Summer Is Still Not Over

This is the last day of July. Both Paula and Daniel have started to work this week after some weeks of summer vacation. The nights are getting darker and longer. Still, August is also a summer month. We are bound to have several weeks more of warm, nice summer weather. There are also many summer dog shows left, not least when we are going to Gotland by the end pf August. It is still summer, though signs of autumn start to show. I am going to enjoy what is left of summer.

Wolves Helping Bears

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Wolves are important in the eco system. In the American national park Yellowstone, wolves vanished in the early 20th century, making elks much more abundant. These elks ate the berries upon which bears get an important part of their diet. When wolves have now returned, decimating the number of elks, the bears of Yellowstone gets a better diet and feel better.

It is nice that our wild cousins can help bears in the forests. It is a little like us dogs helping teddy bears through life as toys.

Calvin Did It

Calvin became Best of Breed at the International Dog Show in Ransäter today. I congratulated him, when he came home.

April's son Javier became Best Puppy.

My daughter Polly and my son Zeus were also shown. They made fair results, but, unfortunately, nothing that will be noted for the future. Polly told me she enjoyed this show like none before, though, so she hungers for revenge and better results in the near future. I am looking forward to that. She deserves it.

Show Tomorrow

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Mommy is unhappy today. There is a dog show tomorrow, and I, Calvin and Javier get to go to it, but not her.

The show is in Ransäter, Värmland, halfway to Norway from us. It might be rain all day, and thunder and lightning, but Mommy does not care. Going into the show ring is still the best thing she knows. I am not quite so fond of it, but I like it, nevertheless. I will do my best.

Bad TV

We watched a little on the Tv series Spartacus this evening. It is quite bad. They fought in a battle, but whenever a friend was close to dying, the others could stop fighting to hear the last words and give a hug, without being attacked by any enemy. How realistic is that? We laughed a little.

Semi Finals

Sweden lost its UEFA Euro 2013 football championship semi final to Germany yesterday. It was a close call, but all in all, Germany was slightly better and worthy winners.

Today, Norway won its semi final versus Denmark. My Dad was from Norway, so I will hope Norway will win the final on Sunday. I am looking forward to an exciting game.

Nils-Olov

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula's father Nils-Olov has been here the last couple of days to help us build a terrace. I really like him. Whenever I see him, I bark a lot at first. Some people might think I am afraid of Nils-Olov when I do this, bit this is far from the truth. I just bark at him, because he is so good at responding to this by cuddling me. I love lying in his lap. Unfortunately, I cannot do that while he is building, but I like him anyway. There will be more times of cuddling.

Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles are really fun toys. They bend and shoft shape with the pressure of your teeth, but not too easily, and they sound funny while you chew on them. They are cheap, too.

Yesterday, Orange was playing with a bottle of mine, but I took it back. She should be subservient to an older Shiba like me, and was, too. This is good. This bottle was extra fun to play with.

If you want cheap, noce tous for dogs, just buy pop in PET bottles, then let the dogs have them when they are empty. If you want a refund, you can, as long as the EAN code os intact and the bottle is not very deformed.

Building a Terrace

Hello, Orange here!

Paula's father Nils-Olov has been here today to build a terrace in the garden. Daniel has helped him. So did I, almost all morning. It was fun being there to help. I do think the work went more smoothly thanks to me.

I stayed indoors in the afternoon, but there were other dogs helping ot then. It was really hot outside by then, so I am thankful for being able to atay in the shadows indoors.

Taking Down a Bush

We took down a bush in the garden today. You have to do that sometimes, because bushes always grow. Mostly, it is enough if you cut it and get it smaller, bit this had become so big we decided it was best to take it down permanently. That corner of the garden has more space and light now, so it was an improvement. We may cut more in the garden soon.

In the Countryside

Hello, Orange here!

I got to go with Paula and Daniel to Paula's sister with boyfriend out in the countryside this evening. I have been there before and I like it. There are cats there. They have a slightly odd way of communicating, it is not the same as with other dogs or with humans. Still, I think I am getting better at understanding them and we are getting along well with each other. It was a nice evening.

Fish Stock Recovery?

A major scientific study suggests many European fish stocks are on their way to recovery, and are not overfished.

Some researches doubt the result, one says that it is premature to talk about recovery.

I would very much like to think the fish stocks are recovering. Fish is tasty, healthy food, and we can only have it for future generations if we fish responsibly and let the fish stocks have healthy numbers. I hope the report is right, but I am not sure. Time will tell, but I have hope for recovery of the fish stocks.

Fumi

Paula and Daniel visited my daughter Fumi and her family tonight. They told me Fumi has a great life with a great family. This is always nice to hear. As a mother, you always want the best for all of your pups. It definitely seems like Fumi has the best life she could ever have.

Beauty After Pregnancy

I read this story about human females and their view of their post pregnancy bodies. They would very much like these slightly changed bodies to be considered just as beautiful as their pre pregnancy bodies. I guess they are.

When it comes to dogs, many bitches have achieved their highest victories after having puppy litters. Mum won her Swedish and Norwegian championships after her first litters, not to talk about her double World Veteran Winner titles. I have also won champion titles after having puppies. There is no reason to believe human females would do worse than dog females, if humans had shows the way we dogs have. (As fun as it is to go into the show ring, I feel sorry for humans that they do not.)

All in all, I can see no reason why human females would not be considered beautiful, just for having had children.

Online Game

Paula is playing an online game about candy. She likes it, staying awake late to play. I cannot see the fun in it. Candy is supposed to be eaten, not seen on a computer screen. Oh, well, to each her own joy.

The Orange Team Lost

Hello, Orange here!

In the ongoing UEFA European Football Championship for Women, my favourite team lost its game today. My favourite is, of course, the Netherlands, since they play in orange jerseys. There is no better colour than orange. However, Norway beat the Netherlands, 1-0. I am disappointed, though it is not yet over. The Netherlands still has a chance to go further than the groups.

Hailey was glad Norway won. This is because her father was from Norway and always a Norwegian patriot. I never met him, but I can understand why Hailey has feelings for Norway due to her father. It is nice that some of us can be glad for the Norwegian victory.

Grilled Food

Paula used the grill when cooking dinner tonight. What was left went to us dogs. Grilled food is great, I wish we could have it more often.

The world championship in orienteering had its final day in Finland today. For the very first time, Sweden did not win any medal in the ladies' relay, but came in fourth. Perhaps, if they would have had better food, it would have gone better. I wonder if their food came from the grill.

Paper

Hello, Orange here again!

Paula and Daniel are sometimes confused about me and my fellow dogs tearing up or eating paper. Well, is there any better use for paper?

Yes, I know how to read and write, how could I make blog entries if I did not? The thing is rather, I am born in the era of computers. I do not need paper to write on or read from. Besides, if you have paws, it is easier writing on a keyboard than with a pen or pencil. Thus, to me, the best way to use paper is to play with it, tear it up, or chew on it. I do not need to read what is written upon it.

Course

Hello, Orange here!

Javier and I went to this puppy course again today. It is quite interesting. The best thing is all the treats we are given, though. Treats are the main reason courses and trainings are fun. If you go to a course, but your human do not bring treats, I would recommend that you strike. Then you will hopefully teach your human the importance of treats.

Night

It is late at night again, and I am late in writing a blog post again. It is the vacation's fault. Paula and Daniel does not get up early in the mornig, and go to bed late, so we dogs do the same. Then the blog entries I write may be late. I do not like this, I have to improve upon this.

Otherwise, I like the vacation, because Paula and Daniel are at home more. This is good.

Orange Being Green?

Hello, Orange here!

We saw a quiz show pn TV tonight that was really upsetting. It was the British show QI, which os normally fun to watch. Today, they claimed that most oranges are not orange, but green! Could I have an identity crisis for less? I am not sure I want to believe that.

Well, then Grand Auntie Linni said, this does not matter, because to her, there is but one true Orange, and that would be me. I am very grateful for this statement. To me, there is but one grand auntie, and that is Linni.

No Shame

Some people are shameless.

In the town Lidköping, an old lady was tricked to surrender her dog to strangers. Some people approached her when she was out walking her Poodle. They offered to trim the dog for 600 kr, which the lady accepted. She gave them the dog and the money, and they left. After a while, the lady concluded she had been fooled, so she contacted the police.

I cannot understand why any humans would do this? They have separated a dog from its human, what a cruel thing to do. If it was just for the money, that is one thing, albeit unlawful, but taking the dog is horrible. They must have no shame.

I do hope the Poodle find its way home.

The Importance of Microchips in Dogs

The Pitbull Smoke disappeared from his human in California three years ago, when the room mate moved out and stole the dog. However, he was was recently found in Florida. He was taken to a shelter, but since he was microchipped, it was possible to identify who his human was. It is still unclear how he wound up in Florida, across the continent, but he will now be driven back to his own human in California by a relay of volunteers. This only goes to prove how important it is to micro chip dogs. Without the microchip, odds are his true identity would never have been discovered and he would never have gotten to see his human again.

This sunshine story only goes to prove how important it is that all dogs have microchips for their identification. We cannot tell humans who we are and where we belong, like humans themselves can, so we need the aid of microchips to do this for us. To all puppy buyers out there: do not forget to microchip your four legged family members.

The Risk of Vacations

If you spend your vacation at home, there is a risk nothing special will happen to you all day. This is what happened today. Perhaps it will be better tomorrow, then I will have something to write about. I really hope so.

4th of July

Mum is celebrating the national holiday of her country of birth today: the USA. So is April and Calvin. We had some American food, but there were no fireworks. None of us enjoys fireworks anyway.

There was a football game on TV, Sweden v. England, which was far from American culture, but I enjoyed the Swedish victory anyway.

Gotland is the Thing, the 24-25 August

There are a lot of news reporters in the city of Visby on the Swedish island Gotland this week, just because there are a lot of political speeches and seminars there. We do not understand what all the fuzz is about. Gotland is not the thing now, but on the 24-25 August, when the Gotland Kennel Club hosta its annual international dog shows in Visby. The reporters should be there then, rather than now. Dog shows are much more important and interesting than politics.

More Toys

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel has done some cleaning in the barn. He found old toys there, which were lying around without being used. He brought them into the house, so we have put them to use now. Toys are meant to be played with, there is no use just letting them be. It was a good thing we got the toys to play with.

Weekend Away

Hello, Orange here!

This weekend, I got to spend with Paula's sister Mia and her boyfriend out in the countryside. There were some friendly cats there, as well. I have been there before, so I recognised the place, but this was the first time without Paula and Daniel, and my first sleepover. It was a nice weekend. I would not mind going back there many more times.