My model has checked out; the photo shoot is done. I'd like to know what Nico thinks of getting his photo taken daily.

Things have been quite busy around our household these days. Despite our packed schedules, we’ve been going on regular walks with Nico to get him exercise and reinforce his training.

Nico’s trainer taught us that we can use tug as a form of reward when training Nico. I’ve found this helpful in keeping Nico engaged with retrieving. This Herm Sprenger Mango is great for both retrieving and tugging.

It’s exhausting being a crazy little maniac all day. Nico seems to be sensing the return of longer days and warm temperatures. It’s been obvious the last few days that we aren’t exercising him enough.

This purple boomerang dog squeak toy is Nico’s favorite toy right now. He throws it around, pounces on it, and pushes it at us to throw. It is a really durable squeak toy which is perfect for Nico.

Patiently waiting for his favorite treat.

This photo demonstrates the extremely narrow depth of field when shooting at f1.2 with a 50mm lens.

I had a new lens arrive in the mail yesterday, a Sony 50mm f1.2. The 50mm focal length is often referred to as a “nifty fifty” due to its prevalence in photography and was often considered the standard focal length on 35mm film cameras.

Coming in hot! Nico is so enthusiastic about recalling that sometimes he runs full throttle right into me.

It was a gorgeous day in the Adirondacks. Nico got to go for two walks around town today, one at lunch with Shelly and another in the evening with me.

Dog ears are fascinating structures. Nico’s ears are flipped inside out as much as they are right side out. One upside is Nico’s ears stay clean and dry.

Nico found himself relinquished to the front of the house this evening because he decided to snack on some frozen poo out in the yard.

Nico isn’t always the brightest. This evening he was falling asleep on the couch with his head perched over the edge. He eventually repositioned himself, so his head was on the couch. Though, we have witnessed him fall over from falling asleep while sitting up, which is always hilarious.

All curled up for the night.

I believe Nico’s favorite thing in the world is this super soft bed Shelly bought for him. This bed is in her office under her desk and he loves it so much he often chooses to spend the night in this bed as opposed to sleeping on the couch.

One of the things I love about shooting with my 60MP Sony A7RIV camera is the incredible detail the camera captures. This level of detail isn’t always flattering for people because it will pick up every little skin imperfection and blemish, but for puppies, it ensures every little hair and whisker is captured. Of course, you can also see even the smallest bit of dirt on Nico’s fur.

Having this cute little face around certainly makes for a good day. Today was a snow day at work, so Nico and I worked from home with Shelly. Nico enjoyed running around in the snow in the yard but wasn’t enthusiastic about helping me shovel. As soon as I start shoveling, he bails and puts on a helpless dog sitting in the snow routine until someone lets him inside.

Nico is a prancer. You can see him mid-prance here as he is returning on a recall. His prancing is so regular that there is noticeably less wear on his front toenails compared to his back from walking on pavement.

We’ve run out of Fresh Kisses, which Nico gets after dinner every night. He is very confused about where his dessert is.

Shelly and I had errands to run today, some of which were over an hour drive away. It’s very interesting how Nico responds to car rides. He is pretty chill if we are in my truck, which has a custom platform and bed in the back. If we are in Shelly’s car, he whines all the time. We aren’t entirely sure why, but we think it has to do with him being farther away from us when he is in her car. Today we took Shelly’s car and listened to Nico whine for a few hours. It must have been exhausting for him because he immediately came into the house and laid down in our front sunroom.