Instead of vibrant, playful images of dogs scrolling neatly across the screen, there was a hiccup. A green dot, a shade darker than a tennis ball. Loading…
Congrats! You’re the winner for being the #! (Cue the digital confetti cannon!). Let’s get you sorted out to win your prize. SHIT!
The back button couldn’t be frantically clicked fast enough.
Malicious activity had landed upon About A Dog Photography. We were hacked. Massive swear words and deep frustration were uttered.
Sigh. Headed to support to receive a consult via the helpful help chat.
Let me root around a bit chimed the support. Doo dah doo dah deedle peedle doo…
Support returns: It seems there is a plugin issue. Can’t tell you which, but when all were off the problem went away. They’re all back on again, you will have to find the one. Best of luck, bon voyage!
Long trailing exhale, ebbed with frustration.
Plugins were turned off, and unused ones were removed. (Plugins are little packaged programs that work to create aspects of one’s website – from contact forms, to galleries and overall how the end website looks.) The problem went away.
HUZZAH!
It returned. #@$@%#%@$@$@%#%%EDITORCONTENT%%amp;#&@&@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More plugins turned off, the celebratory held for the span of a week or so, then bashed to bits as the green loading ball returned.
The frustration compounded, packing tightly upon itself so that the pressure may begin to create a diamond. Not only were social links getting sent outward, but the handy dandy Google search we utilize that gives us billions of results in nanoseconds was shifting people to collect a suspicious prize that one may find under the coat of an alley dweller.
On the morning, an inkling crept in on tiny spider feet – check the site.
Guess what had resurfaced is grassy green head.
Answered were inquired, the keywords flagging in Google to land me at a security plugin that stood out from it the others. It lended helpful insight how to fix the problem manually (found deep in the depths of code) or one could install the plugin to have them run the process. They ranked high on a list of options on another site and when one of the other test and see sites said there was no problem, we invested.
June 1st. The terror of the loading dot has been trampled. Finally and forever.
We’re in the hypoallergenic decade, with ample dogs toting the “allergy free” label – many of them mixes containing a parent of poodle in their lineage. (Doodles aren’t a new thing: Labradoodles were the earliest created, referenced in 1955, popularized in 1989, with cockapoos becoming popular in the 50s & goldendoodles arriving in the 60s. As of 2006, there were over 220 poodle mix variations!).
Less allergy creation = less reaction of amplified allergies of the owner. Dog allergy people rejoice!
But are these dogs actually hypoallergenic?
Nope.
Per the Mayo Clinic & the AKC – there are no 100% hypoallergenic dog breeds. Instead there are some dogs that lend to fewer allergy symptoms than others. The oodles of poodle hybrids could still be causes of allergies, though they may be far less than notorious heavy shedders & slobbery droolers. Less shedding means less dander getting released into the air. There will still be dander that occurs, rendering all dogs NOT hypoallergenic.
Hypoallergenic dogs = myth
Did you know – the source of pet allergies isn’t caused by a dog’s fur, but by a protein that is in their spit & pee along with dander? This lovely protein sticks to the dander from the dog’s skin, which flakes off when shedding occurs and activates the allergies found in sensitive people. Any dog can potentially cause an allergic reaction!
Damn!
Luckily if you do have allergies, there are some dogs you can consider adding to your family that may cause you to have less allergy flare ups. There’s also a whole pack of them that may be best to avoid. We’ll start with the ones to avoid.
Don’t fall in love with these dogs – they may make your allergies flare up badly!
The worst of the pack:
St. Bernards
German Shepherds
Siberian Huskies
Springer Spaniels
Great Pyrenees
Akitas
Labradors
Pomeranians
Chow Chows
Cocker Spaniels
Alaskan Malamutes
Newfoundlands
These breeds have shorter coats but tend to be drooly and can cause allergies to flare:
Bulldogs
Boston Terriers
Basset Hounds
Dachshunds
Boxers
Dobermans
Bloodhounds
If you are set on having one of these breeds and have dog allergies, be prepared for a bit more active maintenance. No slobbery kisses (spit = allergen), very frequent brushings and nearly as frequent baths, no cuddle buddies in your bedroom. Or on the couch. Rip out all the carpets, invest in HEPA filters and deep clean all the soft surfaces on a regular. You may have to take an allergy medicine as well to avoid being a stuffy mess. (You could get a doodle mix of one of these breeds, just note they won’t carry the look of said breed.)
The most common doodles you’ll find: cockapoo (the oldest breed of the doodles) , labradoodle, goldendoodle, sheepadoodle, yorkipoo, bernedoodle, cavapoo and aussiepoo (or aussiedoodle). Don’t be surprised to find doodles of all breeds – poodle + breed pairings of all sorts are the in thing.
Aside from the various doodles – these dog breeds may be a better fit if you have allergies:
wirehair dogs
Bichons
Chinese Crested
Miniature Schnauzers
Poodles
Yorkies
Shih Tzus
Malteses
Portuguese Water Dogs
Scottish Terriers
Giant Schnauzers
Westies
Havanese
Afghan Hound
Basenji
Cairn Terrier
Bedlington Terrier
Irish Water Spaniel
Lagotto Romagnolo
Lhasa Apso
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
Remember, there is no dog that is truly hypoallergenic dogs – yes there are dogs that shed less and drool less than others & are less prone for causing allergy flareups. As long as a dog has fur, creates spit & drool and makes urine (accidents in the house) there is the possibility of a dog causing allergies to flare.
Do you have dog or cat allergies & own a pet? Do you do anything to help lessen the allergens from your dog?
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Monday the 18th – the stay at home order for photographers in Minnesota has been relaxed, meaning we can return to immortalizing our clients through photography. (You didn’t know we couldn’t? Indeed. In fact there were photographers who were granted tickets for being out in public. Egads!)
Additionally the part time gig at St. Cloud Camera was halted. This IS the year that photography was going to be launched into full time. The time away from the part time gig has been a solid feeling of being full time, minus that it basically handed me the reins and said you can’t actually do any photography. Good luck.
In the downtime:
We’ve read: Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett & The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman, finished Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.
We designed, recorded and concocted a course for photographers to get beyond the basics: Beyond the Barking Basics
We bought a printer scanner combo (thanks Shaq for the Epson suggestion) & got our taxes done (our milage: 10,200ish miles!)
We sewed face masks and pushed Atomic Collars into active again
The garden/yard gets worked on – including multiple trips to compost, trees from toothpick to a rather large stump dug up, and half the pergola taken down
Bender has spent most of the time snoozing in the sun, not sure he’s aware I’m home all the time haha
Moving forward with sessions:
We will keep our social distance – bring masks especially in urban settings
If you or us are sick, we will reschedule after the yuck passes
Viewing sessions will be via Skype / Google Meetings etc ** if you are comfortable having me in your home, we can meet in person
You will get to meet all of the products from the back of my vehicle – way easier to touch & feel them then trying to imagine what they are via an online meeting
Onward into the oddity that is 2020. (Seriously, whoever decided to break out the vintage Jumanji game…).
We’ll get through this together, even though we are apart.
The 10 year marker, one decade worth of time. Yes technically any span of 10 years counts, though in the calendar it falls on the even year ending in 0. (This will be the 6th decade to start in a leap year since 1900.)
2010, ten years ago:
About A Dog Photography was no more than an idea (it came to fruition two years later)
Mick & Icey were my pack. Axle arrived Christmas day 2011, Bender two Januarys afterwards
Employment was RCC/Boot Barn & JCPenny Portrait Studio, both in the mall
Photography was growing in skill, the Nikon D300s employed in the tool of capturing the world
The dogs and I moved, from St. Cloud to Paynesville (with a trio, minus Bender) to St. Cloud and back to Paynesville (also with a trio, minus Mick), with a move back to St. Cloud in the fall of 2018, sans Icey. It is the first shared space of Kris & I.
Cameras transitioned, from the workhorse D300s that was well over the recommended shutter count into the D750 and full frame world. Zooms transitioned into primes, with a sweet spot found at 85mm. From the D750 we jumped into Bruin, the bear, the D5 that sports a wicked 12 frames a second in shooting.
Lenses continued to shift into a prime portrait kit with the new loved go to the 135mm. (For lens nerds & those curious the kit is: 20mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 105mm f1.4 & 135mm f1.8)
Flash was vaguely introduced, and a quad set of strobes were invested in. (Stay tuned to see them more involved with sessions). Massive knowledge gained, just saying flash duration is totally a thing to know!
Out of state travel centered on Colorado a series of times, waned for a few years, then shifted into an unplanned adventure to Maryland, with a more recent jaunt to the Smoky Mountains.
Mick, my first dog. He was a snuggler, had epic ears and was known to prance when he got the ball (but not bring it back).
Icey, my second dog. Velcro, with an awesome head tilt, and a bark on command. She splashed like a fish when she swam, hogged the couch and farted with the best of them.
Bender, the lughead. He’s an avid chewer, particular about the dogs he likes and snores like an old man. He’s got amazing ears but is the trickiest dog to get them to show.
Axle, aka Puppy. He rocks an underbite, loves to retrieve and swim, and is vocal when he plays. His age shows in his greys (he has grey hairs on his butt too!). He has a bit of RBF when it comes to having his picture taken – he’s been doing this since a puppy and is totally over it.
A young Axle, showing barely any grey. Awww, my sweet Puppy! (He & Bender are going to be 9 years old this year!)
About A Dog Photography turned 7 this past year!
We have photographed roughly 65 classic sessions since 2012
This year we photographed 16 classic sessions plus 18 sessions for the book Dogs of Minneapolis!
We’ve helped countless dogs find their forever homes in working with Tri County Humane Society, Grey Face Rescue and Ruff Start Rescue.
A huge thank you to everyone who have been part of this adventure. We love and appreciate each of you!
In the personals: Interests
Vintage lenses to turn into freelenses. 13 of them, rear mounts removed for a “poor man’s” tilt shift. This interest has waned greatly, though a pair of actual tilt shift lenses have been added into the collection.
The adoration of classic 1964.5 to 1970 Ford Mustangs has stayed, with a love spot on 1970. (Currently I do not own one, yes if I did we’d do sessions with it).
Collecting Pyrex began with an oomph from Jen (we’ve been friends for nearly a DECADE!). This led to collecting Fry glass, glass kitchen items, a slight deviation into Depression glass (way too easy to find), back to kitchen items to tread into the current days’s questing: cake stands, banana stands and milk glass items.
Sewing kicked up with a Singer heavy duty in time for costume crafting for the Minneapolis ComicCon around holidays of 2014. Atomic Collars was conceived in the frozen early months of 2015, crafting sturdy upcycled unique martingale collars for Bender.
Sewing waned with bits of Atomic Collars being sewn.
Cue late 2018 Halloween and the quest for 50s style skirts, a pattern for circle skirts and we were off, finding fabrics and growing the horde to 50ish in the winter span.
Vintage patterns came into the radar, the first in March, a 1960 McCall’s pattern with a gathered skirt and low back. (Yes it was sewed, though I did swap out the gathered skirt for a circle skirt). The collection has grown and continues with 164+ patterns. A handful have been made with plans for at least half of the collection.
Books & reading has remained, as has the adoration of T. C. Boyle. The color blue will stay the favorite for an infinity. The vintage Schwinn bike with yellow mag wheels has waned, as has riding bike in general. Drawing amped with dragons, cooled over the past year, regained life and is now traipsing into a new medium: gouache!
What interests of yours have stayed the same?
What new ones are you taking with you into the new year?
From one of the early pictures from the website’s library – 2014 – the wee Althea and little Piney! Althea is an awesome young lady, sprouted like a weed and Piney is still just as adorable. To the very last session of 2019 – Scout & Parka! Cheers to the new year!
Happy new year!
Here’s to the new year and the start of a new decade! May the adventure be bold, fun, playful, full of learning and growth and all the epicness you can handle.
Thank you for the past decade (ok past 7 years) and we look forward to the next decade to come.
The Christmas rush has waned, with gifts gleefully unwrapped, cookies and eggnog consumed, waistbands adjusted and matching pjs employed. Bender rather enjoys his new bones and was quite the hilarious ham with the new snow booties on (thank you Axle for the humor and being concerned about your brother’s frozen tootsies).
For me, creative items for sewing and painting were unwrapped, along with a pair of cashmeres in a battle of light and dark with an epic choice (which do “side” do you think was picked first – the dark side or the light side?), a duvet cover in smooth Egyptian cotton (this has been on the list for the past few years… finally!) and new seed and feeders for the birds. Kris received fancy date nights and neckties, portable tool boxes and a pair of matching his and hers undies that infused a royal blush and awkwardness into my sister when the hers bikini style was held aloft first. Merry Christmas sis! Hahahaha!
We hope you had a jolly affair, surrounded by not only presents but love and appreciation of your family and those you call family.
Puppers, if you didn’t get what you wanted, how about tell your mum & dad about a super awesome pair of toys made by Bulltug (they happen to be one of our favorite things, yes they’re featured in THE Holiday Gift Guide)
Bender loves his Chew-N-Tug 7 Pack and has successfully destroyed the ball, one of the rope toys and half of another. His favorite is Racool the racoon, though he’s not allowed to “eat” or chew on him for long.
Brand new to the Bulltug collection as of this past fall is Trash-N-Seek, a plush trashbag with rope toy handles and a trio of very plump we ate too much roly poly raccoons!
This toy is tons of fun, as it encourages not only chewing and tugging, but searching for the fat raccoons hidden inside, two with squeakers and one with a spiky ball inside. Plus there is a massive squeaker on the bottom of the trash bag.
