Zelda has knocked me down at least a half a dozen times, Red two or three. She has led three breakouts, refused to wear a coat to protect her wool from dirt and hay and knocked over various cans, buckets and feeders in her made dashes to escape Red. Things are quieting, and I have been working on Zelda for weeks to get her comfortable with my camera.

Here’s how I do it. I try and make the animals associate the camera with food. When I put hay in the feeder, I show them the camera, put it down near them while they are eating. I get a bit closer each time, so that when they see the camera, they head for the feeder. I put it on multiple-shot settings so they can get use to the shutter clicking.

I use a fast lens, in this case a 100 mm macro. I always go for the eyes. The key to photographing animals is the eyes, and to do that you need a fast and big lens. I often put the camera down on the floor while the dogs are eating, so they always look at the camera when I point it at them.

This is the closest Zelda has permitted me to go. We are working things out.