This Year Is Soon Over

This year is soon over. Once again, I have to say that this blog has not been quite daily this year, despite its name. I always have the goal to blog at least once a day, and if I do not one day, there may be two blog entries another day. Still, there will certainly not be one blog entry for every day this year. There is no use writing a blog entry just for the sake of making the statistics better, I want to have something to say that it at least somewhat interesting. Well, hopefully, the blog will be even better next year. There is always room for improvement. Stay tuned, and you will see.

Digits of the Year

This year is soon over, and we enter the year 2013. This happen to be the first year since 1987 that is written with four different numerical digits. This was very long time ago, especially from a dog perspective, way before even Mum was born. This little piece of trivia actually has no meaning, but as is the case with many trivia, it is rather fun to know.

A Mostly Happy End

Earlier in December, the animal protection authorities raided a small flat in the village Ljusnarsberg north of our home city Örebro. The flat was just 50 square metres, and 27 adult dogs and 15 pups lived there in great misery. They had not been properly taken care of for a long time, and the flat was covered with feces.

It looks like 42 of the dogs will have no trouble getting new, loving homes. However, eight of the adult dogs where in such a bad mental state that they had to be put down.

It is horrible what some dogs have to go through in life. Humans can be so mean. This really shows the need for animal protection agencies. I am thankful that they exist. In my mind, they are one of the essential things in any civilised society. Luckily, in this case, most dogs were saved, even though some were not. It was a mostly happy end to this story.

Uncontroversial Speech Sparks Controversy

My Dad's father was from Belgium, so I have always taken some interest in that country. They have an interesting human population, about half of which speak Dutch, while the other half speak French. Some humans want there to be a conflict between these language groups. The main uniting factor between the two groups of different languages is the King, who stands neutral between them.

In the northern, Dutch speaking part, there is a populistic political party who wants this part to break free from the southern, French speaking part, because they say they would do better economically without the French speakers. In the King's annual Christmas speech this year, the King warned people for populistic political messages and to search for scapegoats in the current bad economy. This made the leader of that populistic political party mad, even though the King did not mention him or his party.

I believe that if you are a populist political leader, you should not be mad about comments against populistic parties. You should, instead, explain why you are right and your opponents are wrong. If you are just gettng mad, it is as if you cannot defend your politics. If you cannot defend your politics, are they any good? I think not.

Thus, the King's speech sparked controversy, but I believe it was uncontroversial. Anyone who speaks out against populism is usually right, and the King of the Belgians was right.

Boxing Day

Hello, Peanut here!

I was curious of the fact that the day after Christmas day is called Boxing day in English. I was promised to write something about this in the blog, but I could never find a conclusive answer as to why the day is called Boxing day. This is why there was no blog entry yesterday, so the fault for that is mine.

There seem to be many competing theories on the origin of the name. Karstuhl even said many of the theories may be correct, but I am not sure if she is pulling my leg or if she really means that.

One theory is that, on Boxing day, you could put gifts to the poor in boxes sitting outside churches. Another theory is that servants used to have the day after Christmas free, to go home to their families, and that they used to get boxes of gifts from their employers to bring home with them. In Britain, tradesmen later used to collect Christmas boxes of money or presents the first weekday after Christmas.

Whatever the origin may be, I think it is easier in Swedish. The name "annandag jul" simply means "Second day of Christmas". You do not have to have a more complicated name than that.

Christmas Is Nice

Hello, Peanut here!

Last week, I wrote in this blog about my concerns for my first Christmas. It turned out I need not have worried. Christmas is a great thing. We got extra ratios of food and we got candy. Everyone was in a friendly Christmas mode. Today is Christmas Day, and Christmas is far from over. There are a lot of good days of Christmas yet to come, this and next week. Still, I look forward to next year's Christmas Eve.

Rudolph and Bullying

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There is one thing I do not understand about the lyrics of the Christmas song Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer: why the bullies changes their minds.

The song is, as most of you certainly know, about the reindeer Rudolph, who is bullied by other reindeer because he has a shiny, red nose. Then Santa Claus comes along and asks Rudolph to guide his sleigh, which results in the bullies turning around and starting to love Rudolph.

As far as I know, bullies do not usually change their minds about their victim because an authority figure comes along and gives the victim an important task. It is more to the contrary: they tend to bully their victim even more, certainly behind the back of the authority figure, now also claiming he is a kiss-up to the authority figure. The authority figure in the song is, of course, Santa.

I can think of two explanations. Either the bullies say they love Rudolph just when Santa is around - or they say they love Rudolph with a great deal of sarcasm. This is, however, nothing that is expressly revealed in the song, so I am still puzzled by the lyrics.

If any of the readers of this blog has a good explanation, please leave a comment!

Christmas Eve

We have had a nice Christmas Eve at home. I hope most dogs around the world has had the same. We can celebrate Christmas with our humans, because we are part of human society. Merry Christmas!

Prepared

All my gifts are bought, wrapped, and ready. The house is cleaned, candy made, and food purchased. There is no more need to stress, now I can look forward to Christmas. I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

The World Will Survive

Humans often think too much. When I write this, I mean that humans often draws too many conclusions of very little evidence. They figure out a lot of thing based on too little facts. A common trait with humans is that they always want to know what the future will look like, and many humans thus take a little evidence and draws a lot of conclusions about the future from that evidence.

Today is the last day of an epoch in the old Maya calendar. This epoch has gone on for many thousands of years. Some humans have understood this to be a prediction of the end of the world. In truth, this epoch is just followed by another, equally long epoch. According to one Maya "ajkij", it is even wrong to say that this long epoch is ending today, the right day is a few years from now.

I wish humans would be a little less concerned about the future, and certainly about the possible future end of the world. They could learn something from us dogs. We live in the present, thus we enjoy each day to its fullest potential. A little planning is good, but it is not wise to be so preoccupied with what might happen tomorrow that you forget to enjoy the good things that happen today.

Christmas Gift

We visited the veterinary hospital today. It was I, Auntie Linni, Paula, and Daniel. Auntie Linni did not like to go there, it reminds her of veterinary care, which she does not fancy. We were not there because anybody of us required any veterinary care, though. The object was to deliver a little gift and a Christmas card from all of us dogs at Kennel Aangenaam to the staff at the hospital. This is just to show our appreciation of all the great care that we and our pups get there. You can hardly be too kind to these people, upon which we rely. We wish they get a merry Christmas and a happy new year, even though we actually hope not to meet them very much.

Cleaning

Auntie Linni and I cleaned the house today. It needs to look Good for Christmas. Paula helped, of course. It is always nice to have a clean house, Do not Think we are of a different opinion because we are dogs. Dogs like it clean. There are instances, however, when our definition of clean is different from that of humans'.

Another Great Japanese-American Has Left Us

My US Champion Mum and other Shiba Inus in the USA are not the only great Japanese-Americans there are. Not everyone are dogs, there are humans as well. One of these left us yesterday: US Senator Daniel Inouye.

Senator Inouye had been a member of Congress since Hawaii was admitted as a State in the Union in 1959, and has served as Senator since 1963. He was a war veteran, decorated with the Medal of Honor, the highest US military medal, since he destroyed a Nazi bunker in Italy during the Second World War, losing an arm in the process.

Our thoughts go to the late Senator's family.

One Week To Go

Hello, Peanut here!

It is now one Week left to something called Christmas Eve. Everybody is looking forward to it. Well, everybody except me. I do not know what to expect, this being my first Christmas. It is supposed to be some kind of party with a lot of food, which sounds promising. There might also be candy and new toys. It is just that there is also talk about giving gifts to the ones you love, but what shall I give them? I have to Think this over, I am all new to this. As long as I am this unsure, I just cannot look forward to Christmas the way the others do. I guess it will be easier in future years, when I have been around for this holiday before.

Abe Won

Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party won the general election in Japan today. Congratulations to him!

Mr. Abe has said he will strengthen the Japanese military. This might be necessary to counter China, but he will surely receive critique if he goes through with this. I can see why, in the historic perspective, but I would not agree. The limits on Japan's military were understandable after the Second World War, but now, Japan is a stable democracy close to the communistic dictatorship China which constantly tires to expand its power.

We will see what happens now. I hope that Japan will get more stable politics.

Christmas Greetings

We put our Christmas greeting cards in a mailbox this morning. According to the information from Posten AB (Royal Swedish Mail, ltd), they would reach their destinations in Sweden before Christmas Eve, if mailed no later than the 16th of December.

When the cards where already in the box, though, we realised it is noted on the front of this box that Posten is not servicing this box on Sundays. Daniel said that if they claim you can mail the Christmas cards on the 16th, they have to give this guarantee to all cards mailed before midnight tonight. This would mean that they would deliver all Christmas cards they get when emptying mailboxes tomorrow before Christmas Eve. I and the other dogs remained sceptical. Daniel is a lawyer and knows what guarantees of certain dates normally means by law, but we fear that Posten have their own, special rules on this subject.

Well, if you get a Christmas card from us before Christmas Eve, please let us know!

General Election Today

Today is election day. Not in Sweden, but in the home country of the Shiba breed: Japan. This is important. Japan is a great power and needs to be strong, not just for the Japanese dogs and people, but to counter the growing power of the dictatorship in mainland China.

The main contestants to become prime minister is former PM Shinzo Abe of the LDP and the incumbent Yoshihiko Noda of the DPJ. The polls seem to indicate that the LDP will return to power. Still, it might be that no party gets a majority of its own, so there might still be turmoil in Japanese politics in the years to come.

I will comment more after the election, so stay tuned.

New Show

It is a new dog show this weekend. I am not going, since I was at the vet this week and have a quarantine. It is sad, but true. I feel alright, but you have to obey the rules.

Fights in Parliament

Some say dogs can be overly aggressive towards other dogs. Well, humans can be overly aggressive towards other humans. War aside, there are nowadays democratic forums like parliaments, where political disputes are supposed to be solved through careful examinations, debate and votes. One would think humans who rather fight with words than fists would seek to become members of parliament. Nevertheless, in the parliament of Ukraine, fist fights have recently occurred more than once. It would be comical, if it would not be true. Now it is more like a tragedy. I hope no dogs were hurt in the fights.

Dental Work

I went to the veterinarian today to take care of a broken tooth. It has been broken for a while, but I did not get any time with the veterinarian until today. It is nice finally to have this source of pain taken away. Veterinarians are among the best humans there are, really.

Mum has been without one of her teeth for many years, so perhaps this is the beginning of a family tradition. Of course, my dear daughter Karstuhl hopes it is not so. For her sake, I hope so too.

An Imaginary Friend

You usually hear of children having imaginary friends. However, Swedish health care authorities have used an imaginary friend called Tolvan Tolvansson (directly translated: Twelve Twelveson), with the civic registration number 121212-1212, for research and education purposes. The Swedish civic registration authority, Skatteverket, has just received notice of this imaginary fellow, born on the 12 December '12, and has, therefore, stopped said civic registration number from being awarded to any real boy born tomorrow. Some humans sometimes complain that not all dogs are registered with the authorities. They should not be so soon to judge us dogs, since there are, obviously, problems with the registration of humans as well.

Home Again

There is no place like home. I did not feel well in Finland. I do not believe it was the country as such, I have been there before and felt good. However, I agreed with Paula not to go into the show ring on Sunday. Now we are at home again, and I feel much better.

Gunde became fourth best male on Sunday, winning a reserve CAC.

I guess that if I would have felt better, this would have been a great trip. It had all the ingredients: nice company, dog show, and new, exciting environments. I might go back another day.

Dogs Driving Cars

Hello, Karstuhl here!

This is no joke! A charity in New Zealand are teaching dogs how to drive cars. Follow the link and watch the video sequence! They teach the dogs how to use the gears, brakes, and steering wheel, all in order to prove how intelligent dogs are.

Most humans who live with dogs already know how intelligent we are, but I guess the ability to drive cars is something even most of these humans are impressed by.

I would like to learn how to drive myself. It would be cool to drive around myself. I wonder whether there might be dog driving licences in the future.

First Loser

In America, some people say that second place is "first loser". This means that only first place really counts. at the dog show today, I was third best bitch, while Gunde was second best male. We both received reserve CACIB and Gunde got a reserve CAC. There were many Shibas competing, so we cannot say we are really unhappy about being "second loser" and "first loser". We are good losers. The worst part was that the Shiba who won Best of Breed did not show up in the Group Finale. Both Gunde and I would have participated, had any of us won Best of Breed. Oh, well, I guess in this aspect, at least, we would just have been better winners than the dog who won.

Helsinki

We are in Helsinki this weekend, for a dog show, of course. I am looking forward to going into the show ring again. It is Paula and Daniel, and I, Gunde (a.k.a. Kookie), and Kaiou. We just went for the first walk in Helsinki, and discovered a nice dog supply boutique just around the corner from the SAS Radisson Hotel where we are staying. It is the Koirankauppa on Lönnrot Street 42. The nice young lady in the boutique gave treats to both their four legged and two legged customers. Now we are waiting to get our hotel room. There are computers in the lobby of the hotel that we may use in the meantime. This is great, because it makes it easy for me to keep up with my daily blogging. Stay tuned for more reports from Helsinki!

Veterinary Care for Homeless Dogs

We heard on the radio that veterinarians in Helsingborg offer free veterinary care for dogs who, together with their humans, are homeless. This is really good. The veterinarian who was interviewed said that these dogs were, generally, in good health, which is also good to hear. It is nice to hear positive stories like this on the radio.

Blanket

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is really cold outside. As Shiba Inus, we can handle it without problem, we start to consider the cold too harsh when it goes below -20 degrees Celsius. We have a Toy Poodle friend, however, called Love chan, who needs to wear a blanket whenever she goes out in this weather. This is mostly because she is so small, she weighs not much more than 2 kg. Love chan is black, and her blanket is bright red. April, who is red herself, says to Love chan that she looks better in the blanket. I pretend to agree, though I am black and tan, because I notice that Love chan is not fond of the blanket. Everyone knows, anyway, that dogs are more beautiful black, don't they?

Rescue Dogs

Rescue dogs from all over the country came to Örebro Airport yesterday to practice rescue operations. A mock earthquake scenario had been built up, and the rescue dogs with handlers had been noticed as late as the day before. It was great of them to show up.

I like rescue dogs. They are such a strong proof of the valuable contributions dogs do to society. Sometimes, I wish I would have been a rescue dog. I believe Shiba Inus would be good at it. On the other hand, practicing rescue operations in the cold winter weather of yesterday would have been a little harsh. Kudos to the dogs who were there!

First Sunday in Advent

Hello, Karstuhl here!

This is the first Sunday in Advent. The countdown to Christmas is starting. We are getting lights in the windows. It is nice. There is also snow on the ground, which adds to the Chrismas feeling. It cannot be much better.

Food in China

There was a documentary on present time China on TV this evening. There are more and more Chinese who are sceptical to the food industry in the country, we learned. I would have understood this, if it was about the horrible practice of making food for humans out of dogs, but it was not. It was just about your ordinary rumours on growth hormones and things like that in ordinary food. I was disappointed. If there is any single practice in China that needs to end as soon as possible, it is using dogs for food. Dogs are such an integrated part of society for most humans, that I would compare eating dogs to cannibalism. It just has to stop.

Food from Happy Animals

It is important that we who are on the top of the food chain, humans and dogs alike, treat our prey with respect. We rule them, we eat them, but the food is better if they are happy while they live.

In Sweden, we have good laws protecting animals. Unfortunately, many big buyers of food, such as cities with their schools, homes for the elderly etcetera, do not demand that their food is produced according to Swedish animal protection laws. This is bad! I believe we should take the cost for better food, and happier animals.

Internet Must Be Free!

Next week, there will be a summit in Dubai on the future of Internet. As a frequent blogger, I am interested of this, and I am concerned about the voices in favour of more regulations on Internet. Some countries, especially those where there is not much democracy, if any, are in favour of harder rules on the net. They want the governments to control what is done online. I do not want this to happen.

Free speech must be preserved online, just like everywhere else. Free speech is the basis of a decent society. Free speech is even more important than democratic elections - though they are also very important. Free speech is a right that belongs to everybody, including minors, foreigners, and dogs, all of whom have no right to vote.

Free speech is a guarantee that neither the government, nor anybody else, is the only one who may say its meaning. I guess this is why free speech is so scary for many dictators. If they are dictators, they deserve it. Use your freedom of speech and speak out in favour of freedom of speech on Internet!

Snow!

Hello, Peanut here! I had heard about it, but hardly seen or felt it. This evening, it came to us. Snow! It is just as fun to play in as thé older dogs had told me.

Winter Is Coming

Paula wished that snow would fall today. It sure would be better than the cold rain and wind, and a couple of degrees above the freezing point. It has felt cold and damp outside today. According to the meteorologists, though, winter temperatures will arrive this week. I would like to have some snow to play in.

Anticlimax

It started out as a great Formula 1 season, with seven different winners in the first seven races. Many contestants were up for the world championship title. Now it ended the same way last year and the year before that did: German driver Sebastian Vettel won in a Red Bull car. It was an exciting last race, and at times, it looked like Fernando Alonso would be able to win in his Ferrari, but he did not. It feels a little dull now, this anticlimax. I hope there will be another driver winning next year.

Veteran Winner

It was great fun to be back in the show ring. I do believe I overdid it, though. Just like actors can overdo their performance on the stage or silver screen, dogs can overdo our performances in the show ring. I did not get a great result. The great result today was Mum's Norwegian Veteran Winner's title. She can now put VNOW'12 next to her VWW '09 and VWW '11 titles. Still, Mum do even fewer appearances in the show rings these days than I do, who are away due to puppy litters. You can really say this was a Special Guest Appearance!

Show

We are going to a dog show tomorrow. I get to go! I am so happy! Now I have to continue all of my preparations.

The Last True Ninja?

Ninjas, the old Japanese stealth warriors, are quite often featured in popular culture. In real life, though, it seems like they will soon cease to exist. A 63 years old Japanese man claims to be the last true ninja, a ninja grand master, but want the knowledge to die with him. He believes there is no room for ninjas in modern society.

I guess this is all right. There are so many better and more peaceful things in Japanese culture that the world can have. If you do want to feel truly Japanese, do not play ninja, buy a Shiba pup instead and become a Shiba owner!

Beer Saving an Airline

The Scandinavian airline SAS has just been saved from bankruptcy. They make cuts in a lot of areas, such as salaries. However, they may have something to learn from Japan. The head of Japan Airlines, Kazuo Inamori, brought beer to his meetings with the employees. This made them open up to him and brought an informal air to the meetings. I doubt that a head of an airline in part owned by the governments of Sweden and Norway would dare to do the same, though. There are so many taboos surrounding beer and other alcoholic beverages in Scandinavia. I would like to see SAS make it, though. It is the best airline for traveling with dogs we know of.

Mac

We have always had computers with Windows as operating system. This is what I am used to. Now, Paula has purchased a Mac instead. I have yet to get used to some of the features, which feel odd to me.       It might be because I am not used to the Mac, that I believe it is not as good as our earlier computers. We will have to see if I change my mind, or if I will usually borrow Daniel's computer with Windows. I may return to this subject in future blog posts, so if you are interested, stay tuned!

"Pennybridge"

Hello, Peanut here! I heard of something called "Pennybridge" today. As I am still a pup, I had not heard of it before. My Mom and the other adults explained the word for me. It is a humourous translation of the name of our home city into English.

The name of our city, Örebro, means Gravel bridge, which derives from the oldest bridge across the Svartå river at a place where there was a lot of gravel. Ör is an old Nordic word for gravel, not commonly used today. This word can also be found in names such as the Swedish town Skanör and the Danish town Helsingör, both of which lie at the Sound, which in Swedish and Danish is called Öresund. Bro is the Swedish word for bridge. The e is perhaps just added for the purpose of pronounciation, but might be due to some kind of old grammar.

Meanwhile, the smallest monetary value in Sweden, so small it is not used in coins any more due to inflation, is called öre. Hundred öre has the amount of one Swedish crown (or krona, as it is called in Swedish). The smallest English coin is the penny, so Öre in Örebro has been swaped for Penny, hence the name Pennybridge.

Mom said she hopes most people know of the humour, that the Pennybridge name is not a real translation. One cannot be sure, though, she said.

I am now considering whether I will henceforth call our home city Gravelbridge. It might be fun.

Historic Poodle

Daniel's great grand parents had a Poodle. He told me so today, and said his father had shown him a photography of this Poodle this weekend. I cannot be disappointed it was not a Shiba, by that time, there were no Shibas in Europe. The first Shibas in Europe arrived here in the 1970's, a long time after that Poodle. I like Poodles, the Poodles I know are great friends, so I guess there could hardly have been a better dog for Daniel's great grandparents in those days.

Back into the USA

Formula 1 is back into the USA, after many years of absence. Mom is not interested, but she knows that Formula 1 is a big sport and says that it is, thus, self evident that it belongs in America as well.

Those of us who are interested enjoyed the race on TV.

Parliament Dissolved, Early Election

The Prime Minister has dissolved parliament and called for an early election next month. The polls are pointing towards a newly elected parliament with no clear winner.

No, I am not writing about Sweden, but about Japan. The PM is Yoshihiko Noda, and it does not look like either his party DPJ or the main opposition party LDP will gain a majority in parliament.

In an international context, the politics of Japan is much more important than that of Sweden. As a Shiba Inu, I am also extra interested in Japan. I hope the newly elected parliament will be able to give Japan a more stable political environment. This would be especially needed with the current bad economy. Nevertheless, I believe the Japanese will work everything out. They always have, before.

On the Sofa

Hello, Karstuhl here! There was nothing good on TV around six o'clock in the evening. This did not bother me, I used the TV sofa for a better purpose: sleeping on it. This was very nice. I can recommend this to anyone who is disappointed with what's on TV.

Ostkaka

Today is the day of the "ostkaka", a Swedish specialty. Directly translated to English, its name would be cheesecake, but it is something completely different from that American cake. Both taste great, but in different ways. We have had the Swedish ostkaka today. I like it a lot.

Somme

We saw this documentary on TV tonight about the battle of Somme during the First World War. It was a battle of huge casualties, and when it was over, no side in the war had gained anything essential. It is horrible that humans have so often used their intelligence and craftmanship to kill each other. The only soothing thing for me was that there were no talks about dogs being killed, even though I am sure a lot of dogs lost their beloved humans among all of those killed in the battle. Fortunately, a war like this seems unlikely in modern day Europe. We have to hope it stays that way.

Cloaking Devices

In science fiction, there has been invisibility. Now progress is made to make invisibility science. Scientists has made a cloaking device that makes a small item invisible to microwaves.

I guess a true cloaking device would be an asset for hunters. Shiba Inus would actually not need them, we are good hunters by nature, but if we had, we could be even better. It would be a little difficult, though, if prey would get cloaking devices. Dogs could always detect the prey with our noses and ears, but we also use our eyes when hunting. I hope prey will never get hold of cloaking devices.

Father's Day

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Today is father's day in Sweden. My father, who used to live with us, is currently residing in Spain, so I cannot celebrate him on site. Mommys father is not alive anymore, so she cannot celebrate him at all. My father may come back to us, her father will not. I still have a little understanding for her loss, now that my father is not living here. I wish my father has a great day in Spain, though.

Goose

Today is Martin's day in the Swedish calendar. It is an important day, because Martin was the name of Martin Luther, who reformed the church in the 16th century and whose teachings has a wide following in Sweden.

My Poodle friend Laila, who has lived in Scania, the southernmost province of Sweden, has taught me that they always eat goose on Martin's day in Scania. This seems interesting. I have never tasted goose, but it would be very interesting to do. I like the taste of the birds that I have eaten, like chicken. There are still species of birds that I have yet to taste, though. Maybe this time next year? I will try to remember to suggest this to Paula and Daniel.

Packing Meat

We have been given a great gift: two plastic bags full of moose meat pieces. Paula's father gave it to us. Daniel spent part of the evening in the kitchen, packing the meat in smaller bags to be able to fit it in the freezer. Even I could see it was too much meat for all of us dogs to eat at once.

I was envious of Mom and Auntie Linni, though. They accompanied Daniel in the kitchen, and whenever a little piece of meat fell on the floor, it was their task to clean the floor. They fulfilled this task very well. I would have done, too.

Dull Names for Newly Discovered Planets?

I read this nice article on the name of the newly discovered planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B. The planet is called Bb, because exoplanets are given designations of small letters attached to the name of the star they orbit.

The author of the article believes this is a dull name. Well, I can see why, but there are even duller names for some celestial bodies important to all of us. Just consider Earth, essentially the same name as earth, the material the ancient humans saw as the main material of the place where we live. Even worse is the name of my favourite celestial body: the Moon. This is the same name as the word moon. True, the word for other moons than the Moon is derived from the proper name of the Moon, but it still feels dull that the Moon is just called the Moon. Sometimes, it is called Luna, but this is out of the ordinary. If compared to the names Earth and Moon, I believe Bb is not dull at all.

Gustavus Adolphus Day

Today is the day when we commemorate the great King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden. He was killed in battle at Lützen on the 6th of November 1632, fighting for religious freedom.

Gustavus Adolphus is usually commemorated by eating Gustavus Adolphus cakes. We are not allowed to eat these at our home, though, because one of the main things of these cakes are chocolate silhouettes of the King. Humans always claim chocolate contains an ingredient that is poisonous for dogs. Oh, well, I guess we can say the Gustavus Adolphus day is a good day anyway. We did get to taste some meat sauce.

Election Tomorrow

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is election day in the USA tomorrow. Among other politicians, they are going to chose the person who will be Head of State for the next four years, called President. This is because they have no Emperor (like Japan) or King (like Sweden).

Granny, who was born in the USA and lived there for many years, says she supports the Democrat. This is not just because her breeder supports the Democrat, but also because the Republican has been known for committing animal abuse. The Republican candidate has, reputedly, driven a long way by car with his dog in a crate tied outside of the car, on the roof. You cannot trust such a man with the mightiest job in the world, Granny says. I guess I have to agree. Even Daniel, who normally supports the more conservative candidate, says he does not like the Republican candidate in this election.

Oh well, I think it would be easier if they had an Emperor or a King instead.

Naïvete on the Internet?

A Swedish businessman writes in an article published today, that Swedes in general are naïve on the Internet. We believe that social media on the Internet that seem to be free, really are free. However, he writes, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Everything we write and put on the Internet are controlled by the sites where we put it, not by ourselves.

I know this is so. I always think before I publish a blog entry. There are a lot of things going on in the lives of me, my family, and friends, that I do not write anything about. I would assume most people are as careful as I am. Perhaps not enough people are, so I think it is good that people are informed. Whether you are careful or not, I guess a warning may be in order. Consider yourself warned by this blog entry, dear Internet user!

I Found this Funny

Hello, Karstuhl here!

The American computer and telephone company Apple has fought a legal battle in Mexico over the last couple of years against Mexican company Ifone, claiming that this name is too similar to the Apple telephone trademark Iphone. Trouble for Apple is, the name Ifone was registered in 2003, four years before any Iphone had been launched on any market! A Mexican court of law has now decided that Apple is forbidden to use the name Iphone in Mexico, since it is too similar to Ifone. Funny, is it not?

Late Night

We had some visitors last night, Paula's parents and sister Mia. We had a very fun time. It was very late before Paula's parents went home, and Mia stayed the night in our guest room. I did not even have the time to write a blog entry before midnight, so there was no blog entry yesterday. Well, we had fun, so I do not mind that much.

A Talking Elephant

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There is an elephant in South Korea who have learned to talk like humans do. He can form five different words in Korean. According to scientists who have studied him, he cannot understand the meaning of these words, though.

I would also like to be able to say a few words, the way humans talk. I am a dog, so I would understand the meaning of the words I would use. Every human who knows dogs, knows that this is true. Some humans say elephants are very intelligent animals, but if they cannot learn the meaning of as few human words as five, how intelligent are they? Dogs must be much more intelligent.

Misspent Aid

Do you think your own country is the worst example there is on misspending tax money, at least among democracies? Do you, perhaps, think the European Union is the worst example? Well, I think there are horrible examples all over the world. In Japan, at least a quarter of the money assigned to cleaning up after the earth quake and tsunami last spring has been spent on completely unrelated things, a government audit has found. Some of the misspending has been done to generally boost the national economy. At the same time, some towns that were hit hard by the disaster has not seen any reconstruction at all.

Misspending government funds is probably something that will always happen. When the funds are meant for aid to the quake and tsunami hit areas, the misspending feels more disturbing than usually. I hope this audit will make things better.

A Reminder of the War

The Sendai Airport in northern Japan was closed down recently, when an undetonated bomb was uncovered during construction work. It was disclosed that the bomb was made in the USA, it is thus a reminder of World War II, when a lot of American bombs where dropped over Japan. The Sendai Airport was a military flight school during the war, so it was a goal for bombers. Apparently, it is still rather common that bombs from the war is discovered in Japan. We just have to hope this bomb will be taken care of and nobody will get hurt.

Breed Watch List

Occassionally, I write about my wild cousins, the wolves. I am concerned about them, because they are an endangered sub-species of my own species. There are also dog breeds who are endangered. In England, the Kennel Club has a watch list on endangered breeds. They are now concerned about the future of the Old English Sheepdog, an iconic, English breed. This is a friendly breed, well mentally equipped for being a pet breed in the modern society - although their size, need for excercise and grooming may talk to their disadvantage. I am a little surprised, though, that this breed is on the watch list. In the best of worlds, no dog breed would be on the watch list, but some deserve it less than others. If a breed has a great mentality for the modern world, it should always have a given place in the modern world. The Old English Sheepdog is such a breed.

Success for Gonsa

My dear son Gonsa, of my latest litter, competed in his first dog show this weekend. He made quite well, getting a honourary prize and was best pup of the breed. This is great! I love dog shows myself, and I am always very happy when pups of mine do well on shows. They are all excellent Shibas, it is just for the show judges to see that.

Winter Is Coming

We have had temperatures below the freezing point this weekend. With the blazing sun shining on the frosty grass and trees, it has been beautiful. This Sunday, we have turned the watches back to standard Central European Time. This means the end of Daylight saving time for this year, which means daylight is not saved for later parts of the day than our morning walks. I like standard time better, when there is more light in the mornings.

Hard Water

Hello, Peanut here!

It was cold outside this morning, and the world was a bit different than usual. There was a puddle beside the path that we were walking, and I thought I would walk into its water, but the water was hard. I walked on top of the water. Then, when I stood there, the hard surface sank a little bit, and cold, liquid water found its way to my paws. This running water was an unpleasant experience, so I jumped away from there. This is the first time I have felt that water was hard. It was an interesting experience. I know I am still a pup, and a lot of things are new to me in this world, but I had not expected to walk on water.

The Serious Situation for the Ethiopian Wolf

The only wolf species in Africa, the Ethiopian wolf, consists of very few animals. They are also separated into distinct groups living separate from each other, making cross breeding between the groups highly unlikely. As all of us know, who are interested in dog breeding, this makes for a high risk of inbreeding, with the future risk of extinction that this brings. A few of the populations have already become extinct in the last hundred years. I am very concerned about these cousins of mine. I do hope the scientists who have mapped the Ethiopian wolves will be able to help them to survive. Some cross breeding between the populations may do a lot for them.

Satsumas and Clementines

Paula asked Daniel to buy some clementines today. He did not find any that he wanted to buy, so he bought some satsumas instead. These fruits are very similar. I am not a connoisseur of fruits, so I cannot really tell them apart. If I have a choice between these two fruits, though, I would chose the satsuma. This is because the satsuma has its origin in the old Satsuma province of Japan, hence its name. The clementine, on the other hand, was discovered as a hybrid between mandarines and bitter oranges by the French priest Clément Rodier in Algeria in the early 1900s. If something has its origin in Japan, I always presume that it is better than other alternatives, just like the Japanese Shiba Inu is the best dog breed there is. I could be mistaken, but on the issue of satsumas versus clementines, I have not yet been proved wrong.

The UN Day

Today is the day when the founding of the United Nations has its annual celebration across the world.

In Sweden, there is a UN cake, that you can buy this day in parts of the country. Part of the profit goes to the UN humanitarian aid programmes. There is no place in Örebro where the cake is sold, but I do not care much. If I would buy a cake where part of the profit went to a "higher" purpose, it would be for canine aid programmes. There are a lot of dogs who are not doing well around the world, I would like to give them some more aid.

Cutting Hair

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel has had his hair cut today. Our Poodle friend Love chan pointed out that the need to cut the hair is something that Poodles and humans have in common. She then claimed that, since most other dog breeds do not have the need to cut their hair, Poodles are closer friends of humans than other dog breeds are. I disagree. I believe this is just a tiny, insignificant detail, that says nothing of the strength of the friendship between humans and different dog breeds. Love chan, however, laughingly stood by her point.

Actually, neither one of us like to rank dog breeds' friendship with humans. This is just friendly, funny nagging. We both know that dogs are humans' best friend, no matter what. This is enough.

Live Telephone Translations

Hello, Karstuhl here!

A Japanese telephone operator has developed a telephone application that is said to be able to translate telephone calls between different languages in real time. At first, there are just translations between a few languages offered, but more will come. There are also other companies who will launch similar services in the near future. The translations will not be perfect, but may help tourists, at least.

For my part, I think this is a rather useless invention, until translations to and from dog language is developed. This would be a treat.

Another Royal Wedding

There has been a royal wedding in Luxembourg. The heir to the Grand Dutchy, Prince Guillaume, has married Countess Stephanie de Lannoy from Belgium. As always, a royal wedding is a happy occasion worthy of attention.

Luxembourg is a Grand Dutchy, which ranks a step lower than a Kingdom. The family on the throne is royalty, nevertheless. As far as I have understood, this is because they are a branch of the old French royal family.

I wish the newlyweds all the luck!

Black and Tan Is Not For Everyone

I got a message from my black Toy Poodle friend Love Chan today. She was at a dog show in the South of Sweden, where she saw this black and tan coloured Poodle. She told methat while she likes me and her other black and tan Shiba friends, she believes in the breed standard for her own breed, that says Poodles must be of one colour only. A black and tan Poodle was nothing she liked seeing, and she was happy this dog did not get any prize at the show. I agree. Black and tan is not suited for everyone.

Cleaning the Floor

Hello, Peanut here!

I helped Daniel clean the floor today. He wiped the floor, and I dug in with my teeth and helped pull back and forth. It was fun, so I understand why Daniel does it now and then. However, I really thought Daniel would be more happy than he was, having my help. Maybe he just wanted to have all the fun himself? That would be a little selfish, I think. As a pup, I have been told I am entitled to play and have fun, but then again, I know there are some fun things I am not allowed to do. I just had not thought cleaning was one of them.

Is there Poison?

A rumour has spread in our home city Örebro, that someone has placed pieces of poisonous meat in a park in the outskirts of the city. Dogs are reputed to have died. However, the police says they have not heard of any complaints and noone has filed any charges. This park, Karlslund, is not close to us; we do not walk there, but many other dogs in our city do.

We have heard an interview on the radio with a human whose dog died about a month ago, and the veterinarian suspected the dog had been poisoned. There were no evidence of this, though, as far as I could tell. Had there been evidence, I would assume this human whose dog had died had contacted the police about it. It is also strange to think someone would actually go through the trouble of distributing poisoned meat in a park where dogs walk.

Even though there are no evidence that dogs have been poisoned, I would still recommend dogs to be more careful than usual for a while, at least in Karlslund. It might just be stories, but why gamble with your life just when the rumours are at what is arguably their peak?

Reply

The secretary of the Swedish Academy answers the speculations that there are leaks from the Academy on the subject of who will be Nobel Prize winner in litterature. He claims the Academy has taken many precations and that they have no indications of leaks. He also says a big bookmaker company says the same. This is good, I like this. When it comes to decisions like this, you have to feel the people making the decisions are truly independent and that there are no leaks. I guess I am convinced now.

Is there a Leak?

There have been speculations about a leak in the Swedish Academy, the body that decides who will win the Nobel Prize in litterature. I do not know whether it is true, but the odds on the eventual winner this year is said to have been very low with bookmakers. This is no good. If the prize is supposed to be a secret until the Academy lets the world know, but there is even a doubt that this is not so, the Academy needs to look carefully into the issue. The Nobel Prize has a very good reputation, but it must not be soiled, not even by doubts.

High Wooden Houses

We live in a wooden house, but it is just one storey tall. Most wooden houses are not much higher, perhaps two or three storeys. In Austria, however, a new wooden house is eight storeys tall, and in London, a nine storey building has been constructed from wood. This is interesting. I think wood is nicer than concrete, stone, or steel, as a building material. If these examples turn into a trend, perhaps the price of wood will rise.

Dinner

The other day, I complained about chef TV shows. There are positive aspects of these shows, though. Today, Paula had invited her parents for dinner, saying she was inspired by these shows. It is always fun seeing Paula's parents. I guess part of this was thanks to thé chef TV shows. Still, my complaints about these shows remain.

Bad Qualifying Result

Sweden played the Faroe Islands in the World Cup qualifications today. It was a much harder game to win than we had expected, even though we know that Team Sweden is bad at playing teams that are supposed to be much inferior to it. Faroe Islands scored the first goal and it was not until the end of the game that Sweden scored the goal that made the team win the game. The result was 2-1. In the long run, this may be a really bad result, despite the victory, because if two teams en up with the same points, the number of goals scored may be decisive. We are disappointed.

Chef TV Competitions

There are a lot of chef shows on TV these days, especially competitions between people who are, or wants to become, chefs. I am quite tired of them.

As a dog, my sense of smell is much more evolved than a human's sense of smell. In chef TV shows, more than any other TV shows, I am always disappointed with the lack of smell TV. I would be able to smell the food they cook and compete with. This would give me a much better chance to evaluate whom to hope for in the competition. The most boring thing with all of these chef competitions is that without being able to taste, or at least smell, the food, how can you ever evaluate the different dishes with which the chefs compete? Without smell TV, all of these chef competitions on TV are a waste of time to watch.

On the other hand, perhaps smell TV on chef competitions would make me too hungry. Nevertheless, I would rather watch wildlife or dog TV programmes.

Washing Toys

Hello, Peanut here!

Yesterday evening, Daniel collected a lot of our toys from the garden. It is often fun to grab a toy and run out in the garden with it, but if you lose focus on the toy, it is easy to leave it outside. When it is outside, it can become dirty from the ground and the rain, so we must not take it inside again. Daniel took the toys inside anyway. I was puzzled at first, until I realised he put the toys in the washing machine. Now the toys are clean again. I guess some of these toys will soon be outside again, dirty.

Debris from the Tsunami

This is amazing: debris washed out into the sea with the tsunami in Japan last spring has started to wash ashore on the west coasts of the USA and Canada. It has travelled  thousands of kilometres in a year and a half. Among the things washed up are huge things like a whole dock from a Japanese port and a container with a motorcycle in it. The motorcycle had a licence plate, which enabled the finders to return it to its Japanese owner.

This is also a visible warning to the people of the North American west coast. A tsunami could hit them too, anytime, anywhere. Mum's breeders live in Washington on the US west coast, but fortunately not so close to the shore that they would be directly affected by a tsunami. It would be a major event in their State, though, if it was hit by a tsunami the size of which hit Japan last spring.

Finding things on the beach from Japan might be interesting. There are easier ways of getting hold of something fabulous from Japan in Washington, though. I would recommend a Shiba Inu from Mum's breeder, Taichung Shibas.

Who Is that Man?

A six year old boy was attacked and bitten by a dog in a park in Gothenburg, Sweden, today. A witness interferred and the dog and the dog's owner disappeared from the place. The boy was taken to a hospital. His wounds are serious, but not fatal, according to the police.

I wish things like this would never happen. It gives dog hating humans a new example to point to and to complain about. Still, I do not think you can avoid it alltogether. Dogs are strong carnivores and may hurt humans, if allowed to. The fault is with the biting dog's human, who allowed this to happen. I hope the police will find him. I also hope the dog will get a new, more caring and loving family, to make sure nothing like this never happens again.

Suzuka

Today, the Formula 1 world championship came to the Suzuka track for the Japanese Grand Prix. My daughter Aangenaam Suzuka is named for this track. It is a nice track, and our Japanese favourite driver, Kamui Kobayashi, made a good result, he came third.

Losing the Heat and Hot Water

A fire is raging in a power station in our home city. This power station normally produces heat and hot water for most people living in the city, but not for us. We live in the outskirts of the city and have our own heat and hot water sources. While most people thus have no heat or hot water, we do. This is good for us. It is cozy having heat indoors. There are advantages with standing beside collective solutions.

11

We celebrated Auntie Linni's eleventh birthday today. This is an awe inspiring age. Her actual birthday was yesterday, but because of jobs and other duties, it suited us all better to celebrate today. The best thing with the celebration was that we got hot dog sausages. Linni got two whole sausages in her food bowl, laid parallel, like the number 11, for her age. This was a nice touch.

Cinnamon Bun Day

Today is the Cinnamon Bun Day in Sweden, where we are supposed to eat a lot of the typically Swedish cinnamon bun. For those who do not know, this bun looks like a tightly curled spitz tail. Shibas are supposed to have losely curled tails and tightly curled tails are sometimes called cinnamon bun tails in Sweden. The Cinnamon Bun Day is not, however, to be seen as a day where Shibas with cinnamon bun tails are supposed to be noted for their tails; on the contrary, they should only be noted for this by judges in dog shows. What is a great cause of action today, though, is giving all the dogs you know cinnamon buns. Most of us like it.

Stop the Smugglers!

The illegal trade of pups continues. Ruthless people smuggle innocent pups across the national borders in small cages and even worse means of transportation, and sell them for a lot of money. Two men have now been found guilty of such smuggling to Sweden. Still, the trade will go on as long as there are people who are willing to buy these poor pups.

I can fully understand the urge to help these pups. In the long run, however, the only way to stop this filthy business is never to buy pups from crooks like these. Pups should come from the loving care of serious dog breeders. It is not as if there is a shortage of pups to buy from serious breeders, or adult dogs who happen to need new homes, so I actually cannot understand the reason for supporting the smugglers. I just wish more people would be aware of this.

This Must Be Investigated

Police officers in Stockholm shot and killed two dogs yesterday. The police and an ambulance had been called to a place where a man needed medical attention. The man's two dogs, however, would not let any other humans close to their master. The dogs have been described as aggressive and were shot and killed to let the ambulance crew help the man. The man is now treated at a hospital.

I do not believe the dogs were overly aggressive. It is in the nature of dogs to protect their human, especially if they recognise that he is injuried. They should not be shot and killed because they do their duty. Without knowing more than what I have read in a short news article, I believe the big trouble here was that none of the humans who had been called to the place understood dogs. The killing of the dogs must be investigated, hopefully resulting in severe criticism against the shooter.

Dogs are an integral part of human society. They have been part of human society for at least 40,000 years. It is vital that all humans have a basic understanding of dog language and dog behaviour to avoid tragedies like this. This is especially important for law enforcement personell, who are authorised to use force in their line of duty.

I feel sorry for the dogs, and I feel sorry for their human. He may have ended up in a hospital and received vital medical care, but what is it worth to him, when his dogs have been killed?

Growing Friendship

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Over the last couple of days, I have spent more time than I usually do with Paula's dad Nils-Olov. We have become better friend thanks to this. I kind of like him, it is hard not to.

Nice but Quiet Day

It is Saturday, and we have spent the day at home, mostly resting. This is one of my favourite pass times. It is very nice. Sure, you could say it is too quiet, but why complain? The worst thing is that I have nothing more interesting than this to say in my blog, but there may very well be something better for the blog tomorrow.

Kaiserstuhl

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Did you know that there is a Place in Southwestern Germany called Kaiserstuhl? I learned of this today. I really like this name, just wanted you to know.

At Least there Are Talks

The foreign ministers of Japan and China has met in New York, by the UN General Assembly, and talked about the Senkaku Islands, Japanese islands claimed by China. The talks have been severe. Meanwhile, Chinese as well as Taiwanese ships have sailed on Japanese waters around the islands.

At least, there are talks. I would not want anything more aggressive than that. Both Japan and China has formidable military forces, but I do not think any party wants to risk a war. Hopefully, the Chinese will realise they should back down.

I have not read much about this in Swedish mass media. I wish there were more. I also wish Sweden would support the democracy and holder of the territory, Japan, in this issue.

Censorship Withdrawn

The books about Tintin and Snowy are put back again. There were too many protests against censoring them. This is good, reason prevailed.

Tintin and Snowy Censored

At a library in Stockholm, a person responsible for developing child culture, Behrang Miri, has decided to remove all the comic books with Tintin and his Foxterrier Snowy. The reason is that he believes the books to be racist, portraying Africans and Arabs the wrong way.

I do not care, it is censorship, no matter what the cause. I believe this makes Behrang Miri an enemy of culture and the freedom of expression. You should not surpress views you do not care, you should display them openly and confront them instead, telling the world why they are bad.

Darkness and Safety Reflectors

It is turning dark earlier each evening, and we will soon have morning walks in darkness as well. In the dark, pedestrians on the road are hard to see, especially for people riding fast in cars. It is cause for extra concern if you are black yourself, like I, my daughter Karstuhl, and other black and tan Shibas. Make sure you all wear safety reflectors in the dark hours, to make sure others can see you from afar. It is a cheap life insurance.

Surrealism

Hello, Karstuhl there!

Someting higher than life. In an evening of twilight, red as few, words are flying. Touching them is hard, though they are solid, as higher than life words are. A bitch is barking, gentle as she is behind the harsh sound. Fly me to the Moon and back! Anything is possible.

Minced Meat

Daniel made meat sauce tonight, but the big parcel of minced meat contained too much to go into the available pot. This was a mission for the four legged members of the family. We volunteered, and ate some. Then Daniel could make meat sauce with the rest of the minced meat. It turned out to be a very tasty meat sauce. We rejoiced at the important part we played in making it.

NHL Game

A new ice hockey computer game, NHL 13, has been released. The game is inspired by the 2012/13 NHL season. It is described as a good game in a Swedish news paper.

I would think, though, that when you load the game, all you should get is a blank screen with the word "lockout" superimposed across it. Of course, such a game would not sell, but it would reflect the true NHL season.

Keeping Calm

Hello, Karstuhl here! I read this rather entertaining piece about the modern human, who cannot sit around doing nothing. On an underground train, almost everyone was looking at his or her mobile phone. The writer had to remind herself of the wise words of Moominmama, who said: "I know anything can happen, at any time, this is why I can keep calm". These are wise words. Be aware, though, that dogs already live by them every day. There are a lot of things humans can learn from dogs, as well as from Moomin trolls.

Pie

Hello, Karstuhl here! We are helping Paula baking a pie tonight. Pie is often great food. Daniel is right, though, when he says it may depend on what you put in the pie. A pie can have so many ingredients. I like pies with meat and sausage best, while pies with vegetables are a waste. The pie that Paula bakes tonight is a sausage and cheese pie. This is great. I sure wish I can have some.

Wife?

A newly discovered ancient document from the fourth century is said to reveal that Jesus Christ was married. It is a short document and many are sceptic to the interpretation from the short text. It has been said for centuries that Jesus was a bachelor. I do not care much. As far as I have understood, Jewish men at the time of Jesus were supposed to be married, so he would have been more odd if he was not than if he was. Personally, I would rather like to see a newly discovered document revealing that Jesus Christ had a dog.

Aggressive Chinese

The Chinese have sent six boats to patrol Japanese territory, the Senkaku Islands. This is not to stop more illegal Chinese initiatives to land on the islands, but a way for them to claim the territory. Those imperialistic Communists should keep off. It is Japanese territory!

Early Morning

We got up much earlier than usual today, because Daniel was leaving early on a business trip. It was dark on the morning Walk, but this is no problem, since there are Street lights. We are used to morning walks in the dark from the winter months anyway. After the walk, we could go back to sleep. It was worse for Daniel, who had to leave. This goes with the job he has chosen, though, and he did not complain. We heard thé journey went well.

Violent Protests

Demonstrators in China are protesting against Japanese control of Japanese territory, the Senkaku Islands. They believe the islands are Chinese, when China has, in fact, no control over the territory and has not had so for very long, if ever.

I do not mind the protests as such. I am in favour of free speech. It can also be positive that the dictatorial Chinese government allow demonstrations, for once. The bad thing is that some of the protests have resulted in violence against Japanese property. A factory belonging to Panasonic was set on fire in Qingdao, and a dealership for Toyota was looted, and these are just some of the violence that has occured.

The Chinese police has to stop such violence, no matter what the Chinese government believe in the matter of the Senkaku Islands. Violence is never an expression of free speech. Then again, with the regime they have, there is small wonder the Chinese demonstrators do not really know what free speech is.

Wonderful Birthday

I have had a fantastic birthday today. After dinner, I wanted us all just to rest for a while. Sice it is my birthday, even Paula and Daniel followed my advice. They both fell asleep and slept for a little while. I really liked this. It was a great way to celebrate.

Silly Excuse for a Dog

The US military has presented its latest toy: a robotic dog. So far, it can do just a little of all the things that a real dog can do, which makes it a silly excuse for a dog.

Still, I suppose the robotic dog will be evolved and later editions will be better. This does not scare me. Up until about a hundred years ago, the horse was the main tool for human travel and a lot of other things, but they have now been replaced by cars, tractors, lorries, and other motor vehicles. Nevertheless, there are more horses in Sweden now than there was a hundred years ago. If robotic dogs would replace real dogs in more capacities, there will certainly still be room for more real dogs.

Lasagne

This time, it was my turn to go with Paula and Daniel to Paula's sister Mia. Some of the dogs have been in her present flat before, but I had not. As always, it was nice to meet Mia. It was nice to see her flat, too. What was even better than seeing the flat, though, was the dinner. Paula made her wonderful, home made lasagne, and I got some. There are few things that taste better. It was a very pleasant evening.

World Cup Qualification

Tonight is the first round of the European qualification games for the FIFA World Cup of football 2014. Sweden plays against Kazakhstan. We believe Germany will win the qualification group that Sweden is in, but we think Sweden has a good chance of becoming second and of being qualified to the tournament.

I also hope Norway will be qualified, my Dad's home country and the home of my daughter Anzu. April feels the same, because her son Biki lives there. April also has hopes for the Netherlands, where her younger son Botan lives. Whatever happens, it will be exciting.

Update on the Senkaku Islands

A little while ago, I wrote about the Japanese Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. I wrote about this on the 15th of August this year. These islands are part of Japan, but privately owned by a Japanese man. The Japanese government are now planning on buying these islands.

China and Taiwan claim these islands. China also state that a purchase by the Japanese government is illegal and invalid. This is a strange thing to say, since the islands are Japanese territory, hence going by Japanese law. The Japanese government also, truthfully, says that the purchase does not change the status of the islands under international law.

I cannot understand why the Chinese are upset. Even though they claim the islands, the situation is not changed because the ownership is transferred under Japanese law. Japanese territory is no more or less Japanese territory, because the government or anybody else owns the real estate. On the other hand, who has ever blamed any communistic government for understanding the concept of ownership of real estate?

Coming Home

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daddy came home yesterday night. I met him today. He said he has missed being home, though he enjoyed a stay at another breeder on the Swedish west coast. He did not give me many details on what he had done there, though. I do not care, the main thing for me is that Daddy is home again. I always enjoy his company.

Spectator

For once, I was a spectator at a dog show. This was a different experience. Daniel worked as a ring steward, and I was not entered in the show, so I sat by ringside watching the spectacle.

Why are there so many dogs who do not rise and shine, when they go into the ring? They would surely do better in the results. It is as if they do not think it is fun in the show ring. Well, I know my friend April has never enjoyed going into the show ring, so this is not odd, but I have never understood it. I love going into the show ring. If I could, I believe I would be a great show ring coach for many dogs.

Tassimo - Making Coffee the (Not So) Easy Way

Daniel and I stay in a camping cabin in Höganäs, Scania, Sweden, tonight. Daniel will work as a ring steward at a dog show tomorrow, while I came along to oversee the delivery of my pup Issi this evening.

There is a coffee making machine of a new kind in our cabin: a Bosch Tassimo. The instruction manual says it is REALLY easy to use. We got some coffee capsules for Free in the reception, so we decided to try the machine.

These are the instructions (with a picture of the machine):
1. Place the T DISC here.
2. Press the button and let the system take care of the rest.
3. Enjoy your drink.

Of course, it was far from that easy. At first, we decided we would play along, so we just put a capsule in its place. It took us a little time to figure out how to put it the correct way, since the manual did not say you were supposed to turn it upside down.

Then we pressed the button. Nothing happened.

We did discover that the electric cord was not attatched to the outlet in the wall, and this is something you cannot blame the manual for. Then we discovered that you were supposed to fill the machine with water. This is something that could have easily gone into the manual.

We added water and pressed the button. A couple of seconds went by, while drink filled the cup. Then it was time to taste. It was hot at first, but both Daniel and I enjoyed the Gevalia Latte Macchiato. It is just a shame that the authors of the manuals believe the machine to be much easier than it is. It is not just about pressing one button.

Frozen Minced Meat

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula took a piece of minced meat out of the freezer tonight. It is frozen and inedible now, of course, but it will thaw through the night. I wonder whether I will get some of it to eat. I sure hope so.

A Piece of Cake

Daniel looked through one of the inner regions of a lower shelf in the fridge today, and discovered a piece of a cake that he had not known was there. The piece of cake was now too old, so he had to throw it away. He was devastated, he loves cake, but what can you do? I and the other dogs think it is worse on the rare occasions when meatballs have grown too old and has to be thrown away.

Daniel also has himself to blame. Paula and Daniel are in charge of the fridge, which means they decide what goes in and what comes out of it. This also means that they only have themselves to blame if something they like gets too old, while the fourlegged members of the family can blame them if there is something that we like that gets too old. We are not responsible.

Most of the time, the contents in the fridge is fresh and we rarely have to throw anything away. When things like this piece of cake turns up, I still would wish our humans would have a little better knowledge of the contents of the fridge. It is not that important, though, just a piece of cake.

Selling Art to China

The Chinese economy is doing very well. Decades ago, China was a victim of long wars, which damaged and destroyed a lot of antiquities in the country. Still, European love for Chinese goods throughout many centuries have resulted in many Chinese antiquities ending up here, for example in Sweden. The wealthy part of the Chinese society are now out hunting for these antiquities.

I can understand the urge to buy pieces abroad of what you consider your own heritage. Still, I would never want to sell to any Chinese. China is a dictatorship and they treat dogs very badly. I have no good feelings for China at all. If I would have any Chinese antiquities, I would not sell them to Chinese, no matter what the price. I would not think it would be worth it.

Long Wait

Diplomatic mail is often a secure way of forwarding messages, given the respect that foreign countries always have in the name of diplomacy. If the dipolmatic mail travels on an airplane that crashes, it is a completely different matter. A bag of Indian diplomatic mail has been found now in the French Alps, about fourtysix years after a plane crashed just there. I wonder if, for once, the contents of the diplomatic mail will be made public. After all, this diplomatic mail bag has already made it to international news, and it is difficult to see that anything in it would still be secret. We have to wait and see.

Wolves Loses Defence

Wolves are the wild cousins of all dogs. We are the same species, and I feel akin to them. I do not want humans to hunt and kill wolves, no more than I want humans to hunt and kill dogs.

In the US state Wyoming, wolves are no longer a protected species. The federal authorities have removed them from that protection. There are some rules on their protection, a minimum number of wolves and breeding couples must be spared and some areas are off limits for hunts. I do not think this is enough. Humans should realise that wolves are the wild cousins of their own best friends, beautiful and wonderful animals. All wolves deserve to be defended. I hope the US federal authorities reverse their decision.

Gonsa Left Us

Hello, Issi here!

My brother Gonsa left us for his new family and new home today. We have met his family before, they are very nice people. Two of them came to fetch him this morning. I miss him, but wish him all the luck. It has come to my understanding that he will travel for hours to get to his new home, but that I will travel for about as long time in a similar direction. We will end up in the same remote area of the country. I call it remote now, but I guess that once we are settled with our families there, we will not see it as remote. I hope to meet Gonsa many times again.

Pride

Paula and Daniel went in the Örebro Pride Parade this evening. This is good, it is for a just cause: treating all humans equal. I stayed at home with my pups, though. They are old enough to make it on their own, but they will both move soon and I want the time I have with them. We could see Paula and Daniel in the local TV news. They were seen in the background of many shots of the Parade.

Food

Hello, Peanut here!

I am not so young anymore. I do not get food as often as before. The adult dogs get food once a day, I guess I will eventually end up there too. What annoys me the most, though, is that the small pups Issi and Gonsa get food more often than I do. It is not really unfair, I got food equally often when I was their age. Still, it is no fun watching the small pups eating, when I get nothing.

It is fun playing with the small pups, though.

Cleaning

We cleaned the floors this evening. It is no fun, but necessary sometimes. I guess part of the blame for the need to clean has to fall on my small pups. They are, however, excused because of their age and their cuteness. There are advantages with being a pup.

Portugese Champion

Multi ch. Kokuhou go Ryuukyuu Uruma, father of my latest puppy litter, is living in Spain for a couple of months this summer. He participates in dog shows there and in neighbouring countries, as one would expect from such a fine dog. This has now resulted in another title that he can add to his name and to the pedigree of our pups: Portugese Champion. Congratulations!

Sweden in International News

I am always sad to see when Sweden is depicted in negative ways in international mass media. Today, the BBC writes about the scandalously expensive party that the Swedish police intelligence agency had earlier this year. No fun reading.

Great Tragedy, but then Some Hope

This is a blog post of a sad story about a dog. It has a happy ending, but I still want to warn you for the feelings you get, especially when watching this video.

A dog in Mexico was found in a rubbish bin with his front paws cut off. The humans responsible are probably members of some criminal gang. Now the dog, going by the lovely name Lemon Pie, has a new home in a dog shelter and has custom made prosthetic legs. While I am terribly sorry for his fate, and the state in which he was found, it seems he will now live his life in relative happiness.

There seem to be no limits for human cruelty, but there are also no limits for human goodness.

Sunday Results

Hello, Karstuhl here! I am quite happy with the show results today as well, even though it was not as great as yesterday. I got Excellent, but no CAC. Calvin was BOS. The BOB winner was also a really good bitch.

Neil Armstrong

The first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, is dead. He lived a long life, even for a human, but still did not live to see the next manned Moon landing, nor the first dog on the Moon. This is sad. I hope humans and dogs will land on the Moon again soon. RIP Neil Armstrong.

Success

Hello, Karstuhl here! At the dog show in Visby today, I won my first CAC. Calvin was Best of Breed, while I was Best of Opposite Sex. It was a good day for us. Now I want to go to more shows. Lucky Me, then, that there is Another as soon as tomorrow.

Turning Greece Around?

I heard on the radio today, that prices in Greece are being lowered. It is getting cheaper to be a tourist in Greece, which makes the streams of tourists turning back to Greece.

The person talkning about this said this was an "internal devaluation". This means that when Greece has the euro, hence no currency of its own to devaluate, it has to devaluate by other means. A devaluation means goods and service produced in Greece would turn cheaper for people from other countries, but a similar result is achieved by lowering the prices. This may save the Greek economy without it having to leave the common currency.

I guess this was one way in which the common currency was meant to work. I hope it will be a road towards a better economy in Greece.

Celebrating Paula

We celebrated Paula's thirtyfifth birthday today. This is well worth celebrating, because thirtyfive can be evenly divided by seven, so it is easy to compare it to a dog birthday. In dog years, Paula would be five.

Paula actually turns thirtyfive this thursday, but it suited us all better to celebrate today. This is life when everybody has full calendars.

Spotting Spotted Owls

Dogs and our great noses can help humans in many ways. In a scientific project by the University of Washington in the USA, dogs sniffed out pellets from spotted owls. This improved the probability of finding these owls by 30 percent. Need I say more?

Baby Strollers and Fire Security

Humans have a knack for making life difficult for themselves. They do not learn to walk until they are almost a year old, and their parents drive them around in baby strollers until they are good at it.

If you live in a block of flats in Sweden, you are not allowed to store things in the staircase. There are fire security reasons for this. Things may burn, and they may stop people from evacuating the building. When a large owner of blocks of flats in our home town removed a baby stroller from a stair case this week, some people were, nevertheless, outraged. They believe there is a right to store baby strollers anywhere. I believe there is not.

It is much easier being a mother of dog pups. A pup learn to walk when he or she is but weeks old, and a couple of weeks later, there is no question of whether the pup rather walk by itself or is carried.

Athletics Again

The Olympic Games are over, but we listen to live broadcasted athletics on the radio tonight, nevertheless. It is the "DN Galan" in Stockholm, an international athletics competition. According to the radio reporters, it is a good competition. I guess the Olympic Games did not make people tired of sports, perhaps the contrary.

Weirdly, the word athlete has started to mean the same in Swedish as in English over the last couple of years. Traditionally, the word "atlet" in Swedish has meant weight lifter or "strong man", while the English word athlete is translated into "friidrottare". I guess too many Swedes believe that just making the English word sound Swedish is a sound way to translate. I would never think so. Then again, dogs all over the world have a common language, we never have these translation difficulties.

Blogging

Hello, Gonsa here!

I cannot believe my sister Issi beat me to the computer, writing her blog entry before I did. I thought I would be there first, but was not. This was a little annoying. Not quite as annoying as when she lifted her ears before I did, but still.

Blogging seems to be fun, but I am not sure I will start my own blog. Future will tell.

My Entry

Hello, Issi here!

Mommy has given me and my litter brother Gonsa the opportunity to write in her blog. We are about the age she was when starting it. I am not so sure I will be a blogger, though, I cannot think of anything interesting to say in just one blog entry. Well, it was nice to try it, anyhow.

Diplomatic Row

Some Chinese activist went ashore on one of the Japanese Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. When they were arrested by Japanese Coast Guard, China made a diplomatic protest. I understand why. China is a dictatorship and claims these islands. It is in the line of dictatorial regimes to claim other states' territories, because they believe imperialistic policies look good to their own people and takes peoples' interest away from internal affairs. I still think China has no claim to the Senkaku Islands. Why would they? They are a part of the Okinawa prefecture in Japan and this was the first time for many years that any non-Japanese people had ever visited them. There is no basis for the Chinese claim.

You Just Do Not Do That!

A woman in Västerås (a Swedish town about halfway between Stockholm and Örebro) claims to have forgotten her dog in her car all day today. When she came back to the car in the afternoon, the dog was dead. The woman was chocked.

Police have started to look at the case. They say it cannot be a case against the woman for animal cruelty, because that is a crime of premeditation. It can still be a crime against the animal protection laws.

I do not believe this woman just forgot her dog. You just do not do that. I mean, who would forget a family member for a full day? In my mind, this woman should be prosecuted for animal cruelty. The dog must have had a terrible time, before it finally passed away. May it rest in peace!

Strange Priorities

In Sweden, we have got two TV channels that are financed by a tax on TV sets, the so called TV licence. These channels are not allowed to have any commercials, like the other channels have. The other week, they broadcasted one hour of live show with a Swedish singer on prime time. Complaints were filed against broadcasting this, because it was considered a violation of the rules prohibiting commercials. Nevertheless, this show was broadcasted again, as a rerun, early this evening. It is strange that the TV channel decides to rerun a show where there is a pending complaint. Strange priorities, I say.

Cheater

The olympic gold medalist in shot put, Belarussian Nadzeya Ostapchuk, has lost her gold medal. She failed doping tests and has thus been disqualified. The gold has gone to New Zealander Valerie Adams instead.

This is good. Cheating should be punished, in human sports as well as in dog sports. I would not like to lose a dog show to a dog who cheated, neither should a human have to lose to another human who has cheated.

Good Show

In the dog show in Askersund this weekend, my daughter Polly won Excellent, ck, and was second best bitch. This is not bad at all.

Calvin was Best of Breed. This is really good. He might even become Shiba of the year if he keeps up his winning streak.

Troublesome Neighbours

Japan has ongoing territorial disputes with many of its neighbours. I can understand that the dictators of China are interested in claiming Japanese islands in the East China Sea. I can also understand that the imperialistic Russian regime want to keep as much as possible of the territory conquered by the tyrannical Soviet Union, such as the Japanese Northern Territory, islands northeast of Hokkaido. I am more concerned that South Korea, which is at present a democracy, stirr up feelings about Japanese islands. The President of South Korea has just visited the Japanese Takeshima Islands in the Sea of Japan, which is occupied by a South Korean coast guard detatchment since 1954. South Korea should not do such things. They are lucky the Japanese are a peace loving people. It might be better, however, if Japan would also station some people on these islands. Even justified claims may need such measures in order to be upheld over time.

Busy Evening

We are preparing for visitors this evening. I guess Kuro-chan will be happy, one of the visitors is an old friend of him from Japan. I would also like to have lived in Japan, it is a fascinating country and our ancestors are all from Japan, since we are Shibas.

The preparations keep us busy all evening. It is amazing how much there is to pick up and clean, once you put your mind to it, even though you normally think the home is just as tidy and neat as it ever has to be.

Yoghurt

My pups often get to share a bowl of yoghurt late in the evening. They do not finish it, though. When they are done, I come in and finish the bowl. This is just one of many duties I perform for my pups. None of the duties are hard, because I love my pups, but some are more pleasant than others. Finishing the bowl of yoghurt is one of the more pleasant duties. I can recommend yoghurt to most dogs.

Abandoned Dog

In Norway, there are sometimes dog crates that you can borrow outside of shopping malls. Yesterday, somebody abandoned a dog in one of them in Gjovik. The shopping mall closed at nine in the evening, but when the dog barked just after midnight, police was called to the scene and took care of the dog. Nobody knows who abandoned the dog, or why. I cannot think of any reason that would forgive such behaviour.

Who Will We Root For?

Hello, Karstuhl here!

The women's Olympic final in football features Japan versus the USA.

Granny is from the USA, just like uncle Calvin and aunt April. Daddy, on the other hand, is from Japan. Japan is also the home of our breed.

I am not sure whether I will join Granny to root for the USA, or Daddy to root for Japan. I am not the only one who are unsure of this at our place, either. Of course, I will not be really disappointed with either country as gold medal winner, but the thrill of sports is to hope that one of the competitors or teams will win. Thus, it would almost be better if either Japan or the USA would face a quite different country that I have no special feelings for whatsoever.

Well, it is bound to be a nice game to watch, nevertheless.

Pups

It is great having pups. I get extra food. The downside is that I cannot always chose when I will get it. Well, you cannot get it all.

Wrong Name

Hello, Karstuhl here! We had visitors here today. They were nice people. I happened to give their pup, the male, the wrong name yesterday. He is supposed to be called Gonsa. I do not know what this means, but it is a cute name.

Six Weeks

Hello, Karstuhl here! It is now six weeks ago I got another new brother and sister. They are very cute and fun to be with when they are this age. The boy is called Gonzo and the girl Issi. Gonzo's new family Will come to visit him and us tomorrow. It will be interesting to get to know them, so we will know Gonzo gets a Good home. I believe it will be nice.

The Oldest Participant

The oldest competitor in the Olympic Games is from Japan, the 71 year old Hiroshi Hoketsu who participates in dressage. What makes it even more special is that he participated in his first Olympic Games 48 years ago, in Tokyo in 1964. Japanese humans are tough people, just like dogs of Japanese breeds are.

Flying the Flag

The Olympic Games are the current focus for most people these days. National flags of the medalists are flown many times a day. Many of these flags are US flags, because Americans win many medals.

I am, however, much more impressed by other American flags. Recent photographies of the Moon's surface by the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter show that all but one of the American flags left "flying" by the Apollo landers are still standing. (They are not really flying in the almost non-existant Lunar atmosphere, but made to look like it by a flag pole that also held the upper edge of the flag.) This is despite the harsh temperatures and ultraviolet light on the Lunar surface.

I hope these flags are still standing when humans (and dogs) revisit the landing sites in the future.

Gymnasts

Hello, Peanut here!

We have watched some of the Olympic Games on TV these last days. I was amazed to see the gymnasts, how they could fly, turn midair, hold themselves up with just one stretched arm, and so on. I would never have thought humans could move that way.

The truth is, they cannot, my friend Karstuhl explained. She ought to know, she is two years old, thus much more experienced than I am. Karstuhl told me the gymnasts do not actually do all that they seem to do. It is a combination of threads, invisible to the eye and the camera, that they hang from, and other tricks performed by special effects people behind the scenes. It is like illusionists, who really do not perform magic, Karstuhl said.

Hearing this explanation, I understood. It all makes sense.

Too Young!

A litter of six English Staffordshire Bullterrier pups have been stolen in Olofstorp, near Gothenburg. The pups are just seven weeks old. Pups need to be with their mother until they are at least eight weeks old. These pups need to come back home right away! Their mother was scared and miss her pups.

I hope the news on this will spread, so noone will buy any of these pups from the thief.

Lunar Origin

As long time readers of my blog surely knows, I am interested in the Moon, because my official name is inspired by this celestial body.

Nobody knows for sure how the Moon was created. There is a new theory now, based on computer models, suggesting it was created by a large body hitting early Earth much faster than have previously been thought. I am not sure why this is so interesting, because it has no bearing whatsoever on the everyday life, but I still enjoy reading about it.

Ears

Both pups of my youngest litter have raised their ears now. This is rather early, they are slightly more than five weeks old. The old wisdom says that the earlier a pup raises the ears, the better size the ears will have in adulthood. I would not be surprised. My pups are great in every aspect.

Olympic Games without Dogs

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games starts officially today (though some time consuming tournaments has already started, such as football). The Olympic Games are special in that there are so many sports in the same event. There are, among others, equestrian competitions. Still, there are no dog sports. I would like to see agility in the summer games and dog sleighs in the winter games. This would really be something. Until this happens, I do not care much about the Olympic Games.

Volcano Eruption

The Japanese Sakurajima volcano in the Kagoshima region has erupted. This is not the first time this year, on the contrary, the citizens are getting used to it erupting. It is not likely to be the last, either.

Japan is a fascinating country in so many ways. There are no volcanoes in Sweden, whatsoever. It is not that I miss the volcanic ash coming out of nearby volcanoes, but it would be a little exciting to have some volcano just a little further away. Maybe I am just saying this, because there are none, but so be it. I know many who long for the more exotic things in life, the things that are not here and now. For me, volcanoes are exotic.

Olympic Games

The 2012 summer Olympic Games starts Friday. Some of the competitions started as early as today, though. The Swedish women football team played South Africa, and won 4-1. It was a good game, not just because Sweden won. Sweden plays in the same group as Japan. I hope these two teams will continue in the tournament, hopefully playing the final against each other.

Female Astronaut has Passed Away

The American astronaut Sally Ride has passed away. She was famous not least for being the first American woman in space. The Russians had already had two women in space before Sally Ride got a ride there, but she was the third.

Of course, all the human females in space, as well as human males in space, came after the first female dog in space. The Russian bitch known under the name Laika went into outer space before any human did. Unfortunately, she did not come back. The communist Russians did not bother constructing any re-entry solutions before they let her have her lift-off. Still, the readings the Russians got from Laika was of vital importance for the first human space trips. There you see another example of the selfless sacrifice that dogs do for humans, except in Laika's case, she did not have any choice.

Rest in peace, Sally Ride. I hope you meet Laika in astronaut heaven.

Calvin Won

The winner today is Calvin. He won Best of Breed at the show this Sunday. My pups Polly and Nemo both won Excellent, Nemo with a CK, but no more. I would have wanted them to get better results. I am very happy for Calvin, though. He has had bad luck over many show seasons, lacking his full coat just at the peak of the season. This year, however, it looks like Calvin is the only one of us who has a great coat and generally is at a great shape at the peak of the season. We therefore hope for more victories for him this summer.

Nemo

Having pups of the age of four weeks stops me from going to dog shows. This does not matter so much, when I have older pups who show the world what they are worth. Today, my two year old son Nemo won CAC in Köping. Need I say more?

Cleaning

Hello, Peanut here! We cleaned the house this evening. I like helping out when Daniel sweeps the floor. The only trouble is, he wants to do it himself. He claims he does not need my help. This is sad, I really think I can make a contribution.

Not the Smallest

Hello, Peanut here! It has not always been easy for me, since Hailey got her latest litter of pups. I did think I would be the smallest, cutest dog of the household for some time longer. On the other hand, there are rumours that both of the two pups will move to other families once they are old enough. Then I will be the cutest again. I hope this will happen.

Terrible, Terrible

I must warn you, it is terrible to read about this. Two years ago, animal protection officers just south of Stockholm discovered 191 cats living on a small, urine infested area in the basement of a house. They barely had light in the basement. Of these cats, 174 were in such a bad state they ahd to be put asleep. The woman and her son who lived in the house have now been prosecuted for animal cruelty. They have also been forbidden to have animals in their care. I am glad the two humans get prosecuted. Cruelty to animals in your care should be severely punished. The main question is, however, why did it take two years to prosecute them? Could the prosecutors not be quicker?