Salmon Dog Treatby Sniff and Shift
The Sniff and Shift store

Guide

Using salmon bits to get a dog to look at the camera

Updated

Salmon treats for dog photos work best broken small before you pick up the camera. Hold one bit just above the lens, take the shot, then hand it over. The listing says the pieces break into small, quick rewards; do that breaking before the shoot. Wash your hands before you touch the phone again.

How do you use salmon treats for dog photos?

Treats for a dog photo shoot do one job: give your dog a reason to look where you need. A photo is a single short session, not a training session. The how to use guide covers sessions and reps, and this page stays with the camera.

Break first, shoot second. The listing says: "The pieces are medium sized and break into small, quick rewards." Break them over the pouch before you start. Once the dog is in position you want your hands on the phone, not in the bag.

Salmon scores 4 of 5 for training value on the store's scorecard, and the store uses the words high value reward for it. Those are the store's words about its own treats, and we make no promise about what any particular dog will do for a photo.

Where do you hold the treat for the shot?

Where you want the eyes to point. For a straight look into the camera, hold the bit right above the lens, touching the top edge of the phone. For a profile, hold it off to one side at the dog's eye level. For a shot of the dog looking up, hold it higher than your head.

Those are hand positions, not promises. We cannot tell you what holds a dog's attention or for how long, and we will not pretend to. Move the bit, take the shot, and if the eyes did not follow, move it again. Keep the bit still once it is in position, and press the shutter.

Where your free hand goes is the part of getting a dog to look at the camera that you control. Keep the bit small enough to hide behind a fingertip, and the phone, not the salmon, is what shows in the frame.

How much salmon does a photo session use?

Less than you might pocket. Photographing a dog with treats uses a few small bits per session, and we do not put a number on that. Nothing we can quote gives a per-piece weight or a pieces per pouch figure, and a count without one is a guess.

What we can say is where the bits come from. They count against the same budget as every other treat that day. The treat budget calculator on our product page is set to 10 percent of the daily calories you type in by default, and it reports salmon by weight. The pouch is 1.5 oz at about 85.6 kcal per ounce, from the label. The real share is your veterinarian's call; the calculator only does arithmetic, and it is written for dogs.

A photo session is treats, not a meal, and the label's line on that stands. The bag says: "Feed as a treat or meal topper."

How do you handle treats and a camera at once?

In order, with the pouch open only at the start. If the shot is your dog in the passenger seat, park first and switch the engine off; the photo can wait that long.

  1. Break a few bits over the pouch and reseal it.
  2. Pocket the bits, or set them in a lidded container at your side.
  3. Hold one bit near the lens with your free hand.
  4. Take the shot.
  5. Hand the bit over.
  6. Wash your hands before you touch the camera again.

The last step matters most for the phone. The salmon is raw before it is freeze-dried, and the bag has a line for your hands. The bag says: "Wash your hands after handling it." It applies the same with a phone in your other hand. Our product page says more about raw handling, and your own dog's questions go to your veterinarian.

A pouch of wild-caught salmon, nothing added, freeze-dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

$15.00
Purchase type

A subscription renews automatically at the frequency you choose, at that frequency's discount (5% to 25% off), until you cancel. Change or cancel it in your Sniff and Shift account. Subscription policy

  • Pink salmon is the only ingredient
  • Freeze-dried by Sniff and Shift in Malvern, PA
  • Free standard shipping once an order reaches $50
  • Orders are placed on Sniff and Shift's Shopify store

For other questions about the pouch, the guides hub has the full list.

Questions

Should I break the pieces before the shoot?

Yes. The listing says the pieces are medium sized and break into small, quick rewards, so do the breaking over the open pouch before the camera comes out, then close it. The bag says: "Reseal the pouch once it is open and store it cool and dry."

Can I photograph my dog eating a salmon treat?

Yes. Hand the bit over and shoot while your dog eats it. Stay right there while it happens, because the label asks you to watch. The bag says: "Provide fresh water and supervise while feeding." That line applies to a photo the same as to any other treat.

How do I reward a dog that held a pose?

Hand over the bit you were holding, right after the shutter. That is the whole reward: the same bit the dog was looking at, given from the same hand. We make no claim about timing or what it teaches. For sessions built around reps, the how to use guide covers that ground.

What if my dog only stares at my hand?

Move the hand to where you want the eyes. Put the bit on the top edge of the phone, keep it still, and try again. That is a hand position fix, not a training fix, and we do not promise it works for every dog or every shot. If it does not, take the photo you can get.

Does a photo session count toward the daily allowance?

Yes. A bit given for a photo is still a treat, so it comes out of the day's total like every other one. Enter your dog's daily calories in the calculator on our product page and it shows 10 percent of that as salmon by weight. Your veterinarian sets the real share.