~*Shell*~

Thanks Shell, There isn't really a good reason why I was not happy taking them. I suppose I just haven't really even camped myself before and the logistics of taking 3 kids and 2 dogs seemed a little overwhelming. I will consider taking them with me or not go at all I think. As long as they get a good walk they do tend to sleep all day anyway. I could take their crates to make sure they are safe. Mya is a bit of an escape artist so we would have to make sure she was either tethered or crated but I guess that is ok. I'm such a worry wort :D Any tips for happy camping with dogs? It is a bit overwhelming to take so much with you but I wouldn't camp without Zero now. When I first got him he would run off at any opportunity but now he has a "hang around" command (it's only taken me 3 years to teach!) which means he's allowed to do whatever but if he is in my general area, he gets rewarded for it. I don't have many tips for happy camping with dogs - Zero is easy to take anywhere! When we camp, we go waterskiing and Zero loves to come on the boat with us. By the time we've been out in the morning, he's usually tired enough that all he wants to do is sleep so i tether him in an area with a lot of shade, a big water bucket and his toys and he pretty much just sleeps for the rest of the day until dinner. Make sure you check for ticks though and put tick collars on them - when we're camping at night, I will line brush Zero while we're sitting around so I know he doesn't have any on him. I also crate him at night which he's totally fine with. He usually goes in there by himself. If you're worried about it and can't find someone to spend some time with your dogs over those 3 days it might be a better idea not to go.

I would suggest not boarding Mya while she's still settling in, especially if she's having a couple of problems with Jenna - do you know someone who could come around and feed/play with your dogs for those 3 days? Or someone who could babysit them for a few days? A boarding kennel is different from a pound and I've found Zero coped very well with the boarding kennel where he just shut down in the pound. Is there a reason you don't want to take them with you? I have camped with Zero before and it was great!

I'd be happy for that easter bunny to visit me next weekend!!

I'll be going on thursday 1st for the lappies - I'm not competing though!

That's my thoughts exactly - even with the 450d I wouldn't go over ISO 200 because I hate the amount of noise the camera produces at that level. I'm looking at getting a 7D in the near future and even then I wouldn't shoot at a wedding as the main photographer. Some things you just can't stuff up and wedding photography is one of them! I have a speedlite (the 580EX II) and by then i will have a few good lenses that will hopefully get some good shots but if I was to compare my equipment to someone like Ashanali or kja, I would get laughed at!

I agree with kja! I have made a bit of money from my photography (i've had to get an ABN because of it) but i by no means consider myself a professional. My equipment is mostly amateur and I would never claim to be a professional photographer - I'm just not good enough to have that title, though it would be nice one day I regularly get asked to be the paid photographer at different events (weddings, conferences, baby showers and christenings etc) but turn them down. i tell people I'm happy to bring my camera with me and get some shots but if they want good photography, to hire a professional. I got asked to do a wedding a couple of weeks ago (later on in the year) by some friends with next to no budget for their wedding. I turned them down (saying they should get a professional) but told them I would bring my camera with me - they then asked another friend who has only just bought an SLR who is going to be their "professional" photographer. They are going to pay their other friend to shoot and their friend only has a canon 1000d camera with the kit lenses - they still shoot on auto and don't understand aperture, iso or shutter speed That friend is now having a business card made up so they look more professional at the wedding and then they're planning on handing cards out to get more business. I just wouldn't feel right accepting money as a professional when i didn't have the skills or the equipment to back it up - things like weddings are "once" events and I wouldn't want to upset people with sub-standard photography. Apparently that's not a feeling that's shared by a lot of people.

When a girl I knew wanted to breed her dog with a different breed (she has a poodle x and was going to breed it with a spaniel x) i found the ugliest photo I could of what the puppy could look like. It turned her off breeding her dog right away. I told her with hideous puppies like that, she'll never be able to sell them and won't make any money (her main draw card was cute puppies and money). Then she'll end up with like 6 dogs who would probably have genetic issues who she would have to pay to have desexed because they will breed together and she'll end up with a bunch of inbred, sick dogs who will cost her an insane amount of $$. Not the best education in the world but she's not the kind of person who will listen to the "intelligent" facts - she ended up having her poodle x desexed because of it

Is that a recent incident? I didn't hear about it. One happened at a local dog park here too - a large mix breed dog was playing with other large dogs and a 4 month old toy poodle x got caught in the middle. The mix breed grabbed it by the neck and killed it. There was no growling or posturing, it was done in play but it only took a few seconds of the owners not watching. The puppy was in the park with it's 17 year old (first time) owner who was on her phone at the time and who didn't realise what was happening. Sadly, the mixed breed belonged to a girl I worked with (I was working with Zero outside the fenced off-leash area and saw it happen). They were threatened with legal action and had to pay for the price of the puppy (which of course, the owners said they spent $3000 for a pedigree "moodle") - their dog ended up with a dangerous dog order out on it which they contested and eventually had lifted. I don't let Zero play with strange dogs - he's not the biggest "playing" dog but he now does enjoy playing occasionally. He has about 10 dogs that I'll allow him to play with and all of them, I trust him to be off leash around. I don't encourage him or push him to play but I also don't stop it if the mood strikes him with those dogs. It usually only happens for a few seconds.

Having rescued an adult siberian, I know they're not the easiest dog to get to know. The things you don't like about the sibe you're looking after honeybear are part of owning a sibe - he will definitely know his owner when they return and it wouldn't surprise me if the owner gets a huge bouncy hello from the dog. I know with my sibe, I get one every afternoon because he is bonded to me (and vise versa!). Sibes choose their people - unlike other breeds, they don't feel the need to have a connection with everyone and you can't push them to be your friend. You either are or you aren't. It is not all sibes that you cannot let off leash - Zero and i train all the time with him off leash at a local park. He's about to start competing in obedience so we're training off leash the majority of the time. That being said, it's about how you go about training it. It's taken 3 years of training with Zero and even then, sometimes he will give me a look that is pretty much the equivalent of him giving me the finger - those are the days I know I'm not letting him off lead. I also don't just let him go for a run at the park - off leash time is strictly controlled when I know he will come back when called. Their breed traits are what makes them special and they are so very very worth it - after having Zero, I don't think I could ever be without a sibe. The work you put into them comes back to you 10 fold.

I don't know what I'm doing that night yet but I wanted to go if I could. Somehow I doubt I'll win

Belgian Shepherd? With burrs, i use a comb or a slicker and just separate the hair from the burr, one bit at a time. For general grooming I would use the same idea except I would change to a good quality pin brush. I've just discovered the joys of Chris Christenson pin brushes. Zero actually likes being brushed now!

Thanks! It was only 3 years in the making and took 50 odd remote trigger shots to get one I liked Good luck with the photo 5 shot!!

He really is gorgeous! And no, i don't think it would be possible to get bored of photos of him!

I love that Charch is just chillin' next to you while you're being mauled They're great photos - when you're always the one behind the camera, it's so hard to get good shots of you with your dogs!

Me: On-air promotions coordinator for one of the channels on foxtel. Zero: He's the Hansel to Micha's Zoolander. Or the fun police. Or a dole bludger.

So....as somebody who might be looking to purchase a particular breed of puppy, what kinds of things would you like to see on a breeder's website? I would like to see information on the dogs you own, not just all the show information but if they do other dog sports as well, something about their personalities and a bit of a backstory about them. I've found a lot of the time (I've reseached quite a few breeds lately and looked at a lot of breeders websites) all the show information is given but when it comes to personality, some of the time it's non-existant and what endears a dog to you more than some funny stories about silly things they've done! I'd like to see some breed health information (like tests that should be done prior to breeding), maybe a little bit about why the breeder chooses to breed a certain breed and information about breed traits. Dogs like sibes for example need a certain kind of owner - they are independent, aloof and think for themselves all the time but after seeing movies like snow dogs and 8 below, a lot of people think they're a border collie in a wolf's body - I'd love to see that kind of information on a breeder's site, telling people that they're definitely not for everyone. The same can be said for any breed I can think of - they all have their quirks! Things like the grooming needs of the breed and maybe a bit of information about other upkeep information too - is the breed prone to eye problems, ear infections, grass seeds etc - hopefully any perspective puppy buyers will take the time to read the information you give! What would turn you off a breeder immediately? Websites with music on them or websites with moving backgrounds! Nothing annoys me more! I know a couple of breeders sites that play a sound effect when you log on, i have no problems with that but those shitty wav files that people put on them hurt me. That and someone who doesn't seem to know their dogs past "They're a multiple best in group winner" or who doesn't health test - I would hope someone who is breeding from the dog would want to produce the best puppies possible to improve the breed! What would make you feel you have found "the one"? I don't think you can get that through a website but having easily accessable contact information, being open and honest on your website and letting people know that you're not just interested in selling them a puppy (saying that you're happy to talk about your dogs anytime!) is probably a good start!

You can do pretty much anything in photoshop. Usually with that, I would take the background and use a gaussian blur on it so instead of seeing the stuff in the background, you just see a blur of colours like you would if you were to use a prime lens to take the photo. Then if the colours were too overpowering, I'd desaturate them a little - 2 very easy things to do in photoshop. If I get around to setting my computer up again tonight (i've had windows reinstalled this week) I can show you what I mean if you like.

As far as I know, there is no program which as quite worked out how to do it. I've seen several tutorials online which look like they make the eye look 100% better but when you try them on your own photos, they don't work as well. Most of the photoshopped eyes I've seen where the dog has had glowing green eyes before have looked like the dog has cartoon eyes once they've been "fixed".

My photo from last week is still sitting on my camera. My PC started dying last week so I had to back it all up and reinstall windows. Note to self: buy a mac.

Artemis maximal grain free Zero used to get horrible ear infections because he's allergic to wheat and has narrow ear canals from untreated ear infections (his old owners) but he hasn't had one since we moved him onto artemis.

Ditto. There are 3 people who have worked my dog - me, terranik and one of the other instructors at my club (i'm a trainee instructor). I trust Nik and the other instructor and they know how I train. I wouldn't hand him over to someone I didn't trust. I haven't seen anyone who instructs at my club ever doing anything to hurt a dog but we're a purely positive club. That being said, there was a guy in one of the highest classes who would routinely hit his dog for barking and for aggressing at another dog When all the dog sees is aggression from the handler, what should the dog be expected to react with? I haven't seen him there in a long time though. I do however see a lot of trainers try to take on problems that should be immediately referred to a behaviourist - usually they just make the problem worse. Luckily I know a fantastic behaviourist!

Personally, I would be telling him to hand the dog over to you and that he has to cut all ties from the dog if that's the way he's going to be. I know you have to think about Charlie so it's not an option but I would put it out there anyway. If he truely cares about the dog, he will ask someone else. What happens if the dog needs other surgery? If you pay for this one, he'll just ask you again.

I'd say you've probably killed it. Have you thought of a second hand camera? You could probably pick up a 400d or 450d from somewhere for not very much. I know you can get a 40d for about $800 second hand at the moment if you want to upgrade or you can get the 450d for quite a lot less than that.

Congratulations!!! fingers and paws crossed!

You would have to keep in mind that the quarantine laws apply but if you are not planning on showing the dog or breeding from it, you don't need an export pedigree as far as I know.