ellz

I hope so.....they get stolen here and I find the mangled ends in the most amazing places!

To be honest, even if she wins her class, I wouldn't withdraw her from the challenge lineup. If the judge dislikes the dog enough in the class, they will no award the class. If she has sufficient breed type to get through her class then she has every right to be in the challenge lineup. If there is more than one in the challenge lineup then at worst, the judge may not award a reserve challenge and at best, you never know, she might get it. The most important thing would be for you to ensure that the dog is groomed and presented correctly for the breed and that it is shown on a suitable lead.

Going against the grain here. If the dog is of reasonable quality but with only ONE fault, no matter whether anybody considers it to be a major fault or not, it is on Main Registration and has as much right to be in the ring as any other dog. Isn't judging about the total package and NOT fault judging? Yes, ok, the handler needs a thick skin because most judges will not award it. BUT, on the other hand, the judge on the day may just be one of those who is prepared to judge the dog as a complete package and not pick things out that aren't right. AND unless the bite is a disqualifying fault, at worst the judge may refuse the challenge and at best, they may award it. If the youngster wants to learn to handle then I say let them go for it. If the breeder doesn't care, then why should the owner? But do prepare the youngster for the fact that their beloved dog may not make the grade. Heck, when I look back at what I started with and think about what other people must have been saying about my first show dog I still cringe, but without those experiences, I wouldn't have learned as quickly and I wouldn't have learned how to handle a dog. There is nothing stated anywhere that says that handling a dog without major faults is any different or easier than handling a dog WITH faults so if you think your child has the intestinal fortitude to take the bad with the good, then bugger it, let her show her dog!

Can you message me the site please? Me too, please Me three please!

As far as I'm concerned, ANY wound that bleeds and requires sutures is serious! I'd be speaking to whomever is in charge of the department Animal Control comes under at that council (here it is Environment). The delay is inexcusable. Makes you wonder what kind of judgement call will come from it after they have done their "investigation" if the person dealing with it cannot see the seriousness of the matter immediately.

I feel your excitement! Isn't it the most amazing feeling when you finally start to "get" what is happening and your camera starts to behave in the way you imagine and then you get the buzz because it was YOU who made it behave that way!!!! Lovely shots btw!!!

But THIS year, he and I are going on a non-doggy photographic ramble!! I've got a lovely list of places for him to visit. He loves my part of the world but hasn't ever ventured "off the beaten track" here so I'm looking forward to showing him some of the more obscure locations around here as well as taking him to a couple of horse studs. He has graciously said he will allow his brain to be picked!

*gulp* Seriously though, I'll be surprised if you don't like it or can't use it. You'll find it very versatile. It CAN be a bit daunting initially so my advice is to follow every bit of documentation in the box and have a good read of the manual and user guide. Looking forward to seeing your photos!

Hey ellz Is this the one you mean http://www.topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/Olympus...00UZ-p54974.htm and if so, is the price okay?? That's a pretty good price, even with postage it is still under the $300 mark. I was chatting with Trafford (very well known dog world photographer) one night about some photos that I had taken with my camera and he asked me why I chose that camera over others. My first thought was "oh shit I've stuffed up" but he then said I'd done a good job and after he'd looked at the specs was going to buy himself one as a backup to his other gear and for quick photos when he doesn't have the other stuff at hand. I love it. For what I want, it's perfect. I posted some photos on Facebook the other day and somebody asked me what lens I'd used because he liked one of the photos. When I told him it was a high-end point and shoot his reply was "you're killing me".

I have a new Olympus SP600UZ and it's a really good camera. Point and shoot if you want it to be, but when you're a bit more confident or wanting a certain effect, you can also do a lot of adjustment to the settings. It takes 4 batteries, but doesn't chew through them terribly quickly. I convinced Dick Smith to throw a charger and extra batteries in when I purchased it so I always have a set in and a set charging now but I think since I've had it (a couple of months now) I've only changed the batteries once and I'd taken something like 1000 photos at fairly large sizes.

Kirislin: Canon 7D, 50m 1.4, 100mm macro, 70-200. Bellatrix: Canon 5D Mark II, 50mm 1.4 (and the 1.8), 24-70mm 2.8L, 100mm 2.8 Macro, Speedlite 580EX II JS: Canon 1000D, kit 18mm-55mm & 55mm-250mm, 50mm 1.8, Speedlite 580EX II SchnuzaeryBoy: Nikon D80, Nikon D700, 50 1.8, 18-50 2.8, 28-80 3.5-4, 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8, SB-400, SB-900, 1.4x TC, 2x TC Becandcharch: Canon 40D, 50mm 1.4, Speedlite 580EX II and a kit lens I dont even know what it is as I never use it! persephone :point&shootonly here Fuji finepixS8000sfd and a sony cybershot DSCN1 Ellz: P&S only here too: Olympus SP600UZ and Sony Cybershot DSC-S650

Annoy away! I'll send you my phone number!! Nope....everything is fed "as is". I never cook chicken for the dogs, rarely feed a lot of beef (other than on bones) but they get a lot of vegetables (usually raw but lots of table scraps as well) but I tend to give them rice rather than pasta. They only guesstimated the 6 in Koda. It took them literally all day to get 13 shots. They'd take one when they had time, look at it and then decide to do another. The first thing the vet said when I arrived was "you'd think with THAT much belly that it would have been easy to take a photo!" What will be, will be. All you can do is be as well prepared as possible but ready for anything else that might be thrown at you! I knew Koda was big, but no way did I expect 9. I kept shaking my head looking down at this pile of puppies, haemostats and towels in the centre of the table at the surgery and then when they were all dry I had to keep counting them to believe it was true! I'd NEVER had a litter that size in my entire dog breeding history!!!!

I already feed calcium rich foods such as eggs (with shell), chicken necks and frames and raw meaty bones, sardines and fish frames, cottage cheese, yoghurt etc so it was really just a matter of bumping up on the amount which had the effect of increasing calcium and bulk at the same time. Funnily enough, when we had Koda xrayed, they couldn't get a clear count. They took 13 shots and three of us still couldn't count them. When she was sectioned, it quickly became apparent why that was the case because the uterine horns were like a USA highway system, all over and under and in and around each other. If you can get at least a reasonably clear count, then barring uterine inertia or traffic jams, I'd say you'll be ok.

Melissa, Koda had 9 in her maiden litter. She did an amazing job. I was prepared to supplement if I needed to but it didn't turn out to be necessary. I had Animalac on hand. I prefer this to Divetelac because the milk solid content is higher and it tends to fill the puppies up for longer, enabling a longer time between feeds. I just made sure that everybody was plugged in and feeding strongly whenever I could. Noted those who tended to get a bit pushed out of the way and plugged them in whenever I could see a spare nipple and stayed with them to make sure they got a good suck. I weighed daily for the first 3 weeks and then weekly after that so I was able to stay on top of weight gain and act quickly if anybody looked like going backwards. I just upped Koda's diet to compensate with more of everything, including heaps of naturally sourced calcium products. She soared through the whole thing very easily. I did start to offer the puppies raw mince off my finger as soon as they started to show an interest in Koda's bowl, just before 3 weeks they were all turning into piranhas and looking for the meaty stuff and from then on, milk took a definite back seat with "real" food being the preference!

I'd say that Beagles aren't so much prey driven as nose driven!

I'd say not. At least a) she had the sense to return the dog to the breeder and b) the breeder was reputable enough to take it back. I wonder if because of how she has seen other people treated when things have gone pear-shaped, she was too embarrassed to come in and tell us what happened?

Interestingly, the young adult dog that she had taken on from the breeder was (I think) readvertised on the mature dog pages again by the breeder not long after she took it.

Just this past weekend, we were at a local park where there are obedience lessons held and where there is a dog show once per year but the rest of the time, it's a free for all with dogs allowed offlead and a caravan park nearby. A couple of youngish people had a tiny Stafford puppy, would have been lucky if it were 6 weeks old, it was still at the wobbly, chubby bubby (Teletubby as I call it) stage and SHOULD have been home in the warmth or better still, back with its mum. I was going to go and suggest to them that they probably shouldn't be allowing it to run around on the park the way they were but Mr Ellz stopped me. As he pointed out a) it was their business not mine b) it probably wouldn't make a jot of difference to them c) I'd probably cop a mouthful of abuse for my pain. I really did feel bad for not warning them of the dangers at least, but at the end of the day, Mr Ellz is right and it IS none of my business what other people do with their puppies. All I can do is work with my own puppy people and hope that makes a difference.

I have to confess that of more recent times, I've simply given up and am probably not as "forthcoming" with puppy people as I have been in the past. I'm just completely OVER getting phone calls for puppies, or being stopped in the street when walking my dogs and being told in one breath how gorgeous my dogs are and then in the other, being asked how much I sell them for.....and then being told "oh but I can get one out of the paper/from my uncle/from a friend of a friend/from the pound for a fraction of that price". OK, so do it then but don't come crying to me to fix your problems when you realise you've made a big mistake.

It annoys the hell out of me that you need witnesses to prove what happened. Surely the evidence is enough? Hugs to you and poor battered Bernard Nat.

Yes. Greyhounds tend to chase fast moving creatures. It's just what they do. My house cats are safe from my Greyhound UNLESS they are running in a paddock and then it is a quick scramble to get Fang on a lead. Possums/bunnies etc are NOT safe here as a rule because if you see them, they're running and then they become fair game.

Ebay USA! :D

Hmmmm...what am I doing wrong? My dog lets ME sleep in HIS bed.....at least that's how it feels most nights!

Not necessarily although this can be the case. Whilst I would say that many/most breeders whelp their puppies inside, there are a large number of those who then remove the puppies from the home environment into a kennel environment as soon as they can, meaning that they miss out on a lot of the subtle early cues to toilet training that a breeder can give the little ones. Dogs in kennels tend to be less choosy about where they toilet. You do get some who like to toilet in the same area instinctively of course, but most will just go where they happen to be at the time and I have found that puppies from kennel settings, whose parents are kennel dogs, whose parents are kennel dogs (etc) are very much the same no matter how they are reared.

Free play also stimulates them mentally and gets the adrenalin going so they take longer to wind down when free playtime is over.