tdierikx

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.

I'd be looking at the brand name on the C4 vaccination the vet is using. I remember a few years ago there was a particular brand of puppy C3 vaccinations that had horrible side effects... maybe this could be something similar? If you are insistent on annual vaccinations, may I suggest that maybe you just go for the C3 in future? That will cover you for the big 3 nasties at the very least - although if you travel a lot to places where other dogs have frequented, your own dogs are already getting continual smaller stimulations to the antibodies of those diseases, and probably don't really need the vaccination top-ups anyways. May I ask why you are going for the C4 vaccination? That only covers one of the deadly Kennel Cough strains. If you really want KC coverage, then the C5 (or C3 plus nasal KC component) will be much more effective at warding off the nastiest 2 strains. T.

4/2 - Common Marmoset checking out the surrounds... 02-02-2014-symbio 647 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

Feather sounds like a tough old bird... thank dog she's coming good so quickly. T.

3/2 - Alexander the Meerkat giving his best "feed me" look... 02-02-2014-symbio 615 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

It's his "love to have you for dinner" look Quite possibly, as Cinta had gobbled up BOTH lunches yesterday while Jalur was off sniffing and rolling in the perfume spots the keeper had sprayed all over the enclosure... lol! I bet he smelled really purty later... hahaha! T.

Jalur was in quite the posing mood yesterday... *grin*... such a ham! T.

I'm so glad to hear that Feather is feeling so much better today... what a horrible shock for you both yesterday though... Please give her a soft cuddle from me - and whisper in her ear that Aunty Tracey says she's not allowed to scare Mummy like that ever again! T.

Awesome effort! Go Reba!! T.

2/2 - Alexander the Meerkat at Symbio striking a pose... 02-02-2014-symbio 728 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

Go Reba!!! All live so far... awesome effort! More could be coming too by the sounds of things... C'mon Reba... you're doing great! T.

If cute was a cure for Parvo... a survivor for sure! Sounds promising... he's getting past the hardest part now... hang in there little man! T.

I'd present them with the vet bill... T.

5/52 - Jalur doing his best "Blue Steel"... 02-02-2014-symbio 524 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.