tdierikx

Beagle puppy and slim black Labrador... ROFL! T.

Sometimes I think we may also be over-thinking how we raise our dogs... at the end of the day, they are still dogs, not mini-me human clones... Not all dogs are going to want to be 100% human/dog/cat/pocket-pet/cattle friendly - just like not all humans brought up together will be the same temperamentally. This constant worrying about "am I doing this puppy raising correctly" may do more harm than good if we push too hard to mould a dog into something it just will never be. T.

What a gorgeous old girl... go Gertie! T.

*sticks hand up to take said black dog* *giggle* T.

Trouble was wet stinky last night... but she'd been out in the rain being a typical Labrador for about an hour. She had the option to come inside and veg on the couch (my back door is always open), but she decided getting drenched was more fun... grrr! Took nearly 2 hours in front of the heater to get her almost dry too! Ratbag dog! T.

Shhhh! Don't give away all the secrets! When people ask meabout how I get nice photos, I just say "I point the really expensive thing at something interesting and press the magic clicky button"... lol! I used to get people commenting on my fractal art with "oh, you use a computer program to do that, so anyone must be able to do it"... ummm... it acually wasn't that simple, but feel free to give it a go mate... the program is free, but the talent to use it well comes at a price... lol! T.

Haha! Poor teddies! T.

I think the breed has a particular talent for "boinging" :) Most of ours will do the same - from a standing position, straight up so you can see over a fence.... Boing! Boing! Boing! It's too funny seeing the reactions from people on the other side of the fence, isn't it? Especially the naughty kids who like to bang on the fence to make the dogs bark... lol! They stop that pretty quick when a Rotti boings up and says hello... T.

One of my girls would scare the local kids by jumping up to look over our 6' fence as they walked by - she would do it from a standing position, and her chest and shoulders were above the fence top. She never actually escaped the yard, but it definitely wasn't because she couldn't. One of my boys wouldn't expend the energy to jump a fence, but he was known to occasionally go THROUGH a paling fence to visit our elderly neighbours and get treats... *sigh* T.

I used to keep the night crates separate for my fosters - they had to get used to being on their own for when they went to new homes. Some pups did better being able to see me on the bed, or the door to the room... played switchy-swaps to find which suited each pup best. Sometimes a pig's ear was required to keep the little buggers quiet for long enough to realise that they weren't getting 100% attention from the humans... can't do it every night though, unless you like diarrhoea... errr! Sheep's ears are probably better... but don't last as long. If they settle fine in side-by-side crates at night, then that may be an option, but getting them used to what YOU want is better, yes? If I had litters of pups, I'd rotate who was in the bedroom crates overnight - just to get them used to being on their own away from littermates. T.

I think I paid around $30 last time I paid a consult fee - but I get discounts due to the fact that I'm usually only going to the vet for a second opinion or to have a script done... *grin* T.

Nothing more joyous than sighthounds having a mad dash along the beach! T.

Pups are so much fun, aren't they? Some pups will try pretty much anything to get their own way... you have to be strong and try to ignore her - unless she starts self harming of course... but that's not a normal progression in a normal pup, so it most likely won't come to that, OK? Some pups can keep up the screaming for what seems like hours, but they usually will give up when it's not working. I found giving them a bucket bed and a large teddy bear to snuggle with seemed to work quite effectively. T.

RSPCA shelters are almost like a franchise by the sounds of things... you'd think they'd be a little more cohesive and supportive of each other, but obviously not. T.

I call it as I see it... and know it... dogmad... *grin* That is one gorgeous little munchkin too.. T.

I'd be working on making sure they both cope fine with being separated as early as possible - do you have room in your bedroom for 2 night sleeping crates? They aren't too young for you to establish a routine of them only being together when you are supervising either... T.

Paws is one of the best... Seniors and Silkies is another amazing one... contact Powerlegs... dogmad here has some lovely dogs too... and she's lovely to boot! T.

Is your dog crate trained? 3 of my 4 will happily use a crate... Pickles destroys them... even the steel ones. When (age) did you crate train him/her? Harper from a young pup... Trouble and Zeddy as adults after they'd had a nasty fight... Pickles just destroys them, so we gave upon her... she will happily be kennelled however... go figure! Do they still sleep in their crate now they are older? If not where do they sleep? Harper sleeps in the crate at night to stop her eating the house. Trouble and Pickles can be trusted to sleep on my bed. Zeddy is old, so has her own room and beddy setup. When did they stop using the crate? Trouble and Harper still use the crate when needed. Zeddy has her own room. Pickles was 6 months old and had destroyed 3 expensive crates by that time, so we gave up all hope... Where is their crate in the house? My bedroom, with afull view of me on the bed. Does your dog use the crate only for sleeping? No. T.

Call the RSPCA and leave it up to them... T.

Quality lenses will make a lot of difference even on a somewhat limited camera body... but I'd be much more likely to go for the 70D over the 750D, and get a halfway decent lens to use while I saved up for a better lens. Back when the 60D was the best in that range, I got it and the Tamron 18-270mm, and was amazed at the huge difference between that and the 450D/kit lenses I had prior. When I got the 100-400mm L lens I was more than impressed at the difference a quality lens makes. That said, if I could afford to upgrade to the 70D (or even the 7D), I'd be on it like flies on the proverbial... *grin* T.

*giggle* T.

If you are looking at an all purpose zoom lens, then maybe this one will be a better fit than the 70-300mm... http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod11004.htm This one is on my wish list... http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod10755.htm ... or even this one... http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod6801.htm ... *grin* T.

Some of the "dog walking" services I've seen out there just bundle up a pack of unrelated dogs into a van, drive to the local off lead park, and just let the dogs run wild there for a couple of hours. This is NOT the kind of service I'd pay money to have done. A friend of mine has a lovely dog walker who only walks her dogs - and the dogs absolutely adore her to death. There are 2 dogs with differing ages and fitness levels, so the dog walker walks them separately to accommodate this fact. Sometimes she will walk the younger dog on its own for an hour, then go back to my friend's house and get the older dog to join them for the last half hour or so of the walk. The dogs are both happy with this arrangement, and they are getting the levels of exercise they both need without any worry that other dogs will mess with them. T.

Berry purty! T.

We definitely need photos of both of the new additions Sheridan... they sound like they are going to be stunning! Puppies are very much like very young children - they know nothing of anything except that they have a new playmate and they will want to play up a storm. Your biggest issue will most likely be separating them for some downtime between power naps and play sessions... lol! I'm sure you are all over the fact that you are going to need to make sure that each can cope just fine on their own for a while too, yes? How exciting... go you!!! PUPPIES!!!! T.