tdierikx

Hang in there Astro! T.

The lions at Taronga have a nasty habit of sleeping all day, and the keepers need to trim all the bloody rampant bushes that are blocking any decent view... grrr! There are quite a few lion pics from my various Taronga visits though... if you check out the Taronga sets, I'm sure you'll get enough ey-candy to satisfy... *grin* http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdierikx/sets/ T.

It's having mixed reviews from those who already have one... T.

Ummm - Pet Expo is on at Rosehill that day too... T.

I think they may be starting to rally... they are feeding at least. T.

5/2 - Kelly the Koala showing off her sleeping "style"... 02-02-2014-symbio 600 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

Love it Canetoad! T.

Parvac is the most used one I know of kelpiecuddles... T.

Hahaha! I get you there... T.

KC vaccine is sort of like the human flu shots - only give protection against the strains they are vaccinated for... doesn't stop them getting one of the myriad other strains out there... *sigh* There may be anecdotal evidence out there that the KC vaccs may minimise the reaction to getting one of the other strains... but no absolute proof one way or the other. T.

I like the first one of the second lot too... check out the smile... lol! Photographing black dogs is an art... not the easiest subjects at all. I find they take the best photos with the light aiming towards them - so you can see them better. I'm thinking you had an overcast day there, yes? So that means you've done exceptionally well to get the quality photos you have got there. I've only taken photos at 2 weddings... and both were as a guest. Both lots of photos turned out pretty darned well, because I was getting the unposed shots - people get pretty stiff when they know the official photographer is pointing the camera at them, don't they huga? I'd be behind the official photographer and get my pics AFTER he'd done his - as the people were relaxing... *grin* (all done with the official photographers' permission of course) My advice is to keep practicing, keep snapping away, and keep enjoying what you are doing... it will certainly translate to your photos. T.

So the answer is that people should only own pedigreed dogs as pets WIW? What about those of us who actually prefer our mixed breed dogs for their "individuality" in looks? As long as said mixed breeds are of sound temperament, then it shouldn't matter that they may be made up of dog knows what breed background, no? T.

I had one boarding kennel refuse to take my dogs' recent C5 vaccination as good enough... they insisted that I had to get the nasal component or they wouldn't board my dogs. I don't see the point in doubling up the SAME vaccine, so I've arranged to board somewhere that was happy to accept the C5 vaccination... and they were cheaper too... lol! All of my dogs have had a decent case of Kennel Cough at some point, and have had literally hundreds of exposures to same over the years I've been fostering puppies for rescue. Kennel cough really doesn't bother me at all, and even with the vaccine, there is no 100% guarantee they won't catch another strain anyways... T.

Just make sure she's not silly enough to try that jump again Kirislin! T.

OK - the Taskforce who came up with these recommendations consisted of... (from DLG website) The Taskforce was chaired by the Member for Charlestown, Mr Andrew Cornwell MP, and consisted of representatives of the following organisations, invited by the Ministers to participate: Animal Welfare League NSW, Australian Companion Animal Council, Australian Institute of Local Government Rangers, Australian Veterinary Association, Cat Protection Society of NSW, Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW, Dogs NSW, Pet Industry Association Australia, and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals NSW. Looks like the groups who always call loudest for BSL had the largest representation... *sigh* T.

"Relevant stakeholders" - meaning RSPCA and the like, who are traditionally the ones pushing this silly BSL crap, yes? I'd like to see the state/national canine bodies stand up and lobby to get members onto committees like this... do something boody positive for your members FFS! T.

What the dogs are usually reacting to is the suspension the vaccines come in... so one brand may have different effects to another in that regard. Same for human vaccinations... very rarely is the actual disease component at fault when a reaction occurs. I wouldn't completely write off titre testing for the hepatitis antibodies every now and then either - there have been a couple of cases presented to emergency clinics in Sydney not that long ago. It's very rare, but it's still out there. I haven't heard of any Distemper cases, but the fact that they are actively titre testing for those antibodies here suggests that it may also still be out there in enough cases to warrant the focus. Parvo is a no-brainer - nothing seems effective on that EXCEPT vaccination done efficaciously. T.

The solution is actually to ban screwed up owners... but that would be too hard, yes? So let's ban breeds that "look" a certain way instead... that's way easier... but it won't work either. T.

... and who is the Minister responsible? I think a letter writing campaign may be in order here... T.

Wanna swing by here and pick up a passenger MadWoofter? I'm not sure I'll be able to drive properly after my gallbladder surgery (happening on Thursday), but would REALLY like to go to the Expo... T.

Who the hell was on the committee that thought up these new recommendations? Where were representatives from a more balanced background? T.

I like this last photo the best... nice tighter shot of the gorgeous subject in nice focus. You can see the action happening there... and the dog is obviously enjoying itself immensely. My take on photography is very much as an amateur. I like to see something interesting happening in the photo... and this pic is a perfect example of that. Perfect focus is nice, but not always going to happen (even the pros get some not so great photos). A photo can be technically perfect, but not say anything to the viewer - and on the other hand, a slightly off-focus shot can say a lot. I aim for interesting when I'm out with my camera - rather than fiddling all over the place with settings and trying to get everything "right" on the camera - I'd miss so many photos if I was to be doing that... errr! A really good (read expensive) lens will give a better average of nice shots - but it's still all about what you are pointing it at, and how you frame the action in the photo. Well framed shots will draw in the eye, and there will be no real distractions from what you are trying to show - like the first shot having a lot of water around, and you have to force yourself to focus in on the dog playing. I think you've done really well so far, and look forward to seeing many more lovely photos of your gorgeous dog having lots of fun. T.

We still have 5 babies, and SLF seems to have things in hand for them. Plenty of great advice is going her way from the experienced breeders in the other thread... I'm sure there will be a good outcome in the end. T.

Hmmm... I just had to C5 two of my dogs because I need to board them while I recuperate from gallbladder surgery. Fair cop for the younger dog, as she was due for her first annual booster (which I would have preferred to be a C3). My dogs get their puppy vacc schedule, then their first annual C3 booster, then nothing more. Zeddy is the exception because she had a C3 done after being exposed to a pup that died of Parvo, and she had eaten the poop - she suffered no side effects from eating the Parvo infested poop, but could easily have been carrying the disease to share with others - so the C3 was a precaution with regards to spreading the disease only - there was also 6 weeks quarantine before she was allowed to leave my property after having the vaccination. Zeddy was 4 at the time, and is now 14. No vaccinations since, and has been in contact with lots of rescue foster pups over the years - including a litter last June that all ended up having Parvo... grrr! I think a lot of vets liked the annual schedule because they got to do a general health check on the animal at the same time. Some vets are taking up the 3 year schedule slowly due to this... The vet clinics that I go to, the vets will only ask me once about vaccinations - and after they have it explained to them WHY I don't regularly vaccinate, seem to understand and leave it at that. I think it's how you approach the issue and explain it to them... any vet that treats me like I'm some sort of idiot/criminal for not wanting to follow THEIR schedule, just don't get my business. My dogs don't see vets all that regularly anyways, as they are pretty darned healthy buggers for some reason... lol! T.

I've seen teething pups get sloppy poop... not really all that different from human babies really. As for shampoo - how often are you bathing him? Unless he gets putrid really fast, he doesn't need bathing with shampoo all that regularly - but if you are insistent on regular bathing, maybe try using something less astringent than whitening shampoo on him - like Aloveen. I had a dog a while back that was actually allergic to beef - so chicken, turkey, or lamb was all she was allowed. No issues with skin or sloppy poops once we worked that fact out... lol! I tend to only feed my dogs chicken or lamb based foods nowadays. T.