Minding That Itch
by lynnesite

Comment by bmartuch:
Nice lighting.

Too Hot To Trot
by lynnesite

Comment by kellyo:
I think there are people who love pet pictures and people who are tired of them -probably the same with kids, bugs, and flowers. For a pet photo to do well, it has to be really superior. I gave you a 5 because it was a nicely composed photo and fit the challenge but didn't "grab" me with a wow factor.

Trick Opening Cat Torture
by lynnesite

Comment by tootsweet:
I'm glad that you submitted an "active" animal shot. I would rather see animals behaving like animals rather than posed.

Too Hot To Trot
by lynnesite

Comment by david_c:
I didn't vote in this challenge, but in all honesty I probably would have given it a 5 and moved on. I suppose it's a nice dog, if you like dogs, but someone has already mentioned the "snapshot" feel. There seems to be a lack of contrast, maybe even a bit of white-balance imbalance. The composition is so-so, but there isn't anything that keeps my interest for very long. Even with all that, a dog with it's face in a water dish doesn't necessarily make me think "hot" any more so than a dog with a doggie-coat might make me think "cold".

Please don't take this as mean-spirited, or intentionally over-critical, but I could see how someone might vote this a low score. I very rarely hand out anything lower than a 3 (I wouldn't have, in this case), but that's me. There are some very picky voters out there.

Too Hot To Trot
by lynnesite

Comment by vxpra:
I did not vote on this challenge. I think a number of people probably did not pick up on the correlation between a dog drinking water and a hot day, and therefore felt you were shoehorning in a shot of your pet with the title. A number of the low votes probably also came from people that immediatly dismissed it as a snap shot and moved on to the next image.
Thats my analysis, for what its worth.

Too Hot To Trot
by lynnesite

Comment by DarkRider:
I love this photo and gave it an 8. It was the best out of the box submission (IMO) that you could really see HOT in. The catch light in the eyes is great, I love that I can see the tongue in the bowl (that's what made it for me). Only downfall IMO is the cutoff paw. Adding a little more frame to the bottom would have placed the eyes and the lip of the bowl on thirds and added a better balance IMO

On a personal side, This pup reminds me of my Max, Max is a LabX (we think Great Dane). We adopted Max when he was six months old. We where the third people to take Max home and by six months he had already been so badly abused that I had to hand feed him 2-4 kibbles at a time. For almost two months to gain his trust. He is missing teeth from the abuse so his tongue hands out the side of his mouth quite often. Its quite funny to see and your photo reminded me of puppy Max. It's been just over a year that we have had him and he is very happy and adjusting well. Still has some moments but we know how to read him.

Good photo, shitty score. I think it should have done much better. Maybe its worth an OOBE!

Too Hot To Trot
by lynnesite

Comment by BAMartin:
I gave this a 6 on the cuteness factor alone. I can not help explain the low scores.

Too Hot To Trot
by lynnesite

Comment by tnun:
Oh my, the dog days of summer! Perfect, adorable yet not too sweet. (Oh, right, this was not a food challenge, but a cooking challenge, you know, sex and combustion. Pfffft).

Trick Opening Cat Torture
by lynnesite

Comment by klstover:
Haha, very great capture!

Trick Opening Cat Torture
by lynnesite

Comment by Catherine_B:
Oh those cats love to chew cardboard boxes don't they?? Good capture of the feline decorator at work!