Camera Progress

I bought a new camera last summer, and Iris promptly decided that she did not like it. She was 100% fine with my little point-and-shoot, but the new dSLR is big, black, hides my face, and makes a louder noise. I'm pretty sure the noise was the real issue. This is the dog who bolted out of the room the first time I tried using a clicker.

I started just holding the camera down at my side and giving her a treat every time it made a noise. Well, I think we had a breakthrough yesterday.

As long as I'm pretending not to point the camera at her, she'll tolerate it in exchange for cookies.

Oh look! Is that a dog in my shot?

You can tell by the direction that she's looking in that I'm not looking through the camera at all. That shot was just luck. It's not cropped. Her ears are up, she's making eye contact with me, and she's not concerned about the proximity of the camera.

I think the girl is ready for her close up.

That's right. I'm behind the camera and right in her face with the camera. Probably about a foot away from her. It's hard to tell, but her ears are still up. She's not afraid to look at the camera and is happy to keep playing with me. Hopefully she'll keep this up next time I take out the camera!