aquaticmalamute

Day two at the dog show....

"Ride em cowboy!"

I went to our fist show for the year and who did I come across? No other than the lovely....

"Magnus!"

Im wondering now if I should continue to do a pic (or 2) a day for the whole year. What is project 365?? Someone mentioned it, think it may have been Nicole??

That was me... Project 365 is essentially this, but the whole year. One photo a day for a year. Each photo must be taken on a new day (no cheating!!).

Mmm sounds interesting, maybe Ill just keep going, I havent cheated yet no seriously, I cant see the point in cheating, if your not up for the challenge then dont do it I reckon!! Although I have missed one day, it was when I was away I didnt take a single photo on that day which is so unlike me anyways is anyone else here doing project 365, just as a matter of interest and if so are you including the pics you have posted here as part of it??

Yep, TN mentioned it and I ooh'd and ahh'd over such a great idea, and decided to do it too I have an album on Facebook and one on Photobucket

Went out for tea and took the camera with me. This bridge is across from the pub.

Gorgeous shot JAG :rolleyes: I actually played my first pokie in that pub, put in a dollar and won $14, that, I sadly admit, has been my best winning to date

Here is my shot

"After the Storm"

"Leave me alone, it's too dang hot"

I get up this morning to let the poodles out and woah and behold the moon is sitting there laughing at me. I raced in, grabbed the camera and just clicked off 4 shots to be precise. Didn't put any thought into it at all. First one was washed out readjusted the settings a bit, lent up against the side of the house and shot. Thought they were going to be blurry as I am not very good at holding the zoom lens still. But all is good and I can now say I did it.

It's always the way isn't it? the best shots come from a spur of the moment thing Sometimes makes you wonder why you bother setting up the shot...

Anywhoo, here is my moon. First lot I took came out too orange, so had to go back and re-adjust the Kelvin setting (was at 6500k so stepped her down to 2800k)

Lens: 75-300mm old kit lens

ISO: 100

F-Stop: 6.3

Shutter Speed: 1/50

Righto JAG doesn't take me much to be convinced!

*potters outside to have a go at shooting the moon*

MTD - like they said, stunning snap of the sun setting

Phooey JAG! I am sitting here waiting for the moon to come up because I haven't gotten a decent shot all day, now you've gone and stolen my idea No matter, looks like i'll have to wake the cat up then BTW it is a beautiful pic of the moon

As you can see the back filter cap just clips onto the back of the dryer, the filter mesh slots behind that and the fixed plastic grill is behind that

The back cap comes off by holding it firmy, pull and twist. The metal mesh is just slips onto the back - I have no idea where the second filter is and have never cleaned it, the mesh filter does a good job of stopping fur from going further into the dryer. I was worried about breaking the black plastic cover when I pulled it off the first time.

I don't know what the sticker says on the nozzel attachment as I don't use it and it's stashed somewhere in the tack room, it is used for cage drying or hands free drying. I only use the hose kit for drying.

ETA: Ok I dug my nozzel out of the shed. The sticker on that is exactly the same as the one on the rear of the dryer. I'll take some photos now for you

I'll definately put some on facebook - my problem now is sifting through them all to find my favourite Which reminds me, I have to reply to your message - I have been busy busy over Christmas/New Years!

Nicole, love your shots, especailly the jet ski one, were you on land or on a boat to get that one it looks nice and close

Thanks Barb It was from the back of the boat - OH was jumping the waves made by the ocean cruiser so I got some fantastic action shots that were really close - it helps that the boat puts out one heck of a wake so OH can get some pretty serious air

I love your driving into the city shot, along with the 'pondering Tully' and the cutesie little calf. Glad you could join in on the photo challenge, it's alot of fun though I find it quite hard to be creative some days

You possibly dont have the metal screen filter? I'll duck out to the shed and see if I can get a pic for you. It's very easy to find, just unscrew the very back piece of plastic grill at the rear of the dryer and it just sits inside.

Large oceaniatic game fish generally suffer from heavy metal poisoning from things such as mercury, they have a larger body mass and thus store more of it in their bodies - Dogs fed alot of game fish are prone to Kidney problems. Fish from the Northwestern Pacific also carry Rickettsia, which fed in large amounts can kill. This is usually found in North American Salmon and Trout, not generally a problem here but if you buy tinned fish it pays to check where it was canned.

As for tinned fish I feed Australian Salmon (occasionally), mackrel, sardines and pilchards - but generally anything that is small and oily. However that said, too much oily fish can deplete vitamin E.

ETA: Forgot to say that pretty much any small/medium sized fish are fine to feed. Such as the fish I have mentioned as well as leatherjackets, barramundi, flathead, bream, Aust trout, perch, carp, cod, trumpeters, flounder, squid and prawns. Pretty much anything local is good as long as it's not an ocean gamefish

Thanks very much! So you give it to them scales and all? Just as they come?

No problem And yep, as they come stright straight from the lake. Alive ones are very much loved by my inquisitive lot too

I have never fed raw fish to mydogs, but have given them tonsof micro waved filleted speckled sea trout, redfish, and even much coveted flounder and grey snapper.

I wouldn't be giving my dogs cooked/microwaved bones of any kind. Fish bones are very soft and pliable when raw and I have never had a problem with them getting stuck, and I certinaly don't think they would do any internal piercing damage.

On a side note I wouldn't feed any large fish like Tuna/Swordfish/big game fish as they carry alot of impurities from the ocean in their flesh which has been proven to cause an array of problems in dogs.

Mine get fish that we catch. They usually get whiting, snapper and trumpeters if we decide to keep any for them - they also get the heads and guts of all the fish we catch for ourselves too.

The bones are perfectly safe for them

I've been away for the weekend so will post my photos for the 10th, 11th and 12th today

Saturday we relaxed on the lake, photo taken at Pullbah Island of a yacht on the public mooring.

Sunday we spent the day jet-skiing, playing around on the tube and fishing. Choosing a photo for this day was hard as I took over 400 shots with quite a few nice ones to pick from. My OH playing in the boat's wake

Today i'm just waiting around to go to work tonight and feeling very uninspired...

I know it's late, I didn't have time to sift through my photos for today before I went to work.

Anyhoo, without further delay, I bring to you my necklace that I bought in Hawaii (I want to go back just so I can buy another, oh and some Caramas too )

iltby - another fan of your second pic, just stunning!

Not a fantastic shot for me - I was having issues, never photographed a candle before. It came out OK though...

Todays picture is in memory of a special little staffy that passed away lastnight from a brown snake bite.

Fly free young man,

you were dear to many people,

you were taken too soon.....

Everyone's photos are just fantastic

Ooh, I like yours too TN. I love the reflections in the benchtop.

On a side note: my mum would die if she saw that photo (she has a phobia of buttons) even saying the word buttons creeps her out

Righto, i'm getting in nice and early today!

I couldn't choose between these.....

Another annoying fly picture!

PPS - he is just divine I'm headed out to my parents thismorning and will hopefully get a shot of my mare for todays pic.

Hi AM,

Thanks for your response also, just saw it after my last post, sorry.

You have definitely made me feel better, especially knowing you understand Dakota's nature as a northern breed, and yep, we know she's a working breed too, i guess i just meant we didn't imagine a bigger dog at all, unless it was another Sam, and we have already considered agility for Dakota, so this is definitely something we could do with both of them some day...never thought of the herding for Dakota, but will consider it, thanks..

That's ok, I take forever to post anyway so I don't blame you for missing it

Good to hear you are feeling better about the whole situation. I know how confusing it can be running a 'pack', I was a one dog owner for 8 years and bringing another dog into my life was very hard to get my head around. Now I just take one day at a time, read up as much as I can about pack dynamics and behaviour and try not to feel too attached to one dog. I love them both but must remind myself every day that they are dogs not little furry kids with the same emotions and thoughts as me.

Yep, I find it very hard to get good advice about my dogs as the northern breeds are very different to your average dog, lots of methods don't work as the Mals have a whole different way of communicating. Oh and I know you knew that Dakota is a working breed, it's just the way you worded it that I had a little chuckle and felt like doing this:

I like the way you treat your dogs and your rules, now I just have to learn to be tougher I guess, I wouldn't say Dakota previously had run of the house or anything, she definitely knows her place with us, but the rules have been easy to maintain with one dog, I never really thought about that side of having 2 dogs, gonna be hard work, but thanks heaps

I think it's very hard at first to detach yourself emotionally and deal with them as dogs, but it does get easier As long as you set out the basic rules you would like to use in your house and stick to them it gets kinda easy to be tough on them - be firm yet kind. Respect the dogs, let them know what you will and will not tolerate and they in turn will respect you back and be content knowing their boundaries and limitations within your house. The 'nothing in life is free' programme is great to base your household rules on

Like you I let Kodi do as she pleased but she still knew what was expected of her, I thought adding another dog would be a great idea and a farly easy process, boy was I wrong! And to think i'm thinking of adding dog number 3

Good on you for rescuing the little guy pip

In our previous experience with her meeting other dogs for 'playdates', she is very well socialised and knows how to read other dogs of all ages, but being young and excitable and possibly not the perfectly trained dog, does occasionally annoy 'not-so-playful' dogs. Even still, she is easily put in her place by them, for eg. her mum who we have visited says hello, but won't tolerate her playing, so she snarls, and that's the end of that. But, in most of her meetings with male dogs, she has seemed the dominant one to us (and we are told by Samoyed breeders, that the girls are the bosses?), for eg. if they have tried to display dominant behaviour like mounting, she hasn't ever submitted to them, but in saying that, looking back, there was one dog who she resorted to hiding from because he simply overpowered her in weight and strength, and in all honestly was a bit dopey.

This sounds like normal puppy behaviour, learning her boundaries and doggie manners. Young dogs are also prone to 'brain farts' and over step these boundaries without meaning to, a quick snap by the older dog is a reminder to pay attention Oh, I also find that some bitches throughly enjoy the attentions of a humping male (desexed bitches included)

He approached with tail between legs and head down, then proceeded to very slowly and intently bow to Dakota. We had only ever seen a fast kind of play-bow, we weren't familiar with this behaviour, the attendant explained that is was 'the greatest sign of respect amongst dogs', then they continued to sniff each other's rears, etc, he kept bowing and lowering himself to her and 'kissing' her, of course, we thought it was all very sweet, and the attendant said she loved the dynamics between them, thought they'd be a great match, etc, etc, there were occasions when he did put his head over her back and begi to mount, the attendant said this was just him letting her know he was a boy, not dominance (seemed a little unusual to us, but she was the expert, not us)??? so we went away thinking about it. We never intended on getting a 'working breed' dog, or a dog as large as a Kelpy (he's a little bit taller than Dakota and only about 3.5kgs heavier), but we talked about it with each other and some dog-experienced aquaintances, and decided, breed and size didn't really matter, only that they got along, and we committed ourselves to the exercise/mental stimulation a Kelpy needs, etc.

Sounds like he is a very sweet boy. Lowering himself and licking at Dakota's face indicates that he is submissive and letting her know that she is in charge. The play bow and paw on the back is an invitation to play. The humping could certainly be a 'boy thing' depending on how long ago he was snipped.

Oh and Dakota is a 'working breed' too Perhaps you could take them both to a herding workshop? Both dogs would benifit from being allowed to do what they were bred to do.

We only picked him up yesterday afternoon, we had Dakota with us. He jumped right in the back of our wagon, no probs, we secured them, then began the hour drive home, we were entertained on the way home, with his amazing focus on the cars zooming by, definitely nothing we are familiar with, lol, I can really imagine him atop sheep, but anyway, Dakota just lays there all relaxed like he's not even there, and he pretty much stands the entire trip.

My old girl does the same thing - will NOT sit down in the car. I find this is because of the lack of early conditioning to car rides - Kodi hardly went anywhere in the car and felt safer standing up than laying down. Now Boh who has been in the car on a bi-weekly basis since 8 weeks old is happy to sleep the trip and 'relax' Rusty watching the cars intently is probably just instinct kicking in

OK, I know it's long, I apologise, I just want to provide a lot of detail as clear as I can, is it too early to tell if he is trying to dominate over Dakota, or is this just the 'beginning'. And, what can anyone tell me about the pack idea in terms of any 'pecking order', we've had our trainer from puppy kinda tell us we are the leaders, then there is a pecking order amongst dogs, then we have also heard others (primarily Cesar Milan) say, if you are the leader, there should be no dominance amongst the dogs, they should all be equal in most circumstances.

I believe that there is the dominant bitch and dog (you and your OH) then a pecking order below that. My family pecking order is myself and my OH, Bohden then Kodi. I always make sure that Boh gets fed first and attention first.

There is another point we are afraid of, can't remember where we saw/heard this one, but if we defend the submissive dog in any way from the dominant dog, we are only creating further tension and the submissive dog will get picked on even worse?!?

You should have a set of household rules, but outside of those rules I would let the dogs sort it out as long as neither of them gets hurt. For example there is strictly no fighting, no teasing/pestering, no stealing toys/food etc in our household. If there is an argument about something petty then I let the dogs work it out themselves. You might find "The Dogs Mind" a great book to read on why dogs interact the way they do

I stress, we are not giving up as we know/have been told it takes time for a dog to settle in a new home, we also know that a dog being submissive is not a bad thing, it can still be 'happy/comfortable', but we are concerned that if Dakota does become the submissive dog, a lot of what we know as her personality may fade away? Ultimately we want what is best for both dogs, which we thought was good company, but we kind of forgot that our relationship with her might change dramatically, which is a bit scary/sad for us to contemplate.

So, any thoughts please? Also, feel free to tell me I'm thinking too much, or just that I'm a total moron?!?!

Believe me if Dakota slips to the Beta position to Rusty she won't be upset. Dogs don't think like that and i'm sure Dakota would be very happy in her new role (much less stress and responsibilites to worry about!)

When Kodi slipped to Beta to Bohden it changed absolutely nothing, she is the same dog as she always was - our relationship hasn't changed the slightest

Phew! Now for your other questions!

1) Welcome to a 'one man dog' breed. They certainly are a huge step from our independant northern breeds! Takes a little getting used to I think.

2) Resource guarding is not a dominant behavour, it is simply the dog defending his meal/toy. Bohden is a resource guarder and it's not because of dominance, he is insecure about his hard earned posession being taken away. It takes alot of patience to break them of this mindframe.

3) Ignoring him is the way to go. Don't forget that he is new to your household and is learning the rules/testing the boundaries - this will continue for quite some time yet.

4) I would say this is because he has pent up energy not dominance. Mine both start off edging in front of eachother but by the time we are heading home they have found a good pace. Don't let them walk out in front of you either, I like to keep my dogs one on each side and thier shoulders not going in front of my side.

5) Pick up all/any left over food. Don't give Rusty the opportunity to resource guard. He doesn't know that it is Dakota's food, he found it and he wants it for himself.

6) Again resource guarding and nothing to do with dominance. Boh stashes his toys under the car because he knows that Kodi can't get them there. Don't forget that it's a frame of mind and fear of his posession being taken away. You will need to work on teaching him to share (don't worry I am in the same boat )

7) Perhaps he has been mistreated by men in the past? Thus the reason he seeks out you as opposed to your OH?

8) Let them work it out. Rusty is probably still dealing with hormones if he has recently been desexed. If Dakota doesn't want to tolerate this behaviour she will certainly tell him to bugger off!