Daily Hailey

A Date of Importance

2012-02-02T21:32:00.002+01:00

This day one thousand and fifty years ago, Otto I became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. By that time, the Empire of Japan had, of course, existed for many centuries. The Holy Roman Empire played an important part in European history, but ceased to exist in 1806. The Empire of Japan still exists.

Of course, the Japanese have always had Shibas to aide them.

Longing for a Pup Cannot Be Wrong

2012-02-01T20:46:00.003+01:00

In one of Sweden's largest tabloid papers, the politician in charge of health care in Stockholm County (with about 2 million inhabitants) Filippa Reinfeldt is critizised because she expresses her interest in getting a puppy dog. I do not agree with this critizism, not at all. Longing for a pup can never be wrong.

Endangered Breeds

2012-01-31T22:01:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

In Britain, there is concern that a lot of native dog breeds are facing extinction. This is serious! I hope more humans will get more dogs, not least of endangered breeds. A lot of them are great pets, suitable for most human families.

Cold and Colder

2012-01-30T20:50:00.002+01:00

We had a relatively cold morning today, -9C. It was our coldest morning this winter, I believe.

There is no reason for us to complain, though. It has been much colder in Eastern Europe. At least 18 humans have died i Ukraine and 10 in Poland. I hate to think of how many homeless dogs may have had a hard time. As usual, human news do not count dogs. Hopefully, the emergency shelters that has been erected are open for dogs too.

Feeco

2012-01-29T21:48:00.003+01:00

Auntie Linni, April, and I got to go with Paula and Daniel to Paula's parents this afternoon. As always, meeting Paula's parents is great fun. It was a highly informal happening today, with the typically Swedish "fika". The word "fika" means coffee break, often along with some sweet snack.

Originally, "fika" was a colloquial word, where the parts of the Swedish word for coffee, "kaffe", switched places with each other. It has gradually entered the normal language. This is as if a coffee break would be called feeco in English. Human languages are funny!

Another Polly

2012-01-28T23:57:00.001+01:00

Hello, Polly here!

Both Paula and Daniel are members of the online social network Facebook. There you can see all kinds of things. Daniel always gets news from a dog shelter in Texas. It struck me more than ever, when another Polly was advertised there. She is not a Shiba Inu, not even a spitz breed. If the name says anything about a dog, she has to be a great companion, though. I hope everything goes well and that she gets a new family who will love her and care for her.

Figure Skating

2012-01-28T22:55:00.002+01:00

We watched some figure skating on TV, even though we figured out it was the European Championships. Japanese figure skaters are usually competitive, so we can hope for them; so are Americans, whom Mum hopes for. For simple geographical reasons, neither Japanese nor Americans compete in the European Championships, though. Nevertheless, we were rather happy that the Finnish skater Kiira Korpi won silver. Finland is a neighbour to Sweden, and as long as there are no Swedes or Norwegians competing, we can always hope for the Finns.

A Day to Remember

2012-01-27T22:09:00.002+01:00

Today is the international day of Remembrance of the Holocast and its victims. It is important to note that the Nazis where to blame for this, not the Germans as a whole. Anybody who blames the Germans make the same mistake as the Nazis did: blaming somebody based solely on what ethnical group he or she belongs to.

Is This Not Generally Known Already?

2012-01-26T21:20:00.002+01:00

The Swedish mail delivers advertisements with the mail sometimes. These are wrapped up in a leaflet with articles that can, at times, be rather interesting. Today, the main article told us that pets are not just company to their humans, but have huge health benefits as well. Is the health benefits of pets not generally known already? I believe it is, so why would anybody write about it as if it is news? Sometimes, I cannot understand humans.

Egg and Bacon

2012-01-25T23:13:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula and Daniel had bacon and egg for breakfast today. Daniel must have been very tired, because he dropped some of his food on the floor. I cleaned the floor from the fried egg that fell there. It feels good to be useful like this. This was a good morning.

Solar Flares

2012-01-24T22:29:00.002+01:00

The Sun is throwing solar flares towards Earth, which will peak tomorrow. This may cause disruptions on communications. I wonder what would happen if there was a solar eclipse at the same time? Would it keep much of the effects of the flare away from Earth? Perhaps not for long, an eclipse usually does not last very long. It would be interesting if these events would coincide, though.

High Risk of Major Quake

2012-01-23T20:51:00.002+01:00

There is a high risk of a major earthquake soon. Not in Sweden, which is located far from any earthquake prone regions, but in the densely populated Tokyo region in Japan. Scientists in Japan say the recent rise in minor earthquakes makes a major quake likely soon. This worries me, because for natural reasons, Japan has the biggest population of Shiba Inus in the world. I am worried for my kind. The Japanese humans are very good at building earthquake safe buildings, but they are not free of faults. We all know what happened in the Fukujima region last March. I hope dogs and humans will survive any quake.

Unnecessary Election

2012-01-22T22:03:00.002+01:00

The citizens of our eastern neighbour country, Finland, have a general election today to decide who will be their Head of State for some years to come. This sounds highly unnecessary. Finland is a republic, this is why they do this. In a monarchy, like Sweden or Japan, the Head of State inherits the position. You usually know for decades in advance who will be the next Head of State. Dogs and wolves do the same in our packs, though our inheritance goes by the female line while human inheritance has generally gone by the male line.

I believe hereditary monarchies are more natural than republics. They are just as democratic as well, because the way in which the Head of State gets the job is not in the essence of being a democracy. On the other hand, I am just a dog. My vote is cast in the decisions of my dog pack, not in the decisions of the human society. My human readers may disregard of my opinions in this matter, if they chose to do so.

Macaronis

2012-01-21T17:56:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There were some macaronis in our kitchen today, close enough for me to reach when I stood on my hind legs. It was great to get hold of it. Macaronis is not the most tasty food, but when you catch your food yourself, it always tastes better. As I am a very friendly girl, I shared the treasure with my Mommy, Granny, and other four legged friends.

No New Region

2012-01-20T23:30:00.002+01:00

There have been talks about merging Örebro County, where we live, with Södermanland and Västmanland Counties. These would form a new region. However, this will not come to pass in the near future. The politicians in Södermanland County did not like it, neither did some in Västmanland County. In Örebro County, everyone thought it was a good idea.

Meanwhile, today, a new ranking of the economic growth of different counties in Sweden have been published. Many factors have been weighed. Stockholm County tops the list. Örebro County is in the middle, ranked 13th. Both Västmanland County and Södermanland County ranks lower, 14th and 15th, respectively. Well, I guess their politicians did not think it was important enough to merge with a county with better ranking. It is their loss.

Old Candy?

2012-01-19T20:53:00.002+01:00

We found a plastic bag far back among our groceries today. The bag contained a little candy. We tasted it, and found that it still tasted all right. To make sure it would not get too old, we promptly shared and ate it. It would be a waste to let it grow any older, so it would not be tasty any more.

Odd Pillowcases

2012-01-18T22:37:00.004+01:00

I put new bedsheets in Paula's and Daniel's bed tonight. (Humans are so fuzzy about where and on what they sleep, but I grant them that their bed is comfortable.) Paula always wants more than one pillow. There is one huge downside of this. When you buy sets of bedsheets and pillowcases, there are never more than two pillowcases in each set. If Daniel and Paula is to have one pillowcase each that both match with the bedsheets, Paula also has to have a couple of odd pillowcases. I do not think Paula is the only human who wants more than one pillow in her bed. There should be sets of pillowcases to add to the main sets. Now we have to have odd pillowcases for many of the pillows, and it is not easy to make it as nicely looking as if all of them would look the same. I know what I would start to sell, if I was a pillowcase manufacturer.

Slow Computers

2012-01-17T20:39:00.002+01:00

Our computer is fairly slow. The computer manufacturers claim that the computers are constantly developed to be faster, but as a computer user, I do not see that. All the computers I have used have been slow at times, normally without obvious cause. I guess the software companies use up all the increase in speed in the computers by developing software with a lot of unnecessary functions that uses computer power. Perhaps everything is not unnecessary, but a lot of it is.

On the other hand, what do I know? I have just been using computers almost every day my entire life.

Come Back

2012-01-16T20:37:00.002+01:00

The dog Tuva in our neighbour country Norway was scared by fireworks on New Years Night and ran off into the forest. After a lot of searches, Tuva has come back home today and is of good health. The sixteen days in the forest has not injuried her.

The humans firing fireworks must be much more careful what they do. It is known to everybody that some dogs - as well as other animals - cannot stand the sound of crackers and fireworks. On the other hand, a dog is resourceful and can survive easily in the wilderness for sixteen days. How many humans would do the same?

What Is the Point?

2012-01-15T20:45:00.002+01:00

Hello, Wärstuhl here!

We had a snowfall again today. Just a few millimetres of snow came down to cover the ground. This is enough to make it brighter, to cover the ice on the ground making it more slippery, but it is not enough to play around in. When this is the case, I wonder, what's the point? Could we not just have been without these snowflakes?

Nice Gift

2012-01-14T21:47:00.003+01:00

Paula's parents have been in India and Nepal on a vacation. They brought presents home, and we got them today. The very best present was the one they gave us dogs. It was a little bag with a zipper and pictures of dogs on the outside. As such, it was nothing special, although it looked nice. The best thing was that the proceeds from selling these bags went to dogs in need. There are, apparently, many dogs in need in that part of the world. I like anything that goes to support dogs in need.

A big thanks from us to Paula's parents!

Reshuffled Cabinet

2012-01-13T21:07:00.003+01:00

As a country which has had almost one new Prime Minister each of the last years, as Japan, a reshuffled cabinet is probably no big news. I do hope it is no sign of new political turmoil. In my mind, Japan needs some political rest. We will have to see what will happen.

Grade A Hips

2012-01-11T21:15:00.002+01:00

Hello, Wärstuhl here!

I had an X-ray examination last week. The results came today. As I would have guessed, I have excellent hips. They are graded A, which means there is nothing wrong with them whatsoever.

Even though both Mommy and I believed I would have good hips, it is great to have the result printed in black and white. Now, there is nothing stopping me from bringing the next generation of our hereditary line to life.

Life is great.

False Conclusions About Mix Bred Dogs

2012-01-10T22:07:00.003+01:00

A news paper in Gothenburg, Sweden, published an article today about the names humans give to their dogs. (Far from all dogs decide upon their names themselves, as we Shiba Inus do.) In the article, there are also some numbers on the popularity of different dog breeds. The writer also falsely claims that the most popular dogs are mix-breeds.

It is stated in the article that one quarter of all dogs in Sweden are mix-breeds. The article go on to tell how many dogs there are of the most popular breeds in Sweden.

From this, I conclude that three quarters of all dogs in Sweden are pure bred. This is a huge majority.

You cannot lump all of the mix-bred dogs together and compare this lump to each of the different breeds there are. The mix-breeds do not share more than the species canis lupus familiaris, just like the three quarters of us who are pure bred. A mix-bred dog can be anything from the carefully bred dog whose aim it is to give fresh genes into the gene pool of a small breed, to the stray runt of whom nobody can say what breeds there are in him or her. A mix-bred dog can come in any size, shape, and colour, and can be anything from very healthy and intelligent to very sick and stupid.

You just cannot say that mix-breeds are the most popular dogs in Sweden. They are just one quarter of all of us.

Lasagne

2012-01-09T18:32:00.002+01:00

There is a comic strip I do not really like. The main character is the cat Garfield, and he is mean, narcisistic, and generally unlikeable even for being a cat. There is one personality treat I like about Garfield, though, his love for lasagne. I love lasagne too. Paula is cooking her great lasagne tonight, and I hope to get to taste some.

Puzzling Picture

2012-01-08T18:30:00.003+01:00

In our local news paper, there is a crossword puzzle today with a picture of cats and dogs arguing in a Christmas tree. It puzzled me. I would never argue or fight in our Christmas tree. We have had it all through Christmas, to the joy of both dogs and humans. None of us have made anything to ruin it, except that April started to play with one of the balls that had fallen of its branch in the tree. Thus, the puzzle picture puzzled me a little. I guess the human who had drawn the picture either had completely different experiences than I have, or just had a very vivid imagination.

Eating Fir Trees?

2012-01-07T17:26:00.002+01:00

Christmas is over in a week. We have fallen fir trees in our garden. However, I do not believe in eating fir trees, as you can do at an expensive Copenhagen restaurant. Perhaps if one of our fallen trees would have struck a mouse, killing it, that would have been a fine meal.

Epiphany

2012-01-06T20:28:00.002+01:00

Hello, Wärstuhl here! (A.k.a. Polly)

It is the thirteenth day of Christmas today. In English, this day is also known as Epiphany. It is celebrated to commemorate that the wise men came from a country in the East to look up the newborn baby Jesus.

The wise men, often described as three men called Balthasar, Caspar, and Melchior, presented baby Jesus with three gifts. This is supposed to be the origin of the tradition of giving each other Christmas gifts.

Despite this origin, gifts are given on Christmas Eve in Sweden and on Christmas Day in English speaking countries. In some countries in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, though, Christmas gifts are given on this day. I think this is a fine tradition. I do not think we should scrap our own tradition, but I could stand getting Christmas gifts on Epiphany as well!

Christmas Gift

2012-01-05T19:55:00.002+01:00

We have received a late Christmas gift today. It is at our local post office, for us to pick up tomorrow. It was actually shipped many days before Christmas from Oakville in Washington, USA. We know this, because Mum's breeder Laura has told us she did this. We do not know why it has taken all this time to reach us. Sure, there are a lot of things being mailed before Christmas, but for this to arrive at Epiphany rather than Christmas Day is rather strange. It is probably impossible to learn why the shipment has taken such a long time. You cannot make a parcel tell its story. Oh, well, it is better late than never.

Getting There

2012-01-04T21:23:00.002+01:00

Paula got to the dog show all right this afternoon. Now the storm has passed and everything is all right. There is no longer any reason that I can see for me not wanting to be at the show. Too bad I am not.

For those of you who miss me in the show ring: do not worry, I'll be back!

Storm

2012-01-03T18:28:00.002+01:00

A storm is approaching Sweden from southwest. Britain is already affected. Paula will go to Gothenburg with two of the other dogs for a dog show. We hope they will not be stopped or anything because of the foul weather. I do think it is not so risky, but I am still glad not to take this risk. For once, I think there might just be one advantage of not going to a dog show.

The Winter Came and Went

2012-01-02T21:36:00.003+01:00

We had a rather good snowfall yesterday. There was about 5 centimetres of snow on the ground, and Daniel shoveled snow for the first time this winter. However, by afternoon the temperatures rised above the freezing point, it started to rain, and there is very little snow left after the thaw today. Will there ever be a decent winter this year? I hope so, if only for a little while. Despite my mature age, I do love to play in deep snow. So does my daughter Polly. We would like to have more snow than this.

Satellite for a Satellite

2012-01-01T02:31:00.002+01:00

Earth's satellite, the Moon, now has a satellite of its own. The US space agency NASA has put the Grail-A space craft in an orbit around the Moon. The main object for the satellite and its forthcoming twin Grail-B is to map measurements that will give scientists new knowledge on the internal structure of the Moon. This may not sound very interesting, but I believe it can give us an idea on the natural resources that can be found in the Moon. With natural resources ready to be harvested, there would be an idea in putting permanent settlements on the Moon. This would be an exciting idea.

Crackers

2011-12-31T22:24:00.003+01:00

It is New Year's Eve, and people have been firing crackers since early this day, more and more the closer we get to midnight. I am not afraid of the cracks, but I dislike them and I loathe the people cracking them, because I know how many dogs are afraid of them. It is a completely useless and unnecessary way of amusing oneself. It costs a lot of money and is over in no time. Furthermore, the historic origin of firing the crackers is that people used them to scare of demons, in the days when people believed in demons. People nowadays should not be that supersticious. They should just stop firing crackers.

Happy new year to everyone out there who are not firing crackers!

New Manned Mission to the Moon

2011-12-30T20:12:00.002+01:00

China plans manned missions to the Moon, nearly 40 years after the last time a man walked the surface of that celestial body.

I have mixed feelings about this. While I love the Moon, and always like to learn more about it, I do not like that the Chinese are planning to go there. China is no nice country, and I would not like to see any scientific progress or the PR value of new manned lunar flights go to that country. China is a communistic dictatorship, and in China, they eat dogs. Enough said.

Hopefully, these plans by China will make the USA, Japan, and European countries to take up the challenge of putting men on the Moon again. Perhaps even putting dogs there - and not in the form of food.

The Pillars of the Earth

2011-12-30T00:11:00.003+01:00

We have seen a rerun of a great mini series on TV this week: The Pillars of the Earth. It is a story about politics and battles in Medieval England, and the TV production is very well made.

The only bad thing about this series is, there are no dogs in prominent roles. Otherwise, I can highly recommend it.

Hamburgers

2011-12-28T20:34:00.002+01:00

Hello, Wärstuhl here!

We got some hamburgers tonight. I like hamburgers. Enough said.

Christmas Is Not Over

2011-12-27T22:48:00.001+01:00

My dear daughter Karstuhl asked me if Christmas was over now, when we have had Christmas Day and Boxer Day. I told her it is not. We have got plenty of days left to celebrate Christmas. In Sweden, Christmas is not over until the 20th day, that is the 13th of January. In other countries, they even say Christmas is longer than that. Thus, we can look forward to many more days of good Christmas food and candy.

Agility on TV

2011-12-26T19:54:00.002+01:00

We watched some agility on TV. It was not a real competition, merely a side show in a horse show. Nevertheless, one would like it to be good. There was a Poodle who raced first. Of course, our poodle friend Laila hoped the Poodle would win. It was not quick, but managed to take the whole course without any faults. Later dogs were quicker, but had faults. Strangely, though, the faults did not count in the ranking of the dogs. We were upset, especially Laila. What is the point of an agility track, if speed is all that counts?

The Night Before Christmas

2011-12-24T00:02:00.002+01:00

Hello, Wärstuhl here!

It is the night before Christmas Eve, and we are busy preparing for the celebrations tomorrow. So busy, in fact, that we did not have the time to write a blog entry for the 23rd of December. This does not matter so much, I believe. We will just have two entries for the 24th instead. Mommy is more disappointed, she always want the blog to be daily. Granny, on the other hand, believes the Christmas preparations are much more important than blogging. This is nothing strange. There is nothing more important to Granny than food and candy, and this is a huge part of Christmas and the Christmas preparations. I do help Granny with the preparations, but have found a little time to write this blog entry, nevertheless.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Almond Paste

2011-12-22T22:49:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel made Christmas candy from almond paste and raisins this evening. I knew how to make better use of the almond paste, so I helped myself to some when Daniel had gone away from his workplace. It was really tasty! Unfortunately, Daniel soon came back and stopped me from getting any more. I hope there is some for me on Christmas Eve, at least.

Prison

2011-12-21T19:31:00.002+01:00

A man in Sweden tortured his puppy dog to death. He has now been sentenced to one year and three months in prison for animal cruelty. While this is supposed to be a record long sentence, I still believe it is way to short. In the news article, it says what he did to the poor puppy, but I cannot bear to write it here.

Daniel says he is puzzled any human could torture a little dog like this man did, and not be sentenced to psychiatric care. Beating and even killing humans may be done by mentally healthy people, Daniel says, but torturing a dog, he does not understand that. I want to agree with Daniel, though I think I am too cynical to believe only the mentally ill humans would do these things. Unfortunately, many humans have a tendency to become beasts.

I hope the murdered dog has found peace in the afterlife.

Christmas Tree

2011-12-20T23:04:00.002+01:00

We have a lot of fir trees surrounding our garden. At Christmas, this is not enough. There is a tradition to have a fir tree, a so called Christmas tree, indoors as well. You have to have a special foot for this tree to stand. Daniel has tried to mount our tree in that foot many times this evening, but has not succeeded. The tree is now standing at an angle, leading towards the wall. Daniel is just sighing. I wish I could help, but to screw the tree tight in the foot, I guess you have to have opposable thumbs. This is one thing dogs lack.

Well, maybe it will be better tomorrow, if Daniel is less tired by then.

Christmas Shopping

2011-12-19T22:22:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here! (A.k.a. Wärstuhl.)

Paula and Daniel went shopping for Christmas gifts again today. They did the same last Friday. I have already done all the Christmas shopping I need. It is much easier being a dog when Christmas is coming - the Christmas shopping you need to do can be counted on the fingers of one paw - that is, none. Nice, is it not?

Snow

2011-12-18T20:35:00.002+01:00

We got some snow about a week ago, but it quickly thawed away. Today, we got some more. It is not more than last time, just about a centimetre. I believe this will disappear as well. I do not mind if it does disappear. Snow is nice, but only when it is at least a decimetre or so, thick enough to play in. If it does not even cover the tops of the straws of grass in the lawn, it is not worth much.

Late Night Lunch

2011-12-17T22:10:00.003+01:00

Paula is working this weekend. Late tonight, she is preparing lunch. This might seem odd, but it is because she wants lunch for tomorrow at work. I understand this perfectly. Paula is a great cook, and while she is able to buy lunch at work, it cannot be as tasty as her own food. She also says her own lunch is cheaper, though I believe she could sell it for more money than the cost of the food you could buy at her work. I help Paula making the lunch, she says this will make it even better.

Stable Power Plant

2011-12-16T23:37:00.002+01:00

The Fukushima nuclear power plant is now stable, according to the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. This is positive news. I was certain the Japanese would be able to stabilize the situation, but it has gone quicker than I anticipated. Dismantling the reactors is another matter, this may take decades. Eventually, dogs and humans will be able to return to the Fukushima area. No disaster is forever.

Clothes Do Not Heal

2011-12-15T17:17:00.002+01:00

Daniel slipped on an icy road today. He landed on his knee, but it does not hurt. However, he ripped up a little hole in his trousers. They do not heal, like dog coat and dog skin would if I would slipp and fall. I am glad I have my coat instead of clothes.

The South Pole

2011-12-14T22:43:00.001+01:00

Exactly one hundred years ago today, dogs and humans reached the South Pole for the first time. It was Norwegian dogs who helped the Norwegian human Roald Amundsen and his fellow countrymen to get there. Without the dogs, the expedition would surely have been a failure.

Perfect Lunch Boxes

2011-12-14T22:25:00.001+01:00

Japanese always strive towards perfection. Why not watch this piece on Japanese lunch boxes? What is better than to make food perfect?

Saint Lucia

2011-12-13T20:42:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Today is the day when we celebrate Saint Lucia in Sweden. It is the only saint who really gets celebrated. As far as I have understood, this is because the night of Lucia was the longest of the year during the last century or so with the Julian Calendar. Saint Lucia was a Christian excuse for celebrating midwinter. I do not mind. I do not think god would mind either, given that he created midwinter as well as everything else. Instead, I enjoy the special, yellow lussekatt cakes.

Late Night Snack

2011-12-12T23:01:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is late at night, but Paula is about to have a snack of taco shells and cheese. I hope I can get some. I will certainly make my wish become known.

Sad

2011-12-10T23:58:00.003+01:00

Eventually, you get to a point where you get sad. We have lost our friend Primus, the Pharao Hound. He was always nice to me. I counted him as a friend, and I miss him. We may meet in the afterlife.

Four Paw Drive

2011-12-09T18:41:00.003+01:00

The first snow of the season came tonight. The temperatures have been above the freezing point all day, making the muddy snow watery and very slippery.

This is where dogs have yet another advantage over humans. While dogs and humans walk dry surfaces with equal ease, dogs have far less trouble walking slippery surfaces. We have a lower point of gravity which is always located between the four paws which propells us across the ground. The claws help us get a good grip. Meanwhile, our humans try to balance their high point of gravity on their two long legs, often with shoes that get a bad grip on the ground. This is like comparing a four wheel drive car with spiked tyres to a two wheel motorcycle with summer tyres.

I cannot help but feeling sorry for the humans under these conditions. This does not stop me from walking on in my ordinary pace, however. You always want to get a proper workout on the walks.

Answering the Telephone

2011-12-09T17:41:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There is always somebody at home at our place. However, when you call us on the telephone, you may not notice. This is because dogs always leave such tasks to their humans. If no human is at home, or just busy doing other chores, they cannot answer. We dogs could answer, but it is beneath us to communicate with nothing but sound. There are so much more things to say through body language and smell. This is why we do not answer the phone; we could, if we would want to.

Christmas Carols

2011-12-07T23:07:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We are playing Christmas Carols at home these days. It is a terrific way to get into that perfect Christmas mode. The only trouble is that it makes you very hungry for Christmas food, and we have to wait before we get that. Some say it is worth waiting for, but I would rather have it both now and at Christmas.

Congratulations

2011-12-05T20:53:00.002+01:00

Paula and April came home from Finland today. April brought a new winner title, she is now FINW -11. I congratulate her warmly to that title. She was Best of Opposite Sex, and has yet to come close to a Best in Show title, like I won when I was as young as a pup. This means that she needs the extra encouragement of my warm congratulations even more.

Another Dog Island

2011-12-04T19:20:00.002+01:00

Another Dog Island may be in the making. I am talking about the Canary Islands, of course, whose name means Dog Islands. This Spanish archipelago off the northwestern coast of Africa is full of volcanoes. This year, another volcano has formed and erupts south of the island El Hierro. This might become another Canary Island, or add territory to El Hierro. Either way, the Dog Islands will get more territory.

This is nice. For obvious reasons, I like the name, and I would like to go there sometime. I do not know if you can get a Canary Island championship or if it is Spanish there too. The Islands is a province of its own in Spain, but I do not think it has any special governing status. It would be nice if there was a Dog Islands Dog Championship, or Winner title, though.

Black Wolf

2011-12-03T22:14:00.003+01:00

I read this interesting article on wolves in the Yellowstone National Park in the USA. What intrigued me even more, though, was the adjacent picture of two wolves, running while playing with each other. One of the wolves is black. Never before have I seen a picture of a wolf of this beautiful colour. I was uncertain they even existed. Being a black and tan dog myself, this makes me really happy. There probably were black wolves tens of thousands of years ago, before dogs. We may have a really long story, we who are black. It continues now with me, from my Dad and onwards through most of my pups. I like that.

England, France, and Ukraine

2011-12-02T21:45:00.002+01:00

Sweden will face tough opponents in the Euro 2012 football championship. The other teams of the group include England, which has been very successful in the qualification round, and France. The easiest opponent may be Ukraine, which, however, has the advantage of playing at home soil. I would like for Sweden to move on from the group, but I am not sure this will happen. In England, they believe they have an easy group. I guess they are right, from their perspective.

Christmas Party

2011-12-01T17:45:00.003+01:00

This evening, Daniel is at a Christmas party with his work mates. Meanwhile, we who stay at home have a Christmas party of our own right here. It is a nice and quiet party, there is no need to trash our own home just to have a good time.

Advantages

2011-11-30T20:31:00.002+01:00

There are actually advantages of not going to dog shows, no matter how much I like it. This weekend, it is time for April to go to a dog show, whence Daniel bathed her this eveing. It is not fun being bathed, I can gladly do without that. Even though I will be jealous for April on the day of the show, I am not jealous of her tonight. This is of some comfort, at least.

Paying the Bills

2011-11-29T19:12:00.001+01:00

It is the end of the month. Our humans are paying all the bills. One of the great advantages of being a dog is that we have humans who pay all of our bills for us. Who did you say was there for whom?

Preparations

2011-11-28T21:54:00.004+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We have started to prepare for Christmas. It is not much, but we do have some Christmas decorations in the house. I would want much more. The older dogs say it is still many days before it is Christmas, but why wait? I do not think I can grow tired of Christmas paraphernalia.

The only bad thing about Christmas is that the colour of Chrismas is red. I would rather see it was black and tan.

First Sunday of Advent

2011-11-27T22:58:00.002+01:00

This Sunday is the first Sunday of the new Church year, the first Sunday of Advent, which is the weeks before Christmas. It is a time of great anticipation. While pups and human children might look forward to new toys on Christmas, it is the food that I like best. I hope we get a lot of great food and candy this Christmas.

Something Else

2011-11-26T20:13:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Mommy wanted to write another piece in the blog about how disappointed she is that Paula has gone to a dog show without her. I beat her to the computer. I have had it with these blog entries. Here goes something else.

We have had a nice, calm Saturday with Daniel. Everything is just fine. The plan is to put up the electric candelabras which Swedes always have in our windows from the first Sunday of Advent and throughout Christmas. It is great to have these lights around during the darkest time of the year. It never gets completely dark with these candle lights. I really like that.

Is the Kimono Dying Out?

2011-11-25T21:08:00.002+01:00

Is the traditional Japanese garment kimono dying out? Well, this BBC radio report suggests it is. Young Japanese do not chose kimonos, and there is an interview with a 70 year old kimono maker who has been declared a human national treasure for his work.

Shiba Inus are all national treasures of Japan. Our coats never go out of style. If you do not want to pay the high prices that you have to give for a real kimono, you can always get a Shiba Inu and have a dear friend for life instead.

One Month to Go

2011-11-24T21:53:00.002+01:00

It is Christmas Eve within a month. Two days ago, Karstuhl wrote about Christmas decorations here in the blog. I just have to say I do not quite agree with her. I believe we can wait for a little longer before we decorate the house for Christmas. Then again, Karstuhl is still young enough that she gets away with not helping, while I help all that I can. I guess you have a different approach if you participate in decorating the house. We have to give it time to make it great. I believe we can wait until this weekend, when there is more time for this. It is refreshing to have a little difference of opinions once in a while.

Food on TV

2011-11-23T21:55:00.002+01:00

Paula likes to watch shows on TV where they cook food. It can be almost anything, from chefs teaching the watchers different recipies to competitions on how to be the best chef. I think watching this is, in some ways, a waste of time. Sure, Paula also cooks a lot of food, but this is not what I am thinking about. I am writing in general terms. If you are interested in food, it is better to cook more food yourself in the kitchen. For the off chance that you cook too much for your own use, the dogs of the household will always be ready to eat it.

Why Wait?

2011-11-22T22:42:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula has started to decorate our house for Christmas. She started to play Christmas songs even earlier. Daniel does not like it, he wants to wait. I support Paula. Christmas is a lovely holiday, just consider all the lovely food and candy. Why wait for it, if we can bring some Christmas feeling as soon as now? I am all for it.

Alliterations

2011-11-21T20:03:00.002+01:00

Hello, Harstuhl here!

Almost all alliterations are amuzing, albeit arduous. Blogging being better? No, not necessarily. We wouldn't worship whatever, would we? Any alliterations aren't amuzing. Leaving last line without it.

Silly Rain

2011-11-20T22:41:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

The weather might be good or bad different days. Sometimes, I think the weather is just silly. Today was one of those days. It rained constantly, but just small droplets, few and far in between. I think that if it is going to rain, it is better to have real rain for a short period of time, than this silly almost rainy weather. It is not nice, but still not wet or cold enough to complain about. I do hope the weather gets better, or perhaps worse, tomorrow.

Not Nice

2011-11-19T22:25:00.002+01:00

It was not a nice morning today. Paula and Daniel decided to cut my claws. I know this is necessary sometimes, but I do not have to like it because of that. This is when I wish I would have inherited Dad's claws. They were naturally torn to stay on a nice level all the time. Perhaps my claws are stronger, but at least Dad did not have to have his claws cut nearly as often as the rest of us. That must have been nice for him.

New Map

2011-11-18T22:19:00.002+01:00

NASA has published a new, improved map of the Moon. Since I always eclipse the Moon (why else would I be called Lunar Eclips?), I feel a little responsibility for teaching others about the Moon. If they cannot see the Moon because of me, I can tell them about the Moon. Otherwise, they can read the article which I have linked to, with its illustration. It is interesting.

Change

2011-11-17T19:46:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My life seems to go on in the same tracks as always. It occurs to me once in a while that I might want to change careers, perhaps move away from home. Granny moved from the USA to Sweden when she was five years old, that must have been exciting. She did not change careers, however, but continued her career as a show dog and pet. She has done this extremely well. Mommy has had the same career. It seems like I am predetermined to walk in the paw prints of Granny and Mommy. This is definitely not bad, but what if I do not want to? I might want to be something else. It is just that I do not quite know what alternatives I might have. Would it be possible to become candy tester or movie actor? I believe it would be hard, there would be many who would want to do the same. Perhaps I will just stick to what I know and do that very well.

New Pup

2011-11-16T20:57:00.003+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Once again today, I have become sister to a newborn pup. It is a black and tan little girl. Mommy is not quite happy about this, because it is a pup that Daddy had with another bitch. Mommy says this with so much scorn that it is clear she means bitch in the figurative as well as in the litteral sense of the word. I do not care, I am happy. The only downside is that this pup does not live with us, but quite a way away. The chance för me to play with her and teach her fun stuff almost does not exist. We will have to see if we will meet sometime in the not so far future.

Anzu

2011-11-15T22:57:00.002+01:00

I wrote about Biki yesterday, April's son who were successful in a show last weekend. My own daughter also participated in that show. She was showed in puppy class and did well compared to relatively much older contestants. I am sure Anzu will become show champion too, in the not too distant future. This is something to look forward to.

Not Bad

2011-11-14T23:12:00.002+01:00

April has this weird idea that, just because her son Biki has become Norwegian Show Champion and was BIS-4 yesterday, her offspring is better than mine. Granted, what Biki did was not bad. However, he is the only offspring of April that can ever have a success like that. He is April's only son, and April's only daughter is creme, which is not a recognized coat colour in Shiba Inus. I, on the other hand, have three sons and four daughters, many of whom are promising. The last laugh will be mine.

Father's Day

2011-11-13T11:06:00.002+01:00

We celebrate Father's Day in Sweden today. This is my first Father's Day when my father is not present. He left us for the afterlife earlier this year. I miss him more today than I usually do, since I am reminded of him on Father's Day. Still, he is in a better place now, where he is not tormented by the illness that became too much for him in the end.

Polly celebrates her father Kuro chan.

Inspiration

2011-11-12T23:09:00.002+01:00

I have heard that Charles M. Schulz, the creator and author of the comic strip Peanuts, had a way of coming around a lack of inspiration. Sometimes, he would just start to draw some of the characters of the comic strip, working out along the way what they were saying and doing. Thus, a joke could be made up.

When I write my blog, I believe that Iuse a similar method sometimes. If I do not have any idea what to write about, I just start to write anything. This often leads to some thought that is worth expressing to the world in the blog. In these circumstances, I often erase the first sentences, even though they led to the idea that I eventually wrote down. This is no loss. There must be hundreds of discarded words for every word that was ever published. I wonder how many peanuts comic strips that was started but never finished or published. There must have been a few.

TGIF

2011-11-11T23:22:00.002+01:00

There are those who love abbreviations. On Fridays, some humans like to use the abbreviation TGIF. It means they are thanking God it is Friday, the last day of work before the weekend. I can also say TGIF. This is not because I am not working in the weekends. On the contrary, I am always fulfilling my duties as a pet dog and my job as a show dog is normally executed in the weekends. When I say TGIF, it is because my humans are mostly at home during weekends. I like that better than when they are off to work. This weekend, Paula will work, but Daniel will be at home the whole time. There is cause for me to say TGIF.

Saint Martin

2011-11-10T23:03:00.003+01:00

Today is the eve of Saint Martin of Tours. This is celebrated in the south of Sweden with goose for dinner. On one paw, I would like to have some goose meat, because have never tried it but I am sure it tastes good; on the other paw, we live in central Sweden, where there is no tradition of eating goose this evening. We had an ordinary meal, just like any other day. This is not bad. I can try out goose meat any other day of the year.

Referendums

2011-11-09T20:09:00.003+01:00

Humans rule their complicated society in quite odd ways. They elect people who will rule for them. Still, when there are difficult questions, these elected rulers may leave the decision to the whole people, nevertheless, through a referendum. Then, the politicians may vote against the will of the people from the referendum. This has happened in the little municipality Sjundeå in Finland, where a referendum was held earlier this autumn on the question of merging with two other municipalities. The people voted no, but the municipality council had the final say and voted yes today.

I do not know if I think referendums are good for democracy or bad. They show that you have elected politicians who are not able to stand up for what they believe is right. You elect politicians, so that you can use your time for other things than the broad questions of society. If the politicians will not do that, you still have to learn enough to make an informed vote in the referendum. Then, the politicians may vote against the result of the referendum, and you gained nothing but more contempt for them.

What other tradesmen let you make the most difficult choices yourself? If you hire a constuction firm to build a house, you do not have to chose the building material. If you bake a cake, you do not have to chose how to harvest the grain, but buy flour in a store. The politicians, however, leave the biggest issues to you - then they may just ignore the result that you and your fellow non-politicians vote for. No, if I would vote for leaders, I would want them to lead. Is it not this they are elected and paid for?

Not Tough Enough

2011-11-08T21:02:00.002+01:00

A man has been sentenced to fines by Värmlands tingsrätt (the Court of law of Värmland, the province to the west of us) for animal cruelty. The man's son was attacked by a dog, but witnesses pulled the dog away. Although bitten, the boy siffered no physical injuries. Nevertheless, the man grabbed the dog by the skin, lifted it up, and threw it on the ground. He then proceeded by hitting it many times with his fists.

This action by the man was obviously uncalled for. The dog had already been pulled away. It is a good thing he was prosecuted and found guilty. I just think the sentence was not tough enough. I also hope everything is all right with the dog.

New Trolley

2011-11-07T23:35:00.002+01:00

Paula has bought a new trolley for us dogs. We can ride in this trolley when we go to dog shows, from the car into the show ground. It is a large trolley in aluminium, foldable so it can be stored in the car. We let Paula and Daniel put it together for us; then April, Polly, and I tried it out. It felt comfortable. As always, I am looking forward to dog shows of the future. With a new trolley like this, it might be even better.

Visiting Journalist

2011-11-06T20:16:00.002+01:00

A journalist visited us today. She is from Japan, but lives in Sweden, and will make an article about us and our breeding for the Japanese dog magazine Wan. This is very exciting. As far as I can understand, this is the first feature of a Swedish Shiba breeder in that magazine. I like that!

I will let you know when I get more information on the published article.

Gustavus Adolphus

2011-11-06T19:42:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Human languages interests me. There is no doubt it must be frustrating to be a human, with all of these different languages. Dogs understand each other throughout the world. You may say that we have less complicated dialogues, but at least we can make peace with each other wherever any of us come from.

In Sweden today, humans celebrate the memory of King Gustavus Adolphus, who died on the battlefield of Lützen on this day in 1632. Thus, he was fighting a war, a more fierce war than any other animal on Earth has ever fought, still not the fiercest in human history. Dogs could have made peace with each other.

Gustavus Adolphus fought for freedom of religion, you may say. This is also very human. Dogs allow one another to believe whatever we want, humans often do not.

The proper name is also interesting from a language point of view. The King was called Gustaf Adolf in Swedish. Why would you change a proper name just because you use another language? It is as if I would be called Karstuhlia or Karstulko in other languages.

Dad

2011-11-05T23:43:00.003+01:00

This Saturday is celebrated as All Saints' Day in Sweden. We commemorate our deceased loved ones this day. Mum, Polly, and I, as well as Auntie Linni, have special causes to commemorate Dad. He passed away early this year, but we will never forget him. Dad was the best male role model anybody could have. He was a great father and friend. We really miss him, but we believe that he is in a better place now.

If we could, we would light a candle for Dad. Paula and Daniel lit a candle for us, commemorating him.

RIP

2011-11-04T23:42:00.002+01:00

Our great veterinarian Torleif Lind, who passed away earlier this autumn, was laid to rest today. Paula and Daniel visited the funeral. If dogs would have been welcome, I would have come as well. He did wonders for me, my fellow dogs, and especially my pups.

Å, Ä, Ö

2011-11-03T23:20:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Why are there no å, ä, and ö in English? We have these letters in Swedish. At least ä and ö also exist in German. They have the sounds for å and ä in English, but I guess they do not have the ö sound, so they might not need that letter. Well, English is a rich language in other ways, so if it is poor in letters, it might have to do.

Snow

2011-11-02T19:54:00.002+01:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We have not had snow yet. I will write about snow anyway, because I like to play in it and I am longing for it. We are in the last month of autumn, but we have had a couple of relatively warm days. It will probably be a while before we see the first snow of the season. In the meantime, we have to make due with other white, fluffy things. If I would kill a pillow, I would get some fake snow. Daniel and Paula would not like me to do that, though. I guess I will have to wait for the real snow to come.

November

2011-11-01T20:00:00.002+01:00

It is now November, the last month of autumn and probably the darkest month of the year. There are less hours of sunlight in December and January, but often snow. The white snow makes it less dark, in the day as well as in the night. It is not that I fear darkness, far from it, but it can make me a little blue sometimes. Dark blue, that is.

Seven Billion Humans

2011-10-31T19:51:00.002+01:00

It is estimated that the seven billionth human was born today. Nobody knows exactly what day he or she was actually born, because the population statistics is not certain for all parts of the world. Nevertheless, humans want to have a certain date for an event like this.

The good thing is that the more humans there are, the more dogs there can be. Since some wolves and humans joined forces about 40 000 years ago, whereupon these wolves started to be known as dogs, humans and dogs have walked this world hand in paw. Dogs would be almost as lost without our beloved humans, as humans would be without us dogs. With seven billion humans on this planet, there are also a lot of room for dogs. This is good news for all of us who have had, or are planning to have, pups.

Big Bang Theory

2011-10-30T21:58:00.002+01:00

Paula and Daniel agree that the best TV show for the time being is the US comedy show Big Bang Theory. While it is funny, I cannot say it is my favourite. There are no dogs in it.

Long Night

2011-10-30T00:05:00.003+02:00

It is going to be a long night, in a way, this night between Saturday and Sunday of this week. We are getting an hour back that the government took from us this spring, changing the time into "daylight savings time" for the summer. Daylight savings time seems at odds with the round the clock society that we have become, and is a widely loathed idea. It is still hard to change it, because it is a standard of the whole of Europe.

Now that we leave daylight savings time behind, our morning walks will be by daylight again for some time. Daylight is no longer saved for later in the day. This is good.

Idol 2011

2011-10-28T22:47:00.001+02:00

There is a talent show on Swedish television called Idol 2011. One of the contestants have annoyed us, not just because of her general odd appearance, but more than anything because she has called herself Linni. This is a name that we feel belongs to Auntie Linni, who invented it for herself. Today, however, the Idol contestant Linni was voted out of the show. We are pleased.

International Teddy Bear Day

2011-10-27T19:03:00.003+02:00

Today is the international teddy bear day. It is celebrated on the 27th of October because it was the birthday of US President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, whom the teddy bears are named from. Teddy bears are great toys and deserves a day of their own.

Daniel celebrated the day by traditionally wearing his teddy bear tie to work. I like that.

I now notice that I wrote a blog post which looked much the same as this one on this day last year. I guess things like this might happen, when it is an important annual event that needs a comment.

Tilting

2011-10-26T22:53:00.002+02:00

Hello, Karstuhl here!

I have heard about some motorcyclists doing a trick: tilting the motorcycle so they go on the back wheel only. It is just that I do not see the tricky bit in this. I often tilt myself, going on my back legs only. Where is the difference? It is not hard for me, so why would it be for them? Is it just that motorcyclist humans do not have the same balance as dogs have? I guess so.

Romania's King

2011-10-25T19:23:00.002+02:00

Romania's king Michael I celebrates his 90th birthday today. He has not been able to perform his job as king since 1947, when the communists forced him to abdicate. Today, however, he had been invited to address the Parliament in present day Republic of Romania. He received standing ovations from many members of parliament.

The president of the Republic and a couple of ministers refused to attend. I believe this is very bad manners towards an old man who has a great part in Romania's history, no matter what you think about the idea of restoring the legitimate monarchy.

The United Nations

2011-10-24T23:27:00.003+02:00

It is the UN day today. The United Nations are commemorated today all over the world, because its statutes went into force on the 24th of October 1945. It has been celebrated since 1946.

I do not care so much about the UN. While they have a Universal Declaration on Human Rights, they have no similar Universal Declaration on Canine Rights. Dogs - and our wild cousins, wolves - would need one. Dogs have been man's best friend for at least 40 000 years, so I think we deserve a special recognition.