rubiton

Kelly - our dog came up with one of her levels rated as 'a little high' in a routine blood test last June. Started on the k/d food and the tablets (Fortekor) which has been combined with her previous dry food during the day but her night meal is the k/d dry food and some 'healthy weight' low everything wet food. Vet explained for our dog at this stage it just has to be managed (and its not cheap the food and tablets) - we also have to watch how much meat such as chicken she gets as meat is protein. However he said it was an overall thing so as long as the dry food makes up a majority of her diet. SHe is also on the joint powder Joint Guard (vet said tht doesnt have an effect at all) and gets cartrophen course twice a year (again no mention of any issue there). Thats the chronic kidney disease to be managed to keep her going - she is currently nearly 12. The vet also mentioned its not all that common in dogs as compared to cats (though my family when I was young had a female Afghan who ended up with kidney problems but back then there was no treatment no special food)

Im sure there was something from the vet on their websiter that mentioned that there was issues getting Hills products imported and that they were sourcing another brand for some of the food they stock (I did notice another brand there last week of one of the science diet varieties)

There was someone like this at arspca dog walk - toward the end at least - and she just didnt get that her dog was out on the extenda lead and causing me and others serious issues trying to avoid being tripped over by her uncontrolled dog.

Our dog was a 2yo when we got her. Came housetrained and obedience trained (well the basics she didnt get to teh stage where they teach stand). You just had to reinforce a few commands such as heel (heel was pparently optional to respond to).

wow sounds like it was good expo to go to. There used to be one here that was very pet orientated when it started - went and found it fantastic for pet owners but 2-3 years later when I paid up for a small stand I found that only a handful of the crowd was there for the pet stuff and most were just parents with bored kids going to a different area for the kid stuff displays then being dragged around the pet area picking up and playing with brochures, card etc (ie making a mess and wasting those brochures etc). Even where I was I had non pet products on either side. Think it morphed later into a kids and pets expo and then tried to compete in mad march and disappeared.

YOu can take your dog into the CBD - RUndle Mall etc however they generally wont be allowed into shops. We use to take ours into the CBD every Friday night to get the photos done and she was allowed into the photo shop but it was on James Place not Rundle Mall itself. She also use to be allowed into the budget CD DVD store there too. However walking through the mall they do tend to get a bit bug eyed coz there are lots of people and things like strollers and those gocart/scooter things the elderly use to get around if they cant walk great distances. They will also hunt for possums in the eastern parklands (rymill park) and they can be off the lead but MUST be under control - obviously you want to put them back on lead well before you get back to the road.

5.6 is plenty enough to get a horse head., jockey and butt all in focus side on in dark conditions. Dogs are smaller therefore 5.6 should be enough. Or Im just really really lucky when taking pics each week when its not so sunny. I have mentioned F8 should be used on a sunny day which is plenty for DOF for a dog(that will get a 3/4 on horse all in focus in the sun) Fast shutter speed is also important as dogs move quickly even just turning the head can be enough movement to blur a pic moreso than say horses.

Dunno if you take my advice BUT please let us know what settings a photo was taken on. If its on a low shutter speed or really high ISO the photo will not be as sharp. See my prevoius post for settings that wil give you a nice sharp image in full sunlight. Focus on a spot that has contrast so point the focus sensor on a part of her coat that is both white and brown. If you have 5.6 aperture or higher depth of field will keep the rest of the dog in focus on a side on or slight angle. And hold your breath when taking the photo (serious this does help). Focus on the eye in a close up head shot but it wont matter in a wide shot as long as you have some depth of field. If the photo is being taken on something like 1.8 then you have no hope of the whole dog being in focus as the depth of field is took narrow.

Would have also suggested a call to legal aid for advice but if you are going to a solicitor then sounds like youve sourced your own legal info. If you signed something then they must have given you something back with the full agreement including payment terms (that includes the amount and when you would be paid). Just aside if they were paying you a rate wouldnt that be ore of a casual employee than a contrctor? A Contractor would be asked to supply an invoice for whatever service was provided and that would be paid according to invoice terms.

Put the ISO on 400. Put the camera on which ever auto setting lets you pick the shutter speed. Stick the shutter dpeed on 1/1000th Pan with dog dont hold the camera still - practice on cars on a busy street with the panning if you need to as dogs are smaller and move 'faster'. Try to have the sun behind you as this will help the depth of field and have more chance of getting the focus sharp. Zoom in so the focus points see the dog as the main thing in the image not the surrounds. In the posted pic the cameras sensors will say the a frame and the tunnel are filling up most of the image so will focus on that. You can set the sensor to centrepoint only but that starts to get a bit technical first up - get the exposure right first.

We came across a small wandering dog this morning in one of the parks - Im thinking oh no I dont have my phone after thinking maybe should check the collar (turned out there was no collar). Then it showed its true colours it saw us not friendly at all approached but there was enough space to go past and it had the unbroken stare at my dog. And the stiff legged walk. Im watching this dog and as we pass it is a metre away and starts growling to add to the stare and rigid pose. Then it tried to get around the back and rush my dog - quick thinking and got it with a light backwards kick in the ribs it was only then it backed off a bit further (I growled and charged it to see it off and it also ran back towards to houses away from the main road). I didnt need this dog attaching itself to mine and creating an expensive vet bill - especially her back legs. There was no id on it and there are plenty SWF living in the area. But the signs were there the unbroken stare at my dog, the stiff walk the rigid pose and the growling - all aggressive behaviours. Luckily for dogs like this my dogs reaction is to put me between her and the aggressive dog.

Small aggressive dogs - well anything that rushs in attack mode us WILL be a small football if I connect. No excuses if its aggressive I dont want to have to take my non aggressive dog to the vet due to their error. I got so sick of two out of control shih tzus a couple of years back I charged them. Seems if a small aggressive dog is charging your dog and YOU rush it they turn and run the opposite way. However your dog must be trained to stay behind you and let you deal with the problem. Well I think those Shih tzus are now walked on lead around the area instead of taken to the park and left loose to charge others. I complained to the council and mentioned to others to just do the same to get the owners educated in controlling their animals.

I remember somewhere they said to put someting that the dog can see up higher so its clearly visible to 'dog level' in the water to indicate where the steps are to get out.

My parents dog a golden retriever - they found him outside and he wouldnt get up. Would try and give up. Eventually moved to the car and to the vet and he was diagnosed with the same thing - the eyes darting back and forth were aparently a key symptom. Given medication he was kept at thevets over easter and came home later that week with a head tilt. Recovered but always had a bit of a head tilt and lived maybe 3 more years til he was 17.

At work there are often posts about the same thing dogs being fussy over food. Advice from the dog specialist is as you suggest. Put it there for only 10 minutes (since thats plenty for a dog to eat in) and take it away til the following night. Reckons it takes no more than 3 nights and the dog will eat whatever the owners wants to feed it. But the trick is to never ever just leave it there as the food has no value then (and if outside youll probably be feeding the neighbourhood pigeons/doves/etc) Likened giving the dog what it prefers to giving maccas to kids that wont eat healthier food ...... That is of course as long as the dog is healthy and nothing other than wanting the fancy stuff.

That guilt thing - people who reckon they cant comprehend guilt obviously havent had that look from a dog. The dog emerges from somewhere and is acting guilty so of course you go looking to see what the dog has done/destroyed/etc and 99 percent of the time there will be something that the dog has done that it shoudnt have.

Had our dog with us at Christmas one time. On the way back home stopped in for a while at some other relatives who have two SWF. Well I insisted that ours stay with us on the lead as I wasnt dumping her outside in a strange yard (it was suggested ours get dumped outside and their left to wander both inside then outside). The SWF were hostile but kept away til later on when one came past as a trial run then next trip lunged out of nowhere at our dog. Was too quick for me to deal with it but as it just missed and with my reaction it backed off. However what got me was the - just leave them to it they will work it out attitude. They arent kids they are dogs and if ours was to eventually be cornered and react hello one dead white dog and one set of owners saying its all our dogs fault. Therefore she stayed on the lead with us and we let her off afterwards at the nearby dog park where there were sociallised dogs (these people dont take their dogs there as someone 'in the know' told them the dogs dont need to walk as they will play with each other in the yard). I refuse to take her there again (and also insisted the OH doesnt take her there again after finding out that he took her there one warmish day and she was left outside in the yard on her own while the other dogs were kept inside inthe cool sometime before that)

This thread reminds me of the time that I had the dog in there for her cartrophan - she was 8 or 9 at the time and there was a lady who was to go in after us there with a little poodle. It was making this weird coughing/wheezing sound and the lady seemed chatty but something wasnt right. Then I saw her friend ushered into the other room with a brochure of small boxes (urns?) and she and the vet nurse were talking quietly. The lady asked about my dog and did ask to pat her but it woudl not have been a good idea for my dog who was all bouncey and excited to get close and she would have knocked over the ladys dog while charging in for a pat. The little poodle was 10 years old - I was happy to get the catrophan and get out of there as it was too sad even without asking you just knew that lady was leaving without her pet that day.

Youve put a tocuh too much contrast in. If there isnt light reflecting and the dog is looking away you often wont get 'eye glint'. There are creative ways to add it in photoshop (and probably other progrms) but the light needs to be strong enough to reflect. Aperture wont make a difference - if you had some kind of reflector to get light from the right direction that might work or just wait til the sun comes out and have your back to it.

To return for warranty repair you have to fill in the warranty card and produce the receipt at your agent (thats if you get a camera store to send it off). It has similar details on what is needed if you send it off yourself on the canon website and I think they have a form you fill in. It seems weird that she doesnt know if its being repaired under warranty when you need those docs to send off with it to Canon. Yes they honour the warranty (they kind of have to since its a warranty). I had focus issues with my 50D took two trips to Canon for it to be fixed even though they rang the second time and said they couldnt finda problem - with mine it was probably one of the many tiny plugs and leads inside and when put back together that probably rsolved the problem. It sits here gathering dust but I should sell it I guess - its not a suitable camera for the sports stuff.

DOnt worry Im supose to be having a go at taking pics over the weekend - horses I can deal with people on bikes will be interesting....... Smaller and whizz past a bit quicker.

HOrse supply stores? People use leather leads for horses and theyd be similar to a dog lead with the one clip.

Stuff for real sized dogs - I walked into a pet accesories store and evrything was for the size of a SWF and that was about it. Nothing not even bowls for a normal medium sized dog let alone the big ones. Leather feltlined collars with a single row of studs - this use to be (without the felt) a standard collar many years ago now you have to hunt for them amongst the lightweight pink and blue material ones or the multiple rows of studs for the 'butch' dogs which are everywhere out there.

The 7d is noted as being weatherproof - I however dont care and keep them covered and wiped down if they do get wet whenever possible. Lenses however generally are not weatherproofed (unless it specifically says it in the manual) and therefore you do need to make sure that they are fully extended to dry and left for a while before putting them away after being out in the rain.

redangel - first day of the horse trials I tried it out and it did keep the camera and lens nice and dry compared to me (it wasnt just showers it poured down at times) since my raincoat decided it wasnt going to work so well anymore. Second day of the horse trials I went back to the towels as you can wipe your fingers and keep them dry on a handtowel as well as drape it over the camera - it also doesnt drip water everywhere when you take it back to the car etc (or shove it in the camera bag to get a new dry one).