Clicking Mad

thanks again everyone! Chester is definitely feeling a lot better now with just the rest ... though he's still got a noticeable limp ... will be going to see George on Wednesday

really loving this past week's photos tlc - love your lot in front of the Christmas tree ... are those doggy gifts their sitting infront of? I know my dogs presents are going to outnumber anyone elses under the tree ;) helen - awesome cover photo - I too wish to turn my 52 weeks into a book, but I still haven't gotten around to doing Chester's from last year yet I'm really bad at doing that sort of thing, especially if I want to add a story with it which I think would be nice :D evolving - I'm getting a little confused between Alera and Echo these days, Alera has grown so much, though their colouring is obviously different when they are together ... great Christmas themed shots Last week really wasn't very good doggy-wise for me ... so I tried to cheer myself up with a (-nother) happy happy shot of Jamie at the park for 50/52

thanks again for all your advice the x-rays didn't reveal anything so it's rest for a week with pain killers will let you know how he goes from there

tlc - vet agrees the anti-inflammatories should have made an improvement, she gave stronger pain meds, and I booked him in for x-rays tomorrow. She is concerned maybe a vertebrae in his neck is causing the pain. I'm unsure of chiro and bowen, will have to look into it! I don't think this is arthritis or a muscle injury, but again I will be happily corrected if this turns out to be the case ... actually not the arthritis, had enough of that with Texas! thanks again ;)

I fully appreciate your input ... this is where I am coming from ... yeh but he is resting, he's certainly not running around, sure following me from room to room when he can, but for the most part he's been in the one spot, he's been sleeping in the same spot for 8+ hours at a time on his own - I know it's not the same as a crate and he will be crated from now on Yes he was given anti-inflams on the Friday and Saturday, and I would have expected at least some improvement, but he was just the opposite - again, yes, maybe because he hasn't been in a crate ... anyway, he's got stronger pain meds, and has x-rays tomorrow, the vet today suggested it may be a problem in his vertebrae in the neck, and I tend to agree, as with the little past experience with anti-imflammatories I have seen improvement within a day if it were a soft-tissue injury regardless of being crated or not I understand that if a dog is on anti-inflammatories he/she may feel better and therefore not take to resting, rather run around because they feel better, but Chester has not had any benefit and therefore has not been engaged in any activities bar eating, and emptying, and I was even concerned he hadn't had much water compared to normal, he has been keeping well clear of any excitement, taking himself off to other rooms to rest. truly thank you all for your concern ;) I can't remember the last time I saw a macadamia nut, but an interesting tip

a week? I guess I must be a little soft on my dogs, there is no way I can watch him be in as much pain as he is for a whole week! regardless I'm booked in at 10:30 - hopefully at least give him some pain meds that will work - and x-ray tomorrow I'm guessing as it was suggested on Friday this would be the next step. I just can't see how this is going to resolve by itself with rest ... I'll happily stand corrected though

thanks for your tips as far as heat or cold pack, I wouldn't know where to put it ... I can't find the source of the pain. It seems shoulder, maybe neck or maybe somewhere else there, but I can't really tell. thanks tlc, maybe something like that, how would I be able to know though exactly? I'm just not sure, when the vet was testing his movement, he was very resistant to turning his head to the right which I think is related to his right paw lifting off the ground when he moves his head up, and the little limp, he was resistant with her moving his head up too, which kinda hints at it being his shoulder or neck I guess? and when I think about this, he has had a couple of similar incidences in the past, but no where near as severe, and he was over it in a day, I wonder if it could be an ongoing or past thing coming back? I'm glad to get this out here before I go to the vet, so I remember everything, you know how you forget to mention everything when you get into the vet clinic? the other thing too is that when I think back, I think this started earlier, and has been progressively getting worse, 'cause I remember Tues maybe Wednesday he flat out refused to sit, and he didn't want to stay on my bed at bed time, maybe a little reluctance to run at the park with Lotus, that's not that unusual, sometimes he likes to do his own thing, but there were no other signs then. Thursday he was definitely showing more signs, cried when Lotus went a little silly and made him move in a quick and unexpected way, but was otherwise moving okay. After the vet visit he seemed to really go bad, so Friday night, he started shaking, like shivering like he was cold, and that's been on and off since, I thought maybe because he wasn't moving normally he was actually cold - it hasn't exactly been summery weather here. anxious to call the vet now

yeh, eating well, he is still enthusiastic about it but in a restricted way if that makes sense, same way he's enthusiastic about greeting me, he wants to put more effort into it, but is uncomfortable, unable to

oh no! so sorry to hear this

Hi all, Chester is not looking good at all. I took him to the vet on Friday because he was a little lame and walking and moving uncomfortably. I have some anti-inflammatorys that they told me to give him, so he's had 2 nights of that, but I think he is worse than he was. He won't sit, it's obviously too painful. He stands with his head low, below his shoulders. When his head goes above his shoulder line his right front paw lifts off the ground. His tail is also low. He is shaking a little on and off. He'll stand until it's clear that we aren't going anywhere else for a while, then he'll lie down, when he gets up he gives a little cry in pain, and limps hobbles to his feet before getting going. I had to go looking for him this morning because he wasn't on any of the dog beds in or out of the house and found him lying in the grass behind the garage by the fence. He got up straight away when I turned up happy to see me, but this is Chester we're talking about, he sleeps with me! He plays rough with Lotus so I'm assuming he's got a soft-tissue injury. The vet tested his range of movement and believed there was nothing obviously restricting it - therefore no broken bones. But I'm just wondering if it was just a bruise or muscle tear why wouldn't the anti-inflammatorys be doing their job, why would it appear to be getting worse? What else could it possibly be? I'm going to get him back to the vet this morning, don't open until 10am, but just wondering if anyone can maybe shed some light, or experienced something like this? I hate to see him in such severe pain

lovely boy!!! Looks like a bit of a character too

Maizy looks great with that graffiti background I love how you got her in the tyre for a shot too

ah yup sigma edit: blah blah blah talking cr@p

Excellent!!! I meant to ask are these sigma lenses or nikkor? I love my sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens

wow! gorgeous boy! Lovely lovely photos Great tongue

tlc - I love them on the lounge all dressed up for Christmas Santa and Santa's Little Helper 49/52 - pink brick wall

wow, well deserved, awesome snake shot, congratulations

okay, I've been looking at this thread since it started ... enjoy your more positive reply "Snook", must admit you totally threw me with your new name ... and really trying to think of a way to add my little bit, as photography is a thorough obsession congratulations to all who have made such great progress and achievements really impressive!!! Initially I was thinking, well I've done nothing really, nothing like some great successes of others here, like Kirislin I just really enjoy the process of taking photos, looking for the next elusive "great shot" and for me, so often falling short of my expectations, hence why I rarely ever actually post any of my images :D And well I guess maybe if I'd had some goals at the beginning of the year I would have achieved more, or at least been able to have a benchmark of how I'd gone. I've met some wonderful dolers and done a couple of personal projects that I'm very happy with including a shot a month of my 4 pack. I would like to have learnt more about editing, I would like to have learnt more about flash photography, and I really would like to be generally more creative, for the most part I feel my photos are just an educated guess, and generally lacking emotion. Considering I began this hobby with the idea of capturing my dogs particularly in play, I haven't really progressed very much. I have recently discovered an interest in macro and landscape photography but being so early in this genre I have no idea how I'm actually going. I think a camera club would be a good place for me to go, yet struggle with work and life (work so many weekends) and a little of the personal fear of new places and people that it seems highly unlikely I will ever get around to that :D I have enjoyed a lot of my time on flickr, not sure if that's helped or hindered ... To think a little more positively, I have a very good grasp of the technicalities of photography, and know I've spent way too long in the "wide open" aperture but I just can't resist it, and realise this weakness, I love light and look at the world around me in a very different way to the way I used to, and I'm enjoying everything a lot more, even the stupid-o-clock mornings on the way to work, the sunrise from the west towards the city is just so gorgeous some mornings edit to add: I did figure out how to do this fun and very time consuming shake

I'm enjoying seeing what all you guys are coming up with

love him flat like that flying over the jump and such a cute little Santa Paws

lovely Helen ... pity she wouldn't bow for you my lame 48/52 Jamie girl this week, I am a little too ready for the end of this year, can feel a major slide coming ...

right click on the image you want in flickr, choose "view all sizes medium 640" then right click on that image choose "copy image location" come over here (I use a different window/tab) in your reply click on the "insert image" button and right click over the http and choose paste ... hopefully viola

I think it's awesome! I haven't even started going through the thousands of photos I've taken this year to narrow down a calender (or 2 or more) :D

idigadog - very cool! what a great pack

thanks :D exactly too funny! haha ... even ... can you tell who the lead singer is? :D