Frequently Asked Questions

I Love Dog Pics is a community-driven project dedicated to building a beautiful library of real dog photography, organized by breed. Our goal is simple: showcase authentic, high-quality photos taken by talented photographers. Every dog deserves to be represented by stunning real photography.

I Love Dog Pics was created by Dave Breen of Breen Photo as a community project. It's not a stock photo agency or a commercial venture — it's a passion project built to celebrate great dog photography and the talented photographers who create it.

Yes, completely free! It's free to browse the site, free to create a photographer account, free to submit photos, and free to have your own photographer profile page. There are no hidden costs, subscriptions, or premium tiers.

We feature hundreds of AKC-recognized dog breeds. You can explore them all on our Browse Breeds page. Many breeds are still waiting for their first real photo — check the "Most Wanted" section on the homepage to see which breeds need your help!

Treats are our way of letting the community show appreciation for great dog photos. Think of them like "likes" — when you see a photo you love, you can give it a Treat. Logged-in photographers receive a daily supply of Treats to hand out. Photos with the most Treats rise to the top of gallery pages, so your votes help surface the best photography!

We have three types of galleries. Breed galleries show all photos of a specific breed (like Golden Retriever). Breed group galleries show all photos across breeds in a group (like Sporting Group). Style galleries show photos by photography style (like Action or Studio Portrait). You can browse breed groups and styles from the homepage.

Each week, we spotlight a talented photographer from our community on the homepage. It's our way of recognizing great contributors and helping visitors discover amazing dog photographers. The featured photographer's profile and work are highlighted for the full week.

No. You retain full copyright and ownership of every photo you submit. By uploading to I Love Dog Pics, you grant us a non-exclusive license to display your image on the site, share it on our social media channels (like our Facebook Page), and make it available through features like "Download for Social" — always with your photographer credit included. You can still use, sell, license, or publish your photos anywhere else — your rights are completely unaffected. Full details are in our Terms of Service.

Your photos are displayed on breed gallery pages, the homepage, and your photographer profile. Approved photos are also automatically shared to our Facebook Page with your credit. Visitors can also use our "Download for Social" feature to share your photo with a branded watermark that includes your name. Your images are never sold, sublicensed to third parties, or used for any commercial purpose outside of this project.

Yes! Log into your dashboard and you'll see a delete button next to each of your submissions. Deletion is instant and permanent — no need to email us. You're always in full control of your work.

Always. Every photo displayed on the site includes a visible credit with your name or business name. Your photographer profile page is linked from every image, making it easy for visitors to discover more of your work and connect with you.

It's easy! First, create a free account. Then head to the Submit Photo page, choose a breed, upload your image, add details about the dog, and submit. We review submissions within 24–48 hours, and you'll be notified by email when your photo is approved.

We accept JPEG, PNG, and WebP files up to 50MB. The shortest side of the image must be at least 800 pixels. Photos should be well-lit, in focus, and clearly show a recognizable dog. We're looking for quality over quantity — sharp focus, good lighting, and clean composition make a photo stand out.

We believe editing is a creative decision that ultimately belongs to the photographer. That said, photos on I Love Dog Pics should authentically represent real dogs. Routine retouching and AI-assisted cleanup — removing a leash, tidying up a background distraction, or cleaning up minor imperfections — are perfectly fine and well within reasonable use. What we'd encourage photographers to avoid is heavy generative AI work like complete background replacements or significant alterations to the dog's appearance. The spirit of this project is celebrating real photography of real dogs, and we trust our photographers to use good judgment about where that line falls.

We ask that submitted photos feature only the dog as the subject, without people visible in the image. This isn't a reflection on the quality of those photos — some of the best dog photography includes their humans! The issue is that we have no way to verify consent from the people pictured, and displaying someone's likeness without their permission creates legal concerns we'd rather avoid entirely. If a person's hand or foot is barely visible at the edge of the frame, that's generally fine — we're mainly looking to avoid photos where people are recognizable.

Breeds on the "Most Wanted" list don't have any community photos yet. They currently show placeholder images on their breed page. When you submit a real photo for a Most Wanted breed, your image replaces the placeholder — making you the first photographer to represent that breed!

Absolutely! We have a dedicated area just for mixed breed dogs. When submitting a photo, simply select "Mixed Breeds" from the breed list. Mixed breed pups deserve just as much love as any purebred — every dog is welcome here! If you have a suggestion for a breed that's missing from our list, use the "Request a Breed" option on the Submit Photo page.

Not at all! While we focus on high-quality images, you don't need to be a full-time professional. If you take great dog photos with proper lighting, focus, and composition, we'd love to see your work. Passionate hobbyists are just as welcome as seasoned pros.

You can submit up to 3 photos per breed. We encourage photographers to cover as many different breeds as possible rather than submitting lots of photos for the same breed. This helps us build a diverse, comprehensive collection.

Yes! Your photographer profile supports a business name, website URL, and social media links. It's a great way to get exposure for your photography work. Every photo you submit links back to your profile, so visitors can easily find and connect with you.

The homepage features a "Top Contributors" leaderboard that ranks photographers by the number of approved photos they've submitted. It's a fun way to recognize our most active contributors. Submit more quality photos across different breeds to climb the ranks!

Absolutely. Every photographer gets a permanent profile page with a shareable URL. You can add it to your portfolio, share it on social media, or include it in your email signature. It showcases all your approved submissions in one place.

We periodically host themed photo challenges where photographers can submit their best work around a specific theme (like "Best Shelter/Rescue Dogs"). The community votes on entries during a voting period, and the photo with the most votes wins. It's a fun way to engage with the community and get your work noticed.

When a challenge is active, you'll see a banner on the homepage. Simply submit a photo through the normal submission page during the challenge's submission period. Your photo will be entered into the challenge automatically if it matches the theme.

Winners receive a special badge displayed on their photographer profile. Prizes are for community recognition and bragging rights — they have no cash value. Challenge entries are also often featured prominently on the site and our social media. See the full Official Challenge Rules for details.

Submitted photos go through an automated AI screening (powered by Anthropic) that checks the image contains a dog, screens for inappropriate content, and flags photos where people are prominently visible. Photos that pass screening are typically approved quickly. Flagged photos are held for manual human review. We also manually review submissions as needed to maintain quality standards.

Your name and optional business information are displayed publicly on your photographer profile — that's the whole point of giving you credit! Your email address is never shared publicly. It's only used for account-related notifications, like when your photo is approved. We don't sell data, run ads, or share your information with third parties. Full details in our Privacy Policy.

No. Breeds that don't have any community submissions yet display placeholder images. You can tell them apart because they don't show a photographer credit. The goal of this project is to have every breed represented by a real photograph from a real photographer — and that's where you come in!

Photos on the site include a small, tasteful watermark with your photographer credit that's applied during upload. This protects your work while keeping the focus on the photography. Your name also appears as a visible credit in all gallery views. When someone uses the "Download for Social" feature, a branded version with your credit and ilovedogpics.com branding is generated for easy sharing.

If you believe a photo on our site infringes your copyright, you can file a DMCA takedown notice. We take these seriously and will remove infringing content promptly. See our DMCA Policy for the full process, or email us at bigdog@ilovedogpics.com.

If you're identifiable in a photo and didn't consent to it being displayed, we'll remove it. Submit a content removal request or email us at bigdog@ilovedogpics.com. We process valid removal requests within 48 hours.

All our legal documents are linked in the footer of every page: Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, DMCA Policy, and Content Removal.

Email us anytime at bigdog@ilovedogpics.com. Whether you have a question, a concern, a suggestion, or need to request photo removal — we're happy to help.