The Benefits of Pet Friendly Business

It is not surprising that Keswick, Cumbria was recently recognised as the best dog friendly town in the UK. Keswick was the Winner of the Town/City Category of ” Be Dog Friendly Awards” a Kennel Club initiative to encourage non pet businesses and public places to be more dog friendly. There are not only plenty of great locations for dog walks with stunning scenery (and fabulous photo opportunities) in Keswick but also lots of dog friendly accommodation, shops and pubs, with water bowls often available on the town centre streets for thirsty dogs.

 

 

The benefits of dog friendly public places include increased social interaction (dogs owners often stop and chat together )thus creating a friendly atmosphere and not forgetting the business benefits of accommodating the estimated 8 million dog owners in the UK to a town centre whereby trade will consequently improve. If you run a businesses such as a pub, hotel, cafe or shop in the UK you could not only benefit from increased trade by welcoming dogs and their owners to your premises but by being a dog friendly workplace studies have shown that your business could prosper with reduced stress levels, increased attendance and improved moral of your staff .

On the other side of the fence It is important to be a responsible pet owner and ensure dogs are toilet trained and able to sit, stay, be recalled and are well controlled in food serving premises. The Kennel Club encourages “Petiquette” practical tips for pet owners to ensure their pet is welcome in pet friendly businesses and public places – for more information see http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/our-resources/kennel-club-campaigns/be-dog-friendly/petiquette/

Debbie Whitfield is a professional pet photographer in Cumbria and owner of Maggie the Red and White Border Collie. Click here to find out more about Debbie.

Using a Wide Angle Lens for Pet Photography

Hi I’m Maggie and I live in Cumbria with Deb who is a pet photographer – she recently took me for a walk around Derwentwater, Keswick in the English Lake District. As you can see Deb composed this pet photograph with a wide angle lens by positioning me on a rock in the foreground, with the still water of Derwentwater and sailing boats in the middle distance and the Cumbrian mountains in the background. A standard zoom wide angle or short lens (around 18mm-55mm) is sometimes called a kit lens as it usually comes with a camera purchase. It can create a wide field of view and give a sense of distance with depth of field so is often used for landscape photography, but can also be used successfully for pet portrait photography. When composing a pet photograph with a wide angle lens you can create a sense of distance by including a strong foreground feature, an interesting subject in the middle distance and a scenic background. You will also notice Deb composed the photograph with me looking into the scene (rather than to the edge of the photo) to draw the eye of the viewer around the stunning scenery.

Try out this pet photography technique to capture compelling photography of your pet in their favourite location. “Woof Woof!” Speak Soon – Maggie