Kirislin

:D

My whippet Kibah had a litter of 9 (7 survived) by caesarian. She was kept in the clinic for a couple of days so I had to take the puppies home. I managed to foster 4 off to another whippet bitch for 4 weeks, but the other surviving 3 stayed with me. They didn't even get colostrum, I hand raised them myself, no knowing the first thing about it. That was over 10 years ago and all "puppies" are still alive :D One is my very own Feather. I hope she still lets the bitch clean them and interact with them because that is important for the puppies development. At around 6 weeks old the bitch starts to rought the puppies up, and roll them to teach them to submit, and probably a whole lot of other stuff that was too subtle for me to pick up at the time, but I know it's important training by the mum.

I agree that links shouldn't be posted to give someone free advertising, but if it's something I'm not interested in, I just dont bother clicking on it.

Beef bones are too big for my dogs. I've had them occasionally but if I get the leg bones cut in half Penny especially scrapes at them with her front teeth and wears them down. I haven't given it to them many times but now as an old dog she just has little stumps for front teeth. Ah, fair enough. :) The vertebrae bones are about the size of a woman's fist- they are also often sold as beef 'soup bones'. When they are all connected and forming a whole neck they are huge [HUGE!], but once seperated the individual vertebrae are a great size for my whippet. They don't seem to be anywhere near as dense as the large weight-bearing leg bones, as she can crunch most of them up but struggles to make a dent in leg bones [and like you, I worry for her teeth when she chews those, so she very rarely gets them]. What about turkey necks? They have a bit more oomph than chicken necks whilst remaining very manageable. Turkey necks are great but I cant get them here. I've only bought them when I've been over to the Dandy market.I've come to the conclusion that by most standards my dogs teeth are very good so I will stop stressing about them. I'll still investigate getting the gel to use on Feather and Kibah but even today I managed to chip a bit of plaque off Kibah, so possibly with feeding them more bones and gently chipping away at it they'll be fine.

It means you've OK'd it for someone else to edit your photo. Sometimes a person will post a pic and someone else will have a suggestion for a way of improving it. You have to OK it, some people get very offended if others edit their photos.

Maybe you guys should enter it next year.

Have a look here. http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1236723

I liked the border collie one, I thought it was a great angle, I love getting down low to photograph dogs, it's just that I personally find it very difficult to do, without making lots of moaning and groaning noises. :laugh:

I've never brushed Tag, Puck or Pennys teeth, nor have they ever had a dental. So far their teeth have been maintained by diet alone, the problem I'm having is more with Feather and Kibah although I notice as Penny ages her teeth are beginning to get a build up. It bothers me that I have to intervene to keep their teeth clean, I WILL of course, that's why I've asked for the wisdom of DOL, but I wondered if I was doing something wrong to cause Feather and Kibah to get more of a build up. I've got a little finger brush a couple of days ago. Is that what you use, and do you use toothpaste as well? I didn't buy the toothpaste as it was just under $20 for a tiny tub, I'm thinking I might get the gel and use the toothbrush to administer it.

Lovely photos but, does anyone else think the husky reflection might be photoshopped? Wouldn't the reflection show more of the underneath of the dog, to me that looks just like the top photo turned upside down. It's effective but I think it's been manufactured. Call me a skeptic I dont care.

It basically softens up the plaque making it easy to remove. I've been very happy with it so far, just forget to use it as often as I should! It sounds good. I have a friend who is also looking for something to get plaque off her dogs teeth so I'll tell her about it.

hard to know. Perhaps you could have called to the man and told/asked him to call his dog back because it was eyeballing yours and they're on lead and feeling vulnerable. Tighten the harness too. How did the bloke react, was he Ok when you asked him to hold Jenna?

thanks secretkei. If the gel gets that off in a week then I think I'll try it cause Kibah doesn't have that much on her teeth but I cannot stand plaque on their teeth now. I expect my dogs to have teeth like wolves. Big and white and shiny. :)

I often look at the racing photos and see the filthy teeth.

thanks, it's been a "thing" of mine ever since a previous whippet had filthy teeth from the garbage I fed her because I didn't know any better at the time. I try really hard now to give them a good healthy diet and keep their teeth clean, but Feather and Kibah are the main problems, and Pennys are starting to get a bit of a build up, her teeth used to look like her sons, Tag and Puck until recently so with her I feel it's age related. I think some dogs just aren't good a chewing bones, but I really dont want to have to get them knocked out just to have their teeth cleaned. I have a friend with a grooming business and the filthy teeth I see in there make me sick. I think most of her customers have no idea of the state of their dogs mouths, they just complain that the dog has bad breath. How bloody awful must it be for the dog, with that constant foul taste in their mouth and probably toothache. I had a friend with a whippet and she didn't know it had a slab fracture until I looked in its mouth and told her. She got the tooth taken out and was amazed at the personality change in her dog. It suddenly became happy and playful again.

I never cease to be appalled at the majority of racing greyhounds teeth I have seen. In fact, I cannot think of any who had clean teeth. You would think if trainers knew anything about getting a dog in the peak of health they'd be aware of dental hygiene but in my experience it hasn't been the case. the few of them I've aske about it say they dont give bones because they cant regulate their dogs weight, but my dogs weights are stable. I'm assuming Maddie and Stan are ex racer rescues so I'm guessing they came to you with bad teeth.

Well I've just made up 3 bags of lamb bones so they'll get a bone after each loaf meal for the next 3 nights. It will mean I'll be giving them less loaf to incorporate the bone, otherwise they'll turn into fatties. I'll need to keep it up though. I'm interested in the water additive although I wonder about additives, what do they do to a dogs system to change the saliva (I assume) to remove plaque, or does it just stop extra plaque from forming. I'll have a look at that gel too. SecretKei can I see a pic of your dogs teeth please?

Beef bones are too big for my dogs. I've had them occasionally but if I get the leg bones cut in half Penny especially scrapes at them with her front teeth and wears them down. I haven't given it to them many times but now as an old dog she just has little stumps for front teeth.

can others post pics of their dogs teeth and age, I'm wondering if my dogs teeth are average for their ages.

I'd be interested to see photos of their teeth after eating deer antler, but where do you get it. I sometimes give mine Pagans hoof trimmings, they like that. :laugh:

I meant to say, none of my dogs have ever had a dental, Tag and Feather have had teeth removed that were damaged and went bad and Penny knocked one out on the lure at the greyhound track, and Kibah knocked one out fighting with Penny but they've never had their teeth scaled. I'd really like to keep it that way if I can as they're all aging now, and I'd rather avoid an anaesthetic for them.

Clean teeth is not something I've had much a problem with in the past with my current whippets. Even now at 8 I think Puck and Tags teeth are immaculate. Penny, their mother, has always had amazingly clean teeth until maybe the last year or so. Kibah and Feather have always been a bit wimpy with chewing bones and their teeth are getting worse as they age. I think their mouth chemistry must be changing. I dont know if that's the right way to describe it, but the three girls have started to get a build up of plaque and it's bothering me. I feed my dogs a small amount of dry food in the morning, home made cooked loaf at night and bones at least once per week, sometimes more. I give them things like chicken necks, legs,or carcasses, lamb ribs and brisket. They also get raw carrots to chew on, fruit, and plants and veggies they forage for, such as wild mustard and Clivers at the park. I'm thinking of increasing the bones so that I give them a small bone most nights after their loaf, in the hope it will act like a toothbrush. Tag 8yo 5F6A2825dppt by kirislin, on Flickr 5F6A2826dppt tag by kirislin, on Flickr Penny 13.5 years 5F6A2832dpp penny by kirislin, on Flickr problem child Feather 10yo. 5F6A2833dpp Feather by kirislin, on Flickr this is the part I'm most concerned about. Sometimes I've managed to hook my thumbnail under the ridge of plaque and flick it off but it keeps coming back 5F6A2834dpp Feather by kirislin, on Flickr I've just bought a little doggy tooth brush from the vet and I'm trying to use it on the girls' teeth but they're not used to it yet and it's a bit of a struggle to use it on them. I'm wondering if zoo animal dog species ever get plaque build up and if not, what is their diet.

My brother with Caesar. He was hit by a car and killed 29/7/1961 IMG_8314dppt by kirislin, on Flickr My beloved Kiri, the view I would see when I woke up in the morning :laugh: IMG_8290dppt by kirislin, on Flickr IMG_8286dppt by kirislin, on Flickr with her best buddy Iris, on the left. They used to snuggle like this all the time. IMG_8287dppt by kirislin, on Flickr

I'll be blowed if I can get bee shots, I took over 100photos trying, then I fluked this teeny tiny hover fly 5F6A2772dppt by kirislin, on Flickr this was the only in flight one I managed of the bee 5F6A2738dppt by kirislin, on Flickr

I've tried a few times with this lens without much luck. I dont have a tripod which also makes it harder.