Meet the dog Aspen who puts your outdoor travel adventures to shame

A photographer has captured the beauty of North America using his adventure-loving pet dog as a model.

Creative Hunter Lawrence, 24, sets up rural photo-shoots with his four-legged pal Aspen, while hiking through the USA and Canada.

Striking images show the silky Golden Retriever posing perfectly in front of a backdrop of snowy mountains and shimmering lakes.

Hunter and his wife Sarah adopted their photogenic pup when he was six-weeks-old.

With his adventurous humans, four-year-old Aspen has travelled to eight different states and holidayed in Alberta, Canada.

As well as hiking once a week, sometimes for 15 miles, Aspen enjoys snow-sledging and canoeing.

Hunter, 24, said: 'Everywhere we take him basically everyone will stop, get down on a knee and start playing with him.

'My wife and I always joke that when we take Aspen with us anywhere, it takes us three times as long.

'He's the most joyful dog and loves being outdoors.

'Aspen has always tagged along on hikes, backpacking trips and a ton of my photo shoots.

'I always have my camera with me and so we've been fortunate to capture him in some really beautiful environments, most recently in Canada.

'He's an obedient dog so whenever I put a hat on him or a pair of hiking boots, he always stay put. It often makes for a really beautiful image.

'When we take Aspen with us into the mountains, I always frame him in a way that doesn't take away from the environment he's in.

'In the photo of him in the canoe on Lake Louise, I wanted everyone to see that he was surrounded by glaciers and mountains and tons of crazy blue coloured water out on a canoe.'

Hunter and Sarah moved to Denver, Colorado, from Austin, Texas, after falling in love with the beautiful area.

They started an Instagram to document their dog's adventures called @aspenthemountainpup.

Hunter added: 'I always told myself I'd never make him his own feed, but I caved and ended up doing it after I realised we had some really awesome content that we wanted to share with the world.

'I guess people have really begun to love it as much as we do.

'We're 30 minutes to the mountains, we have four real seasons and millions of acres to take Aspen on hikes.

'Colorado is the perfect backdrop for Aspen cause he loves rivers, lakes, hiking and the snow. It's the perfect combo for a pup like Aspen.'