A Useful way to Spend the Day

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We have had a very useful way to spend the day today. While Daniel was with us tonight, Paula was off working night at the hospital. When Paula got home, she made sure all of us dogs got outside, then we joined her when she went to bed and to sleep. We did not wake up until late afternoon.

In my mind, this is a very useful way of spending the day. The others do not think so. I say that if you sleep, you get rest and can make better use of your later hours when you are awake, but the others claim that rest is not productive. They might agree that rest can be useful, but still say they cannot see that it is useful to sleep all day. I then ask them why they slept along with me and Paula. They may say that this was just to keep Paula company, since she is the leader of our pack and needed the sleep after a night's work, but I do not believe this is the only reason. I believe they do find a day of rest useful in some more ways, otherwise they would not just sleep all day. Still, they say it is not productive.

Well, what do I know about productivity, junior as I am? I just know that we all slept while Paula slept. This cannot be bad.

Uniformly Dressed

A young woman in New York has made the news, because she has worn the same dress for a full year. Her aim was to protest the consumer society. Still, she did not want the dress to end up in rags, so she actually had seven dresses made up which looked the same.

I cannot understand the hype. I blow my coat twice a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn. Apart from that, I wear the same thing all year. I do not cheat by having seven different coats that look the same.

Horrible Pictures

We watched a Swedish documentary on TV today, in what looked like an entertaining piece on Chinese food. After a while, though, they showed pictures of a lorry driving down a motorway, full of tiny cages, each with a dog in it. The dogs were not protected from the wind and the weather. We were told they were going on a long journey, at the end of which they would be sold as food to humans. We quickly changed channels on the TV. I feel terrible for all of these dogs, and the other dogs who face a similar fate in China. It is one thing to hear rumours about dogs being eaten by humans in China, quite another thing to see pictures showing dogs transported for this very purpose on TV, in a manner that would make any Swedish animal protection agent freak out. Humans are supposed to be dogs' best friend, but this clearly does not involve the Chinese who eat dogs. I still feel bad about these pictures, I can just hope it will not give me any bad dreams.

Great News from Norway

We have heard great news from Bergen in Norway, where April's and Kuro-chan's son Biki lives at friends of Dad's breeder. Biki has had his hips X-rayed with the result B. This means he has very good hips and will make him even more wanted as a father of future pups. We have all congratulated April and Kuro-chan on their son's result.

Did Not Die in Vain

A dog owner i Lancashire, the UK, fell into an icy river today when trying to rescue his pet springer spaniel. He was pulled from the river by the fire brigade, but despite efforts by paramedics to save him, he died later at the hospital. The dog survived and is now taken care of by the man's family. It is a tragic story, but at least the man did not die in vain, since his dog did survive.

I first read about this story at the web page of the BBC, but the BBC did not mention anything about the faith of the dog. I searched the Internet and found the full story at the web page of the Lancashire Constabulary. It is strange that the BBC did not mention what happened to the dog. This means the reader cannot know that the man's efforts to save his dog's life was actually successful, which mean he did not die for nothing. Nevertheless, he was a hero.

Important News

There has been snow chaos, resulting in terrible accidents. The Swedish news paper Expressen chose an important angle when they report of the troubles in the snow storm, though. They write about a young human who were going to fetch a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pup whom she had ordered from a kennel afar. However, she was very late in the long queues on the motorways. The relations between human and dog is always important. I believe it is nice that they describe the snow chaos from this angle, despite the tragedies of car accidents.

Saab

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There is a Lebanese fashion designer called Elie Saab. I would guess she drives a Saab.

:-)

Swedish Idol

Paula is watching a Swedish TV show called Idol (the same thing as American Idol, but in Sweden with Swedish talents), where talents compete with the aim to be able to make a record. The winner is supposed to become an idol, hence the name of the show. Daniel is not very interested, he believes there are enough musicians in the world already. He also says that the re-growth of new musicians need not be through shows like this, but that real talents often make it anyway. Paula does not care about his critisism, she enjoys the show. I believe she is right in doing so, you can enjoy and like something even if not everybody else in the household does. Personally, I do not care much about the show either, but this is because I believe the only great shows are dog shows. If I am to have an idol, it is another dog.

Prominent Relative

Paula's father Nils Olov has reached a prominent position.

Since many years, Nils Olov has run his own business as a masseur. One of his specialties is massage for athletes. Now he has been hired as the masseur for the Swedish National Team in orienteering. This is great.

He is not competing himself, but I would guess he is at least as important as the humans helping dogs who compete in dog shows by running in the other end of the leash. He has told us about some of the athletes he has helped, some of whom would certainly not have achieved as much without his help. The members of the national team are lucky.

Quieter

April is getting out of her heat, and the boys are not screaming as much in their struggle to get to her. We have more peace and quiet now. This is good. I cannot understand why the boys have to be so loud.

Half a Year

Hello, Karstuhl here!

As a pup, I have had many birthdays. At first, we got to celebrate every week. Then it was every month, and when I was half a year I got to start in dog shows. It has been great.

Now I am not a pup anymore, since I am more than nine months old since last Friday. I have learned, however, that adults celebrate much more seldom, and there was no celebration of me when I turned Junior.

I do not understand why adults celebrate more seldom. Daniel sometimes say that there is never a bad reason for a celebration. Nevertheless, he had a half year birthday today, which neither he, Paula, nor any of the others here at home paid any attention to. I thought I would instead, and this is why I write about it in this blog. Maybe this will make Daniel celebrate, preferably by giving me some treats.

Dogs Are Smarter than Cats

A new scientific study shows what most of us have suspected all along: dogs are smarter than cats. The study shows that brains of mammals have evolved faster in species where the individuals are more social than in other species. Dogs are very social animals, much more so than cats, and dogs do have bigger brains than cats. Humans are also social animals, this can be part of the reason that they have big brains as well.

Along Came Polly

Hello, Polly here!

The motion picture Along Came Polly is broadcasted on one of the TV channels we have this evening. I would want to see it, since it is about a girl by the beautiful name Polly. We will see if I may. Paula or Daniel are usually in charge of the remote control, and perhaps some of them think there is something better on a different channel. I cannot understand why, though, a film about someone called Polly must be good, must it not? Well, if I cannot see this film, my belief that it is a good film cannot be proved wrong, so maybe it is a good thing if I do not get to see it.

Pirog

Paula made some pirogi for dinner today. A pirog is a form of pie filled with meat and vegetables.

I looked it up on the Internet. There seem to be some confusion about the word in English. In one online dictionary, the plural form is pirogi in English. This is a little odd, since almost every word in english has a plural form that is an s-suffix. You would therefore think that the plural form of pirog is pirogs, but it is not, according to this dictionary. I also found this form in this dictionary. In another online dictionary, the word is pirogue (plural form pirogues) or piroshki. In Wikipedia, there were one article on pierogi, another on pirozhki, the former of Polish origin, the latter of Russian origin, but basicly it seemed to be the same thing.

Whatever these things are called, Paula's were very tasty.

Upholding the Law

The Japanese police is good at upholding the law. Their fight against organised crime has made progress, they have arrested a man who is alleged to be second in command in Japan's biggest yakuza syndicate. As I am sure you know, the yakuza is the Japanese equivalent to the mafia, only better, just like the Japanese police is better than the Italian, I believe.

Friendly Game

Sweden's national football team is playing against Germany in a friendly game tonight. I will not look at it. It does not mean anything, since it is a friendly game, and why would I then like to see a game that Sweden will certainly lose? There must be many better ways to spend the evening.

Japanese Collects First Sample of Asteroid

A Japanese space probe has collected a sample of dust from an asteroid and brought it to Earth. This is the first time samples from another celestial body than the Moon has been brought to Earth by our civilisation, and it was Japanese who did it. There is no question about the Japanese being a great people, this only goes to prove that once more. I do not think it is strange that the Japanese are great, considering that Japan is the home country of the Shiba Inu. If humans have great dogs, this must make it easier becoming great humans as well.

It will be interesting to see what scientific news can come from this collected asteroid dust. I have small hopes for great discoveries. The greatest achievement was collecting the dust. This was a scientific feat in its own right.

Even a poodle needs a Guardian Angel

My toy poodle friend, the sweet Laila /Love Chan survived a terrible accident today when she slipped on wet ice and landed on her neck/back.

For a moment we thought she had broke her neck, lying still in an odd position. She couldnt move or stand on her legs. All she could do was making odd sounds and breath very constricted.

We rushed to the veterinarian. Laila had some x-rays and physical examination. Luckily she came back to us. Nothing broken or so. Just bruises and a very soar neck. Probably Laila went into chock after the accident which caused her to faint. But she survived!

All of us are still in chock after the terrible trauma. Luckily, Laila seems to recover in a good way. She has manage to eat pop corns and beef filet. In a normal day I would have been very jealous but now Im just happy that my little friend can eat beef filet.

Father's Day

Today is father's day in Sweden, and I have celebrated Dad. Karstuhl has celebrated her father Kuro-chan. April's and Kuro-chan's son Biki in Norway gave Kuro-chan a special gift, by winning Best of Breed at an official show.

Daniel called his father on the telephone and talked to him. April and I also got to go with Paula and Daniel to Paula's parents, where we celebrated Paula's father.

It was a nice day, despite the dull November weather.

Pie

Hi, Karstuhl here!

Paula did some pie for dinner. It smelled really good, but I did not get to taste it. This was the worst moment of today. I am a great pie taster, I just wish I would get the opportunity to show it more often.

Dog Chases Mountain Lion

A mountain lion in South Dakota in the USA was chased up a tree by a terrier. Experts state that it normally takes three hounds to corner a mountain lion, but this terrier did it himself. This is cool.

Later, the dog's human shot and killed the mountain lion. In South Dakota, you are allowed to do that, if you feel that the mountain lion is a threat to you, your livestock or your other animals. This is not as cool. I cannot understand why a mountain lion who had been chased up a tree would be a threat to the human or the dog, but apparently, the authorities will not investigate the matter. Well, I have not read more than a news article about the event, so I will not judge in the matter, but I do feel puzzled about it.

Letting your human do the killing is not as cool as doing it yourself, Mum said. She did not have to say more, she has told us all enough times about the racoon she once killed. That is cool.

Cupcakes

Paula baked cupcakes tonight. They were not for us, though, but for her workmates. At Paula's job, they take turns at baking cakes for the Friday coffee breaks, this Friday was Paula's turn. Since the cupcakes was for Paula's work, we did not get any, even though Paula and Daniel had one each. We got to taste some of the batter, however, and it tasted very good. I am sure the cupcakes will make a success. It is just sad that I did not get any cupcake for myself.

Snow!

Hello, Karstuhl is here... and so is the snow!

We have got more than 10 centimetres of snow since late afternoon yesterday. All of us four legged family members loved to play in it, and eagerly did so. However, we were not the only ones. Daniel was the one who played the most in the snow. He had this big shovel, with which he pushed and pulled snow around in the driveway for two hours last night and another hour this morning. I cannot understand how his way of playing in the snow is fun, but he must have enjoyed it a lot, given how satisfied he was when he got inside again both times around. I guess humans just have different way of amusing themselves than dogs have.

Soaring Profits

Last month, I wrote about Japanese car manufacturer Toyota recalling cars, stating that this was a good thing. Now we can read that Toyota's profits are soaring and reaching new highs. I guess my prediction back then might have been a good one. Toyota fan Kuro-chan is happy to hear this.

Last Time as a Pup

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We were at a dog show in Växjö today. I was shown as a pup for the very last time. I managed to become Best of Breed Pup once again. The rest of "our team" did not do so well. We thought Daddy was the best male, but he did not even win the champion class. My half sister Meja was shown too, but she did not do well either, despite looking good. Well, shows are like that sometimes. We did not stay for the finals, so I skipped the chance to be seen in the finals. On the other hand, how big probability would I have had to make anything more than just a guest appearance? I would probably not have won anything. You will see me in the offical classes next.

Commemorative Moments

This evening, I had the great fortune to get to go with Paula, Daniel, Paula's parents and her sister Mia to graveyards. This weekend is devoted to those who have left us for the afterlife. We had our thoughts on Paula's grandparents.

We also visited the place where Kesshi is laid to rest, and the place where Paula's very first dog, the Samoyed Hakkas, is laid to rest. Hakkas was important for all the coming dogs of Paula and Daniel, because he was the first and started it all. Auntie Linni knew him, but he did not get old and was gone when my Dad and my Mum arrived to Sweden.

It is good to have a special day for everyone to remember those who have left this life. Naturally, I was thinking of Kesshi, but also on Gertrud's father Gunnar, whom I knew and loved.

Too Altruistic

Hi, Karstuhl here!

An elderly couple in Canada won a large sum of money in a lottery. They did not buy anything for themselves, though, but donated almost everything, about 98 % of the money, to different groups in their community. They claim they have already got everything they want themselves. I believe this is stupid. If I won a lot of money, I might donate a small part of it for Shiba Inu rescue organisations, but I would take care of most of the money myself. After all, why bet if you do not look forward to winnings for your own sake? There are always more candy and toys to have, and if you are a human without any dog, there is always dogs to be had. I wish I would have won that money instead, I would have put it to good use!

Second Day of the Course

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Today was the second day that Daniel and I went to the course. We trained getting in contact with each other, and I got a lot of snacks. Some of the exercises were rather tricky, but I got the hang of them quickly. Daniel did not learn as quickly as I did, neither did all of the other humans who were there with dogs. It is clear that the course is aimed at teaching both humans and dogs. This is good, it is good for dogs to have humans who know dogs and how to handle them. The best thing about the course, nevertheless, is the snacks.

Passing a Test

Daniel has passed the theoretical test necessary to become a dog show judge. Now he has to apply for the practical part of the education this spring. We hope he will be accepted, but there are a lot of applicants, so nothing can be taken for granted. It would be nice if Daniel would become a show judge, even though he would never be allowed to judge any of us, since he is our human. It might also make people think higher of our breeding, because if Daniel would be a judge, it would be a sign that he really knows what he is talking about. He is, already, but being a judge might make it more obvious.

Election

We have had our general election in September, but Mum was not very interested. She was more interested in the results of the American Midterm elections yesterday. I can understand that. She was born and raised in the USA and has always retained her affection for her homeland, even though she has lived more than half her life here in Sweden. Mum says it is not that she dislikes her home or her family here, but in her heart, she is always an American.

I know the Democrats lost the majority in the House of Representatives to the Republicans, but kept the majority in the Senate. What I do not know is the relevance of this. Mum says she knows, but she talked more to April about it than to me. This is also understandable. Mum and April are not the very best of friends, but April was also born and raised in the USA and understands American society and politics better than I do.

I have never even visited America. I wish I could go there sometime, time will tell if I do.

In the Ring

Hello, Karstuhl here!


This is a picture of me and Daniel in the show ring last weekend. We are just as synchronised as we look. It is fun running around the showring.

Occupied Territory

Russia occupies four islands that belong to Japan. They have done so ever since the end of World War II. While Japan agrees Russia could conquer the Kuril islands, the four islands between the Kurils and the Japanese island of Hokkaido have always been part of Japan. They are called the Northern Territory. There is no way Japan could agree on the secession of these traditionally Japanese islands. About 17,000 Japanese lived in these islands before the Soviet Union occupied them in 1945.

Today, Russian president Dimitri Medvedev has visited one of these Russian-controlled Japanese islands. Japan has, understandably, responded to this hostile act . The Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan called the visit regrettable. Russia's envoy to Japan was summoned. Russia did not respond in a proper fashion, but called the Japanese reaction "unacceptable". I believe the Japanese reaction was very mild. How many countries would react in such a lenient way to a foreign country occupying part of its territory? Russia should be happy it is dealing with the Japanese, and not with any more hostile people. Control of the Northern Territory should be returned to Japan as soon as possible.