The Pupparazzi haven’t met many Chow Chow (also known as Songshi-Quan) dogs in our pet photography sessions so we were very excited to photograph this beautiful pair recently.
Teddy & Russia are the cuddliest looking pooches you’re likely to come across, with beautiful thick coats and their characteristic ‘manes’.
As I was editing these photos my young daughter wandered into the studio and after spotting them on the screen asked ‘When did you photograph the lions?’.
Her eyesight is usually OK and she can spot a gelato shop way before I do, but from a distance she genuinely thought that they were lions.
I guess the mane does make them look larger and more fierce than they actually are. Once up close, she saw that they are just giant cuddly teddy bears! Seriously, if you shaved off all that fur, they’d probably look like a greyhound! Almost…
Although Teddy and Russia are beautiful looking dogs, as is characteristic with the Chow Chow breed, getting them to look in the direction we wanted them was a bit of a challenge. Chow Chows are not the most outgoing dogs and are a little aloof with strangers so coming into their space with my usual Pupparazzi enthusiasm and treats didn’t really work on this occasion.
Coupled with the Chow Chow history as guard dogs and protectors, Teddy and Russia quite often like to find a comfortable spot to sit that is facing away from you, ready to defend or spot danger. Great for the owner that’s being guarder, but not so helpful for the photographer!
With a little persistence and gentle persuasion I managed to get them looking in my direction, but you’ll notice that many of the shots are of them looking off into the distance like they’re modelling for Country Road.
