Читать книгу Dogtography - Kaylee Greer - Страница 24

Dogs have virtually mastered the art of living in harmony with human beings, and it is an amazing and magical thing. Dogs have teeth, but rarely do they ever actually use them in defense against humans. For the millions and millions of dogs living in households across the world today, we only hear about the tiniest fraction of a percentage ever reacting poorly and with teeth toward human beings. It’s actually remarkable if you spend a few moments pondering on it. With that said, the vast majority of dogs will give you many non-violent signs that they are uncomfortable and in a stressful situation before ever resorting to harm. This particular body language signal is probably the one I’ve seen most often at my dog photo shoots over the years. Simply looking away from the source of stress is a common route that dogs will take when they find themselves in a difficult or anxious situation. I have a lot of experience with this one particularly because it’s the body language signal that my dog Joshua gives me most often. Joshua is doing the most polite thing that he can figure to do in an escalating situation of stress. He turns his body gently away from the camera and directs his head—the cute and squishy control center—away from the stressful stimulus. His choice is to redirect his attention to something far more pleasant for him—say, watching that person walking across the street, or putting his nose to the ground to sniff for interesting smells, or even just finding interest in a swaying piece of grass. As a dog photographer, when you see this body language signal, it’s your job to read and interpret it appropriately, and then back off and give the dog the space that he is (very politely) asking for.

Usually I find that just a five-minute break followed by a very high-value treat in front of the lens is more than enough to bring them back around into loaning you their attention for a few more minute so you can wrap up getting the last shots you might need in a given spot before moving on.

1.10

FIGURE 1.10 Ruby the tiny little Yorkie was clearly feeling quite overwhelmed when I snapped this photo of her with my big, intrusive camera on this riverside dock in Boston. This is a clear example of a dog who is experiencing stress and anxiety and is attempting to deal with it in the most polite way she knows how: to simply turn and look away.