know how good I am at that! Hee! Hee! After all, I think I have the most “camera-mad” human in the world! Hsin-Yi has been using the Camera Machine on me every day from the moment I arrived home at 8 weeks!

Here are some of the shots that Hsin-Yi got – what do you think? Don’t we look sweet together?

Hsin-Yi was very proud of me because I was very good with the Human Pups and let them climb on me and hug me and do anything they liked.

She is always a bit worried because I don’t have any human pups of my own and when I was a puppy, none of their friends had any either - so Hsin-Yi is always worried that I might not have got enough socialisation with them.

But she did make a big effort – like she always got nice human pups in the street to pat me and feed me treats and she took me to sit near playgrounds so I could get used to children running and screaming around me. But still, I have not had a lot of chances to play with human pups and have them touching me everywhere and hugging me and stuff, so Hsin-Yi was really pleased with how patient and tolerant I was.

Of course, it’s easy ’coz these are my favourite Human Pups and I love getting cuddles from them! They even got me a special Christmas present – a tug toy! – and Hsin-Yi said they could give me treats as long as I did something to earn them. (That’s easy! Here, do you want to shake my paw? )

After we finished playing, I went back to check on the BBQ…mmm, looks like it’s almost done!

Of course, the humans got to eat first…but I did get a lot of yummy leftovers (sorry, there is no picture ‘coz I gobbled it up too quickly! )

And then afterwards, it was time for more cuddles…But wait! What’s that over there? What do you think the little Human Girl Pup is showing me?

There’s a kitty-cat in the house! Her name was Samantha but although I tried to be friendly and wagged my tail and gave her a play bow when I saw her, she didn’t like me at all! She hissed at me and made a scary yowly sound so I kept a respectful distance!

Much better to be getting more cuddles from the Human Pups!

Aussie, barbecue, BBQ, cat, children, football, great dane, kids, Modelling, pet, photos, pictures, puppy, Siamese, socialisation

The year that was…2009

January 6th, 2010 Posted in Agility, Canine Freestyle ('Doggie Dancing'), Dog Play, Dog-Friendly Places (NZ), Friends, Fun things to do with your dog..., Holidays & Travel, Lemon, Life in Auckland, Modelling, Moving Overseas, Pet Therapy Work

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My blog friends, Jackson & Patrick the Chihuahuas, had the great idea of posting a slideshow of their year in review…so I thought I’d do something similar:

So here it is – well, between dog dancing and agility, swimming lessons and beach romps, not to mention birthday party, TV appearances, modelling and pet therapy work…whew! It’s been a busy year! No wonder I need to sleep 18 hours a day!!

2009, Agility, auckland, ball, beach, Canine Freestyle ('Doggie Dancing'), dancing, dog, great dane, magazines, Modelling, pet therapy, photography, play, portrait, puppy, Rachael Hale, review, Rotorua, sheep, swimming, training, tricks, walk, year

Being a model doggie…

September 13th, 2009 Posted in Dog-Friendly Places (NZ), Friends, Life in Auckland, Modelling

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Did you know that Great Danes are known as “the Apollo of dogs”? One reason my humans love Danes is for our majestic and elegant looks. Hsin-Yi has even taught me to stand tall and lift my head so that I look like a noble statue. That’s what I was doing in this photo – what do you think?

I liked this photo so much, I have decided to put it as my new Homepage photo, to replace the old one which was taken when I was 2 years old…now that I’m more ‘mature’, it’s time I had a grown-up photo!

Well, as many of you know, my human has a serious addiction to the Camera Machine – it’s almost like an extra paw on her body, the way she carries it with her all the time and constantly takes photos of everything!

Of course, the thing she takes the most photos of is ME! When we’re out, other humans often stop, amazed, and ask Hsin-Yi how she gets me to pose so nicely for photos… Well, that’s easy: see, from the moment I walked in my home as an 8-week old puppy, I’ve had to get used to the thing being shoved in my face 24 hours a day (yes, even when I’m sleeping!) In fact, one of the first commands I learnt was “Wait!” – which means that I must freeze and not move until I hear my release word (“OK!”), while Hsin-Yi hovers around me, clicking away and gabbling to herself like a maniac!

But that’s OK – I’m so used to it now, I barely even notice her and it’s best if I just humour her as then I can get on and do the more interesting stuff, like sniffing and chasing my tennis ball!

So anyway, here are some photos that I modelled for in the last few weeks – the first batch is from our last visit to Rothesay Bay on the North Shore, back in July.

It was late afternoon – this is one of Hsin-Yi’s favourite time for photos as the light makes all colours look really deep and rich. Look at this water and sky! (these photos have not been retouched at all!)

She saw a lovely pool of water that was like glass and got me to go and stand in the middle…and pose!

Look, the reflection in the water made my legs look even longer!

Of course, I’m a very versatile model…I can do back views….

(Mango - what do you think of my 'hiney'??!

…and I can even freeze in mid-air!

OK, now for something a bit different…one of the nice things about Winter is all the beautiful magnolias blooming! Magnolias are one of Hsin-Yi’s favourite trees – especially the pink ones! Here are some photos from when Hsin-Yi and I went on a “magnolia tour” of our neighbourhood a few weeks ago…

(this last one’s especially for Khyra the Siberian Husky…”paw placement”! )

******

You know, in all the excitement with Agility and stuff, I totally forgot that I just passed my 1 yr anniversary of blogging! Yup, one year ago – on Aug 24th 2008 – I published my very first post! I was so new to the whole blog thing but everyone was so helpful and welcoming. It was lovely making so many new friends from around the world and sharing all your adventures!

And I must give a special mention to Dino the Golden Retriever for if my human hadn’t stumbled upon his blog and been so impressed and inspired, she would never have thought of helping me start one of my own! He really opened a whole new world for us – thank you, Dino!

Speaking of starting a blog, I’d also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of my friends who are new to the blogging world – if you have a moment, please do pop over and say hello! It can be a bit lonely when you first start and don’t know anyone!

First, there is El’bw the Mastiff and Hauwii the Small Musterlander who live in Belgium. Some of you may remember El’bow – he sent in a fantastic entry for my Spectacular Slobber Competition!

LOVE his 'bed head'!!

Then there is my old friend, Bodie the Border Terrier, who has finally gotten himself a blog! He was also at the Rachael Hale photoshoot and I also see him at dance classes…in fact, Bodie & I are working on a Pairs Dancing Routine together! (video coming soon!)

Oh, and check out Tucker the Great Dane - am so impressed: he’s only 10 months old but look at all the tricks he can already do! Woohoo!

Lastly, what do you think of my entry for Ludo’s “Not A Tricky T-Day Contest” – where all doggies have to send in a “not doing a trick” photo.

If you haven’t voted yet, do pop over to cast your votes! (and vote for meeeeeee!! )

I'm DEFINITELY not doing a trick!!

Apollo, auckland, beach, blogging, dog, elegant, flowers, great dane, magnolia, majestic, model, Modelling, noble, pet, photography, photoshoot, Rothesay Bay

'Nihao Magazine' Cover Star!

April 25th, 2009 Posted in Canine Freestyle ('Doggie Dancing'), Life in Auckland, Modelling

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In all the excitement about the Rachael Hale photoshoot, I forgot to tell you about another photoshoot I had a few weeks ago.

My human, Hsin-Yi, got a call from Nihao Magazine – this is a thin book with pictures and stories for all the Chinese breed of humans in New Zealand – and they wanted us to be their cover star for their March issue!

(Hsin-Yi thinks this is a terrible picture of me – she wishes they used a different photo on the cover…I look much better with my ears up!)

So I had to do a photoshoot in a studio – which I have to say, was not as nice as the Rachael Hale one. The Camera Human was very nice but he was not used to working with animals and so he didn’t really know how to make me look at the camera.

My feet kept sliding on the slippery paper they put down and I got very hot in that studio! Hsin-Yi kept asking them to give me breaks because I was getting very stressy. Also, they wanted her to wear a Chinese dress but the one she had was from when she was younger and used to do something called “clubbing” so she says to tell you sorry it’s so short!

But anyway, we managed to get some nice photos in the end. Here are some photos from the shoot:

THIS would have been a better cover photo!

...or this!

hyhoney-up-outside

They also asked Hsin-Yi lots of questions about me and my dancing and the other things I do – and then wrote a story about us. But although Hsin-Yi is a Chinese breed of human and she can bark a bit of Chinese, she can’t really read or write Chinese…so she can’t read the story in the magazine! So she has no idea what they said about us – hee! hee!

Anyway, we finally got some copies of the magazine this week and this is what the article looks like:

...

...

...

(if anybody can read Chinese, maybe you can tell us what it says! )

blog, Canine Freestyle ('Doggie Dancing'), Chinese, dance, dancing, dog, great dane, model, Modelling, new zealand, nihao magazine, pet, photography

My 'model' human…the Golden Retriever Display Team…and Super Dog!!!

March 29th, 2009 Posted in Canine Freestyle ('Doggie Dancing'), Life in Auckland, Modelling

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My human, Hsin-Yi, was very flattered by your nice comments about her in the last post. Actually, yes, she does do some modelling part-time and I even helped her with her last portfolio…look!

...

...

...

Here is the rest of her portolio, if you’re interested!

Well, aside from the photoshoots, I have been really busy learning my new Canine Freestyle dancing routine, because we have a performance coming up in 1 week’s time! Eeek! Hsin-Yi is really worried that we won’t be ready in time because she hasn’t had much time to prepare for this routine. We have been practising really hard every day – short sessions morning and evening…I will put up some videos soon to show you what we’ve been practising!

In the meantime – especially for all my Golden Retriever friends! – here is a wonderful video of a Team Display of Golden Retrievers at Crufts 2009, the world’s most famous dog show:

Aren’t they beautiful? It’s so nice to see such a big group of the same breed so well-trained!

And now, for something REALLY amazing – take a look at this video of Dazzle the Border Collie performing her incredible tricks…she is like Super Dog! It is such an inspiring video – although I don’t think I could ever learn so many tricks so well…not if I trained for 100 years!

blog, border collie, Canine Freestyle ('Doggie Dancing'), crufts, display, dog, Dog Training, dog tricks, golden retriever, great dane, model, Modelling, team

My 2nd photoshoot with Rachael Hale…

March 24th, 2009 Posted in Dog-Friendly Places (NZ), Friends, Life in Auckland, Modelling

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Well! Last weekend I had my 2nd photoshoot with Rachael Hale and it was extra exciting because this time, some of my best friends came along too!

Rachael wanted a group shot of many dogs together, looking at the camera and since I have so many sociable, well-trained friends, she asked my human to contact them to see if we could all pose together.

There was my boyfriend, Ombre the Standard Schnauzer, my playmate, Kira the German Shepherd, my dancing friends, Bodie the Border Terrier and Finnigan the Sheltie and my creche friend, George the Bernese Mountain Dog . (To find out more about my friends, go to the “Honey’s Friends” page). I also made a new friend – a beautiful Golden Retriever called Kaya, who joined the group.

First, we met up at a park nearby so we could all sniff and say hello…

Then we all went to Rachael’s studio…it was a little bit tight for 7 dogs but we managed!

All the dogs were very good and waited patiently while Rachael got the cameras ready. Some of them were busy primping themselves…

…others (like me!) were just chilling out and taking it easy…

Then Rachael started calling us in to set up the shot…

Stay! Good boy, don't move...

Just a bit more to the right...

Look at the camera!

The rest of us waited patiently for our turn…

Do you want some of my drool, Ombre, to slick back your fur?

My friend, Kira, amused herself with a ball she found…

Kira the German Shepherd

And I thought my boyfriend, Ombre, looked extra handsome!

Ombre the Standard Schnauzer

Finally, it was our turn to join the picture!

Hmm...where should I stand?

This shoot was MUCH easier than my supermarket trolley one! I only had to do a Stand Stay, look at the camera and cock my ears when Rachael made a funny noise. My friends all did very well too – Rachael was so pleased with us!

After the group shot, Rachael very kindly took some individual shots of all the dogs – not for the book but just so all the humans could have a nice picture of their dogs to keep.

My friend, Bodie, the Border Terrier...

My friend, George, the Bernese Mountain Dog...

Me and Ombre even got a picture together!

Puppy love...

It was a very long afternoon and we were all exhausted when it was over… (well, all except Ombre – he never gets tired! Hsin-Yi says he is like the “Duracell Bunny”)

Whew! Modelling is exhausting!

Just before we left, Rachael told my humans that she’d like to do another shoot with me - this time, I would have to stand with my paws on a little pile of stones each!! Eeek! That sounds really hard – Hsin-Yi is not sure I’ll be able to do it but Rachael said that they will deliver the stones to our house and then Hsin-Yi can have some time to train and practise with me at home – and we’ll see how I do. Gosh – talk about a training challenge!

Me and my human, Hsin-Yi

Well, I had a fantastic fun day with my friends at the shoot! And I am so happy that there will be a picture of us all together in this new book, so that we will be remembered forever!

Rachael says that the book will come out in a faraway place called America in October but we may be able to get some copies of the photos before that…oh, I hope so! I can’t wait to show them to you!

I was absolutely shattered when I got home from the shoot…look, I even fell out of my bed sleeping! Hee! Hee!

ZZzzzzzz...

Here is the video of my day:

To read about my 1st photoshoot with Rachael Hale, click HERE

bernese mountain dog, blog, Border Terrier, dog, german shepherd, golden retriever, great dane, model, Modelling, pet, photo, photographer, photography, Rachael Hale, shetland sheepdog, Standard Schnauzer

My Modelling Debut…

September 10th, 2008 Posted in Life in Auckland, Modelling

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My human, Hsin-Yi, does this thing called “modelling” which means that sometimes we see her in the big box in our living room (the humans call it ’TV’) or inside those flat book things called ‘magazines’. She has to stand and they flash a bright light at her with a small box called a camera.

Her agency is Clyne Models in Auckland and they called her last week to say that they were looking for people with car machines that had the name “Honda”. They wanted us to take pictures with our “Honda” car machines and show them - and then maybe they will pick us to be inside the TV box next!

I was very excited – I usually have to sit at the back of the car machine, in my special place, but this time, Hsin-Yi let me climb onto the back seat and even let me put my head out of the window!

Me and Hsin-Yi with our Honda car machine!

(I am NEVER allowed to do that usually – Hsin-Yi says it is very dangerous for dogs to stick their heads outside windows because things can fly into their eyes and hurt them badly. They can also get hurt if the car machine stops suddenly in an accident, because they are not secure. Some people think dogs should stick their heads out to enjoy the ride more but actually, I have never learnt to do it since a puppy so I don’t miss it – I just think the normal way to ride in a car is lying down safely at the back.)

I also got to be in special pictures last year – Hsin-Yi called it my “modelling debut”. This was for her ‘portfolio’ - which is a special book that has lots of pictures showing Hsin-Yi wearing different human coats. Sometimes she is smiling and sometimes she has a frowny face, although it is a fake frowny face because I can tell that she isn’t really angry so I don’t know why she has to do a frowny face for the camera. Maybe it’s because the Camera Human tells her to.

Anyway, she asked the Camera Human if I could be in the special pictures too – and the Camera Human said yes! So I had to stand really still next to Hsin-Yi until the big flashy light happened – and then stand somewhere else really still, until the big flashy light happened again. It was quite exciting and I even got to walk around with Hsin-Yi a bit, while the Camera Human kept flashing lights at us.

I promise I'll try not to drool...

On the dogwalk...

America's Next Top Dog - here I come!

At the end, they took me up to the Camera Human’s home and to get there, I had to stand inside a strange small room which moved in a very scary way – like the floor was dropping away under me – but the humans didn’t seem bothered by that scary feeling. And then when we came out of the strange small room, we were suddenly much higher – like higher than the trees. I was quite worried but my humans just laughed, so I didn’t worry anymore.

I always look to my humans when something scares me – if they act calm and unbothered, then I know everything is fine and even if I don’t understand it, I can learn to ignore it and not be scared. But if my humans act all excited and anxious – or if they stroke me and tell me “It’s alright! It’s alright! Don’t be scared…” – then that makes me really worried and scared, because they’re giving me lots of attention and that must mean that there is really something to be worried about…all my doggie friends agree with me: if humans want us to feel better, then they shouldn’t fuss over us when we feel scared – if they just laughed and carried on as usual, we’d be really reassured!