Owners are proud of their dogs and Shih Tzu owners are no exception. The Shih Tzu is more prone to being a little bit of a ham so many people get Shih Tzu dogs because they love to get their picture taken. There are some good ways, and some bad ways, to go about getting Shih Tzu pictures and all of it revolves around knowing your dog and understanding the tendencies of the breed as well.

The first thing you want to do is to make your dog feel at ease by playing with your dog, petting your dog, and just generally making the dog feel comfortable. If you will be using a pedestal to get pictures then put the dog on the pedestal and praise it profusely for sitting there and stop praising it when it gets down. Shih Tzu dogs are smart and after a while they will catch on to what you are trying to tell them.
Shih Tzu pictures usually include little outfits and accessories that the Shih Tzu generally loves to use. The best way to get them used to any costume changes is, as soon as they are comfortable in the studio, to begin grooming them right away. The Shih Tzu loved to be groomed and if you associate trying on accessories and outfits with being groomed then they will more than likely not only stand for it but also love it.

The Shih Tzu dog is a stubborn breed and you are probably going to want to try everything on it prior to shooting to see what it likes and does not like. If your dog is totally against wearing something then put it away and forget about it. Forcing a Shih Tzu to do something will mean more than likely that your session is over and there will be no Shih Tzu pictures at all.
Now that you have the dog comfortable and you know what you will be using for props and costumes the time has come to take your Shih Tzu pictures. The Shih Tzu do not respond well to tension or a lot of commotion so any Shih Tzu photo session will need to be very organized and very quiet. You will need everything to flow smoothly and reduce the amount of people in the room as much as possible. Upsetting the Shih Tzu means no pictures.

Yes the Shih Tzu is just like a little movie star in that it wants everything the way it wants things to go and it will, more than likely, reject some of your ideas. But this is what you will have to get used to and expect if you want to capture truly beautiful pictures of your Shih Tzu dog to treasure and keep for many years to come.

There is helpful advice about taking good Shih Tzu pictures in this article. There is helpful Shih Tzu information in this article.

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