This particular type of lizard are popular as pets because of their friendly and calm nature, along with the relative ease of caring for them. To legally be able to own these lizards in Australia you need a Recreational Wildlife Licence issued by the Government. The licence allows you to keep unlimited numbers of live commercial and recreational reptiles, recreational amphibians, and also a maximum of 2 restricted reptiles (with some exclusions).

These little guys are about 8 months old and are still pretty small, however when they’re fully grown they’ll reach about 50cm in length.

This lighter coloured one is a female called Socks. She’s the calmer of the two and also the most willing model!

Her companion is a male called Beardly. He was quite happy hanging out on the floor of the terrarium near the heat lamp most of the time but posed for us for a while on this branch first.

More of the gorgeous Socks.

These two often get to hang out with their owners around the house. When I turned up, Socks was asleep on her Dad’s shoulder! I think she’s a bit of a Daddy’s girl…

If you’re interested in keeping Bearded Dragons as pets, have a read of this article. If you want to know more, there is a wealth of information out there, Google is your friend!

Wow do these dogs have the life. Living near the bay in Brisbane, they reside in a beautiful old Queenslander house with a lovely back deck, complete with lots of doggy beds to lounge around on. Kathy, their devoted Mum, just loves her babies and it really shows. This is Buster. The shot on the left was the head tilt I managed to get just as he decided that the squeaky noise I made to elicit it was actually quite scary and needed to be barked at! Repeatedly! Until the treats came out and all was forgiven.

Roxsie is the shyest of the bunch and was quite happy to let the other two hog the limelight. She was definitely up for cuddles from her Mum though!

The star of the show and most definitely the most willing model was gorgeous West Highland White Terrier, Maxsie. I’ve decided that if I ever get a little dog, these guys will be first on the list! I love their alert little faces and pointy ears. Maximum cuteness!

Though in the cute stakes, Roxsie is definitely up there too.

Kathy told me that the three pups like to sit on the top step at the front of the house, so we headed there to see what we could do. We even managed to get one dog sitting, one standing and one lying down. How’s that for talented pups! I thought these photos would suit a bit of an antique look so created a cinnamon-toned version which I love.

Their little legs all lined up were adorable and deserved a feature of their own.

Kathy was wearing a beautiful crisp white top, but didn’t hesitate to lie down on the floor for these shots for me. What a champ!

Such great models to work with, human and canine alike!

After a quick change of shirts (sorry Kathy!) we packed the dogs into the car and headed off on a short drive to the bayside for some more shots. The dogs were sooo excited, so good to see they love getting out and socialising.

Buster is quite the explorer.

As is Maxsie!

After a run around and a good sniff of all the good scents, we set up for some more posed shots of Kathy and her pups. I’d have to say this one is my favourite.

With this one running a close second!

All the dogs were lavished with some individual attention from their Mum.

Then it was time for a quick stroll back along the beach.

To finish off we went back up onto the grassy area to catch the very last light of the afternoon – my favourite light! Maxsie was looking gorgeous as usual.

With Roxsie quite content to hang out with her Mum.

Thanks for a wonderful afternoon Kathy and pups!

You might notice that Archie only has one eye. He lost the other one in an unfortunate accident, it was touch and go for a while, but he pulled through and is pretty much back to his normal self now!

Archie shares his yard with a couple of bold, cheeky and rather shiny chickens – Henrietta and Georgetta.

This would have to be my favourite shot of the day, Archie waiting patiently for his Dad who was fiddling around in the car in the background.

The thing I like about Narelle’s dogs is though they are successful show dogs, they are also beloved house-dwelling members of the family. When Narelle told me she would like some nice relaxed shots of them at home just kicking back and doing what Danes do best, I was happy to oblige. The three girls from left to right are Jazzie, Bella and Keisha.

Keisha, officially known as RUBISS Aust Ch Daneforce Grand Tsunami, has been her star show dog and had just had a litter of pups. Narelle has kept two pups from her litter, a harlequin boy and harlequin girl, both absolutely gorgeous – I hope to share them with you soon.

Jazzie was Narelle’s first serious show dog. She’s now retired from the ring and also had a litter of pups in 2009, around the same time as Keisha.

Last but not least is Narelle’s special girl, Bella. Bella was Narelle’s first Dane and was the dog who she started off with in showing. She’s also now retired and is living with the good life. She has simply the best David Bowie eyes!

And a very special relationship with her Mum.

Towards the end of our session, the girls were getting sleepy and in true Dane style, crashed out somewhere comfortable and settled in for a nap.

“This is Lupe our 22 month blue boy. He is the center of our world and knows it. He love the dog park and the beach (but not the waves – still cant swim). Poor baby has had a rough time this last year. We nearly lost him earlier this year when he got pneumonia and spent a week in ICU. A few weeks ago he got bit on the hind leg by another dog at the spit (beach) and had to go back to the same hospital for surgery to open the wound up. Thankfully despite being spoilt rotten he’s a trooper.”

I’d actually already been in contact with Lupe’s owner as we were going to organise a play date with our two blue babies, so it was an added bonus to be able to tell her that she’d also won the competition!

I visited Lupe and his devoted Mum and Dad in Brisbane on a fine summer afternoon. They had a fabulous back deck that we spent a while hanging out on.

Being a blue Great Dane, he felt quite similar to photograph to my own Luna, except maybe a tad more photogenic and not so prone to pulling silly faces!

In fact he is a rather serious looking boy most of the time.

Who still manages to be super cute when it’s called for.

And very good at the head tilt! Most dogs have a particular sound they do this to, for Lupe it was a quiet high pitched whistle, very effective!

Lupe has an unusual ridge running down the back of his neck – as someone cleverly pointed out – a mohawk!

Along with at matching little strip of white on his chest, very classy.

After the serious modelling business was over, we took Lupe for a walk to his fabulous local park.

Where he said hello to the equine resident…

Puzzled over his Dad up a tree…

Said goodbye to the horsie…

Then topped it off with a guzzle from the drinking station, in true Great Dane style.

If you want to see more photos from Lupe’s session, visit his gallery on Facebook.