Today we got lost in the snow… it was great!

 

As we say in Norway: «there is no bad weather, only bad cleather…»

Before you buy or adopt a dog, there are a lot of things to think about. For it´s indeed a life that is 100% dependent on you.

I won’t write all the obvious things you should think about, because I expect you already thought of them.

But what I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about lately, is what breed of dog you choose for your lifestyle. I write «breed», although I know there are many great mixed breeds out there too! I did not choose the Golden Retriever because I think it’s the most beautiful breed (don´t tell Henri!). First and foremost I chose the Golden Retrivever because it fits my lifestyle. Also it’s the first dog that I own myself, and I was not ready for a challenging breed that would require more than I would be able to give it.

Sadly I have seen (and heard about) too many people who have acquired a dog, and after a while had to give it away because «it was too much work…». Remember, this is a life that will be by your side for 10-15 years! Moving from one home to another can be very stressful for a dog. Luckily most dogs adapt very well – but then again, there are some who won’t.

So please do not go for the first puppy you see, consider it carefully and read all about the breed(s) you are considering. Whether it is a pure or mixed breed.

I have little experience in the dog shelter and rescue world. Mostly because it is not as common here in Norway as it is in other countries. Wherever you get your dog from, make sure it is from a serious breeder or shelter. They will then be able to tell you lots of useful info about the dog, etc.

We can probably all agree the world is clearly a better place with dogs, provided we give them good life!

In Dog we trust!

Truls

Okay, my first dog-blog-post!

I will start by telling that the plan is to update this blog weekly!

So since this is the first post, I want to tell you about the image that in many ways started this whole dog project.
It started when I was little, I remember my mother had a  book about all the different dog breeds. This was a relatively small book – big pictures, almost no text – perfect!
I thought it was very interesting to read the facts about all the dogs and what they were bred to do. But the breed that fascinated me the most was (of course) the biggest I could find, the mighty Irish Wolfhound. And ever since I’ve been thinking of this great beast!

Okay, so we’ll skip a bit… in 2008 when I went to the Norwegian school of photography, there was a friend of mine who portrayed a man and his wolfhound for a school assignment. I remember I fell in love with this photograph right away! Oda Hodlekve (the photographer) was so kind to give me a print of the photograph that has now been with me since I first saw it. As you might guess, I’m a bit above average interested in the Irish wolfhound. But it was not until 2011 I really came close to this beautiful, gentle giant. I contacted Knut Olav, which (if I remember right) had seven Wolfhounds at the time. I arranged to meet him at sognsvann outside Oslo together with two of his dogs. I would assume that we spent about 1 hour with this picture, and I took maybe one hundred shots before I got the result I was looking for. My dear friend Cecilie has not been photographed like this before, and it was challenging at first with the dogs, but she was calm and I thought she looked perfect with the Irish Wolfhounds.

A big thanks to Knut Olav and his dogs Dublin & Niahm.