Friday evening

...and as usally, I'm so exhausted. It takes both physical and psycical strenght to be as cute as I am. I also spend a lot of time playing around with mum Sunni (see above).

I want to greet all my readers and friends a Happy New Year!! For tomorrow I will not bee around to write in my blog. We are waiting some dinner guests so I have to save my strenght for that.

Yours truly, ms. Hailey

New Year

A new year is coming, and I am not yet a third of a year old. In a way, that feels old, but every adult has gone through it. I wonder what the new year will bring. So far, I do not know much more than that it will be celebrated in the middle of the night and that some people celebrate with fireworks and crackers. (Regarding crackers, please read yesterday's Daily Hailey.)

Crackers

I like crackers, the kind of thin, hard bread that tastes good. Now I have learned of something else called crackers. By New Year, it is customary to use tiny devices with gun powder to make tiny blasts, these devices are also crackers. The idea is to scare demons away.

Some people are stupid enough to use these crackers many days before New Years Eve. Except for the obvious result of making the use of crackers just by the beginning of the new year less special, crackers also scare some dogs. None of the dogs in my family is afraid of crackers or fire works, but one has got to feel some sympathy with the dogs who are.

People are stupid if they enjoy throwing crackers at dogs. They are even more stupid if they would believe there are evil demons in dogs. Dogs have good hearts by nature. Actually, dogs know how to identify the whereabouts of demons. I have yet to hear of a demon dwelling in a dog. The only evil demons dogs encounter is the ones hiding in the slippers, shoes, toys, wooden sticks etc. that we chew to pieces. Remember that!

Power Faliure

In the afternoon, all the lights suddenly went out, the TV and the computer went dead. There was still some daylight outside, so we could see our front paws ahead of us. Daniel was calm and told us it had to be a power faliure, but that the electricity would soon return. It did, not more than a few minutes later, just as Daniel had lit some candles. The world works in mysterious ways sometimes.

Second Day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas, we are still celebrating the birth of Christ. After visiting Paula's parents on Christmas Eve and her aunt yesterday, we spent this day at home. This evening, even the dogs in the house got to taste some ginger bread. I liked it. We have also tasted some home made meatballs. Christmas is a nice holiday.

Christmas Day

Santa came to me yesterday. I've got a lot of treats and a new pink necklace which can be seen above. My mum also played a lot with me, it was nearly the best thing with Christmas.

The day before Christmas.

And I'm very excited- Hopefully Santa think's that I've been kind enough to have at least one present.

I hope Christmas brings a lot of joy and play into our house. Sometimes daddy Kuro, mummy Sunni and auntie Linni is too stuckup to play with me. I can't understand why, playing with toys is the very best thing I know beside kiss my folks at home and to eat...food and treats!

Objects Hidden in Snow

The city collected bulky refuse the other day, so people had left old furniture and all kinds of strange stuff on the pavements and in the ditches. Snow fell tonight, hiding some of the refuse the city did not collect. When Daniel was out on a walk with me, he stepped on a door lying on the upper slope of a ditch, completely hidden under the snow. He slipped, off course. Fortunately, nothing more serious happened. One wonders why the city did not collect all the refuse.

Christmas Soda

There was an interesting plastic mug on the coffee table in the living room. Curious as I am, I naturally wanted to see what was in it. Too bad the mug was poorly designed and fell as soon as I touched it. I got a lot of the typical Swedish Christmas brew, julmust, all over me. Julmust is such a popular drink at Christmas time in Sweden that the sale of Coca Cola reaches extremely low rates in December. I understand that, it tastes really good.

Paula was not happy. She bathed me and cleaned the floor. I hope she understood that it was an accident due to the poor mug design and not my fault. I am just an innocent pup.

Tyres

In Sweden, there is snowy winter many month a year. Ice and snow gathers on the roads, which become slippery. You have to have winter tyres to be able to drive safely. Daniel and Paula has got a set of tyres that works all year and another set of winter tyres with spikes in them. Winter is now coming, so Daniel put the winter tyres on the car today. On dry asphalt, it is more slippery with spiked tyres than other tyres, but it feels safer anyway. You have to have a very safe car when driving shibas.

New Teeth

There are tickling and annoying sensations in my mouth. It has something to do with getting teeth. I have to chew things to calm myself. As the inexperienced pup I am, I chose the wrong things to chew on sometimes. Luckily, I am so cute Paula and Daniel forgive me.

Full Moon

I was exactly three months old yesterday. It was also a full Moon in the clear sky at night. Tonight, we could still see the Moon, but it was blurry behind a thin layer of clouds.

Our wild ancestors, the wolves, howl at the full Moon. To dogs living in the civilisation, it is not much more than a street lamp without a lamppost. I wonder if the wolves' howl is part of an ancient religion, maybe they worship the Moon?

Studying medicine

Paula is studying medicine to become a nurse. I like to study too. That is why Paula always keeps her books far away from me. She says that I'm always trying to bite the books and play with them. I say that she is just plain jelous because I'm way better than her at the University. I will probably be the puppy with honours when I will graduate.

BTW, I think my mum gave me the pretty-gene in her family. At least, that is what Paula and Dan says to me. My brothers recieved my fathers handsome-gene.

At the University

Daniel came home a little earlier than usual tonight. Paula, Daniel, and all of us dogs got into the car and went by the pet shop. At the shop, Paula, Daniel, and I purchased some more dog food. It is fun to watch all the toys and smell all the candy, but I'd rather bring some of those things home.

From the pet shop, we went to the university where Paula needed some information from the library. I met a Swedish Lapphund at the parking lot. She was nice, but suddenly left to greet another dog passing by. Isn't that rather rude? Very well, we went on for a walk through campus. This was exciting, it was the first time I visited the university.

St. Lucia

Today we celebrate St. Lucia here in Sweden. The Swedish holiday tradition on December, 13th is Lucia. Lucia is the girl with light in her hair and who illuminates the darkness of winter.

Everyone thinks that there should be a blonde girl as the lucia, but in fact. The tradition with a lucia comes from Italy and the girl was dark, not blonde. That suits me very well.

I have played a lot too, beside being just pretty. Mum thinks that I'm truly a sweet shiba girl.

Improving a Wardrobe

I chewed on Paula's leather shoes she wears on dog shows so they became unusable. She will have to buy new dog show shoes for next year's season. In my mind, this was an improvement of her wardrobe. Fortunately, she was not totally opposed to this idea. The shoes were of a good brand, but the new shoes can always be better. Pups do make a positive difference in the lives of humans.

Neighbours

Yesterday, I said hi to the neighbours upstairs. Today, I said hi to another neighbour, from a house nearby. These were friendly people who wanted to greet me. Other people do not. I wrote about this earlier, it still puzzles me. What is the difference between people who want to greet a pup and those who do not? I cannot see any difference when looking at them, so I try to greet everyone. Of course it makes me disappointed when they do not want to greet me back. How can I tell in advance who wants to greet me or not?

Late Night

I am often awake very late in the evening. This is such a night. It is so much fun to run around and play, why should I stop and lie down to rest just because everybody else wants me to?

Meatballs

I have to write about food today as well. Daniel made meatballs tonight and each dog got some mixed into the food. It was great, like getting treats in the regular food. I wish this is the beginning of a new habit of Daniel and Paula.

Minced Meat

Paula made lasagne for dinner today. Not all of the minced meat went into her cooking, she put some in the four bowls of us dogs as well. It was a terrific meal! I tried to take Mom's minced meat as well, but she did not let me. I can understand Mom, it does taste so great you do not want to share anything of it.

At the Veterinarian's

Paula took me to the vet today to get a vaccine. It is always nice to see new environments and it was fun to see Kesshi, who also had an appointment. We had to wait a long time before we got in, which annoyed me somewhat. Once we got in and saw the vet, I was my happy self again. Kesshi, however, franticly wanted to get out. I do not understand dogs like him, who are afraid of vets. Yet he is an adult dog, whereas I am still a pup. I have never had any problems with the vet.

Busy Evening

All evening, I have been busy playing with Dad. We had a great time. Paula was not home tonight. Daniel, who was, really got tired of our rushes and noice, despite my cuteness.

Wood

Wood is nice. Chewing on wooden sticks is a real treat. A fringe benefit is that Paula or Daniel usually brings the broom to sweep up the splinters from the floor. It is even funnier to play with the broom when it is swept across the floor, than chewing wood.

A Bit Jealous

A rather boring day. The adults did not want to play with me.

In the evening, Mom got to go with Paula to see my friend Kesshi. Dad and Auntie told me they and Mom have known Kesshi for much longer than I have, but I was still jealous. At last, when I came along to give Paula and Mom a ride home, I did get an opportunity to say hi to Kesshi. At least, that was something, and I was glad.

My Idol

The final episode of the Swedish Idol TV show was shown this evening. I did not vote for any of the contestants. My own idol is my father. He takes me along on every kind of fun stuff, running around, chewing on things, playing. The very best thing was stealing Paula's pencil case. I love playing with it.

Friends

I have more to tell about yesterday. I visited my friend, the male shiba Kesshi, where I also met the German Pinscher Vilja. Vilja visited me, Kiko, and Jiro before my brothers moved out. She is very nice to pups like me. We had a terrific time.

Today, the snow is melting and disappearing. It does not feel nice to walk through all the water left by the snow.

Link Tip

I have an older sister whose name is Lunar Eclips, just like my name! We are both black and tan shibas. There are also differences. Her prefix is Taichung, whereas mine is Aangenaam, and she is called Tsuki. Tsuki is a Japanese name. You can read more about this interestning sister of mine at http://www.taichungshibas.com/pages/383293/index.htm

Snow

It was snowing this evening. The snow was much more interesting to explore than anything else outside. I had to take Paula on a long hike through the neighbourhood before I could do anything else than smell the snow. She was not too happy. However, this is my first winter, so she forgave me.

A Taste of Christmas

I got an early taste of Christmas today, when Daniel fetched Christmas ornaments from the storeroom. One of the ornaments was a small red wooden Christmas elf. It tasted good, so I ran away with it and chewed upon it. Paula was not happy, she had made this little elf in the second grade in school. Even though I tried to assure Paula I just improved the elf a little, she did not let me keep it. Now it stands all alone on a table.

Advent

It is the first Sunday in Advent. It will soon be Christmas. This will be my first Christmas, but the adult dogs have told me I can look forward to a lot of good food and dog candy. I guess, then, that Christmas is something to look forward to.

Daniel put an electric seven-armed chandelier in the big window in the dining room. This is a Swedish Advent tradition. As far as I can understand, this is a symbol of the Jewish religion preceding Christianity, born with Christ on Christmas night.

At Kesshi's

I visited Kesshi today. It is always fun to play with him and it is nice to see and smell other environments, both his flat and the surroundings when we are out on walks. He enjoys my company much.

Paula and Daniel took my pictures later. They can be seen on my homepage at www.daily-hailey.se. I am as cute as ever on them.

Messages from My Brothers

Today I got messages from both of my brothers. It feels good to hear from them. It is very good to have nice brothers. Nobody can touch me, because they would become enemies of my brothers as well. (If nothing else, they would be deadly attacked by dog kisses.)

A Dachshound

In the evening, I met a Dachshound outside a house in our neighbourhood. We both wagged our tails. However, Daniel did not want me to come too close to the Dachshound, since its owner was nowhere in sight (probably indoors). Well, it is always nice to get acquainted with new dogs, if only for a very brief moment.

There will be another post this Friday, this is actually the post for yesterday. I am sorry for being a little late.

Something Wrong?

I cannot see my own blog page. Strangely enough, I can see the page where I update and edit the blog. I will give it a day or two before I explore further what is wrong. Hopefully, it is only something temporary.

Edit a minute later: once I updated the blog for today, I could enter the blog and read it. The Internet is strange sometimes.

Welcome to my website www.daily-hailey.se!

Today my new website www.daily-hailey.se had it's grand opening. I'm very proud over it. The site is called: "Watashi No Namae wa Hailey des". For all you readers who don't know any Japanese this means "My name is Hailey". I think this name will suit my site very well.

My site is in Swedish and my blog here is in English. I'm a bilingual shiba girl.

Playing with Kesshi

I visited Kesshi today, Paula's sister's shiba. We played around a lot. He was a good host and very happy to have me there - but then, who would not be? It was a terrific evening.

More or Less Friendly Humans

On the morning walk with Daniel, I met a very friendly woman whom I could greet. She talked to me and about me with Daniel.

Later in the day, I met other humans. As is my habit, I got up on my hind legs and waved at them to show I wanted to say hi. However, most humans just walk on by. Maybe some of them are busy, perhaps some dislike puppy dogs? I do not know, but I find the latter possibility rather puzzling. After all, people who do greet me often say I am the cutest thing they have ever seen.

I guess I do not know enough about humans yet to be able to solve this riddle. Might it be that humans are so different from one another? I will consider this and may return to this topic another day.

The First Snow

Tonight it was snowing at our place. I found it very fun to play in but also a bit cold. So did my mum so we went inside to continue the playtime.

First I attacked mummy. She was a bit surprised. Then she took control over me and things were as normal as they usually are.

Late Trains

Daniel is working in a different town from the one where we live. He communtes by train every working day. Some days, trains are a little late. Other days, train departures are cancelled. This was one of those latter days and Daniel came home an hour late. Naturally, he was not too happy this evening.

However, since Daniel was late, he went out to buy restaurant food and came home with sushi. It is not surprising that sushi is great food, since it, like the shiba breed, is from Japan.

Playing with Dad

It is Thursday, and I have another birthday. Now I am nine weeks old. One of the good things about being a pup is the many birthdays. I wanted to celebrate by playing with Mom, but she was not in the mood. However, Dad stepped in and the two of us played a lot today. It is fun to play with Dad, he has got a lot of energy.

Playing with Auntie

Today, I have played a lot with my aunt Linni. We get along better every day. Linni is a really nice dog to everybody who knows her well.

Weeks and Months

Last Thursday, I turned eight weeks old. This birthday is very significant in a pup's life, since this age is the minimum age recommended by kennel clubs for moving away from your mother. My daily readers know that my brothers moved to new families shortly after this birthday of eight weeks. I stayed, not because I had to, but because I was chosen to stay.

Today is also my birthday, although it is a Tuesday. I am eight weeks and five days old today, but I am also exactly two months old. The reason for this is that there are usually four weeks and another couple of days per month. It is fun to realise new things like this, I realise every day that this world is a more interesting place than I imagined the day before. Maybe this is just because I am still a pup, but I hope not!

Cars

I have gotten used to cars going by when I am out on my walks. They make nocie, but they do not disturb me any more. Daniel says this is good. Well, I am of the right stuff, I get used to bothersome things quickly.

Father's Day

This Sunday is Father's day in Sweden. I celebrated my father by playing with him, and he played along. We have never been better friends before.

In the early afternoon, Daniel brought me along when he went for a walk with the adult shibas. It was fun to come along. I still have not gotten used to the noice cars make when passing in the street, but I guess I will, since none of the others are bothered by it.

Later in the afternoon, we went to Paula's parents to celebrate her father. Paula's sister's shiba dog Kesshi was there as well and I got to play with him as well. Life as a pup sure involves a lot of play.

Loneliness

How is it that you can feel lonely, although you are surrounded by your dear mother, your father, and your auntie? Well, they are not my age and do not play in the same manner as my brothers did. Yesterday evening was all right, Jiro had left, but Kiko was still around for me to play with. Today, his new owners came by.

Kiko's new owners seem to be terrific people. They live in Småland in the southern part of Sweden. Daniel was glad to notice they are fans of the same football club as he is, Djurgården. (Note to American readers - this is the kind of football you call soccer.) I am sure Kiko will have a great life. Probably I will as well, but for the moment, I miss my brothers.

Jiro Has Left the Building

Jiro's new owners came here today, talking to Paula and Daniel and signing papers on the purchase. They seem to be fantastic people. I greeted them by licking and biting them.

Jiro has now left for his new home in the town Köping, east of Örebro. It feels a bit lonely without Jiro, but I am glad for him, he will certainly have a great life.

American Grafitti

Celebrating eight weeks and the success at the vet's yesterday. Paula's parents were here and ate some cake in the evening.

In Sweden, George Lucas' film American Grafitti is called "Sista natten med gänget", which means "Last Night with the Gang". This is another thing we celebrate today. My brothers will move away from here, now that they are eight weeks old. One of them move tomorrow, the other one the day after that. We had a great last night together, running around everywhere and wrestling with each other. I may miss this.

At the Vet's

Today, me and my brothers were at the Veterinarian's for our puppy check up. We all passed without any problems. It was rather nice waiting for the Vet, Paula's father was with us and gave us moose meat snacks.

Paula and Daniel feel a bit more at ease after the results. Personally, I was never worried. I have felt very much alive and well all my life and have the greatest confidence in my shiba heritage.

Home Page

I have decided to get a personal home page. The best of my daily thoughts will be published there. This blog will be continued, of course. I am currently considering the design of the page and it will be opened within the next few days. More information and a link will be published here, so stay tuned!

Busy Monday

Monday today, and I was wide awake and working hard as a pet the whole day. In the evening, my brother Jiro laid down to sleep, but I woke him up to get someone to play with. He was not very pleased, but I was.

Early morning

After a hard day yesterday, including a lot of running outdoors, me and my brothers fell asleep early in the evening. Then we woke up about half past one in the morning. Daniel came in to see to it we would not make too much noice, but he would not let us out of our room. He was not very pleased to stay awake with us for the next two hours or so, despite the fact that we are so cute (I am the cutest)!

Playtime

We were outside for a long time today. It is always fun to run around on the lawn. We can run really fast now.

Friday

Friday is a special day for Daniel, it means that when he comes home from work he can spend two whole days with us. Tonight, Paula was not at home, but we had a nice evening with Daniel. Me and my brothers thought it was a bit too quiet, so we barked at Dad until Daniel - way too soon - closed a door between us. It is rather fun playing with Dad, too bad he does not think so himself.

A Labrador Retriever

Today, Daniel's brother Elias, his wife Heidi and dog Pontus visited us. Pontus is a black Labrador Retriever and the biggest dog I have seen so far in my life. It was interesting to make his acquaintance, but he was a bit too big and eager to greet us for us to feel completely comfortable. Me and my brothers prefer dogs in shiba size.

A Different Day

Paula had a ful day at the university today, so Daniel took a day off from work and was at home with us. That felt a bit different.

The most different thing about this day, though, was that we spent a lot of time together with all of the adult dogs. Except for Mom, there are Dad and Aunt Linni. Linni is not our biological aunt, but we call her aunt. Dad and Aunt Linni are not as fond of us pups as Mom is, but Daniel and Paula say they will get used to us. We do the best we can to befriend them, whether they like it or not. I guess this is what pups usually do. After all, I heard Daniel remind Dad that he was just as annoying to the adult dogs on the kennel where he was born.

Photosession

Taking photos of me and my brothers is not an easy task. Ask Dan or Paula. They are trying really hard and I want to give them credit for that:o)

Paula tried to take one this morning. You have to practise. I want to win more in the show rings than my mum did.

Anyway. You can se that I'm kind of cute! Mum says that I'm the next black star.

24/7

Tonight, me and my brothers have been up really late. We sleep on and off during the day, whereas we're awake at night. Daniel does not really like this, he says we are irresponsible since we have no work to go to in the morning. Mom says, however, that dogs are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as pets. I believe this means we can be up late, since we are always working. I am sorry for my readers, though, who do not get this daily Hailey report on Monday but early on Tuesday.

Standard Time

Yet another day, I have had to worry about time zones and government regulations on time. Today, me and my brothers awoke as early as we usually do in the weekdays, that is when Daniel gets up to go to work. However, Paula and Daniel were somewhat disappointed that we did this. This was not only because it was Sunday, the day of rest. Apparently, this day Europe turns the clock back one our, it is the end of daylight savings time. Thus, by the clock, we got up one hour earlier than we usually do on weekdays.

Well, how could they expect small pups like us to know? Nobody had told us.

Sometimes, it feels good to be able to blame the fact that you are an inexperienced pup.

Running on Grass

Except for the other dogs, I live with the humans Paula and Daniel. They are nice. Today, we visited Paula's parents and got to run around in their garden. It was large, but not large enough for my brother Kiko. He found a small hole in the fence and got through. However, Paula's mother saw him, grabbed him and lifted him back. For me, I found it exciting as it was to run on the big lawn. Perhaps it is as Mom says, pups are easily amused?

Time Zone

One of my blog readers was kind enough to point out that my first posting was dated Wednesday the 26th of October and that there was no posting for the 27th. Thus my blog was not daily, despite the name. This is now taken care of. The problem was that the host of this blog has a standard setting for the time zone of Oakville, WA, USA (or as they put it: Los Angeles, USA), whereas I live in Örebro, Sweden. I have now changed the setting to reflect my current address' time zone.

We got up early this morning as well. For this, we were rewarded with an early breakfast. Neither me nor my brothers finished the meal, so Mom helped us. She tells us that is fair. Maybe mothers are always hungrier than their pups.

First Post

Six weeks old today, yipee! Awoke early in the morning with my brothers. Decided yesterday to start a blog, starting it today.

Mom says life as a pup is too easy. I doubt that, I have to make my brothers behave and explore everything within sight.