Charlotte Reeves Photography

Chopper is the chilled out, mature big brother of Bozley and Giselle and yep, he’s a foster failure too, and it’s easy to see why! At seven years old he is starting to slow down a little, but still loves to get amongst the action every now and then.

Though given the opportunity (a lovely sunny front garden devoid of the annoying young ones) he quickly switched to lying in the sunshine, soaking up the rays.

A big solid boy thanks to his Great Dane heritage, Chopper also has the look of a big cuddly overgrown Labrador Retriever.

Big brown eyes and an old grey face are a beautiful combination.

I couldn’t resist making a feature of his lovely head wrinkles too of course.

Where do I start with Bozley! First up, he was a foster failure. It must have been a combination of his endearing sooky nature and his exuberance for life in general that made him impossible to pass up. There are definitely two sides to this boy and I knew I was in for meeting a real little character when in the questionnaire, his owner gave him the following description:

“Bozley is cunning, sly, impetuous, loving, eager to please, dominant, the class clown and bad to the bone. He is also extremely cuddly.”

I certainly wasn’t disappointed – Boz was a complex character! Such a busy boy, so much to do, checking the fenceline perimeter, giving his Mum kisses and cuddles, rolling in smelly mushrooms along with sniffing absolutely everything in the front yard. A challenging boy to shoot but very rewarding.

Ok, so I admit I am obsessed with head wrinkles!

While we are on the subject of Great Danes, I thought I’d share one of the dogs from a recent three dog session I had while in Sydney over Easter. The owner in question actually has a total of four dogs and regularly takes on foster dogs from the pound, buying them time so they can be rehomed. The work she does is amazing and she’s been instrumental in saving many wonderful dogs who would have otherwise met their end while waiting for a new home at the pound.

When her beloved Great Dane boy Xander sadly passed away, she decided that now was the time for her to treat herself to a puppy, after so many years of taking on adult dogs and foster failures.

So, meet Giselle! Giselle is a beautiful merle mantle girl with big brown eyes, the cutest black and pink muzzle and a most endearing expression. Never fear though, she knows how to assert herself in her pack as well!

Those big brown eyes look amazing in both colour and black and white.

Love those little white whiskers!

As a final note, Giselle is a total water baby, and super smart too! She loves playing with the garden hose and actually grabs it in her mouth, hauls it over to her water bowl and fills the bowl with water. Don’t believe me? Check out this video of Giselle when she was younger, doing exactly that. Plus more of Giselle and her water-baby ways.

Levi’s owners were the lucky winners of a Valentines Day competition I held, scoring themselves a free photo session. Entrants were asked to send in a photo of their dog and write a paragraph about what they loved about them.

Here’s what Levi’s Mum wrote:

Hi Charlotte – this is Levi my Hungarian Vizsla.  He’s a big puppy who just wants a cuddle, his wagging tail and happy face are the best tonic after a hard day at the office.  This photo was taken in his ‘backyard’ Hope Island Resort Golf Course.  Every day he happily tries to terrorizes the rabbits, although they’re much smarter and faster than he is and he’d have no idea what to do if he caught one, it’s funny to see him chase them time and time again.  It’s kind of like watching Wiley E. Coyote and Roadrunner, he just never gets it.  The only rabbits he catches are the ones in his dreams.  I love my afternoons spent driving my golf buggy, watching the sun go down over the golf course and smiling along with my dog as he runs here and there tracking those waskly wabbits.

I love Hungarian Vizslas and couldn’t wait to meet Levi. I certainly wasn’t disappointed – he was all that his Mum mentioned in her email – and more. He’s got it all, the looks, the smarts, the fitness and manners to boot!

I was first given the guided tour of the golf course they are fortunate to have at their back gate. Levi rode the buggy like a pro and was equally as comfortable running along beside, I was impressed with his stamina. He usually runs 10 km per day!

We stopped at various places around the course. Unfortunately there were no rabbits on the day so I didn’t get to see him in all his ‘waskly wabbit’ chasing glory.

After we’d managed to get rid of some of this boys seemingly boundless energy, it was time to hop back in the buggy and head back for some quieter shots at home.

I was most impressed with Levi’s begging ability (which he showed off at every available opportunity).

Some more begging – great balance for a big dog!

To top off a great visit, Levi’s owners introduced me to their two gorgeous birds as well. First up, Marley the Eclectus Parrot. This little cutie is just 4 months old and is the sweetest, quietest little birdie I’ve ever seen.

This is Banjo the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, he’s 6 months old and also super cute!