Downside of Pickled Herring

Pickled herring is very salty food. Salty food makes you thirsty, so you drink a lot. When you drink a lot, all of that water, mixed with the salts, needs to get out of the body again. This needs to happen outdoors. It does not happen to everyone at once, and yesterday night, it happened after bedtime. We really made Daniel upset, forcing him to get out of bed over and over again to let us out. He does prefer this to us not being housebroken, but we understand that he was not happy. On the other side, he was the one who served us all of that tasty pickled herring, so who was he to complain, really?

Pickled Herring

We got great food this Friday afternoon. There were some jars of pickled herring in the refrigerator, that Daniel emptied in our food bowls. Herring is really tasty. It is like the Swedish equivalent to the great Japanese dish known as sushi.

Justified Answers to Chinese Aggression

Communist China has declared an "air defence zone" over parts of the South China Sea and Japanese islands in this sea. China demands that anyone who wants to fly through this zone must first file the flight plan with Chinese authorities. This is, of course, outrageous, aggressive, and unjustified behaviour by China.

Japan, South Korea, and the USA have all flown through this zone without complying to the Chinese demands. This is good. It is a justified answer to the Chinese aggression.

One has to wonder what China wishes to accomplish. They have claims to the Japanese Senkaku Islands in this unilaterally declared zone, but the islands belongs to Japan and are controlled by Japan. There are certainly natural resources in the sea. Does China want to provoke others to start a war? Does China, perhaps, even want to start a war itself?

In the case of an armed conflict between China on one side and Japan, the USA and South Korea on the other side, I am sure China could not win. I would still wish that more countries would openly defy this air defence zone, showing China that it is moot because nobody cares about it anyway. Sweden does not have any aircraft carriers to go there and defy the zone, but the United Kingdom and France have. I hope they show up. All countries with diplomatic contacts with China can express their view that they believe the zone is moot.

Pigs

Hello, Orange here!

A woman on TV just told the audience that pigs are more intelligent than dogs. I do not believe that. If this was true, then why is it that dogs eat pigs and not the other way around? No, we are on the very top of the food chain, together with humans, because our wit and intelligence have taken us there.

Sick

I felt sick in my stomach last night. It was so bad, I threw up before I got outdoors. Sometimes, the things you eat are just not good enough for you, though you think they are. I hope there will be nothing of that sort tonight.

Thankfully, Ignorance of the Law Is No Excuse

A man in Sweden used a prong (also known as pinch collar, or "stackelhalsband" in Swedish) on his dog. This is a type of collar with spikes, or prongs, on the inside, directed at the dogs neck and throat. It is illegal under animal protection laws in Sweden to use prongs.

According to a judgment by the Svea Court of Appeals on 25 November 2013 (court case number B 3857-13), the man has now been sentenced to fines for this.

In his defence, he said he did not know it was illegal in Sweden to use prongs. Neither court that tried the case considered this an excuse. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. In this case, I believe this legal principle worked better than most times.

My only regret is that he did not get a more severe sentence than fines.

Veterinarians' Journals

The Administrative Court of Appeals of Jönköping has decided (judgment 18 November 2013, case number 1635-13) that it is not possible for the Board for Animal's Health and Hospital Care to demand that a veterinarian has a journal on the care that she or he gives to animals. This may seem strange, but it is what the law says. I believe a veterinarian should have journals. It is important to know the history of the health care for an animal. Good veterinarians will certainly have journals whatever the law says, but I believe the law should still say that every veterinarian should have journals. The law could and should be changed!

Police Films

We watched a police film on TV tonight. There are often things about such films to object about, though they can be entertaining. It is not just that there are few dogs in the films, police dogs or other, but there are other things as well. In this film, a lorry carrying a lot of money would be robbed. The lorry and its escort cars had a look which would have made it easy to spot them. This does not seem realistic. At the end of the film, two million Swedish crowns from the robbery ended up with the Salvation Army, which was a humoristic, divine justice. Still, would the Salvation Army just accept such a big donation, without asking themselves if this was spoils from a crime? The film did not show how the Salvation Army members reacted to the donation, but I do not think they would just have put it away on the account for donations. Oh, well, it may be easier watching a movie without these thoughts, but I just cannot help having them. I enjoy the films, nevertheless.

Puma

We got to see pictures of my granddaughter Puma today, Karstuhl's black and tan daughter. She has turned out really nice. We always expected she would, but it is nice to see pictures showing this without doubt. I am sure she, too, will eventually become a show champion.

Proof of Championship

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My Show Championship diploma has arrived from the Swedish Kennel Club. I have now written proof of my status as a Swedish Show Champion. The title has been in the public database too for some time, but the diploma feels more tangible. I am so happy to have it.

Some Mornings Are Odd

Daniel was away the night between Yesterday and today. He is usually the one taking us for the morning walk, but Paula did this today. She is equally good at it, but it is different. It feels odd, even though everything is right, in its own way. This is a strange feeling, when we have these occasional, odd mornings. It has been a good day, all in all.

Forgetful

I forgot to write anything in my blog yesterday. It is very rare that I do so, so it is all the more surprising for myself when I do. I am also greatly annoyed by it. I have asked Karstuhl and Orange why they did not remember either, they are often helpful. Both of them claimed, however, that it is my blog, hence my responsibility. I cannot deny that. I just have to be even better at remembering to update my blog. Stay tuned!

Full Moon

Hello, Orange here! We have had quite light nights lately. It is because of the full Moon. It is almost like having an extra street light, shining across the whole landscape. I like it, even though I have no reference to the Moon in my name, like Hailey and Polly have. I can understand why they say wolves howl at the full Moon. It is beautiful.

Wind

It is windy outside today. We should not complain here in Sweden, though. It is not like we have a typhoon, like they had in the Philippines recently, ruining houses and homes for a lot of dogs and humans. I hope things will soon get better there, they do get aid from around the world.

How Can He Be Satisfied?!

Sweden lost the first of two play off games against Portugal tonight. Portugal scored one goal, which was enough for them. They deserved the victory, because in the second half of the game, the Swedes stopped attacking and just backed down, defending themselves in a not very effective way. It was not sufficient that Sweden was close to scoring a goal many times in the first half, when there were no goals. a game is 90 minutes. Under these circumstances, I cannot understand how thé Swedish coach Erik Hamrén could say after the game, that he ws satisfied with the way the Swedish team played. It is OK if you lose a game, as Long as you fight to the end against a better team, but the Swedes just fought in the first half of the game.

There Are a Few Bad Humans

Most humans are good hearted individuals, good towards other animals, of their own species as well as other species such as dogs. Then there are those who are bad. Among the bad humans, I count the humans who have dogs, but when they get a child or more children, claim they have not got the time for the dog and give the dog up. How can you do this to anybody who is so faithful as a dog?

I cannot understand why giving the dog up would be the solution. If you have no time for the dog and the child, you should not get the child. If you get the child anyway, it is possible to put the child up for adoption in order to keep the dog.

Do you think it is heartless of me to suggest this? Well, I have given birth to a total of nine pups myself, eight of which have been adopted by other families. Putting these pups up for adoption was the plan all along. Why would it be harsher to put a newborn child up for adoption than a newborn pup, if this would mean you could keep the dog who has stood faithfully by your side for many years?

Back Home

Daniel was abroad yesterday and today, for a meeting in his line of duty in Copenhagen. He is back home again tonight. This is good, we all want him to be home. It also means he takes hos part in watching the property, whoch means the rest of us can relax a little. Life is at its best, when the whole family is at home together.

Dark Day

It is November and there were heavy clouds today. The Sun rises late in the morning and never comes high above the horizon. With heavy clouds, that the rays of the low Sun has a long way through, we never get real daylight. It is no fun outside. It is better to stay indoors in the warm house. It is on days like this I really enjoy not being a wild animal. I appreciate the comforts of civilisation too much to want to live in the wilderness.

No Veteran Winner

There Will be no veteran winner on the Swedish Winner Show where I will be shown in veteran class for the first time. This was a disappointment. Well, I will enjoy the show as such, anyway.

Poodle Breeders' Course

Paula is not at home this weekend. She is at a breeders' course. The odd thing is, it is a course for Poodle breeders. Poodles are dogs as well, so I am sure she learns a lot which can also be applied to our Shiba breeding. Still, I would think it was a little better, had she gone to a course for Shiba breeders. There are differences between different breeds. I have two dear and near Poodle friends, the Toy Poodle Love-chan and the Miniature Poodle Momoko, so I know about these differences. It is not that I discriminate against dogs of other breeds, but we have slightly different talents. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to hear what Paula has to tell us, once she gets home.

One Tonne Satellite Falling to Earth

Hello, Karstuhl here!

A satellite from the ESA that weighs about one metric tonne has run out of fuel and will fall to Earth this weekend. There is almost no risk for getting any pieces of it on you, most of it will certainly burn up at re-entry into the atmosphere.

Satellites are small, man made moons. both Mommy and I have official names from the natural moon of Earth: the Moon. My name is Full Moon Eclipse, while her is Lunar Eclips. There is no risk at all that the Moon would fall down to Earth, even though it uses no fuel at all. This is but one reason to like it.

The Emperor Must be Respected

The Emperor of Japan is the only Emperor in the world. As such, he has the highest rank of any human. He is recognized worldwide as Head of State of Japan, but under the Japanese constitution, the Emperor is not to have any role in politics.

An independent member of the Japanese parliament has been reprimanded, after handing a letter with political content to the Emperor. I can fully understand the outrage. The respect that must be shown to the Emperor involves respecting that he does not get involved in politics.

Some Japanese humans would want the Emperor to have a more political role. I do not agree. I believe one of the major advantages of a monarchy is that the monarch stands above politics, to be a symbol for the whole population, regardless of what politics of any one human. For much of Japanese history, this has also been the case, such as the period in the 17th and 18th centuries when the shoguns ruled. The Emperor is seen more now than he was then, and Japan is a democracy now. Still, the non-political status of the Emperor is not without precedence.

First Show

I am looking forward to December, when I will go into the show ring for the first time as a veteran. If everything goes to plan, I will have a brand new, full coat by then. I will be dangerous for my competitors. It will be so much fun. The show in Stockholm is the biggest in Sweden, hosted by the Swedish Kennel Club itself, not any of its member organisations. This does not intimidate me. On the contrary, it makes the show more fun. There is a winner title up for grabs, as well. Exciting, isn't it?

Prohibited to Keep Animals

The Administrative Court of Appeals of Sundsvall in Sweden has upheld a decision by the County Administration of Gävleborg County to prohibit a family to keep animals (judgment 29th of October 2013 in court case 2060-13).

The background is a dog, Wyatt, with serious skin problems that he had had since he was a pup. The family was urged to take better care of Wyatt in 2009 due to the skin problems. He was still not taken to a veterinarian at all in 2010, nor in June 2011, even though his humans stated that his skin conditions got worse by then. When Wyatt finally got to a veterinarian in August 2011, he was in such a bad state that the vet had to put him down.

The judgment targets the whole family. It now means that the family must not keep its cats and fishes.

I think this is a good judgment. If you are a human and cannot take care of a dog, you should not be allowed to keep animals. It is no excuse that Wyatt's skin condition may have been difficult to treat. You have to take care of your animals, if you want to keep them.

There May Be Many Hospitable Planets

Scientists have made calculations and estimates, and concluded that about one in every fifth star in our galaxy may have a planet that can be hospitable to life. Hospitability means that the planet is orbiting its star at a distance where it is not too warm and not too cold, but that liquid water can be abundant. The planet also has to have a size that is not too small, it has to have a gravity holding the water and an atmosphere in place. It also cannot be too big.

This is positive news for everyone who sees a future for men and dogs on other celestial bodies than Earth. Our chances of long time survival as species increase, if some of us leave Earth and colonize other worlds. If we find planets to go to, it is not futile to work towards the end of going there. I hope this lies in the future.

Pillow Case

A pillow case was destroyed in the bed today. There is no clue saying who did it. Daniel believes it is one of us dogs, but he cannot say who. I can assure everyone it was not me. In case I would know who did it, I would not say, though. It might be that the pillow case was possessed by an evil demon and needed to be ruined. Consider that, before blaming anybody.

Exchanging Noses

We were watching Formula 1 on TV this afternoon, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. When one of the cars got a broken nose, they took the car to the pit and changed the nose.

In a way, Car racing is like dog competitions. The car, like the dog, does the real work, but there is supposed to be a human there as well. A dog is intelligente nogh to do most of the things in a competition on itself, whereas a car cannot think at all, but the rules are set by humans in both types of competitions ans that is why we dogs need help from humans. A car can get a new nose, if it is hurt, however. This is not possible for dogs. We have the most complex nose known to science, considering our sense of smell. I am thankful for this, I would not want to have my nose replaced.

Interpreting Dog-tail Wags

Human scientists have made progress in interpreting how we dogs wag our tails. In case you did not know, it is more complicated than just: "wagging tail, happy dog". Humans who know many dogs are aware of this, of course. I will not write more about it now, it is better if you read what a human journalist write. A human must be better on explainign this to other humans than I, as a dog, am.

Ears

My Toy Poodle friend Love-chan has hanging ears, not the standing ears of us Shibas. This causes troubles sometimes. It may cause dirt to stay in the ears and clog them. Paula and Daniel spent part of the evening today cleaning Love-chan's ears. She did not like it, but she felt much better afterwards and even heard better. I would not want to have ears like that. Love-chan does not Care, Most of thé time, though. Of Course, her breed standard says she must have those ears, so it is all right.