Happiness

Paula says she has been more happy than usual the last week. I actually believe I am the cause of this joy. It has always been Paula's dream to handle a dog that wins best in show at a great dog show. She has had this dream since long before I was born. Last Sunday she did with me. Not only that, I am bred by her as well.

Even though I am a successful shiba on the dog shows, there is one thing I do that is not typical for the shiba breed. When Paula throws my ball (the one I described the day before yesterday), I catch it and retrieved it. Maybe I am not a shiba, but something new, a shiba retriever? No, I do not believe so, I know I am pure bred.

Seven

Some say seven is a magical number. My Mum has her seventh birthday today. In human years, that would be seven times seven, i.e. fortynine. At least today, seven must be magical. We even got minced meat to eat in the evening, with its magically good taste.

Seven is also the lucky number of Daniel's mother. This must add to the magic of the seventh birthday of my mother.

The New Toy

I have a new toy since a couple of days. It is one of my favourites now, a black and white mouse in the shape of a ball. It is soft when I chew on it, it bounces a bit on the floor and rolls fast, and it is big enough not to disappear under the sofas. The latter thing is really good. Off course, I still like chewing on Paula's and Daniel's leather shoes better.

BOB

We were at a dog show today. I was not quite as successful as last Sunday. I was best of breed, but did not get a position in the Best in Show final. You cannot expect to have judges who appreciate you all the time. We are all still happy for the victory last week. My result this Sunday was good, though not fantastic, so we are happy for this as well. We are also happy for my brother Jiro, who was best of breed and second best in the spitz group at another dog show today. We are fabulous, my brothers and I.

Saturday Already

It is now Saturday and I have not written in my blog since Wednesday. I ask my readers for forgiveness. There are reasons, but reasons are not always excuses.

We had dinner guests Thursday evening and stayed up late. When I, the other shibas, and Daniel came back from the evening walk, it was past our ordinary bed time and Paula had already turned the computer off. I believe this is an excuse for not writing.

Normally, Daniel reminds me to write in my blog, but he forgot yesterday. Maybe it had to do with me not writing anything Thursday evening?

Paula and Mum was not at home yesterday evening. They spent the night with Mia and Kesshi and the four of them went to a dog show today. The rest of us hope it will be a success. I write this in the afternoon, maybe I will write more tonight if they were successful.

A Calm Day

The weekend was busy, then we rested in shape on Monday. Yesterday was Daniel's birthday. Today is nothing special. Sometimes, days that are not special are great, like this Monday. More exciting things could have happened today, though. In a way, it is a shame you cannot decide how much exciting things will happen any given day, so you can spread these things among the days of your week. Well, the exciting thing when you cannot decide upon this is, you never know what day will be exciting or not. That is nice in its own way. It is just that today I was a bit bored.

Mum, Dad, auntie, and I gave Daniel a birthday gift today, a year's subscription on the magazine F1 Racing. It is a very nice magazine about the exciting motor sport formula 1. The formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco would make this Sunday exciting, if it was not for the fact that we will be on another dog show, this time in Norrköping. Competing yourself on a dog show is a bit more exciting than watching formula 1 on TV.

Birthday

Sometimes, I feel like there are birthdays upon birthdays to write blog entries about. Daniel has his 34th birthday today.

As a matter of fact, I am not so sure we can count this birthday. I have learned that, since dogs do not live as long as humans, you can compare one dog year with seven human years. This have to mean that an average human has seven times as many birthdays as an average dog. You do not see humans celebrate their dogs' birth seven times a year. In order to make this equal, celebrating humans as many times during a lifetime as a dog, they would only be celebrated every seventh year. Given that 7 x 5 = 35, it is the next of Daniel's birthdays we would celebrate.

Well, due to his birthday, Daniel gave us dogs extra fine treats this evening. I am glad he did celebrate his birthday. I was reminded of the old saying that there are no bad reasons to have a party. Let us celebrate all the human birthdays, so they can give treats and candy to us dogs!

I am the Best

I am the best, this Sunday I got proof of it.

It is always best to start from the beginning. We started our weekend tour last Friday and got back home late last night. The goal was two dog shows in the south of Sweden. Dad stayed in Örebro at Paula's parents' house. The rest of us went by kennel Jbax on the way south, where Daniel and Paula got to see my younger half brothers. Mum, aunt Linni and I rested in the car in th meantime. I was told small pups are not fun to play with, so I did not care much. We did get to run around for a while in the yard, that was fun.

On Saturday, we were at a speciality show for spitz breeds. They had had to change judges for the pups. The new judge was not a spitz specialist and I was last of the shiba pups. Then we had to wait all day fr the judging of the adult shibas, where Mum was not very successful. It was a rather boring day.

Our Sunday was better. It was a bigger, international dog show organized by the North Scania Kennel Club, a bransch of the Swedish Kennel Club. I beat three other female shiba pups, then a male shiba pup, so I became best of breed among pups! This is a great result. Mum was not in the mood for dog shows and ended up as best of opposite sex among adult shibas. The male shiba beating her did look nice, but Mum said she just did not feel like the excitement of the finals.

It was my first final. We were about 50 pups from all kinds of breeds. Lo and behold, now there was a change of judges that we thought maybe would work in our favour: the judge putting me forth as the best of breed would now judge the best in show for pups. Well, he did save me to the final ten, none of the other pups he saw earlier got that far. Paula handled me, as usual, and we were very happy to get this far. Then we were chosen to be one of the final five. They always announce the fifth one first, then the fourth, then the third. I was none of those. I had beaten a shiba pup that Paula had matched to become fourth best of breed two years ago. Then they announced the winner, and it was me!

There you have it: I am the best.

However, the very best thing about the weekend happened after the final. My brother Kiko had been there in the audience and seen my victory. Afterwards, we went to Kiko's family's home and I played with him for several fun hours, though it felt much shorter.

We got home very late in the night.

On Tour

We are going away for a couple of days this weekend, starting tomorrow before noon. We are going to see my half brothers in Halland on their kennel. Then we are going to a dog show in Scania on Saturday and Sunday. On the way home on Sunday, we will pass through Småland and visit my brother Kiko and his family. I will probably not be able to write anything in my blog until Sunday, but you can count on that I have a lot of things to say once I get back home. See you later!

17th of May

In Mum's home cuntry, they have the 4th of July, even though what was to become the State of Washington did not exist when the United States proclaimed their independence on the 4th of July 1776. In Dad's home country, they have the 17th of May, celebrating the Constitution of 1814, even though Norway was about a thousand years old when this constitution was written. The Constitution of Norway is the oldest European constitution still in force.

Mum is not impressed by the Norwegian Constitution. The US Constitution is, off course, older - the oldest in the world which is still in force. Dad, on the other hand, is not impressed with the age of the United States, even less with that of Washington.

Be that as it may, we all know Japan is older.

Well, today is Dad's day, Norway's national day. He celebrates his country of birth. He made sure we got some mackerel in tomato sauce, his favourite dish since he was a little pup on the kennel in Bergen, Norway. (I have trouble picturing Dad as a pup, but I guess I have to believe him when he says he has been a pup. After all, as far as I have learned, every dog has been pup at first.) Mackerel tastes really good.

Running

Mum and Daniel went out to run this evening, in order to get more fit to the dog show season. Mum had a flexi leach. However, she did not run, all she did was walking a little quicker than she use to do, when Daniel wanted to get her to run. Mum just love to be comfortable, running is not her thing. I do not understand why. I love to run as fast and long as I can, whenever I get the opportunity. I am so different from my Mother in some ways, aren't I? I wonder why.

Another Blog Entry About Birthdays

It is the 15th of May and I am turning eight months old. More importantly, it is the annual birthday of a dog Mum knows, the office dog of Daniel's earlier workplace, Grus. Grus is one of few dogs who have made comments to my blog, so I consider him special. His homepage at http://www.freewebs.com/grusifer/ is new, honouring him on his birthday. I wish Grus all the best on his birthday!

Show Training

We took a morning walk in the park today. Paula joined us and trained me to be a better show dog. Show training is nice, because you get a lot of treats. We will go to shows next weekend and the weekend after that. I aim to be very good at it, to earn a lot of treats. If I am good at it, I will probably be successful, thus earning even more treats. If you put it this way, dog shows are nice experiences.

Watching TV

There was a piece on American dog shows on TV this afternoon. I watched it with great interest.

Some humans say dogs cannot watch a two dimensional picture, like the moving picture on a TV screen. We would not have the ability to make out the picture. I have showed Paula and Daniel many times that this is wrong, at least when I am concerned. They know that I watch TV with interest, but only when there is something on about wildlife or dogs. There is no need for animal sound to catch my interest.

Maybe dogs in general cannot make out two dimensional pictures, maybe I am a step forward in the evolution of the dog species? I do not think so. Even though I am a dog that is one of a kind, I do not think I am that special. I believe dogs in general can make out two dimensional pictures.

My Free Blog

If you get something for free, you cannot count on excellent service. I have a free blog. Most of the time, I am very pleased with it. There are, however, some days I am not. I could not write any entry in the blog yesterday due to technical problems on the blog page. Given the overall picture that the blog is free, I think I gain from having this blog anyway. I do not want to complain, the only reason I write about this is to explain why my daily blog had no entry yesterday.

So, what was it I did not write in the blog yesterday? The trouble is, I do not remember. Fortunately, under these circumstances, I do not remember having any great idea for a blog entry that is now forgotten. You must always see the positive aspects of a situation.

Winter Affair

One of the dogs at kennel Taichung (where Mum is from) gave birth to pups in April. One of these pups will probably move here in the future. She has been given the name Taichung Winter Affair, and will be called April. Paula and Daniel think April is a great name, but I am not so sure. This is as if I would be called September, because I was born in September. I like Hailey better. However, I am sure April will be satisfied with her name.

Bugs

Spring is almost getting dull. We have had a lot of warm, sunny days in a row.

On our walks, Dad watch out for flying insects, sometimes trying to catch them, sometimes jumping away from them. He has explained that some insects are dangerous, they can sting you really bad. He is my Dad, hence he is my hero, so I do believe him. He would not be afraid of something which is not dangerous. Nevertheless, I do not back of for insects. When I see them, I cannot believe that these small things are anything to worry about. This is puzzling. It is another one of those conflicts of whether you will believe what you are told or believe what you see. Are those tiny flying things dangerous? I guess you can say the bugs are bugging me.

Pepsi

Paula calls me a lot of things, it is a sign of her affection for me. One of the names I like, which she has continued to use because I like it, is Pepsi. It is somewhat like my name Hailey, but it is also a soft drink.

There are pictures of celebrities on Pepsi Cola bottles. When I become a true celebrity, they should contact me to give me a nice contract for lending my picture to the bottles. After all, who could be a better symbol for a soft drink than a cute, young dog whose name is Pepsi? It would certainly show Pepsi as the choice of a new generation.

More Brothers

The latest litter sired by Dad is born. I now have three more brothers, but not a single sister. So far, I am Dad's only daughter, while he has got six sons. I am unique. I would be unique as an individual anyway, but this is additional proof of that point.

It will be months before these pups are old enough to play with, but I am looking forward to it. There will be a lot of things I can learn my young brothers.

Mia's Birthday

We experienced some wonderful aspects of spring today. It was a warm and sunny day. All the four of us dogs went with Paula to the park. While the adult dogs laid down in the new grass to relax, I ran around, feeling free.

Today is not the birthday of Paula's sister Mia, but on her own request we celebrated it this evening instead of the day before yesterday. This must be a perfect way of getting birthday cake more than once in a couple of days.

We met Mia's boyfriend. He is a nice fellow, we all thought so. This is a good thing, expecially for Kesshi.

Summit

The Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is in Sweden on an official visit. There is a little information on this meeting on the homepage of the Swedish Government: http://www.regeringen.se. Mr. Koizumi visits Stockholm, where he meets our King and Prime Minister. It is nice to know that the Government of the home country of the Shiba Inu breed takes an interest in my home country. Unfortunately, I have not been able to go to Stockholm for this event. I am just a dog, not a journalist, so I would probably not be able to visit the press conference anyway. Sometimes, being a cute pup is not an asset.

I Miss Ice

Spring is warm and nice. The sun is shining today. However, during winter there were pieces of ice on the ground. It was like treats lying scattered all around. You cannot eat stones or dirt. Everything is not better in the spring.

Chocolate

Paula and Daniel had some chocolate this evening. They did not give any chocolate to me or the other dogs. They claim chocolate is unhealthy, even toxic, for dogs. This is strange, considering that there is this thing called dog chocolate. Why is there dog chocolate, if chocolate is toxic for dogs? Is dog chocolate a way of intoxicating dogs? May the truth really be that chocolate is not unhealthy, but only the cheapest chocolate is called dog chocolate, because humans want all the other chocolate for themselves? Another theory was put forth by Mum, she claims the toxic ingrediens in chocolate is removed from dog chocolate. This seems plausible, maybe too plausible. If there is one thing I have learned in life, it is that things are usually complicated. Mum's theory seems to be too simple. Shall I believe in it? Maybe I can satisfy myself with the thought that life is, sometimes, rather uncomplicated.

Flowers

It is the first day of May, a month that was called Flower Month in ancient times in Sweden. There are more and more flowers on the ground, so the name Flower Month seems to be justified.

I think the best thing about flowers is picking them and eating them. It is not that flowers taste great, but it is fun. Unfortunately, Paula and Daniel do not think this is a good idea. They will not let me pick any flowers. Well, if they would give me more treats instead, I would not feel such an urge to eat flowers.