~*Shell*~

Hahahaha - I looked at this and went "hmmm, what did whiskedaway post in the sibe thread?" I agree with everything WA said - i have a furminator and I NEVER use it. It can't even get into Zero's coat. It just skims the top coat. IMO nothing is better than a comb and a pin brush. Mine were expensive ($50 greyhound comb, $240 worth of chris christenson brushes) but you definitely don't have to go down that route! get yourself a comb that's comfortable to hold in your hand with the teeth not too far apart and a pin brush and that's your grooming needs covered some of us also have forced air dryers (made for drying dogs) but again, that's just one of those things to make life a little easier. Zero is a big boy and so i find blow drying him when he's blowing coat really helps to lessen the amount of time spent grooming the fluff out of him. Everyone grooms a bit differently - it all comes down to what you prefer and it might take a little bit of trial and error to find what works for you Zero is on artemis grain free kibble - keep in mind that your girl is a desexed spitz breed when you're feeding. They tend to need less food than other breeds to maintain weight. Zero is on 3/4 cup light dry food a day + training treats. He could stand to lose a couple of kilos too. Zero has been on nearly everything under the sun and I have found artemis to be the best for him - at the same time, a friend found that it didn't agree with her dog so moved them to something else. Find out what's best for your dog! Zero won't touch pedigree or science diet - but I know plenty of dogs that would scoff it down Speaking of food - i find the best training treats are soft and easily eaten. Devon/bbq chicken/cheese works a treat! There are a few really good obedience clubs in sydney. Club is great because it means that your dog is in a class with other dogs and gets some distraction training in at least once a week. They also do everything from baby puppies right through to high-level obedience and trialling. I teach at hills district training and kennel club but that's a bit of a hike for you - deerbush, sutherland or blacktown would probably be closer for you. Clubs tend to be cheaper too. Our new members pay $40 to join the club and then $4 for each week they attend training. If you don't attend, you don't pay As for collars, personally i use a flat leather collar but again, it's what your dog does best on. Neither of you is going to enjoy a walk if she's just pulling you around! A martingale is fine - i know lots of people who use them. I used to use one but I find that Z doesn't need it anymore so he has a ruthless leather collar now. Oh and join us in the sibe thread. Zero can't sled because of his back but there are plenty there who do! The siberian husky club of NSW is also a great place to get some advice on sledding - they run introduction days and have sibe meets. Really nice people too! :D

I see your puppies, and I raise you Hamish the keeshond: keeshonden make the cutest puppies

They're great Jimmay, especially for having no editing done on them! I cracked the 1.4 out today to take some shots of Rysup's new little man, Hamish

Awwwwww - you must be loving having him home Luke. He's gorgeous

I have to agree with this. I wouldn't let the puppy be rewarded from anything other than yourself for a couple of weeks (where possible) just to see if she does have any will to work with you at all. It's hard to bond with them when something else is more interesting for them than you are. That being said, if she's not the right fit for your family, she's not the right fit for your family. It's not a great situation to be in but she might be happier somewhere else.

Awesome shots - love the second one. You're rocking that camera atm.

They need at least a little bit of work - I've been so busy lately that everything was a rush job Zero has eye-boogers in most of them and looks horribly ungroomed (like a yeti!). They make me look like a horrible dog mum!!!

I'm catching up with posting my shots again - I'm still editing though. Hopefully I'll get them all up on the weekend! I should really just give up I take them, i just don't edit or post them!

I'm trying to get up to date with my photo projects atm - I have all the photos, i just haven't done anything with them. Here's an old one that is new because i just uploaded it

Gorgeous boy! Such a happy face. I love dobes. They have a way of working their way into your heart - I still miss my old girl

Awesome shots

While I've met some extremely dog aggressive dogs (my own among them), i've got to admit that they've been all over the shop breed-wise. The two dogs that have caused Zero the most trouble were a border collie (who escaped it's yard 3 times to attack Z) and a standard poodle x labrador. None of the breeds tend to get much of a comment when I say that - people tend to focus on the bull breeds and the SWFs. I find a come up against breed prejudice a whole lot more with Zero (you know, one of those wolf-dogs) than my friends with other breeds though and my parents used to come up against a lot when we had our dobe girl too. I met and photographed the most beautiful amstaff last weekend - truely the most gorgeous temprement I've ever seen in a dog. She was curious about everything but not pushy and not the least bit shy. If more people got to see an Amstaff like that, there would be a lot less breed prejudice I'm sure.

Zero and I will be there on a couple of different stands. We are spending some of the day with the Hills District Kennel and Training club stand and some of it with the Delta Therapy Dogs stand. If we're not there, you can pretty much guarantee we'll be at the sibe club stand If anyone's around, come and say hi!

Personally, I don't think I have the knowledge (not only of how to breed/raise a litter but also of the different lines) or the time to breed so I am happy to take a bitch/dog on main register with the idea of her/him going back to the breeder if they want a litter from her/him. I don't think I would do the breed justice so even if i did want to better the breed, I don't think I have the knowledge to. I would have to trust the breeder completely though and have a good friendship with them on top of that. As it is, the right puppy/breeder hasn't come up yet.

Just updating again

Sand pits are good for dogs too My dog would love a slide in the backyard. He's nuts about them! In all seriousness, you dogs will mostly likely sleep for a lot of the day. There have been a lot of days where I have gone to work and come home to Zero who was still in the same spot as when I left.

I'm a huntaway X apparently

That's my friend's gorgeous samoyed puppy, Yuki She was very sick so I took some photos of her for them. She doesn't look it in that picture though and she's feeling a lot better now :D I should go and get some new shots of her really!

Gosh. It's been such a long time since I posted in here! A few recent 50mm 1.4 shots. and Can you tell I have a massive love affair with colour right now

Zero has the 48" crate - it's HUGE. I'm about ot buy him a 42" one so it fits in the car easier

That is gorgeous!

I had an email sent to me earlier this year letting me to renew my account. It was a few months ago though!

Nope! Zero doesn't have a pose. His expressions are strange and varied The cat on the other hand has one very austere look!

Zero gets a whole lot of different treats but usually it's devon (which is called fritz or polony depending on which state you're in), cheese or bbq chicken. Some other weird things are banana, apple or broccoli but they're only when we're training at home - I think i would get laughed at if i cracked out the banana at training Essentially you want something that's going to be able to be swallowed quickly and that is going to be easy to delivered to them without you having to fiddle around with it. I find devon or cheese is the best for that but bbq chicken doesn't do too badly either.

Zero has the opportunity to sleep where ever he likes at the moment and chooses to sleep in his crate. He goes and puts himself in there whenever he is going to sleep. I'm house sitting at the moment and have a show trolley downstairs - if he wants to sleep downstairs, he will put himself in the trolley despite having the option of sleeping on the couch.