The most common problem Ty dealt with when it came to coaching was overconfidence. Ty knew how to temper expectations, whether an older client underestimated their age or a younger client overestimated their strength. For his newest client, though, it seemed he would need to do the opposite.
Unlike his regular training, today's lesson was focused on a less physical exertive part of being a fitness icon: posing. Ty knew poses; he has modeled for pictures before. His brown and white husky companion and trainee for the day was not so experienced. It should have been an easy enough photo, though. Today was arm day. Despite the fat that softens Hund's figure, the resulting pump from his grueling workout improved the aesthetics of Hund's musculature. As Ty and Hund stood in the mirror to gawk at their gains, Ty acknowledged that Hund was stacked. Hund crossed his arm across his torso as Ty instructed. His biceps, triceps, and deltoids bulged out as the bulk of muscle flexed and stretched out his skin. The rush of blood from his workout defined every crease and ridge in his arms, shoulders, chest and swelled these parts to a desirable size. Combined with his rotund belly that protruded below his broad chest, Hund looked absolutely beastly.

"Looking good big guy!" Ty said in admiration of Hund's form. Hund responded with a huff. He wasn't the best at taking compliments. "Now, we need to get the face."

Hund looked back at Ty, still holding the pose. "What do you mean 'get the face'?"

"When you are posing like that, it's important to exude confidence! Even if your physique is not the best, a strong look can win the viewer over." Ty said, staring at the mirror at Hund.

"What's wrong with my physique?" Hund said, suspecting Ty may have some words about his bulbous gut.

"Nothing, nothing! You are definitely looking swole." Ty said as he gave Hund a friendly punch in the arm. "But I want to help you look like you are owning your body. I like to give a nice beaming smile. Something that says, 'I don't bite, but I can!'" Ty said as he flashed a grin at Hund.

Hund rolled his eyes at Ty's suggestion. "Ok," he said, wishing to get this over with. With both Hund in position, Ty's eyes looked down the lens of the polaroid camera, ready to capture Hund's pose. With a flash, it was done.

---

"Did you need to go take a dump before doing this?" Ty asked as he scanned the photograph. Hund raised an eyebrow, having no idea what Ty meant with that comment. Ty showed the developed square image to Hund. The vision itself was a bit blurry from Hund's fidgeting, but most of Hund's features were visible: his protruding stomach, his swelled chest, and his massive arms. What was also apparent was Hund's facial expression which was far from the smile Ty recommended. In the picture, Hund's eyes were squinted as if he was concentrating heavily on something. Meanwhile, his lips quivered chagrin while his face took on a slight blush.

"No," Hund said flatly.

"Let's try again," Ty said as he pushed Hund back into position. Flash after flash Hund tried to smile, but his stony face was incapable of contorting into a grin. After an epileptic-inducing frequency of flashes, Ty ran out of the film. Shaking the last polaroid, Hund began questioning his friend.

"Why can't you get it right?" Ty asked as he looked down at the pile of failed photos.

"I'm new to this," Hund said flatly.

"Your posing is great, maybe a little shaky, but that can be fixed with practice," Ty said. "What I meant is even away from these pictures, I never see you smile in public."

"I just don't smile," Hund said plainly. To him, it was simple as that. Ty looked down at the developed photo with a wide grin.

"Does it look good?" Hund asked with some interest.

"Nope, I just wanted to show you what a smile looks like." Ty joked, "But it's better. The corners of your mouth are curved in the right direction. But the rest of your mouth still is wriggling like a worm."

Hund let out an exasperated sigh, "Why are we doing this anyway? I haven't paid attention to what I looked like all this time and managed."

"Tanu thinks otherwise," Ty said.

Hund's eyes drew themselves on Ty, "Did she pay you for the day to do this as a prank?" he accused.

"She didn't pay me anything. She offered to, but you're my friend. Also, no this isn't a prank. She thought you were being hard on yourself after that last cheat meal. You were just staring at your stomach glumly while she was rubbing you." Ty explained. "She asked me to teach you posing to remind you that there is a lot of things to love."

Hund looked down at his stomach guiltily, not saying a word. Even though his belly fat added to Hund's intimidating size, it also was a source of jeering by the usually lean gym bros that exercise with him.

"If you want my opinion, I think you look great! Your pose really makes you look huge, and that muscle gut really adds to your size." Ty said.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." Hund coldly said but then warmed. "But… thanks."

"If you want abs, I can definitely help you with that," Ty said as he began taking off his tank top. Hund turned his head in confusion like any dog watching their friend strip in front of them would.

"What? I'm going to show you what a real poser can do." Ty said as he flexed his own muscles to pump them a bit.

Hund placed a hand on Ty's shoulder and stood above the retriever. "You are going to need to do two things before you start showing off. First, you need to refill the cartridge in your camera."

"Don't sweat that; I have another in my bag," Ty said as he tried to walk away from Hund. Hund's grip didn't loosen, though.

"Second, if you are going to show me how to pose, you're gonna have to make things more even," Hund said ominously. "A gut for a gut." Hund added, rubbing his palm against' Ty's well-sculpted stomach.

Ty looked back at Hund with a slight whimper. "I just burned off our last bulking session."

"You shouldn't have done that; now I'm going to have to feed you more to get you up to size," Hund said as he dragged Ty off to prepare the retriever for his version of a picturesque body.

---

I've been following  TankDragon for a while so I jumped when he opened doing waist-up commissions recently. This is probably one of my most recent favorite depictions of Hund because of how fierce and awkward he looks (which pretty much sums up the big guy).