This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. Because of my partnership with Gerber®, my little one is ineligible to win the Gerber Photo Search or a weekly prize, but you may be eligible so make sure you submit a photo of your baby and/or pet! #GigglesandWiggles #CollectiveBias

People are always completing me on the adorable photos I am always posting of my youngest daughter and her sidekick Duke. I imagine when people see these photos they immediately assume they are the most photogenic duo, when in fact there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to catch these beautiful moments. While my daughter and dog have an incredible bond, it can take a bit of work to get them to both sit still for a moment and pose for some photos. Today I am going to share with you some tips on how to take photos with your kid and dog!

These two are easily distracted and because of their incredible bond, they always seem to get distracted together (example in the image above where they are both fixated on a tiny little plant they found in the yard, haha!) Kids and dogs have something really big in common… they are both highly food motivated. If I am planning on doing a photo shoot of the two of them together, I always make sure there are snacks for my daughter and the dog. Snacks are going to get them to settle down and actually sit. I recommend just giving them a little bit to snack on and once they finish up the snacks, get a few dozen photos in until they start to get rambunctious. Refill there snack bowl with a few more treats to settle them back down. If you are having a hard time getting them to actually look at the camera, shake the bag of dog food! My ALWAYS looks directly at me when I shake a bag of food, haha.

Purina® ONE® Dog Smartblend Chicken & Rice is one of my favorites to feed him! What I love about this particular dog food is that it contains real meat, fish or poultry and that is ALWAYS the #1 ingredient. There is also NO added artificial flavors or preservatives and it contains high-quality protein sources that help support strong muscles and a healthy heart.

People often assume Purina ONE is going to be more expensive at Target, but it is actually competitively priced. We love shopping for our dog’s food there because there is such a great variety of Purina products available, especially Purina ONE! Step over a few aisles and that’s where we can grab all of my daughter favorite Gerber snacks!

All three of my children were very fond of the Gerber snacks and they have come out with so many great products since my oldest was a toddler. We are currently really loving the Gerber Graduates Strawberry Yogurt Melts Freeze-Dried Yogurt & Fruit Snacks. They’re made with real yogurt and fruit and contain live and active cultures, a good source of Vitamins A, C, and E, no preservatives and each bite melts in your little one’s mouth.

The Gerber Grabbers Fruit and Yogurt Strawberry Banana pouches and Lil’ Crunchies snacks are also very popular with my daughter!

I just love capturing the two of them together, their bond is such a beautiful thing to witness. On my daughter’s second birthday we adopted Duke from our local pet shelter as a gift, he was just 8 weeks old at the time. Watching them grow together this past year and a half has been so amazing and I love looking back at all of their photos. The two of them are literally inseparable the entire day. We have three children and at the end of the day, he goes in Addie’s room at night to sleep on her floor.

I tell people all of the time that it amazes me that Duke is always very calm around Addie, he is so incredibly gently with her. Yet with my older children he will rough house with them like any young dog would. Even when we bring Duke for a walk he will walk very slow with Addie (when she golds the leash) so she can keep up with him, but with my older kids he will tug at the leash. I just can’t get over the fact that he is smart enough to understand that he has to be gentle with Addie because she is so small… dogs are simply amazing!

Now that you have heard a little about my adorable tot and her favorite dog in the world, I have one last bit of advice when it comes to photographing the.

My number one tip: You can’t force your child and dog to take a good photo, you simply have to catch their genuine interactions together. Some of the best photos I have ever taken of the two of them is when I just allow them to play and be themselves. When I am no longer posing them in the position I want or placing them in front of the beautiful tree that I know would look great in the background… they suddenly become more relaxed and in turn, the photos come out much better.

I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I did, is there anything cuter than my girl and her pup? I know I know… every parent thinks their baby is the next “Gerber baby”. If you are thinking about entering your baby into the #GerberPhotoSearch2017 or want to see more, there are some great prizes this year! One Grand Prize winner will receive $50,000 plus the title of 2018 Gerber baby.

• Photo search begins on 9/13/17, ends 10/27/17
• Eighth annual Gerber Baby Photo Search
• People may enter by posting a photo of their child on Instagram (must be a public account) using the hashtag #GerberPhotoSearch2017
• People can enter up to 10 times
• Grand prize is $50,000 – can be used to child’s education

Giggles And Wiggles Purina/Gerber Photo Search:

There will be Six (6) weekly winners for Purina/Gerber Baby & Pet photo search (#GerberGigglesandWiggles). Each weekly winner will receive a $500 prize pack, 1 year supply of Gerber baby food (valued at $600), 1 year supply of pet food (valued at $540). Parents may enter a photo of their pet and baby for a chance for the weekly #GerberGigglesandWiggles winner and will be featured on Gerber.com or social media channels for the week. If you to enter this portion of the competition the photo would need to include your pet and baby. Entries should use both #GerberPhotoSearch2017 and #GerberGigglesandWiggles

• Additionally there are six (6) weekly winners of Giggles and Wiggles prize packs, one winner chosen by judges each week of the photo search
• Each weekly winner receives:
  • $500 Cash prize pack, a 1 year supply of Gerber baby food (valued at $600), and a 1 year supply of Purina pet food (valued at $540

See Official Rules for additional information.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Legal residents of the 50 United States (D.C.) and Puerto Rico, who are 18 years of age or older, have a valid Instagram account and/or email address, and are parents of a child 48 months of age or younger and meet certain background check requirements. Enter search by: 11:59:59 pm ET on 10/27/17