ruthless

They were fine when they first met at the rescue centre. We prob know more now about dog behaviour than we did back then. There may have been signs that we missed. The fights were pretty bad. Never needed vet visits, but Chopper turned fear aggressive as a result. He's ok now. We keep all our dogs separate now for peace of mind. They never fight anymore, but they play REALLY rough. If there's even the slightest chance that the new dog will get jealous over toys, food, etc. I'd def keep them apart until you're 100% sure that they're ok together.

We started with Ivan when he was 7yo. A few months later we got Angel to keep him company, she was approx 1.5yo. A few months later we fostered [and subsequently adopted] Chopper. He was 10mo. We had a lot of trouble between him and Angel. A lot of people suggested it was because they were similar in size and age. In hindsight we should've kept them apart when we were at work until they accepted each other. Is that something you could do? To prevent any fighting.

Monelite and her OH own a tropical fish shop and she asked me if I could take some pics. Apparently there's not much light in the shop. I don't have a flash [other than the built in on my 30D], but I was thinking about getting one anyway. Would I just need to bounce it to avoid reflections? Is there anything else I need to know? What lens, etc.?

I put a backpack on Trixie this morning for our walk but she wasn't at all happy. She kept stopping. She was driving me mad so I took it off her and put it on Chopper. No bother to him, off he marched with his head held high My only problem was the pavement wasn't wide enough so he kept banging into me!

Pooh! OH told me they only come in red and blue ;) Not sure yet, I didn't know it was on, I haven't got an email from the list for ages

Poor long suffering Ivan! He doesn't even need one, neither does Angel. I wanted one for Trixie and Chopper and he bought four for us and one for a friend of mine who doesn't even walk her dog!! More than a little carried away.

Good point It occasionally happens here too. Quite scary having my four running full speed to see who can reach me first

Shame the colour choice was so limited! OH says, in answer to your question, "no it doesn't"! I'm not so sure though, he's quite taken by her. She's having an extended stay here while we work on her doggy manners

They're from http://www.altrec.com/ They're Ruff Wear Palisades Backpack II (Fall 2007). Trixie, Chopper and Angel all have small, so that'd prob be ok for Jarrah too? The only thing is they won't ship here. You need to have them sent to a US address. They're almost 5 times the price here!

Rex is such a bludger

I think OH went a touch overboard with the online shopping! Ivan's so not impressed

Poor Dolly Do you want to borrow a crate? Gimme a call if there's anything we can do? x

That's funny! I hope you don't have any actual "bad hair days" for the rest of the year

I find vanish carpet cleaner really good How did you get a day off work? Real reason or fake sickie?

No advice mate, just letting you know I feel for you both Hope she picks up soon. Bet she's doing zoomies by dinnertime

Ahem ... to quote you

Mammy has the flu so the new world order has been postponed!

Some lenses work on both digital and SLR, not all though. I think it's the ones with the red dots on the lens.

Are you saying it won't? Bugger ... maybe it's not too late to get a refund!

Are you kidding? She a lost cause, there's no hope for her

Hey ... where do I start?!! Apparently my mongrel isn't allowed to join your elitist club for super dooper protection dogs Once my clicker stick arrives there'll be no stopping me. Watch out. He'll be winning titles left, right and centre!

Tough love, eh? If I exercise his mind at night will that help, or does it need to be in the morning? I do want to do tracking with him, but I don't know where to start!

I cycle with him and he loves it. I throw the squeaky ball for him and he loves it. I'd happily jog with him. I've even ordered him a backpack to intensify his walk. However, I can only do these things with him if he settles down and lets me walk the others separately too. I've got over an hour to devote to their exercise, so the only hurdle really is getting him to chill out for the portion of time when he can't come. If I cycle with him for 30 mins and then try and take the others out for a walk/cycle he still has the energy to complain about being left behind. Also, I don't want to put him in his crate when he needs water and a cool down. He's a frickin nightmare, but he'll just have to learn that the routine is changing! No more pandering to baby Chopper

I've tried walking him first, but 30 mins doesn't tire him. It only barely takes the edge off. He's so full of energy. When he's throwing a tantrum he isn't interested in food. The more I type, the more I realise he thinks he's the boss and he needs to be ignored to learn his tantrums will get him nowhere. If only I could reason with him

I've tried, when he's like that he doesn't want to eat. This morning I took everyone bar Angel and then came home and brought her and Chops to the park. Worst walk ever! I gave them massive marrow bones yesterday, so Ivan did a pooh, Chopper did a pooh and Trixie did four poohs and a vomit Tomorrow'll be better, it sure as hell can't be worse!!!