~*Shell*~

I'll definitely be there tomorrow with Zero in tow (his crate is in my car and ready to go!) - i feel so much better than i did this morning! I got out of bed, got a headspin and got back into bed again. Not the best day to want to be in bed though - it was too hot and humid! I got up at about 11 and did some work, went to see Terranik's new puppy (gorgeous!) and then came home and went back to bed. My stepsister was going to go instead of me because she was on her way to bathurst anyway but noone came to the gate when she rang - then again, she could have totally had the wrong house and apparently she did get there at about 9:45 or 10 so you all would have been busy learning! It didn't matter anyway - she probably wouldn't have stayed the whole day! Thanks for the notes - it won't matter if they're in gibberish, i'm great at translating it! I'm sure everyone will fill me in tomorrow if there's something i don't understand!

Hey guys! What did I miss today? I woke up this morning and couldn't physically get out of bed so couldn't make it! I'm feeling a bit better now so I'm going to try and aim to get there tomorrow morning (I'll be the one whacked out on cold and flu medication!) with Zero but I'll be so far behind you all! If anyone could give me any notes they've made from today that would be a big help! I'm going to try and catch it all up tomorrow but I don't like my chances!

The weather channel is predicting a risk of storms tomorrow afternoon and then a few showers and a risk of more storms on sunday. Both days will be warm, max 27 degrees tomorrow and max 23 degrees on sunday. I'll be bringing wet weather gear for both Zero and I though. Good thing he's not afraid of thunder - it just lulls him to sleep!

I'm thinking of making a cover for Zero's crate (can't find one to fit a 48 inch crate - and some of the ones I've found to fit a smaller crate are ugly!) - has anyone made one or know where i can find a pattern to make one?

I went to see Steve (k9 Force) about Zero's dog aggression and he's practically cured it. Zero still has a few little things to work out but he can now be walked everywhere, taken to obedience training, have aggressive dogs around him and even play without having a go at another dog. I can't say enough about how good an experience it was for me (and Zero). I wouldn't be worrying about the stress that's placed on your dog. The exercises we were given didn't stress Zero out at all and i found that i stopped stressing which calmed Zero down further. Besides, even if they put your girl under a little stress now, imagine how much stress she's going through now being fearful and weigh that up against the stress that you believe she'll be under for a couple of months while she's reteaching herself how to relate to the world.

I'm not allergic to anything, but i know my dog is. If you want something colour, flavour and preservative free (Zero's allergic to certain types of all three) then I would suggest trying natures gift or pedigree naturals (make sure it is the naturals though - normal pedigree is worse than the naturals and has in the past contained colours, flavours and preservatives). I would recommend trying natures gift first. Zero prefers the naturals (when he's been sick and the vet has suggested it, he has had tinned food) and gets a funny look on his face after eating natures gift (it can be quite dry if you leave it in the fridge overnight).

Run free gorgeous boy.

Mine does too. I don't know if they'll accept a titre test as I know many don't.

Sure! Who wants to sit next to the husky? He's just like a big teddy bear who tries to lick your brain through your ears, eyes, nose and mouth all the one time! It's really a lot nicer than it sounds! Oh, you'll have to dodge the crate as well. Maybe i'd be best going on my own, besides I'm going to try and vote that morning (get there at 8, out by 8:10 and out at K9 force by 9 hopefully). I don't have time to go and vote this week because i'm swamped with work and I'll be working long hours. *sigh*

I hope it doesn't rain! I have no problem with it but Zero feels the need to get as wet as he can and then get back in the car. Luckily huskies don't get wet dog smell but the back seat of my car doesn't need to get wet yet again.

No advice but just wanted to say *sob* Saki's growing up!

Run free Kai

I wouldn't suggest using it on a puppy, but Zero and i use a prong collar so he gives himself a correction when he pulls. He's totally stopped pulling on walks and will even do a "heel" now without the prong collar on. He's also better mannered around other dogs and for the most part, his attention is on me on walks. Personally, i turned in the other direction and walked the other way when Zero pulled on the leash. He would pull, i would give him the command "slow" and then i would turn in the opposite direction. when he would run out in front of me and when he was nearly at the end of the leash, i would give the command, and turn in the opposite direction. When he reached the end of the leash, he would recieve a correction without me having to do anything and he soon learned that where i went, he had to follow. He also learned that "slow" meant that he was to slow down and watch what i was doing (i didn't teach him this, he kind of picked it up on his own). Now i don't even have to give the command, i just turn around, he notices and follows. If we're out walking and he sees another dog, i now use the "slow" command to turn his attention back to me and if he's walking a little in front of me and i say slow, his face turns on the side and he looks back at me and slows down how fast he's walking. I had great results doing this but I'm sure there are a lot of methods for teaching a dog to walk on a loose leash that work just as well.

Yay! Not long at all! Do we know what we need to bring yet? I'm assuming for sunday i need Zero and his crate (bit of a squeeze to fit it into my tiny corolla!) but is that it?

I'm buying a hydrobath in the next couple of months - Zero refuses to get into the bath since he slipped in there and he's too big to lift in. I tried the shower, but he panics a bit so it's hard and he's frightened so i don't like doing it. For the moment, i'm taking him to the groomer and hopefully will book him in this week because he's starting to smell like wet dog even when he's not wet.

Sounds very like what Zero does when he's depressed. A few trips to the dog park, a couple of long walks and some play time usually fixes him right up though. Then again, he's never had a second dog in the house so I can't offer advice about the death of your other dog and any related depression. Maybe things have just changed too quickly for your girl and she's having trouble coping. Personally, i would be seeking a second opinion vet wise - just in case.

Run free Satu. Rest in peace beautiful girl.

All i can say is typical male! It's fine when it's the equivalent of a hysterectomy, but when it's castration, it becomes a big big problem!

I think it depends on how much she's broken off. If she's exposed the root, then i'd say she'll have to have it removed unless it can be capped, and even then it may not be worth the expense if she'll be fine without it. Here's hoping she makes a speedy recovery and that it doesn't cause much pain!

Has anyone else found that their husky goes into "work mode" when they're doing training? Zero gets this look on his face and becomes very focused on what he's doing so he picks things up very quickly. Getting him to try and do those things when he's not in work mode is a completely different story though! When we're working he'll do the same move over and over (he almost gets commands drilled into him) so we're able to perfect it but try to get him to do it once when he's doing his own thing and it's next to impossible unless i have his attention (or a treat!).

Zero used to be dog aggressive so he was always focused on the other dogs and never on me. Now he wants to play with them so he's focused on the other dogs and never on me (unless i have food - in which case it's hard to get him to leave me alone). Ignore the trainer - work out what works for you and your dog and stick to it. Make sure that your commands are big and loud and have a visual command with it (that's helped Zero out so much!) and make your dog aware (once they've learnt the command) that there are consequences for not obeying. For example, if we're on a walk and stop at the curb, i give Zero the sit command. If he doesn't do it, he gets a small correction with his leash (a little tug to let him know i'm serious) and if he doesn't do it, he gets a bigger one (he wears a prong collar though atm, but i've found it now translates to a flat collar and he never needs a first correction anymore, let alone a second one). Usually it just takes an "arrrrrgh" sound to get him to listen to me when we're on a walk. I also use "leave it" if he's lagging behind and distracted. Find a club that works for you! I was going to go to one club and a friend told me that they worked under the idea that spitz breeds in general were untrainable so didn't bother to try with them. Our new club has a couple of spitzes and some DOLers too so i'm very happy.

Zero is very very trainable! Sibes are extremely intelligent! Getting him to listen to me when there's something more interesting around is a completely different story though! Zero is "my" first dog - i was too young to have a hand in the only other dog i've had - and he certainly has been a learning curve! This week he's learnt the proper "heel" position (and to sit and drop in heel), "wave", "touch" and "up" - still trying to teach him "roll over". And that's only this week (since monday!). I use a lot of treats to get him to do it though. He works for kibble at home, but at training he got sick of store bought treats last week so i'm going to have to up it to something a little more worthwhile this week (cabanossi and bbq chicken!) to hold his attention with other dogs around!

Thanks everyone! i think i'll start by getting the 70-300 and the 18-55 and if i use it enough and want to do more i'll get another lens later! That explanation was really good Tess - i think i understand but i'm sure that i'll have to play around with the lenses to fully understand it all. I'm going to start having a look around this weekend for the best place to buy (i would like to buy from a shop, but also get it for the cheapest price possible so I think it'll be a few weeks before i actually buy one!

Thanks so much for the help ness - now i just have to shop around and see how much $$ i'm looking at! I want to be very careful about who i buy from. A friend has just had her SLR's card slot break and she can't get it fixed without paying a lot of money because she bought it online from a company that sells imported stock and her waranty doesn't apply here!

That's the exact kind of photos i want to take - a lot of running action shots and playing, those kind of things! I wish i knew more about lenses! It's going to be so hard to choose between them. What are the different kinds of shots that the 18-55mmIS, 75-300 and 55-250mm IS take? I know that they're all for something in particular, but i'm not sure what! Thanks for the info btw - i really appreciate it!