Paws & Petals

Heads up! Some links in this post are affiliate links, including Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I only share products my floofs and I truly love!
🐾

Spring doesn’t last long around here, and when our magnolia tree bursts into full bloom, it’s truly magical. This year, the tree turned our entire backyard into a pink petal wonderland, and as the flowers started to fall, they blanketed the grass in soft pink. It was beautiful, fleeting, and begging to become a photoshoot backdrop for the girls. We only had a tiny window to make it happen, so we grabbed the camera (and a couple of Squishmallow puppy toys for bribery) and got to work.

The Setup: Backyard Chaos, But Make It Cute

After dinner, we headed into the backyard with the pups and let the chaos unfold. Ken and I tried to wrangle them into posing, or at the very least looking in the general direction of the camera, but that’s never really the vibe with our crew. Instead, it turned into a whirlwind of flower petals, zoomies, and surprisingly adorable moments caught mid-motion.

Floof-by-Floof Recap 🐶

Khaleesi was not having it. At all. She gave me full-on mean mugging, refused to pose, and spent most of the time trying to avoid being jumped on by Thor. Eventually, she just curled up in my lap like the grumpy queen she is and supervised from there.

Hera was more interested in playing with Ken and chasing Thor than she was in facing the camera. She’s always the wild card—funny, full of personality, but entirely unbothered by whatever you want her to be doing.

Thor, though? She stole the show. She ran, she jumped, she hammed it up like a born model. We got some absolutely magical action shots of her bounding through the petals like she was in a dog food commercial. My favorite picture of the whole shoot is of her mid-strut with her tongue out, perfectly caught mid-lick. We didn’t even notice it in real time—it was one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments that only showed up when we were reviewing the photos later.

Behind the Scenes: Real Life with Dogs

Ken tried (bless him) to keep their attention with the Squishmallow toys, but they were way more interested in sniffing the petals and body-slamming each other through the blossoms. The entire shoot was equal parts adorable and chaotic. By the end of it, all of us—dogs and humans—were completely covered in pollen. I don’t think anyone escaped without needing a serious dose of allergy meds.

Tips for Pet Photoshoots (From a Pro Floof Wrangler)

• Take bursts of photos if your pups are moving—don’t stress about capturing the perfect moment in real time. Half the magic happens when you go back and scroll through.
• Props are great but keep expectations low—sometimes the best shots happen when the dogs ignore you entirely.
• Let them be themselves. You can’t script joy, and honestly? The candid moments are the most precious anyway.

Final Thoughts

It was messy, hilarious, a little sneezy, and absolutely worth it. Spring always reminds me that the most beautiful things are fleeting, and catching my girls romping through the flowers was a memory I’ll never forget.

Now, excuse me while I go plan Wilbur’s first official photoshoot—because this boy is going to need his own petal moment soon. 💐🐾

✨ Our Spring Photoshoot Essentials

Here’s what helped make this petal-covered chaos a little easier (and more fun):