black magic

Ooooh, I wonder if that was my girl we were at one of K9 forces workshops earlier in the year :wink: Yes that was her, she is gorgeous!!! I wasn't lab bashing btw, unfortunately I just find the breed attracts people who think you can throw one into a backyard and hey presto perfect family dog, yes that may happen on the rare occasion but the other side of the coin is the seriously annoying over excited lab that jumps up, scratches you, snatches poo bags from your hand (yes it has happened to me) and eats them and is generally the annoyance of the dog park, or the lab that is so fat that it can hardly walk. :D I am sure those who own labs find this frustrating too. A working dog or a fit and well trained and polite family pet of any breed gets my vote every time. And having seen working labs on TV a few times that is stunning to watch. Thankyou for the lovely comment about my Scout. It always makes you feel good when someone thinks your dog is beautiful. I told her and she flicked her ears back and battered her eyelids in response

I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew saying I'd join this month. * goes to find and read the camera instructions*

Yay, Just bought myself a DSLR today so I think I might join in this month oh that's if I can work it out. It's on charge at the moment

Have you tried calling any of the vets in the wollongong area. I'm not sure if they do it, but it's worth a try, and not to far out of your way. Some nice dog beaches down here to

Thanks everyone

I just looked at the pictures of the camera. It says EFS 18-55 & EFS 55-250 on the lens

I have decided to buy myself a gift courtesy of Mr Rudd. Is the Canon EOS 450D a good SLR to start out with. I have found it for $1274.90 with the twin lens kit. It will be used as a hobby camera. I don't know a great deal about cameras, but love looking at beautiful photos and Im interested in learning more, I wondered if this is a good camera for that price? Cheers ETA: I got one today from JB Hi Fi at $1240 with a free bag and a discount off memory card etc It's charging now

Ooooh, I wonder if that was my girl we were at one of K9 forces workshops earlier in the year :wink:

You do realise this is a fault of individual owners? So true. I know Scout is still only young, but I have not found it hard to keep her in shape, and I'm a novice owner.

What is boring about them? Genuine question, I am going to collect my lab puppy next weekend and am very curiuos to hear your answer. Nothing in particular, the same reason I find BCs, goldies etc a bit boring, maybe it's because they are quite popular and you see them around a lot. They just don't appeal to me as a dog I would want to own and train etc. My OH wanted a BC but I wanted a lab. After getting Scout He has totally changed. He is a total lab devotee now, we will always have a lab in our lives.

I'm so sorry to have just read your sad news The photos that you posted are stunning. Ruby was such a beautiful girl. Take care

The breeder never said anything about wanting her hips xrayed when we got her, but I might give them a call and talk to them about it, they are fairly close to us and I guess would be able to point me in the direction of the best place to get them done at.

We haven't had x-ray done yet. Chiro did some treatment today, and said to keep her quiet as I can (she is crate trained so that' been helpful) he is going to re look at her in two weeks and evaluate the next step then.

I'm in Wollongong NSW

The past couple of weeks my 1yr old lab has been reluctant to get into the car (lancer so it's low to the ground) and hasn't tried to sneak up onto my bed. I was worried about her and took her to the vet. I was thinking it was her hips, but the vet said her hips appeared OK. Today I took Scout to the Chiro as I felt she just wasn't right. He checked her over, he said her hips were what you would expect of a 12mth old lab, but she has a problem with the Lumbar Sacral. He said it was pretty bad and consitant with a trauma such as falling on her back out of a car or off a verandah. We have not witnessed any accidents, so she has either done it when we were at work or the other suggestion is that it is from chasing a ball. She is ball crazy and we have tried to be careful with exercise and play, but obviously something has happened along the way. I'm unsure of how bad a problem with the lumbar sacral is and if it will be an ongoing problem, I was wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem and can shed some light on lumbar sacral problems.

Hi, I have a 1yo female lab. I've noticed lately that she is reluctant in jumping up onto our bed or up into the car (a lancer so it's fairly low to the ground) About two weeks ago OH was kneeling on the ground and he put Scouts front legs up onto his chest as he patted her. She yelped when she was on two legs. I made an appointment at the vet, the following day. They checked her out said she had good movement in her legs and elbows. Also said she has good flexibility in them to they said they couldn't find any sore spots on her. I was worried about HD, but vet wasn't concerned and said she may have had a sprain and was still worried about it hurting when she jumped. We gave her two weeks of limited exercise and today we went to the beach. As we got to the car to leave for the beach she put her front legs on the seat and tried to pull herself up rather than jumping up. At the beach she had time on lead and a little off lead as I didn't want her to have too much free running time. She doesn't look uncomfortable running or getting down from the car; it’s the getting up part that has me worried. She is fine getting up off the ground after a sleep. She got onto the lounge tonight and gave a little whine when she got up. I have also noticed she occasionally will nip at the area above her left hip (kind of like as if something is bitting her) I'm wondering if I should see a physio or chiro about it. And was hoping someone might be able to recommend one in the Wollongong area or within an hour drive of Wollongong. Thanks

Scout is my first dog and we used a crate for her. I'm really glad we did, I think it's what has helped make her happy to go into a cage when at the vets, I also have a sister who is very scared of dogs and Scout quite happily sleeps in her crate when my sister is visiting. I guess we were really lucky with her because we didn't really have to train her. She was always so happy to be in it. The morning we bought her home we set a puppy pen and the crate up together and had it either on the deck or on the grass. She slept next to it, half on it, and also in it during that first day. At night the crate went into the study which it along side our bedroom She had a soft toy that smelt like her mum and one of my old jumpers that hadn't been washed she would snuggle into them. I put her in there at night and set the alarm for toilet brakes. We didn't have any crying at all. So crate training for us was a breeze. I don't use the crate at night anymore and Scout sleeps on her foam bed. The crate is on the deck and she still goes to sleep in it during the day, When we got her home from desexing she walked straight into her crate and stayed there. It's like her special place. It doesn't worry me if people like or don't like them, I believe you do what you feel is the best for your situation. it worked for us and Scout, and I feel the benefits for us having one out weighed not having one

How cute are all the photo's. I've loved looking at them all. Here is Scout 8weeks the day she came home from the breeder the big 1yo With my OH at 9 weeks With OH at 9 mths

I'm sure you'd hear us when we got there, Scout is the quietest dog at home, but get her out with other dogs and she is a barker. (anyone at the k9 handlers workshop the other week will be able to confirm that ) I'll try and come along next week. Thanks for your help

Thanks for that. (I thought that was the case) I have been to jj Kelly park one, I joined in October but have only been able to get there once as so many things come up and 3pm is a hard timeslot to get to on a sat. I might try the SCDT as it prob is a better time. Where abouts is it?

Does anyone know of any good obedience classes in Wollongong that are held on weeknights? I find Saturday classes are really hard to get to! Thanks

How good was Rocko I'll be looking out for you both on my walks down the beach

I had a great day too. Scout slept in till 8am today Came home a different shade of colour than I left home with ;) (will take sun cream next time ) OH and I are going to go up for another lesson

Me too, Scout is my first dog and i'm sure I'm doing everything wrong I'm heading up from Wollongong too

Scout and I are going to. I'll be the one with the hypo lab! :D