Lollipup

hmmm thanks, that seems more in my price range.

yes lots of snapping about snaps :laugh:

I think I would like to add it in as well as have a more versatile lens. But I am also confused at this stage. no tafe courses for photography available here and I probably wouldn't want to commit to a whole tafe course right now. A short course for the basics is more appealing :) I have heard of the 50mm thread and very interested but haven't found it yet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market I didn't know about grey imports when I bought my first DSLR but when I upgraded recently I bought my camera body and one lens in Australia as CameraPro's prices came in at only slightly higher than the grey prices for these items once you added GST, so I paid a bit extra and got Australian warranty for both and Nikon have a standard 2 year warranty. I bought my 70-200mm from DWI though as it was approx. $1000 cheaper than buying it in Australia. I figured that kind of saving was worth the risk of having to pay to service it myself. I also bought my flash from a grey importer for the savings. It's worth learning about anyway and at least then you can make an informed decision. With the reach on lenses, trying to photograph dogs running with my 24-70mm is hopeless unless they're extremely close to me which is why I got the 70-200mm. If you went with Canon they do a 70-200mm f4 non IS lens for around the $600 mark from DWI which is a great budget option for having a long zoom that's really good quality. If I'd stuck with Canon I would have gone for this lens but with IS (my hands shake a bit) but Nikon only do this lens in the much more expensive f2.8. thank you, you have been very helpful and made good points. A shorter simpler course with face to face would be better if I can find one. The camera shop said they run a 2 night course for $150 but that seemed maybe a little too short...

Thanks Tess, I showed the shop guy Ruthless website photos and that's what he suggested the 50mm for - the shots with the crisp dog and the blurred background. Does that make more sense?

Thanks so much Snook! I love your photos, I always notice them and admire when you post them. What exactly does grey import mean? I do know I want to stick to it. It's too much money to not stick to it! As I said I want to get the best set up I can afford from the get go, I'm a big believer of getting what you pay for and getting the best you can afford from the start. I am thinking of doing a course to learn the basics. I was thinking maybe this - http://www.thephotographyinstitute.com.au/index.cfm/apg/home the 50mm did sound good but as I said I don't really know what I am talking about yet. I love your photos, if I could shoot like that I would be happy! And as I said, Ruths are great too. And Katy Takes a Picture. I think I am leaning towards the Nikon D5100. I just want to figure out exactly what I want and then I will worry about looking around for the best deal but these grey imports sound interesting :)

Okay, so I want to get into photography as a hobby, mainly animal shots. I spoke to a very helpful guy at Camera House today to get an idea of what to aim for as a first DSLR. I want the best I can afford including lenses and my price range is around about $1500. I am thinking either Canon or Nikon. I really love Ruthless Photos and that would be the kind of style I want to learn to do. The guy at the shop suggested a 50mm lens would be ideal for what I want and the Canon 600D came with it plus a 18-55mm/55-250mm lens. Please keep in mind I currently know very little about photography and lenses, just going off what I saw today. I am happy to buy lenses separately as long as the overall cost is under $2k. My other options were - 1. Canon 60D with twin IS kit w/18-55mm IS & 55-250MM IS Lenses. Then I would add the 50mm separately. 2. Nikon D5100 kit w/18-55mm VR, 55-300mm VR & 35mm f/1.8G lenses. He said I could just use the 35mm lens in this kit instead of the 50mm but that the 50mm would be better suited to my needs. 3. Buy a canon or nikon body and then buy a Tamron 17-50 F2.8 lens and the 50mm lens separately. Please help! This is all new and confusing to me but I really want to get the best set up I can afford from the start. Its something I've been wanting to do for ages. Is one brand better than the other or is it all just personal preference? Oh and he also said that sometimes people bag out the lenses that come with the kits and that while its true that they aren't as good, you can still learn to get good shots with them. Some ideas of what I want to shoot - mainly dogs - actions and stills, close ups and distance. Horses, same as dogs, occasional birds, scenery and people I guess lol. I want nice clear crisp bright shots. I've seen a lot of good photos on DOL so I know this is a good place to ask!

yay, looks like he is worth the long wait, congrats :) super cute, like all your pooches

I think about this from time to time. I ask my husband what he would do and tell him my greatest wish would be for him to be there for the dogs, which he would. If something happened to both of us though, I wouldn't trust many people with my dogs. My parents would take them but have said they wouldn't be able to keep them and I wouldn't want them to. I worry what they would do though. Last time we went away I actually wrote down the contact details of a couple of people I would trust to make a decision for the dogs but those couple of people are not local so I don't know what would happen. My parents also don't take it seriously when I bring up the topic.

A local small rescue group here has a few ACD cross pups but they look very ACD. Not sure if they want a pup or adult dog? You could also try Australian Working Dog Rescue or Sophies Choice (?www.sophies-choice.com) And Red Colar Rescue up this way usually has a lot of cattle dogs and crosses, pretty sure they have a few now and they are in desperate need of rehoming some dogs.

I think your only other option is doggy daycare, dog sitter or left with friends or relatives. I've met a few people that always leave their dog/s with their relatives when they are out or at work. They usually do this for their own stress rather than the dog's though :D

Were you in a designated off leash area? Sorry to hear about your dog. Did you get any of the owners details?

So you think its just a case of each dog could behave differently after a feed?

Have there been any studies to determine whether the time of day the dog is fed affects behaviour? If a dog is fed once per day is there an advantage to feeding at either morning or night?

between my husband and I we do refer to ourselves as mum/mummy and dad/daddy but still treat them like dogs and don't really say the mum/dad thing to other people. We don't have kids, prefer having just dogs and I'm sure my friends think that I see them as my children. I see them as family yes, but still as my dogs, I don't call them or think of them as children, and I don't call them furkids or furbabies or anything like that. The mother in law does call them their grand-dogs though.

I found this article very interesting. http://www.doglistener.co.uk/neutering/neutering_definitive.shtml

Thanks GussysMum, that's a very helpful post. We are looking at going away next weekend and a weekend in August so might put them in the kennels then. I will also chat to the manager and he probably won't mind us coming out for some test runs. I know the dogs are fine and that I worry too much!

I used "bin it" Not sure if that would sound different enough to spin. I had trouble picking this one too. Rubbish is a good one except I wanted it for something else :)

Lola has been to a different kennel through the day for two or three days in a row while I was there for some training. I took her with me at night though. Through the day, she HATED IT. First day she whinged fro ages. Second day onwards was ok but clearly stressed whenever I went and got her out. Do you think having Chester in with her would make a difference to this?

Haha yes I know about that behaviour affecting them. I keep thinking about it and how hard it is to not show what I'll be feeling! Might see if I can take them out there a few times for a play and then some short stays and make it a really fun place. Would make me feel better!

And I am impressed with the kennels, I have been there twice and looked through them and very impressed. Its just that they have never been left in one before so I worry whether they will stress out. I just don't want any negative experiences for them. Chester is very impressionable.

It's mainly that he has lost my trust. Lola has some issues where she is a bit OCD and hyper and will get obsessed with chasing lights and reflections. One time that I left her there, I asked him specifically not to show her the laser light (because I know he gets his dogs to chase it) and he went behind my back and did it which made her issues worse. He didn't admit it to me either, my sister told me. One of the first times we left her there, when we picked her up she was afraid of the word stay. He likes to teach the dogs to stay on a mat and I have seen him be quite forceful with them while repeated the word stay so I could only guess something like that had happened. He is a lot better now. I would leave them there for a weekend but a week is a lot longer with no exercise. They also have a lot on their plate now with three small dogs. Two of them are young dogs who my sister has left there for over a year and they are still there, while she sorts out what she is doing with her life. She has moved away and doesn't even cover their costs, but that's another story!

Out of curiosity, since you can only use English for obedience, can you choose between English and German if it's for Schutzhund?

It may be an option. I know a couple of friends who do house sit but they're not really dog people either so they wouldn't spend a lot of time with them but they would definitely look after them. Thanks for the suggestion, another option to think about :)

You can use what you like and many advanced trainers use "down" :) I use drop but my husband had a habit of saying down or lie down so they have learnt that too(BAD TRAINING)so thats their informal command but I always use drop to be formal and off to get off furniture/people. Out or give as a drop it/ let go command. I know someone who always uses drop with shelter dogs because so many people say down to get off them when a dog jumps and it could confuse the dog. So maybe that's why.

Thanks PS. My dad can have some weird "training" ideas with the dogs which is one reason why I hesitate even though they are more than happy to look after them. Where did you stay? The place they have booked for the wedding accom is the Naviti resort which has mixed reviews. How is the food over there? I have a terribly sensitive stomach so its a bit of a worry lol