Samuel Jurcic and rules for taking pictures of your dog

I was taken by this mesmerizing Instagram account that was irreverent and hysterical, and I needed to know the man behind the DOG:

"Before I started to use Instagram, I hadn't REALLY taken pictures. Sure, I had a compact camera like everyone, and one day I used my Smartphone too, but I was only snap shooting. Then, I don’t really know when, but I think it was after the photo with post-it’s over LAL, something changed. I realized that my dog was ready for some more challenging situations; so I became serious about my photography and made an effort to refine my approach.  Whilst I was exploring photography, my dog took over my Instagram account. 

My dog was becoming a sensation and I was posting my own images; then, Instagram deleted one of my postings. This made me so mad that I decided to leave the platform! While I was deleting every image, I received so many incredibly kind and supporting comments that I simply changed my mind. I realized that I was addicted to Instagram, to the photography, to this community.  Now, I am happy with my account and my dog.

About my dog and how it works:

LAL is a German Shorthaired Pointer, my second one in fact.
While growing up, my family had 3 dogs (not at the same time). However, GSP's turned out to be my breed. They love humans, are great with children and have an outstanding quality to serve.
I don’t know how they are bred elsewhere, but in Germany they are sold almost exclusively to the hunters who can’t work with stubborn dogs.

Dare I say that we have a human-dog relationship? Humanization of dogs is odd for me because I know that they misinterpret this approach. Let your dog be a dog and he will feel complete.

LAL doesn’t go hunting, but I give him an opportunity to live his nature up by doing man-trailing. I try to let him do this every weekend. On the other hand, he doesn’t sleep in my bed; he is not even allowed to step into my bedroom.

Many people ask me why my dog is so patient. German Shorthaired Pointers love to serve, as I wrote above, and they are always hungry! These two facts are the secret of my success. If you get that balance right, he will do anything you want - you must simply show him what you want from him.
In reality, it is not so much that GSPs are patient, but rather that the human working with the dog who must be patient. You can’t expect the dog to understand you immediately, so you need to take short steps, reward him promptly and repeat this as many times as necessary until you get the feeling that he understands.

Here are some rules for good dog photography:

1) Never overtax your dog, do only things that he is ready to accept.

2) If you want him to do things he doesn’t accept now, find a way to change this. Think like a dog, because he’ll never be able to think like a human!

3) Use the power of motivation, but reward him only if he has earned it. Otherwise, you’ll only confuse him.

4) If the photo session didn’t work well, have him do something that he already knows, some simple tasks. As this will allow him to finish the session with success. This is important if you want him to readily pose the next time around.

5) Never take only one photo, especially if you can shoot many… dogs and children seldom stay still, so do yourself a favor by allowing for selection. I always take at least 10-20 pictures, but I have had sessions with 200 or more!

SO I love him, but I love him like dog, rather than a friend...
and he doesn't love me, I suppose he just works for cheese!