July was a hectic month of studio setting up and getting ready for the Dog Lovers Show but I’m so far into this project now I’m determined to keep going! Even if I have to cheat occasionally and do two shots on the same day.

I always thought that cocking their leg where they shouldn’t was something other peoples’ dogs do. Not mine. On this photo outing we dropped into a friend’s house to say hello and use their awesome blue door for a photo. You can not begin to imagine my mortification when Butters pissed on their sofa within the first minute. They don’t own a dog, they’ve never had a dog in their house, there was no other dog smell to cover – HE’S JUST A GRUB!! I apologised too many times, made things way more awkward than they needed to be and I still cringe when I think about it.

Bring on October when he’ll be getting desexed and hopefully we’ll see an end to his need to pee on everything.

With my shame far from forgotten we took the grub up the road to a nearby location for a mini photoshoot. He redeemed himself by staying close by while he was off-lead.

Butters has the worst stay in the history of dogs being told to stay. When he’s told to stay on the sofa he always ends up in this stance, so we compromise. Until he slithers into a drop and a crawl and then he’s told to get back up on the sofa again. (Yes, I know that compromising is why he thinks he doesn’t have to stay but he makes us laugh so we’ll pay that price.)

We went away for a long weekend when Butters was a puppy. It took a team of people to mind him and get him to and from daycare while our pet sitter was at work. One of his team members was Mayhem. We became friends on Instagram and he originally came for a playdate with Bruno but now he’s Butters’ playmate. We met very early one Sunday for a walk/run/play and I brought my camera to get my 52 weeks shot. We found a quiet place to throw the toy and made sure no other dogs were around, but that didn’t last long. Thankfully the other dogs don’t have their ears painted on so they ran back to their owner as soon as they were called. These two? Not quite as obedient but no shame was brought on our families this time.

#8 in my Watch the Butterball Grow series. We may not attempt any more hat photos. For everyone’s sake!

If you want more of my dogs in your life you can follow them on Instagram – @ruthlessratpack.