~*Shell*~

Love these two!

Well after thinking about it for a few days, I finally roped a few friends into making a late night trip to the cemetary with me for some photo taking. It was a little creepy but the results were great! The front door to a family crypt: This one would've been better if it wasn't mounted on marble! The marble makes it look grainey when it's this small: They were supposed to be dead in this but meh, it turned out well anyway - I call this photo "sexy lesbian vampires" : Mourning

I don't know how anyone does moving subjects! I was going to try doing one of my cat but the second i turned the torch on, he was too busy playing with the torch beam to let me get a shot!

Thanks Huga! Don't be - I've only been really interested in photography for about six months so everything is still sheer dumb luck. Just try different things and see what worked. For some reason, my camera's iso was on 1600 when i first started taking shots so the first ones are all grainy and it wasn't until i put them on my computer that I realised!

How big is the torch you're using in comparison to the subject? I tried using my normal maglite torch when i was doing it but it gave off too much light for me to "paint" with it. I had to use my mini maglite instead

I have the same problem with Zero whenever we walk with another dog. If Nik and I take Jedi and Zero out, they're not so much interested in eachother but both walk at the end of the leash whereas when we walk them separately, they're really good. I think it's because it's something different and we haven't (well I haven't - Jed's better than Zero but goes places with another dog more often) proofed the dogs enough and the training that I did with Zero to stop the pulling goes out the window when I'm walking 2 dogs together, although he does settle after about 10 minutes. It sucks when you're walking with someone who isn't as proficient (for lack of a better word) as you at working with the dogs (my mum is the same with Zero!) but I'm sure your mum will get there! Do Micha and Daisy settle a while into the walk or are they the same from start to finish? I don't think you need to "yank the leash as hard as you can in the opposite direction and pull her off her feet as you keep walking in that direction until she heels", in fact, IMHO, just the opposite. I got better results from Zero when I wasn't dragging him around by the neck because I wasn't frustrated and angry as I did it and Zero seemed to respond a whole lot better to me being calm about the whole thing than me forcing the issue with . There is no need for a very hard correction when a sharp "arrrr" and turning and walking will do - and if she's in full scenting mode when you do it, chances are that even if you wrench her off her feet with a correction, it won't have much of an effect because she's not in the right state of mind to learn anything. If "arrr" doesn't work and Daisy is still scenting, try a high pitched, sharper verbal correction that she hasn't heard much before to get her attention back on you, then turn and walk in the opposite direction or use the couple of seconds of focus to tell her where you want her to be. If turning in the opposite direction is a problem (I know it can be when you're walking two dogs) try stopping or slowing down. With Zero I have a "slow" command which used to mean "I'm about to turn in the opposite direction and you're going to get a correction if you don't follow me" but now it means "you're walking too far out in front, slow down and pay attention". Good luck!

I did the same lol! I ended up lighting it from the back and one with a little from the front and a lot from the back and I actually don't mind the result. I was using my maglite for them (which is red) hence the red streaks on the background: I quite like this one: And one lit from the front and the back:

Ha! I cracked out the lego tonight to have a go too... nothing as cool as that though! Mine's just a harry potter castle!

Visually sibes and mals differ quite a lot. Sibes are bred to carry a light load at a moderate speed over a long distance whereas Mals are bred to carry heavy loads so their bodies reflect that. Mals are bigger, look more powerful, are heavier boned - to me they look more bear-like than sibes who are "prettier" if that makes sense? When you stand one up next to the other, the differences are obvious. Both have double coats and will shed like there's no tomorrow while they're blowing coat. Temprement wise they're both very independent, will challenge you at every opportunity and are known for not being the most obedient of dogs. I've been told that malamutes tend to be more mellow but I'd say that certain lines of both breeds would be high energy and other lines would be low-energy (I have a low-energy sibe and he's a lot more mellow than some working-line mals I've seen). Both require a well fenced yard but sibes are probably the better escape artists because they're more maneuverable.

I'm going to do my own challenge this month on top of the painting with light challenge - my new role at work starts on the 20th so I want to capture the before and after of my promotion. I think the studios I'll be working in will look great painted with light, they're already dark!

Oooooooo - this is going to be tricky! I might not be able to get one everyday but I'm sure i'll have fun trying!

Yep - literally there are only 3 tiny (very breakable) bits of plastic holding the 50mm 1.8 together. I wanted a 1.4 (the 1.8 was given to me) so now I have an excuse to buy it What a horrible horrible shame

*sigh* I stopped to take a photo of a possum on the way to work one day and when i got up, the strap was twisted so it spun my bag around (it wasn't sealed properly) and my 50mm fell out onto the concrete. It now looks like this: Oh well - the photos I got of the possum were worth it (note: they weren't taken with the 50mm)!

Information on hips and eyes in siberian huskies: http://www.shca.org/shcahp4d.htm

Yes - PRA is present in the breed and parents should be tested for it. I have heard that there is a type of PRA found in only sibes (and humans) called XLPRA but I don't know much about it. Last I heard, it was transmitted through the XX chromosomes of the female and a test was being developed so it can be eliminated from breeding programs. While it is a recessive gene, if the dog is to get the problem chromosome, it can be affected from as early as 5 months of age.

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) First time owner (of 2 1/2 years) to a 5 year old rescued sibe. 5. What is the general temperament/personality? What huski said about the sibe vs GR personality is absolutely right - they are bred to think for themselves and to be very independent which, while perfect when they must make decisions on the fly (like when they're sledding), can be a big problem when it comes to training. My sibe is very well trained and soaks knowledge up like a sponge (10 minutes with a clicker and some treats and you can teach him anything) but getting him to obey commands when he doesn't feel like it is impossible. I have been told that all dogs can be like this but you have no idea until you have had a sibe! For example, I can ask him to sit several times and he will refuse to sit, or he'll do it grudgingly and it'll be sloppy, or he'll lie down or he'll put his butt on the ground and then get back up again. If I was to have food on me and ask him to sit, he will do it straight away - it'll be straight, he'll do it at a distance and he'll stay there until i tell him to move. In general, a sibe will not do anything for you unless there's something in it for them which can be very difficult when you don't have anything the sibe wants, when they're tired or if they're not particularly food or prey driven. This is a problem when the dog is recalling for example. I think it mostly comes down to this: Your sibe isn't not obeying you because he doesn't know what you want, your sibe isn't obeying you because he doesn't care what you want - he's too busy doing what he wants and what he wants is more exciting than anything you can offer. Zero is only interested in what Zero wants and that's very typical for a sibe. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? It depends on the individual, the weather and what lines the dog comes from. I walk with Zero for about an hour a day but he doesn't need that much. He isn't from working lines though and is quite a low-energy sibe - he's also 5 years old so doesn't . In summer we don't walk very often because it's too hot for him, but he enjoys swimming so we do that a couple of times a week instead or we wet him down and then walk for about half an hour. In winter, Zero could walk for hours and want more but if he doesn't get a walk at all, he's not particularly fussed. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? During the day, Zero mostly sleeps and when we're home, he's with us. He copes quite well on his own, but needs a lot of mental and physical stimulation and sibes as a breed are prone to becoming destructive without it. 9. How much grooming is required? Depends on how much hair you mind in your house . Sibes will generally "blow coat" once a year for males and twice a year (or after they've been in season) for females. There are exceptions to this though. While the dog is blowing coat, you will be able to pull out handfuls of dead hair (with no discomfort to the dog) all day and they would still be losing hair. When Zero is blowing coat, he gets a brush everyday, sometimes twice a day, along with a bath every couple of weeks to encourage the dead hair to fall out, when Zero is in coat and not blowing/rolling (when the hair constantly sheds but isn't coming out in clumps), he rarely gets a bath and doesn't get a "doggie" smell. I still brush him at least once a week, trim his feet, clip his nails and get the gunk out of his eyes when he needs it. As huski said, a lot of people take the "easy" way out and shave their sibes - in the worst case senario, you can kill a sibe by shaving it. Their brains are hardwired to have the coat on so if you take it off, they can't regulate their body temperature and they can easily overheat during summer. The coat keeps the heat out (the white reflects the heat in summer), as well as the warmth in. 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? Zero is fine around my nieces and nephews and has been since she was born but you really have to show them what to do with children because just the child running can over-excite the dog. I would not generally recommend them for people with young children unless they're experienced dog owners and I would not recommend them for infirm people - they're generally too much dog for anyone not completely up to their level of care. 11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of? Aside from what huski has said, because of their slow metabolisms (they're bred to run and run and not lose conditioning), sibes put on weight very easily so while not a genetic problem, it's something that a lot of people don't know. I know quite a few smaller dogs that eat twice as much as Zero.

Thanks Luke!! Oh how I wish for a dog that would do a reliable stay under distraction! Damn sibes!

I've found with headcollars, as well as them being quite dangerous to a dog that pulls, a lot of dogs (like mine) can get them off very easily. Zero worked out that if he put his head down to his neck and swiped his paw over the back of his head, he can get it off no matter how tight it is and then can pull it off his face.

You're welcome to use any of mine too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shell_shocked/

Those are great Bec! I'm not a massive fan of the boofas (though they've really been growing on me since I met Ruthless's Trixie) but your dog is just gorgeous!

Oooooo - i love this one!

Just a quick one for today - I had to suffer for my art by standing out in the rain to get it (there are more but with stupid dial-up speed internet, I can't get back onto my flickr account to get the link). The water was running off them so quickly it was hard to capture, then when it stopped raining, i realised the leaves still looked the same as when it was raining, except the water had stopped running off them! Oh well!

Gremlins

Thanks Nik - I took two shots and liked the other one better on the camera, but when it came to editing, I just didn't like it as much! Btw jr_inoz - did you have the camera on a timer? If you're doing long exposure and you press the button to take the photo, even just the vibration from you pressing it can blur the photo. I use a remote trigger for my camera, but if i forget it, i just use the timer on my camera to take the photo 2 seconds after i press the release.

Love the photos everyone! The tennis ball is great Nik! I haven't had time to take any photos for the last couple of days because I've been too busy editing a lot of the photos I took while I was in Perth: