tdierikx

Thanks Roova... I'm glad you are enjoying viewing my photos as much as I'm enjoying taking them... *grin* T.

I had a look at your Flickr photos Alkhe... why don't you post the pretty Cotton-Top Tamarin photo? It's lovely! T.

The Cotton-Top Tamarins always photograph very nicely - when they sit still for 5 seconds... lol! Busy little tykes they are... ... and yes - I get in free at Symbio... but I always give them a usb stick full of photos to use in any way they see fit every time I visit. It's my way of giving something back for all of their amazing work to provide a place that is just so nice to visit. T.

Here are Sunday's Taronga photos... 27-10-2013-taronga 062 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 562 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 593 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 627 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 767 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 087 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 808 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 1074 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 116 by tdierikx, on Flickr ... and I've saved my best for last... 27-10-2013-taronga 858-dixie2 by tdierikx, on Flickr I'm absolutely chuffed at how Dixie the Whistling Kite came out - tracking a bird zooming about with 2kg of camera handheld is hard work! More photos here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ T.

Some more recent photos from Symbio... 16-10-2013-symbio 063 by tdierikx, on Flickr 16-10-2013-symbio 251 by tdierikx, on Flickr 16-10-2013-symbio 459 by tdierikx, on Flickr 19-10-2013-symbio 035 by tdierikx, on Flickr 19-10-2013-symbio 162 by tdierikx, on Flickr 19-10-2013-symbio 717 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 275 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 544 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 634 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-10-2013-symbio 565 by tdierikx, on Flickr You can see more at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/ T.

Yes - we've had a couple - but it's pretty rare... unfortunately. In most bitches that have been desexed, you can feel the scar tissue under the skin if you know what you are looking for - but a caesar scar feels pretty much exactly the same, so you can't be 100% sure until you open them up for a quick look. As for males with nothing in their sacs - we've had a few that were simply undescended... and still can make babies. If we are not completely sure we will get the vet to have a really good feel around, and occasionally will get an ultrasound to see if there is actually something that needs removing. T.

It's amazing how many calls our rescue gets on Christmas Eve wanting a last minute gift for their kid... *sigh* We just advise that we are all sold out and leave it at that. T.

Try being the only one there when 2 nearly 30kg dogs decide to go at it to the death... trust me, the wheelbarrow does work to minimise the damage being done by the aggressor... and if you get the back legs up high enough, there is virtually no chance of the dog biting you before you can throw it as far from you as you can.... There is no way on this planet I'm going anywhere near the bitey bits to stop a dog fight - I've gotten used to having 10 fingers that all work properly. T.

I tend to tell the vets NOT to tattoo after a desex - some can be a bit heavy handed and that makes it's own set of issues that I don't want to deal with... none of my dogs are tattooed, even though they are definitely desexed... *grin* An ultrasound may show the existence (or not) of a uterus - but even better would be the previous owner giving you the name or number of the vet they used for her, then contact them and ask if they have a record of the dog being speyed... the best would be a desex certificate from either the old owner or reprinted from their vet clinic. T.

Very nice!! I think you've done just fine with your first zoo outing - that tiger pic is to die for! It's not always easy to get good zoo pics if you don't visit often and have no real idea of which animals are likely to be doing something at what times. I'm sure you have a lot of really nice photos - but like a lot of us, you might be your own worst critic... *grin* Yesterday, I was going through my most recent Taronga pics, and even though there are lots of good photos (practice increases the odds), there is one photo that I actually squealed at when I saw it on the big computer screen - out of just over 1000 photos taken on the day... I've been tryng to get a decently focused shot of the Whistling Kite (her name is Dixie) in flight at the Bird Show for a couple of months - only coming close a couple of times - but on Sunday I think I finally nailed it. I've taken probably around 500 photos of this bird over the past couple of months before I got this one that I really like. It definitely helped that I have a good idea of her flight patterns and speed by now... lol! 27-10-2013-taronga 858-dixie2 by tdierikx, on Flickr Original photo was 5184x3456 pixels - and I had to crop to 3032x1839 to get the end result - but there has been very little adjustment (a bit of contrast applied) otherwise. T.

The most important thing to remember is that the back end of the dog has no teeth... if you are going to pysically intervene (not recommended) - grab the back legs and make like the dog is a wheelbarrow. It's almost impossible for you to get bitten by a dog in the wheelbarrow position - and it reduces the leverage the dog has to keep fighting with another. As others have mentioned though, prevention of anything happening is always going to be much better than having to stop something that has already started. T.

Hahaha!!! That is completely hysterical... T.

Ummm... still waiting patiently to see some of your Zoo photos... T.

Feather will come around eventually - maybe when Neko is a little less "crazy puppy"... lol! My Zeddy is the same now with naughty pups - growly and a little snappy if they jump on her once too often. They learn pretty quickly who they can bother endlessly, and who they can't... I told you that pups heal really quickly. This may sound bad, but if it's not going to kill them or I can't stop the bleeding, I don't tend to worry much about puppy bumps and scrapes - dog knows, I've had enough of them through here over the past few years - and none of them ended up with any lasting scars (mental or physical)... *grin* I must say though, I was a complete wreck when I had to leave both Harper and Pickles at the vets (separately) for their desex ops... kept ringing the clinic to see if they were coping or being good for the staff, etc... I was a complete PITA methinks... errr! Do you think my forwarded cuddles and kisses are helping Neko's healing process? If so, please pass on another set - 3rd time's the charm... hehe! T.

Elijah will repay her kind deed with many years of love and licks... lucky Elijah! T.

Was Koda the one that had a rocky start jennabub? He was a little fighter, and I'm sure he knew exactly how much he was loved and treasured. Remember the fun and cheeky times with a smile, OK? T.

She must be thrilled to have 3 foster siblings with similar energy levels to her own to play with... She is looking gorgeous - lovely sleek and shiny, and a cheeky little glint in her eye... *grin* T.

Puppies feel no pain if there are any distractions to investigate, or any fun to be had - and they heal very fast... don't worry too much, OK? Feather has laid down rule number 1 - don't mess with Feather... lol! There will most likely be other rules she will be taught by the other dogs, some will be more forceful than others, but puppies are very rarely badly damaged in the process, even though they may scream like they've lost a limb sometimes and look for sympathy from the first sucker to come along (that would be us humans). First rule of puppy ownership is that if they aren't too bothered by an owwie, then we shouldn't be either - if you are worried about her re-opening her wound, get a little bit of vetwrap on it to keep it together while she runs about like a loon. If she will stay still for a minute, please give her another kiss and cuddle from me... *grin* T.

She so looks like she's going to play that owwie for all it's worth too... lol! Is she treating Feather with any more respect now? T.

Another new star in the heavens to shine down his love on all... Run free and healthy sweet Koda. T.

Neko has just learned her very first lesson about older dogs... with only a small owwie to show for it. I bet she will be more careful around poor old Feather from now on... Please give the little one a get well soon kiss and cuddle from me... T.

Because in most cases, the longer you leave it, the more chances for an accidental pregnancy to happen - complacency about a bitch in heat is probably one of the largest factors contributing to accidental pregnancies. Obviously not an issue if you are fine with making sure the bitch doesn't have the chance to be got at by a male - and knowing the signs that she is coming into season, etc... Then there is the mess aspect... lots of people have a hard time coping with that as well... T.

I'm sure her off switch is activated after a good romp with her new foster siblings who have similar energy levels to hers, yes? I'm sure after a few days at your place, she'll come out of her shell a lot more with regards to timidity... can't play coy at treat time, or you miss out, right? She's had a lot of changes recently - it is quite normal to be a little unsure for a little while - but under your care I'm sure she will really flourish. T.

I refused to talk about any settlement of property (house, etc) with my ex until he signed over the dog he'd left with me. He still got more than he should have in the property settlement, but I got the dog... T.

These are all great questions to ask the vet that you are considering using to have your dog desexed... From my experience though - after having many (read over 100) rescue foster pups desexed young, and a number of my own dogs done at more mature ages - most dogs don't have any issues with the surgery, nor do they have any of the issues afterwards you are worried about. I have noticed that the younger the dog, the easier it takes the surgery - ie. young puppies (under 12 weeks) don't even seem to notice that they have had surgery at all, and are running about and playing as normal the next day - older dogs may be a little uncomfortable for the first day or two, but soon recover just fine. May I also dispel the myth that dogs will get fat after being desexed... if you feed and exercise your dog to the weight and body style that you prefer, no dog will get fat - desexed or not. I have 4 lovely lean desexed bitches here ranging in age from 14 years down to 12 months old. Only 1 of my dogs had some complications after being desexed - she had a reaction to the internal stitches which caused a lovely big fluid bubble. We drained it twice over the next week, and she was fine after that - she was already on antibiotics after the surgery, so we let them do their job to make sure the reaction didn't get infected (no nasties in the fluid when we checked it). Within a week, the fluid stopped building up, and she healed normally after that. At no point were I or the vet overly concerned about the "problem" as presented. She was 3 years old when desexed and had had a litter previously. One thing I ALWAYS insist on before any of my dogs has internal surgery is a "scrape test" - this is a cheap and easy test to check clotting speed in the dog. They will make a small scrape with a sharp instrument inside the dog's cheek, and time how long before it stops bleeding. If it takes longer than it should (usually under 1 minute), the vet then uses an anaesthetic combined with a clotting agent when performing the surgery to make sure the dog doesn't bleed more than it should... easy peasy! If you are considering doing agility work with your dog, I'd say to get her desexed once she has physically matured and finished growing - purely because there IS enough anecdotal evidence that early desexing can result in a leggier dog - which obvioulsy isn't ideal for agility training and the stresses it can put on the joints. If you are not going to do high activity sports with your dog, this will be much less of an issue, and I'd get her done about 6-8 weeks after her first season. T.