tikira

Another snake story I was four, and out with my Po and his sheep dog Snippy. I wandered out of Pops' sight, but not Snippy's. As I walked, he suddenly raced in front of me, and would not let me move forward, blocking my every attempt. I yelled at Snippy to move, and that alerted my Grandfather, who noticed straight away the problem- a large snake just in front of me! Snippy was always my dog.... though I shared him with Pop! Di

While sitting here smiliing at the different things people are writing about, I coughed.... and nothing, no dog askimg if I was okay! I suddenly remembered my boy Tip, who used to get very concerned when I coughed, and would brave loads of vicks and tissues to get to me to give comfort!. Jingo- he will climb up, over, through the smallest gaps to get to my lap to stick his wet nose into my eye! Kira- She is just the most laid back gentle girl, so soothing to know she is only two feet from me whenever she can be! Di

Oh no.... do you all really mean to be saying that some people don't talk to their dogs . WOW, that is wierd! Yep, dog talker here too, but then I spend my days with just the dogs, and chooks, so I have to have someone to talk to. Di

Hi Jules What a great party you threw for your girl, the doggies all seemed to love Renae's cake. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the celebrations, your dogs are beautiful, and the photo's are well taken Renae Di

Tusker is lovely... and with those three breeds she is going to be very intelligent, and will probably be a bit naughty too. She will need a lot of stimulation, and will love being with her people.It will be interesting to see which of the breeds she most resembles in personality. I can't wait to see more photo's of her as she grows, I am just a little biased towards Hack Russells, and working dogs. Di

Hi Tusker.Welcome to DOL. A first ever puppy is a huge learning curve. You will laugh, cry, rant, rave, and wish you could have a do-over at times, but it will ultimately be outweighed by the bond that is already developing between you both. Owning a pet is hard, the aim is to make it work for you both! Please keep asking questions, and weighing up whether the answers are something you can incorpaorate into your own family situation. Our advice is simply that, and a lot of times is based on things we too have had to sort out. Our first puppy 10 years ago started out as an outdoor /indoor on invitation dog.... that lasted a few days, as I just felt so bad putting him outside, all alone. I had to learn things the hard way,by trial and a lot of error, before I found somewhere I could come to to ask advice. But trust me when I say, there were many times I was in tears of frustration, anger, and worry, but it has been the best 10 years of my life, and I can never see myself without dogs! Of course you can have an outdoor dog, a lot of us do.... but it is very cold outside at the moment, and Tusker is lonely, crying, and upsetting the neighbours and yourself. Our very smart dog trainer once gave us the best advice ever.... "work out how to manage the problem", and it seems you are working out a way to do that, well done on a solution for the short term. We would love to see more photo's of your beautiful Tusker, and hear about how things are going... the good and bad, and if we can offer any advice, please ask.... we have all been first time puppy owners feeling our way, at one stage. Di

Hi all Guess what? Jingo made it to his first birthday. He is just a joy to be around, he lights up my life every day. It is hard to imagine life without him, and he makes a brilliant, albeit compact hot water bottle on these cold Armidale winters days! Winning there! Now, I just wonder if he is old enough yet to compete in sledding with Esky and Fritz????? lol, maybe he needs to grow legs first? Thanks for all your support during this last year on this thread..... our puppies are not puppies anymore, are they?

This time last year we still did not how our lives were to change. I was still very weepy and depressed over losing Tip. I was trying to look forward to a trip to New Zealand, and failing on that front. I just needed a puppy. Little did I know my boy had been born. Jingo has bought happiness back to our house, Kira is happier,and life is good again. For a Jack Russell he has been a joy. His big bad habit is shredding his toys, and sticks, and paper, and cardboard..... you get the idea, but he has never destroyed anything he wasn't allowed to, and that is a big plus! The comparison photo's show he did grow a little bit! (his legs just forgot to grow, lol Happy birthday little Man

Thankyou for pinning this great article. Reverse sneezing is a dreadful scary thing when you don't know what it is. I had my vet on the phone late at night the first time Tip did it, and he was so good, listened to him over the phone and told us what it was, and to bring him in if it does not stop soon. Tip was so distressed, and so was I.

Such a lovely story to start a morning. Thanks for sharing it. Di

Housework.... ah yes, I vaguely remember that. My routine these days with a Jack Russell that is addicted in turning fire wood into matches and paper into confetti, is to RAKE the floor. It works better than vacuuming! I could never imagine a house without fur now, the thicker the fur, the less draughts in winter! Di

Happy Birthday Hank Wow time does fly. I know from the puppy thread that Hank is only a little older than Jingo, but I can't believe that my boy is almost one either.... time really does get away from us when our days and nights are consumed with such awesome creatures as our doggies. Di

I am sorry to hear this Maeby, I know the extra wait will be agonising, but so worth it when you first lay eyes on your new baby. Di

Very nice work, an very interesting subjects, sad though. These vehicles were once cherished possessions, and have such a story to tell, if they could. Di

As others have said, if it is working for you, then great. You have a camerera capable of taking great pictures in a mode that gives you results, so.... However,I would suggest think about getting the "money Shots" ( the ones you need to) in your preferred mode first, then do some fiddling, some practice work in Raw, and then check the difference in the results at home. You have lost nothing but a little time, and the more practice in Raw you have, the more you will understand. Then you can decide which you really prefer. Have fun though, photography is not supposed to be stressful! Di

Welcome to DOL, Willow is lovely. Our border Collie thinks it is her mission to make us exercise. She chases the ball when thrown, and then comes about half way back and drops it and waits. We just accept that we must do our part, and meet her halfway. We have now taught her "closer" and she picks the ball up and throws it a few feet closer to us.... I guess some dogs just like to make up their own games, That does'nt mean they are not having fun and exercising. Good luck with changing her idea of a fun game. Di

I am so sorry to hear this. The shock and grief must be overwhelming. Take care of yourself and your family aas you try to work through this dreadful time. R.I.P Finnigan Di

Hi Spoony. These photo's are great. I saw them on another forum, and hope that you show us many more of the beautiful new boofer, who I am sure cannot believe his luck in finding you after such a dreadful start in life. Di

I am so sorry for your fsmilies loss Benshiva. Angel was a gorgeous girl, and I can imagine how heartbroken and empty you feel. Take care of yourself, and do all you need to during this horrible time. RIP Angel.

I am sorry to hear of your loss, losing a beloved dog is one of the hardest things to cope with, I found. We lost our boy suddenly in March 2013 from snakebite. I was devastated, and after the first two days wanted another dog, but I instinctively knew it was not the best for our family to do this straight away. I was worried I would compare Puppy with Tip, and somehow resent him. We had to go overseas in September 2013, so that solved the quandry for us- we had to wait until we came home. It took 2 weeks after that, the perfect puppy came up, and even though he was also a Jack Russell, he ws very different in looks and personality. I found suddenly I was smiling again, and there were fewer tears than before, and I never compared the two. For us I feel any less than 6 months would have been hard, but we still had another dog to ease the pain, and "borrowed" our nephews little scruffer for several weeks ( We are "co-owners) with him, and he spends a lot of time with us anyway. This helped so much, as we grieved the loss of our perfect boy. Only you know your family and your own feelings and situation well enough to answer that question. There is never any right or wrong answer, just know that the right dog will come along at the right time for you, embrace it when it happens. Meantime, talking about it helps, particularly with people like Dolers, as we are all mad crazy dog lovers who have been or will go though the same situation, and understand your grief level,and know this is a normal reaction, something I found not everyone "out there" does. (I copped the "get over it" comments, and the eye rolls when I became emotional ) My thoughts are with you. Di

It sounds like things are well on track . Keep up the good work, both of you. It is worth the extra difficuly in the long term. Di

Beaytiful Pers. I really like the choice of colour in the toy with your dogs. Di

An official welcome to this fun thread Law, your new Pup is gorgeous. Enjoy every minute of puppyhood, both the good and bad, as they grow way too quickly, and soon your puppy will be an adult, and you will wonder where Puppy went. I can't wait to see and hear the fun stories to come your way. Di

In some ways I think the first anniversary is almost as hard as the first few weeks after. I was so numb for months after Tip passed, and I see now was depressed. When it came to the first anniversary it all hit me really har, and that is the experience I hear so often Take the time to grieve all over again, hug your dogs a lot, and try to remember some of the better days when Piper was healthy and energetic.Be kind to yourself as you go through this. Di

Great photo's to start with Aliwake. Nixon is looking very handsome, and I love his "puppy sit" Action ahots are not easy, keep practicing, but for a first attempt, I think you should be proud. What type of camera did you get? Di