biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

May 7

Victory: Photography Project — 59

Beginning in January 2014, I started a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog this year! My goal is to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories, while capturing moments of our everyday.

Since March I have been photographing the second portion of my photography project, and I will finish up the photo shoots for this project at the end of next month! Of course, shelties are part of this project! This past weekend, after a photo shoot, Victory met two rescue shelties, Danny and Dakota! Victory was a little hesitant at first, but she joined Danny and Dakota for a few minutes and I took a few images of the three different colored rescued shelties together! It is not often that you see three different colored shelties together! (I think Danny was checking out our beautiful fur girl!)

Happy Thursday!

May 4

1 Comment

Natural Dog Anxiety Remedies

Our Victory has some anxiety, which is improving each day. Below are some remedies that we have found helpful to build her confidence, which might help other dogs with anxiety as well.

1. Puzzles: The puzzles have really helped Victory gain more confidence. She loves solving these puzzles, which are self-rewarding. In the evening we set out a puzzle while we go to the gym, and she goes to town!

2. Massage: Just like massages help humans relax, massage can help dogs as well. At least once a day, I give Victory a belly rub and massage her all over. She seems to enjoy it and she is always smiling afterwards.

3. Exercise: Exercise is a great stress reliever for dogs, similar to humans. Exercise stimulates the production of serotonin, that feel-good chemical that is produced from exercise. Exercise also helps dogs, such as Victory, get rid of pent-up energy that can heighten anxiety. Especially during really nice weather, we go on more walks and longer walks to help Victory get her exercise and to also relieve any tension, etc. It seems to work well!

4. Outings: Victory loves the car and she loves going to new places, which is helping her learn that she will be ok being around other people, and that we will protect her from harm. Going to a new place is a good distraction as well. She likes to pretty much go anywhere with us. She loves going to restaurants, as she loves getting food! I know, we spoil her, what can we say!

5. Playing: In addition to her puzzles, Victory likes to play, especially at night, right before bed! She even barked for the first time last week and she loves to run all over the bed interacting with her paws and mouth! We think this interaction is helping to build her confidence and lessen her anxiety! She loves it and is always parched after playing!

6. Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP): DAP was recommended by our trainer. It takes several weeks to take effect. DAP is a synthetic chemical that is based on a hormone produced by lactating female dogs that help keep puppies calm. It come as a plug-in diffuser with vials that last about thirty days, and humans are not able to smell it. We plugged the DAP diffuser in an area of the house where Victory spends most of her time, and it seems to help her some.

Victory has already made great strides, and we are confident that she will grow even more and we hope that her anxiety continues to dissipate. Victory loves sitting outside and she is very relaxed in this setting!

May 1

2 Comments

Victory: Photography Project — 58

Beginning in January 2014, I started a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog this year! My goal is to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories, while capturing moments of our everyday.

We are making good use of the Hound About! The weather has been getting nicer so we have been taking Victory on walks around the neighborhood in her Hound About! She loves it and she consistently pokes her head through the top of the Hound About while we are out on our walks! We are happy that the weather is getting nicer! Below is a keenly aware Victory before we went on a five-mile walk together this past weekend! When we arrived home, Victory was so tired from her ride that she sprawled out on the sofa and rested — even though she only walked a short distance during our long walk because I pushed her for almost the entire walk in her Hound About! What a life!

Additionally, we have some news to share — on Monday night of this week, Victory barked for the first time! She was playing in our bed just before we went to sleep and she got so excited that she barked and scared herself with her own ‘voice!’ We are confident that we will hear her bark more, and we are happy that she is gaining more confidence. We love our fur girl!

Happy Friday and Happy May!

Apr 29

1 Comment

Interview with Hiroshi Takagi, Photographer

Interview with Hiroshi Takagi

Recently, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Hiroshi Takagi, a Japanese photographer who recently published a book entitled, Dogs Talk to Us, which examines how humans and dogs communicate without a common language, using his dog named Taro as the subject of the book. This is a fascinating topic to explore visually. Please visit Hiroshi Tagagi’s website to view more of his work!

KATHERINE CARVER: What were your beginnings as a photographer and when did you realize it would become your chosen form of expression?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: The main reason I became interested in photography is because my family owned a photo studio; and because we had cameras at home, around the age of fourteen, I started taking monochrome photos as well as developing my film.

KATHERINE CARVER: Did you study art formally?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: In school, I studied photography.

KATHERINE CARVER: What was the impetus that inspired you to begin photographing your dog, Taro?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: Dogs and humans have no common language. Unfortunately, dogs don’t talk like humans do. We (humans) can still hear their “voice” though, which means that we are familiar with their language. Their facial expression, their gaze, their sounds, and their actions are a type of language. When one catches their beloved dog’s “talk” inside this “non-language” it’s really a lot of fun. Therefore, I want to try to decipher dogs’ language from their facial expressions and actions, and probe their every request, while looking for consent in our own feelings, in order to get closer and coexist together.

KATHERINE CARVER: Where did the idea come from for your work and book entitled, Dogs Talk to Us?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: As I am a photographer, it must have been my dog, Taro’s, destiny to become my subject. Initially, I had no plan of making a book only from these dog photographs, but they caught the eye of an editor that I encountered, and he was the one who decided to publish the book. Long before publishing was even discussed, and ever since around the time Taro was born, I had been taking photos of him continuously, without any deadlines. I think this approach helped his relaxed facial expressions.

KATHERINE CARVER: What do you hope readers/viewers will take away from your book entitled, Dogs Talk to Us?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: Following the life of one dog, this book creates a collection of “dog language” in one volume. These photographs are full of abundant joy of a dog that is skillful in communicating. I hope that the readers will put their ears closer to the dogs near them, interact with them, and make their own dog dictionaries.

KATHERINE CARVER: What does “being creative” mean to you?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: Taking photographs is my lifework. It is a means of dialog with others for me, and everything that appears before me is a possible subject. I don’t have a preference whether the subject is a person, a thing or a dog; it is psychological and instinctive, perhaps an animal-like sensation that I have. Rather than the risqué part of humans, I think that essentially I may even be closer to the animal way of communicating.

KATHERINE CARVER: What inspires you to keep going and what keeps you motivated?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: It is inevitable that we get into misunderstandings with other species. No matter how much we try, it is a fact that we cannot change the way dogs communicate into words, nor can we really understand “dog language.” Even more so, we (humans) are the ones who depend on language, but it appears that dogs still understand “human language” much more than we understand their language. However, I believe that this interaction is a trigger for creating a language that helps us communicate with those different from us.

KATHERINE CARVER: How can people view and purchase your art works and books?

HIROSHI TAKAGI: You can view my work here; and you can purchase my book here.

Please note that all of the images contained in this blog post are courtesy of Hiroshi Takagi.

You can read additional interviews here.

Apr 27

Victory: ‘Beauty Uniform’

We receive many compliments about Victory’s appearance! So I thought that I would share Victory’s ‘Beauty Uniform,’ including the grooming/hygiene products that we use and love.

Every morning before our morning walk, I brush out Victory’s fur coat using this comb; and sometimes in the evening I brush her belly while she lays on her back. After I brush her out, I use a little baby powder behind her ears, similar to a dry shampoo, to soak up oil between baths, which helps her look her best! Next, after our morning walk, I brush Victory’s teeth each morning using this toothpaste (from the vet, poultry flavor) and dental spray. Then, she gets a treat for cooperating! This is part of our morning routine, seven days a week. However, sometimes, on the weekends, we give Victory a day off. (On the occasions when I have been out-of-town without Victory, Doug does his best, but he usually skips brushing Victory’s teeth.)

The teeth brushing has really paid off as Victory’s teeth look better than ever and we want to prevent a dental cleaning, i.e., anesthesia for as long as possible. Plus, it is a good oral hygiene practice. Also, the daily brushing of her fur helps prevent knots and mats, which makes brushing so much quicker and easier.

Additionally, once a month, we take Victory to the vet to express her anal gland; clip her nails; and trim her paws. Together Doug and I bathe Victory, to her dismay, at home in our soaker tub, once a month using this shampoo and conditioner.

So Victory’s ‘Beauty Uniform’ is pretty simple — but it really works due to consistency and cooperation! Here’s a beautiful Victory — and we hope that you enjoyed her ‘Beauty Uniform.’

Happy Monday!

Apr 24

1 Comment

Victory: Photography Project — 57

Beginning in January 2014, I started a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog this year! My goal is to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories, while capturing moments of our everyday.

A few weeks ago, we got Biscuit’s Brick Puzzle out, which he enjoyed using and we decided to give it a try with Victory to see how she liked it. Victory quickly figured it out the Brick Puzzle! She loves solving these puzzles while we are not at home! Actually, she prefers to solve them in our absence — I guess she does not want any eyes on her while she is working! (However, sometimes, while watching television, we will set up a puzzle for her, and she will often go to work on her puzzle as she is food motivated!) We know that she solves the puzzles as the white dog bones are scattered on the floor and the treats are consumed by the time we arrive home! She is very determined! We use Zukes Mini Natural training treats with the puzzles, which Victory works diligently to uncover while completing these puzzles, which are self-rewarding and keep her engaged. So, as a belated Easter gift, we got Victory two more puzzles — the Tornado Puzzle and the Dog Twister Puzzle. Right now, she has already figured out the Tornado Puzzle! Next up, is the Twister Puzzle. We really like the Nina Ottosson puzzles — you can adjust the difficulty of the puzzles, which is nice, especially when a dog is learning a new puzzle; and they are durable and easy to clean.

Below Victory is working on the Tornado Puzzle! (In these images, she just got a bath and she is fluffy clean — and you can see her furs are really coming in under her belly!)

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Apr 22

1 Comment

Around Here: April

Well, it is already April, the first quarter of the year is over, and it finally feels like spring with warmer temperatures and the blossoming trees — that is the best part of winter — knowing spring will eventually come. Below are some items that have occurred around here in April, a busy month!

-continuing to work diligently to finish all of my photo shoots for my photography project, which should be completed by the end of June 2015! So far, this month, I have photographed 25 dogs.

-working hard editing images for my long-term photography project, and I am almost done completing a draft of the first part of the project.

-a bit behind in my reading this month, partly due to many photo shoots and a lot of editing. I do, however, have a large stack of books waiting for me on my nightstand!

-took excursions to Pennsylvania and Princeton!

-loving my yoga class and teacher!

-making breakfasts together on the weekends with Doug.

-finished watching a new Netflix series entitled, Bloodline. This is a good one!

-finished watching Secrets & Lies on Netfilx — so far this is pretty good!

-working on finishing the final room in our house along with filling in the final bare walls! We have been in our home for a year and a half now, and we are finally almost decorated — my goal is to finish everything up by the end of the summer, early fall.

-we set out our new outdoor furniture and we love having the ability to sit outside, which is so serene and peaceful, especially in the evenings — we love watching the sun set, and Victory loves to be outside with us! Doug is going to help me put up our new deck lights this weekend!

-this past weekend we got our mulching and planting done! Yay! Our home officially feels like it is ready to welcome beautiful weather!

-having date nights with Doug!

-taking Victory on more outings since the weather has been so nice!

-giving Victory a bath, a monthly ritural — not her favorite thing to do — but she looks and feels so great when she is all bathed and groomed!

Happy Wednesday!

Apr 20

2 Comments

Study: The human-dog relationship is like a parent-child relationship

We recently came across a recent article (and brief video), entitled, Dogs and people bond through eye contact, which reinforces the idea that the human-dog relationship is like a parent-child relationship. A recent study was conducted at Azabu University in Japan, that examined the impact of the gaze in the dogs and their humans and found “that those puppy dog eyes are even more meaningful than we thought.” “Our data suggest that owner-dog bonding is comparable to human parent-infant bonding, that is, oxytocin-mediated eye-gaze bonding…and this is surprising to us because there is not a reproductive relationship between human and dogs, but both of them have acquired similar skills.”

The study found via experiments that when the humans and their dogs gazed into one another’s eyes, levels of oxytocin increased in both the humans and the dogs. “Dogs are known to be particularly good at reading their owners moods and that they exhibit a trait known as gaze following – essentially following the actions of humans – much as an infant or child might do.”

Another study was conducted via brain imaging that used mothers as the subject of the study, which showed that “we respond to our dogs quite a bit like human children.” Specifically, the mothers who were shown images of either their own child or somebody else’s child and their own dog or somebody else’s dog. Researchers found that mothers responded very similarly when they saw images of their own child or their own dog; but they did not have that response while looking at another’s child or another’s dog.

To us, the conclusion of these studies, that we respond to our dogs in a similar way to our human children, make sense due to our bond and relationship with Biscuit and now Victory. Having a strong and unique bond with furry family members is also great practice for being human parents — which, albeit is a bit more involved, but the bond and premise remains the same in our eyes.

Happy Monday!

Apr 17

1 Comment

Victory: Photography Project — 56

Beginning in January 2014, I started a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog this year! My goal is to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories, while capturing moments of our everyday.

Last weekend, Doug worked really hard and got all of our new deck furniture together. I helped, but Doug did all of the heavy lifting! We love that we have an outdoor space that we can use during the warmer months, which is so serene and peaceful, especially in the evenings — we love watching the sun set, and our deck fortunately faces west! Victory gives her deck two paws up! Last year, she really was not interested in this space. This year, once she is outside, we can’t get her to come back in the house! Victory started using her outdoor bed from Orvis (similar to this) that her brother Biscuit picked out (he literally sat in this bed at the Orvis store) when we visited Vermont and he, unfortunately, never got to use it. This outdoor bed fits Victory perfectly. Victory even felt comfortable enough that she fell asleep in her bed while we were sitting out on the deck one evening earlier this week! Also, our internet works outside, which is great! Below Victory is sunning in her outdoor bed!

Next, after my photo shoots this weekend, we plan to mulch; do some planting; and make flower boxes and planters! We are so happy it feels finally feels like spring is here!

Happy Friday!

Apr 15

1 Comment

The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

I really enjoy podcasts, and I recently learned about The Unmistakable Creative Podcast. There are hundreds of episodes interviewing all types of creatives hosted by Srini Rao. I have already listened to a few of these podcasts, which are very inspiring and informative! Here are a few of my favorites so far: Austin Kleon; Seth Godin; and Lisa Congdon. If you are interested, you can view the myriad of podcasts here!

Happy Wednesday!