QuestionR10 keeps focusing on the fence instead of my dog - sorry if this is silly

Hi everyone, sorry if this is a silly question. I have an R10 with the 18-150 kit lens and I mostly photograph my dog Biscuit at the dog park. The park has a chain link fence and when he runs along it the camera focuses on the fence and he's a blur behind it. I've tried the animal setting but I don't really understand the focus menus. I read a bit about AF areas but got lost in all the jargon. Is there a simple setting I'm missing? Thank you.

Not silly at all, fences catch everybody! Two things. Get the lens as close to the fence as you safely can, right up to the wire, and it'll mostly blur away. And switch the AF area from whole area to a smaller zone so the camera can't grab the fence. Keep animal detection on, and use Servo so it keeps following him.

Also, at the dog park I'd use a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 for a running dog, so try shutter priority (Tv on the dial) and let the ISO go up on its own. A slightly noisy sharp dog beats a clean blurry one every time.

If it still struggles, try getting lower, down at his eye level. You'll put less of the fence between you, and the photos look better from down there anyway. My neighbor's beagle has been my test subject for every new AF setting I've tried for years, so I've done a lot of lying on wet grass. Biscuit is a great name, by the way!

Kathy_R said:

Get the lens as close to the fence as you safely can

This. Lens in the gap in the wire. Done.

Thank you both! I didn't know getting closer to the fence would make it disappear, that seems backwards but it worked on our yard fence when I tried tonight. Is 'Servo' the one that says Servo AF or is that something different?

Yes, that's the one. You've got it!

Went to the park on Saturday. Biscuit is sharp in about two thirds of them now instead of none. I used the shutter priority setting at 1/1000 and the zone thing, and stuck the lens through the fence like you both said. Thank you so much, sorted!