Ashanali

I was waiting for a plane this morning and saw the wonderful play between light and shadow and loved the expressions on the other bored passengers faces...

We thought that after 11 pups she was well and truly finished. I think she did also. I laid down to sleep next to the whelping box and she was comfy all night and not showing signs of distress. I woke at 5.30am and thought I saw a mild contraction but I didn't see another. She went back to sleep then too. Took her to the vet, said "I think she may have had a contraction but I was half asleep and she didn't look too concerned". He gave a shot of oxytocin to clean her out... then 30 minutes later out came the biggest and most active puppy of the litter He was born in the car park at the vet. If I thought there was another pup in there, we would have been at the vet sooner but mum was going well so I wasn't concerned. All ended well.

A bit late for the info now. Kayo is on day 60 so I'll just wait until the pups are two weeks old and worm them all then.

The time between pups doesn't worry me (I've had 12 hours between pup 11 and pup 12 and pup 12 was perfectly healthy), what I look for is how comfortable the bitch is. If she's relaxed and content, I don't worry, she could just be having a break. If she's agitated, panting, contracting, shaking, or showing any other obvious signs of stress, I'd be worried and visiting a vet.

oooh! Lots of pretty babies in there Congrats on the litters! Kayo is day 60 now and not slowing down all that much. She still managed to jump into the whelping box to eat her dinner.

That's bloody brilliant!!! Huge congratulations

They're looking good Kaffy

Thanks. I think Alexs got an appreciation with working with animals yesterday.... Yep. He said that it's like working with newborns... which is why I shoot newborns and he won't go near them. It takes great patience.

And I forgot to say, we are very excited to have Serena as an official part of the team

Yep yep... we are taking a few new exciting steps within the business, but we have a little project in the works revolving around Serena's work . All will be revealed later in the year. All good things come to those who wait.

hmmm... for this weekend (I'm about to pack it - I'm travelling interstate so take the least amount of gear possible. Hate flying with camera gear.) Canon 5D Canon 40D with battery grip 50mm 1.4 28-135mm 420ex flash infra-red trigger lots of memory cards Alex will have Canon 5D mark II with battery grip Canon 30D with battery grip 24-70mm 2.8 70-200 2.8 580 exII flash pocket wizards snoot video light diffuser Other gear... umm... a few more lenses and an old 10D body.

I sooooo want to do Roller Derby but Alex doesn't want me covered in bruises. Yet I come home from every netball game with a new injury

Woohoo! Go Serena

three weeks it is. thanks.

Frodo's Mum! Love them!!!

I would do her when I do the pups but I need to worm my other two dogs also. They all share a yard so it's a bit pointless if I worm the other two and don't worm Kayo. So I either worm them all now or worm them all in three weeks.

I forgot to worm Kayo last week. I usually worm my girls 2 weeks prior to whelping. What's the protocol now? Is it still okay to worm her now (she has 8 days to go)?

one more

Kayo with 8 days to go. She isn't carrying low but she is very wide. My money is on 6 very big pups. Just a feeling I have.

Very nice work Kirislin. Well done.

Sorry Ams, that was me. I'll be in and out here the next couple of days and I leave for Canberra and Thursday so I'll PM you and work something out. Thank you for bringing them along. I totally forgot by the end of it. The kids were a little over it and wanted to be fed. Sorry.

I'm coughing like a pack a day smoker now I already had a cold/sore throat before the shoot... I don't think I'll have a voice by tomorrow. It's worth it though. Great to see everyone, sorry I didn't get to say a proper hello to many people and thank you for bringing your dogs along. They were ALL so well behaved. And it's nice being the wrangler rather than the photographer at times. Less to think about.

I hope Kayo doesn't go early! I'm in Canberra on the weekend and arrive home on Sunday. She's due on Wednesday...

Great shots

Everyone is on the right track. Essentially you are trying to do two things at the same time... photograph an event/moment as it happens AND make it interesting to look at. Becandcharch is a good example. It's not the most exciting moment in the world, but it's intersting to look at. Nice composition and nicely toned.