I met Martin and Alyssa when they brought their dog Rex to my dog training classes at Camp Bow Wow in Coppell, Texas. It was there that I learned of Rex's extreme fear of literally anything that looks like it might be taking a picture of him. We struggled to get his graduation picture, with Martin sitting next to him, feeding him treats - no go. Rex was not having it. They told me that they can't even hold up a cell phone to take a picture, he runs away (emphasis on RUN). They completed three levels of training and Rex knocked it out of the park, doing great in the classes, that is until graduation. By Level 3, we all gave up and took a picture of Martin with Rex's graduation certificate and ribbon. 

It was after that last class that they shared the news they were expecting their first baby and desperately wanted family photos of their little foursome before it became a fivesome; would I be interested? They figured, if anyone could work with Rex, it would be me. I said I was game if they were, the date was set and Alyssa set off to work on how she wanted to share the big announcement while Martin and I worked on how to make and keep Rex comfortable during the session.  

Everyone was most comfortable with Rex wearing his harness during the session, Martyn and Alyssa think it makes him feel more comfortable too as that's what he wears on walks. They knew what we were up against so made smart choices about what was important to them; it wasn't important if Rex was wearing a harness in the pictures, it WAS important that he was in the pictures! 

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