The Best Dog Photos Of 2018 Have Been Announced, And They'll Give You All The Feels

Title of image: ‘A Veterans Best Friend’

Dog: Delta, White Swiss Shepherd

'I am an ambassador for the Kotuku Foundation for Assistance Animals Aotearoa, who source, train and place dogs with people who have any diagnosed condition that dogs are known to be capable of assisting with. This includes diabetes, head injuries, depression and PTSI and many more. Dion is a veteran who fought, and was injured, at the battle of Baghak in 2012. He experienced PTSI and says that ever since Delta came into his life she has made a huge difference. Dogs assisting veterans are now common around the world, but Delta is the first of her kind here in New Zealand.'
- Craig Turner-Bullock

Title of image: ‘Hide and Seek’

Dog: Big City Borders Lad, Border Collie

'I am an 18 year old girl from the Netherlands who loves agility, traveling and photography. The dog in the photo is Fenrir, my youngest dog. He is the perfect model, and the reason why I picked up the camera again.

The camera that I normally use is the Nikon D500, but it needed to be repaired so I used my dad’s D5200 for this photo. This photo was taken in the forest near my house. I went there with my Border Collie Lad Fenrir to test my dad’s new camera.' - Kirsten van Ravenhorst

Title of image: ‘I've got your back’

Dog: Nyx, German Shepherd Dog (bitch)

'For me, the title sums up the image perfectly from both sides. This is a young trainee Police Dog undergoing some initial training. Taken on a miserable, damp day, it shows elements of the bond, trust and relationship that is vital for the partnership between Police Dog and handler.' - Ian Squire

Title of image: ‘Small lady in the cloud of ginger hair’

Dog: SMILAIN AMI DEZ ROUZEZ, Yorkshire Terrier

'My favorite dog named Amy is on the photo. Amy is the real terrier and has the character of a true lady - knows her value and has an ability to put her best foot forward with the highest dignity.' - Viktoria Baranova

Title of image: ‘Springer in the Mist’

Dog: Tarly, English Springer Spaniel

'These are the sort of conditions I dream about for photography! This morning it all came together perfectly great subject and fantastic dramatic natural light to work with.' - Richard Lane

Title of image: ‘Reflective Day’

Dog: Maisie, Lab collie cross

Euan is 8 years old and lives in the countryside in Aberdeenshire with his parents and 2 sisters. He loves all animals and as well as Maisie, has a cat, leopard geckos, fish and rats.

His favourite thing is going for a family cycle with Maisie along the disused railway lines and stopping to find geocaches on the way. He loves walking Maisie and throwing the ball for her. He thinks she is the best dog ever!

The photo was taken after a big rainstorm in the playpark while Euan was waiting for his little sister to finish her football training. Euan and Maisie like splashing in puddles together.
(Words by Euan written by Euan's mum)

Title of image: ‘Sticking Together’

Dogs: Beagle mix puppies

'Since early last year, my partner Raymond Janis and I have had the honour of supporting the Vanderpump Dogs Foundation in Los Angeles by photographing their adoptable dogs. In July 2017, we met these adorable beagle mix puppies. As Raymond tried to wrangle them, something magical happened and I was able to capture a perfect moment of a puppy family sticking together.'
- Charlie Nunn

Title of Image: ‘Found My Way Home’

Dog: Cooper, Labrador Retriever Mix and rescue dog

'It was very clear that Cooper was the first child for this beautiful and loving couple. In this shot, they are holding hands behind Cooper’s drowsing head. It was a scene of pure contentment and love.'
- Sonya Kolb

Title of Image: ‘Monty’

Dog: Monty, German Shorthaired Pointer

'I live in the North East of England with my Mum, Dad, Sister Millie and two dogs; Monty & Chester. I have always loved animals and I am constantly entertaining my dogs. I have my own lightweight camera which I carry with me most places and always photographing the dogs.

Mum had given me her camera (which is really heavy) and set me a challenge to photograph either Monty or Chester for this competition, Chester wasn’t interested but Monty was willing and keen to please - lots of treats were involved!' - Maisie Mitford

Title of image: ‘My Best Friend Roxy’

Dog: Roxy, German Shepherd Dog

'My Name is Mariah Mobley and I am 11 years old. I have lived in Oregon, USA my whole life. I used to live on a farm with horses and dogs, but now live in town with my family, and our three dogs, Hunter, Roxy and Koby. I have always loved animals, especially dogs. I started taking pictures when I was a very little girl, and have loved it ever since.

I took this photo of Roxy, at about 9Pm, just before I went to bed. It was dark and she was sitting on our back porch waiting for mom to give her a treat. I used a modelling light and the porch light to put light on her pretty face.

We adopted Roxy from a rescue when she was 7 months old. She had been in a shelter since she was 4 months old. She is 5 years old now and is the sweetest girl. As you can see in the photo, Roxy has an eye disease that causes redness and cloudiness. It is called Pannus. Her eyes are not as clear as they used to be, but I think she is beautiful just as she is.' - Mariah Mobley

Title of Image: ‘Happy Girl Rescued’

Dog: Rescue dog cross breed (Hungarian Vizsla and Labrador Retriever) named Magda

'This particular image is of my own rescue dog, Magda. She was a bit hesitant and shy when my husband and I came home with our baby, but when the baby went off to nursery school, she would curl up on his rocking chair and roll her fur all over, settling in for a nice nap.' - Leslie Plesser

Title of image: ‘Focused’

Dog: Tissaia, Border Collie

'My name is Alicja Zmysłowska, I am 22 years old dog photographer from Poland. My big passion for dogs is with me since always and I always try to show it in my art, showing each dog’s soul, their personality - their uniqueness.

This photograph of Tissaia, a working line border collie of my friend, at age of two months is showing how strongly focused, intense and even serious she is even though she is such a young puppy. Such a small body and so much power and dynamic in it is what I wanted to photograph since first moment of seeing her and seeing it in her - and what really made a big impression on me. She wasn’t a typical puppy that doesn’t know its body yet. I tried to emphasize this feeling with vibrant colours of spring in the background and foreground.' - Alicja Zmyslowska

Title of image: ‘Deeper Love’

Dog: Raffi, Spanish Pointer

'My name is Jarmila Eckardt, from Erfurt (Germany), I live there with my Dog Raffi. I am totally, 100% inlove with dogs. I adopted Raffi in 2011, a Pointer-mix from Spain who was a broken soul from a dog shelter. He is so unique that I started feeling this compulsion to capture every little thing he did: the way he turned step by step to trust people, when he learn more and more to trust me. I love it when he tucks his paws under his chest or rests his head on the pillow…the list went on and on.

This photo was taken on a Sunday morning during a cold winter morning. Raffi and I were too lazy to go outside, so we spend quality time in the bed the whole day. Raffi often enjoy the heat of a warm bed. He come from a shelter in Etxauri, Spain. He lived there more than a half year on a cold concrete in the winter season. That's why he like warmness all the time and we love to spend time together.'
- Jarmila Eckardt

Title of image: ‘Tatti's Head Tilt’

Dog: Tatti, English Cocker Spaniel

'Tatti was almost 9 months old when this image was taken, but such a lovely character. She was starting her training to become an agility dog and so well behaved she made my job super easy. Making silly noises triggered a great head tilt from her, every time, which combined with the typical 'Spaniel lip stuck between the teeth look' just makes this image for me.' - Jonathan Yearsley

Title of image: ‘Instant friendship’

Dog: Unknown name, Alaskan or Siberian Husky

'A spur of the moment photograph taken during Finnmarksløpet, the longest dog sledding race in Europe, as a race veterinarian does a check-up on the dogs at the finishing line.' - Bendik Almås

Title of Image: ‘Sand Monster!’

Dog: Ted, Miniature Poodle

'This is my best friend, Ted the poodle. Ted is an absolute lunatic and is constantly creating moments of chaos and mayhem. This photograph was taken on Whitley Bay beach with the excellent help of Caroline Greener and her favourite ball chucker. Ted’s photos usually show him mid-flight or sprinting at full speed but in this image you get to see the exact moment Ted decided to stop!

I love the wave of sand he creates as he slams the breaks on but most of all I love his expression and focus on his one true love - the ball. I love you Ted.' - Darren Hall

Title of image: ‘The Magic of Reading’

Dog: Messi, Golden Retriever

'This particular photo was taken during the very first time Messi was into a public library to help children acquire interest on reading. The lady in the picture is a writer and reader, and she, along with Instituto Cão Companheiro (Companion Dog Institute), developed this project that is the first one in Brazil.' - Maria Cristina Nadalin

Title of image: ‘Simply a ball’

Dog: Darcy, Crossbreed (Cocker and Poodle)

'I live in Kingston upon Hull with my parents and two dogs and I am currently working through education to become an animal nutritionist as well as competing in the dog sport agility with my dog Darcy. I received my first DSLR, in the December of 2016 and photography has quickly become a new passion of mine and a great way to bond and capture special moments with my canines.

This photo was taken during a walk on a lovely summer’s day after a game of fetch. Darcy often rests her head on her ball after she has finished playing and this was the first moment I had managed to capture her doing this on camera.' - Elise Finney

Title of image: ‘Divine Connection’

Dog: Kodi, 10 years old, Yellow Lab/Golden Retriever mix

'Meet Kodi, working therapy dog with Divine Canines. This is him with his person, Susan, during their training and certification class in late April, three years ago. He was a little nervous around the other dogs, but all it took was the reassuring touch of the person he loves and he soared through the training to graduate and serve his community.' - Sherilyn Vineyard

Title of image: ‘My Best Friends’

Dogs: Lola & Fred, Scottish Terrier, mother and son

'This particular shot was taken at the dog training school where I was working on a project of dogs and their owners. I was interested in capturing the emotional bond and resemblance' - Inés Tafalla