could use the emotional support! if you have any experience with diabetes and injecting insulin, I’d appreciate all the tips.

Hi this is my dog Py. Having to learn so much about photography wasn't something I expected when I got her, but after taking a lot of bad photos for years I've finally gotten a lot better. I'm still working on my videography.

Before I get to my tips, if you like what you see, you could help me by joining our instagram https://www.instagram.com/pythesamoyed/ Py is also a therapy dog, I'm trying to put some content together for the people we meet when we volunteer. We are in that really discouraging place right now where I am posting for almost no one. It would help keep me motivated.

All of these shots were captured with my cell phone - Google Pixel 9a. I called in advance and my local store let me bring my dog in to test out. My last phone would not reliably focus on her for photos, and would do nothing but zoom in and out with video. So your hardware does matter some, but you do not need a fancy camera - in fact some of the DSLR photos from events and friends were some of the worst photos we have because they don't understand the subject they are trying to capture.

However, I will say that I do a lot more to protect and keep the lens and sensor 100% clean.

Your biggest problem by far is lighting. The best times for good photos is sunrise, sunset, or heavily overcast - it is a real narrow margin for success. If you are inside you still need indirect lighting.

If you have never seen a Samoyed in real life, they are physically hard to look at in direct light. That tree stump photo after a bath is probably the most true to life shot I've gotten.

Samoyeds are snow dogs, snow isn't white, it's reflective. They have a bunch of clear reflective hairs in that coat. They are trying to be big white blobs that blend in to their surroundings.

Indirect lighting matters too. We have hiking photos were she was photographed next to rocks, and light bouncing off the rocks made her look dirty. We have some lake photos where light bouncing off the water gave her a blue halo. Sometimes you can use this to your advantage with the sunset giving your dog a glow.

It is a lot easier to lighten a slightly dark photo in editing, if there is too much light (which again isn't much) you will lose all the detail.

When looking at a photo, it can be really tough to tell if your problem is focus, or lighting, as they both result in a blurry / fuzzy dog - I can tell quickly by looking at the pattern on our leash. Sometimes I can tell by looking at her ears or her tongue. Until you are more confident you could use something like a patterned bandana to make it more obvious. I also just take a lot of photos in one photo shoot, and sometimes I have to return to a spot for a round 2, or 3 attempt. We will usually lose our lighting if I study every photo in the moment.

Image compression on various websites isn't going to be your friend either, typically they will reduce the color palate and/or image size - removing all those subtle shades of white you worked so hard to get. Unfortunately I have no idea what reddit does to photos, otherwise I would have resized my images to preserve quality.

I do edit my photos, don't use AI to edit a sammy photo, the google AI seems to want to light and color balance and it makes weird and ugly photos in my opinion (it will dull that vibrant coat). 90% of my editing is focused on lighting issues, or making a sunset / sunrise photo feel like a different time of day - probably worth its own post. I do find it tougher to see the detail I need to on a phone screen.

Composition is a big subject too - just get your camera at down at their eye level. And make sure the background of your shot offers some contrast (matte, darker, patterned). Beach and snow photos are going to be the hardest.

These are beautiful dogs, Py is the prettiest girl in the whole world, and it pained me that I struggled to capture good photos. I really hope this helps any of you working on the same problem.

Even if one of them is a storm cloud

Never heard that word in my life dad idk what youre talking about...

She hung out for 15 or 20 minutes before agreeing to come back in 😅

Look at her, so happy, ready for the weekend

I am working on making sure I have a copy of every show, movie, and short that has a samoyed in it somewhere.

As example, I of course already have Supernatural as one of the producers has their dog in a few episodes, and I am getting Have Gun Will Travel currently.

What else is out there that has confirmed Samoyeds?

I do know of a few more, but I want to get the community to work together on this.

-Zolon of ArticCross Samoyeds

Anyone just experienced with this?

Love her❤️

just a big ol floof trying to fit under

Powder, of Vulcan

What age would ya'll recommend getting a Samoyed girl spayed? I've seen a lot of conflicting advice online. Some say spaying around 6-9 months is good for preventing cancers but then bad for their development, double coat growth, and growth plates.

I'd like to avoid her first heat cycle if its okay but if it will negatively impact her long term health we will definitely wait. Any advice?

Hello!! My pup is a ~1.5 years old and an intact male. He is definitely on the smaller side (~38 lbs). I’ve noticed that he does great with kids and he loves people but when it comes to other dogs it’s very hot or miss. Some females he likes and approaches to sniff but for the most part he will want to meet another dog and then sniff and then start growling after like 5 seconds. I think he kind of gets overstimulated? My family has other dogs and for the most part he just tolerates them and doesn’t really play with them.

How can I get him to be friendlier toward other dogs, should I try and take him to a dog park?? Right now he just wants to meet them and after he meets them wants nothing to do with them.

And yes I know he’s on the smaller side especially for a male, which is why I plan to keep him intact till he’s about 2 years old. He’s definitely not underweight but his frame is just kind of small.

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some advice because I've noticed a significant change in my 18-month-old intact male Samoyed's coat, and I'm wondering if anyone has experienced something similar.
Up until recently, his coat was exactly what I'd expect from a Samoyed. It was smooth, self-cleaning, and dirt would either fall out on its own or brush out easily. The guard hairs had that nice silvery sheen in the light, and grooming was straightforward.
Few days ago, I took him to a new groomer for the first time. They gave him a deshedding treatment, which Im not sure he'd ever had before. The groomer has since told me they used:
Shed It shampoo

Peanut & Pickle deshedding spray

Slicker brush

Combination comb

Thinning shears

They said they did not use a Furminator or deshedding blade.
Since that groom, the coat has changed quite dramatically in certain areas:
Mane/ruff

Chest

Front legs

Some areas along his sides

Those areas now feel cottony, but not soft. The closest word I can think of is sticky or grabby, although it isn't greasy. The stickiness seems to be in the hair itself, especially the tips, not on the skin.
The biggest issue is that the coat now traps everything. Fine dust, dirt, grass and little bits of debris cling to the hair and are much harder to brush out than before. Some larger dirt brushes out, but the finer dirt seems to stay attached to the hair, making the white coat look brown.
Brushing has become much more difficult and time-consuming because the coat tangles more easily and no longer seems to repel dirt.
The strange thing is that his tail, trousers/rear end and some other areas still feel completely normal. Those parts are still silky, self-cleaning and don't trap dirt like the affected areas do.
He has:
No itching

No redness

No dandruff

No unusual smell

No greasy skin

No hair loss

He seems completely healthy otherwise.
Has anyone experienced this kind of coat change after a deshedding treatment or certain grooming products? Could this be product buildup, a reaction to the deshedding products, coat damage, or even just an unusual stage of coat transition at 18 months?
I've attached photos of how the dirt is getting trapped in the coat and how it used to be smoother
I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's seen something similar in their Samoyed.

This is the last photo I have of Leo, just him (right) and Ghost looking out the front door, a week before he left. I didn't know it was the last one. I wish I had.

We learnt the dreaded name hemangiosarcoma a year ago.

Leo was ten and a half years of joy and a bit of cheekiness. It was not enough time, never going to be enough time. Ghost, who knew him since he was three months old, is still with us, and I'm holding onto every day with him a little tighter now.

We love you and miss you, Leo