Celebration of Spring

Today is the traditional day for celebrating the arrival of spring in central Sweden, where we live. It was not a great weather to be out and celebrate, a lot of rain. In weather like this, it is better just to stay indoors. We had a great evening in the livingroom. This is also a way to celebrate spring. Rain is a typical spring weather.

New Moon

There is a new moon today. The Moon starts another orbit around Earth. This happens about once every twentyeighth day. I like the Moon, it fascinates me. It fascinates our wild cousins, the wolves, as well. I have been told they howl at the full moon. We are closing in on the full moon now. I do not use to howl at it, though.

Changing Names

More and more Swedish humans change their family names. I think this is a little stupid. It would not do for a show dog, how could you claim that you have your champion titles, if you do not have the same name you had when you won? It must be strange for humans as well, having had one name all of their lives, then changing it. I guess they think it is worth it, somehow.

Mowing the Lawn

Paula went away to a dog show today. I did not get to come, neither did any other of us dogs. All we did was listening to Daniel being outside, mowing the lawn. This is positive in a way, because it is a sure sign spring is here. Summer will soon come, and dog show season with it. I am eagerly anticipating dog shows this summer.

Barbecue

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula and Daniel went to a barbecue this Saturday evening, at Mia's place, where my daughter Soya lives now. Rumour has it, Soya caught a few small lizards. This is good. A Shiba is supposed to have a knack for hunting. I wish I would have been there too, not just for the lizards, but for the barbecue, of course. If I would have gotten some barbecued meat, this would have been even better than catching lizards.

Lights Out

Paula wants to sleep early, so we have to turn the lights out. Not much of a blog post tonight, then.

USA Reaffirms Support for Senkaku Islands

The US president have visited Japan. These two countries are allies and the USA has guaranteed the safery of Japanese territory for a long time. At a common press conference with the PM of Japan, the US President reaffirmed that the USA would support all Japanese territory, even the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by China but are Japanese and under Japanese control. This is good. One hopes the Chinese government takes note of this. It is about time China  recognises the Senkaku Islands as Japanese territory.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Hello, Karstuhl here!

There is a saying in English: curiosity killed the cat. It is supposed to keep you from being too curious about things, because if you are, you can face the same harsh fate as that proverbial cat. I guess dogs can be curious without being killed. I have never had to face any harsh consequences from being curious. This may be yet another reason why it is much better being a dog than a cat.

Disappearance

We saw this documentay on TV about people who volunteer, searching for other humans who have gone missing. I think this is a good thing. No dog should be without his or her human, because this human disappears. I just wonder whether they would search equally hard to find a missing dog. I suspect they would not, though nobody said anything about this in the documentary. Well, perhaps we will get to know, sometime, though I hope the effort will never be needed for missing dogs.

Lunar Eclipse

I wish I would have been in America on the 15th of April. You could see a Lunar eclipse from there that night. Of course, whenever I want to se A Lunar Eclips, I just look in the mirror, because that is my name, but seeing the real thing is something else. Well, there might be new oportunities in Sweden

Chasing Each Other

Hello, Orange here!

I miss playing with pup Soya, who left us last week. So does Polly, Soya's mother. Today, however, Polly and I played in the yard, chasing each other. This was really fun. It is nice to have many dogs with whom to play.

Easter Celebration

I got to go with Paula and Daniel to Paula's parents for a little celebration of Easter Eve tonight. It is always nice meeting them. The celebration was calm, but very nice. I just would have wanted to get a little more Easter candy than I got. On the other hand, I always want more candy than I get. Over all, I was very satisfied with the evening.

Good Friday

It is Good Friday, the day when the torture and execution of Jesus Christ is commemorated. It sounds weird that this would be a "good" day. The origin of this name is not clear, but it might have to so with a meaning of "good" as holy. Well, we have started to eat Easter candy today, in this way, it is litteraly a good day.

Candy Days

easter is here, the time when swedes eat more candy than any other time of the year. it is the holiday commemorating the salvation that humans got from the resurection of christ. as such, it is the biggest christian holiday. it is nice that this is celebrated with candy. i cannot think of any better way to celebrate anything than to celebrate it with candy.

Calm but Less Fun

My granddaughter Soya is eight weeks old and has moved to her new family today. It is calmer here without her, but less fun. Soya has got a lot of energy and gladly spread ot around. She was fun to be with. Sometimes, you got exhausted, but you never stopped enjoying the fun times with her.  We wish her all the luck with her new family.

The World Out There

Hello, Soya here!

Since my visit to the veterinarian yesterday, my understanding of the wold outside of the gate of our yard has grown. So has my curiosity. I have asked to be let out of the gate many times today, but to no avail. It is not that I do not like the life I have here, but I wish to see more. I am supposed to move away from home tomorrow, but tomorrow is not soon enough. I want to discover the world today. Well, I guess it is as the adult dogs say, you cannot get everything you want in life. My life is great, no matter what.

Veterinary Check

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My dear daughter Soya has been to her first veterinary check up today. It is necessary, before she moves to her new family. I was not that worried, our veterinarians are nice humans and Soya has always seemed perfectly healthy to me. She also turned out to be perfectly healthy in the veterinarian's eyes. I could say this was as expected, but that would be a little too selfish. Even though I know I am from healthy lines, as is Soya's father, you never really know. It feels good to have proof on paper that Soya actually is as healthy as I thought she was.

Four Generations

It is rather cool, when me, Mum, my daughter Karstuhl, and her daughter Soya are out in our yard together. There are four generations of us, out of whom three dogs are direct decendants of Mum. We were out toghether this afternoon. Daniel was out with us, trying to capture the moment in a photography. I wish one of the photographies would have been good, if so, I would have published it here in my blog. Well, you can have fun without having the moment captured in a photography and published on line - even in this day and age.

Stolen Show Dogs

Five valuable Chihuahuas have been stolen in England. Among them are one who won Best Puppy in Breed at Crufts. Their human and the police are appealing to the public for help, not least for the safery of the dogs. The thieves could turn the dogs in at a safe haven, such as a vet, just to let the dogs come home.

I am really worried myself. If thieves steal dead things, it is one thing, it is not much more than economic value. Family members, like dogs, are something completely different. I sure do not want thieves to get involved in the business of trading dogs. Let the dogs be!

Hitler Mugs Not for Sale

A German furniture store chain started to sell mugs designed in China, with an image of a postage stamp of Nazi Führer Adolf Hitler and a swastika. The swastika is an unlawful symbol in Germany and Adolf hitler is, of course, a notorious historical dictator, the man behind the Second World War and the Holocaust. The chain has now stopped the sale and offered to buy back the mugs that has been sold, for gift certificates of a much higher value. The unsold mugs have beenn destroyed. The store chain blame a series of unfortunate circumstances.

I am disgusted by the whole story and cannot understand that nobody realised what was on the mugs, before they were put up for sale. I suspect neo nazis are interested in these mugs as collectibles. This will probably mean they will become valuable, however discusting they are.

The world never stops giving you surprises. This was an unpleasant one.

Some Puppy Thoughts

Hello, Soya here!

I have been given the opportunity to write a blog entry in my grandmother Hailey's daily blog. As a matter of fact, I was supposed to write it yesterday, when my new humans were here for a visit. I fell asleep before writing anything, though. This is not why there was no blog entry yesterday, there was some technical problem with the connection to the blog that caused this.

My new family are friendly, nice people. I like both of them already. It will be interesting to move to another place, though I cannot fully comprehend yet what this means. Do they live on the other side of the trees we can see from our house? Well, in a way, but I have been told it is a longer distance. This feels strange. On the other hand, I have never left these premisses. It is soon about time I will do this. Readers of this blog will get some updates, I hope.

More Land

Two volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo has grown and merged. The island is part of the Ogasawara chain of islands. As far as I can tell, this is part of Japan. I guess this means that Japan has more territory now than before. This is good. Japan is a great country and it is cool that it grows with the help of volcanoes. I sure hope there are no dogs or humans there who will be hurt by the volcanic eruptions, though.

Rain

Hello, Orange here!

It is definitively spring now. It has been raining all day. If it would still have been winter, snow would have fallen. It still feels just as cold, though. Isn't this strange? Our dog coats are good at protecting us against dry coldness, but it is not that nice when everything is wet. I think I like snow better than rain, at least when the rain is as cold as today.

Racing Around

Pup Soya is racing around the house. This is yet another proof. She is a true Shiba (as of this would be necessary). Running around is something Shibas are fond of doing randomly. Even old Shibas, like Auntie Linni, get bursts of running around in the garden once in a while. Nobody is as energetic as a Shiba pup, though. It is fun to watch.

Early Bird

We thought we would get to sleep until late this Sunday morning, but Karstuhl's pup Soya had other plans. She got to get out in the garden early, then she got in to the bedroom and ran around playing for an hour, until she had to go out again. In again she went, just to play some more. Pups are really cute, but they have yet to discover the wonders of rest and meditation. This will come as she grows older. Shibas are good at enjoying life while resting.

Sun Dogs

Hello, Orange here!

I have heard there is an odd celestial phenomenon called sun dog. I have never seen it, but I would like to. It has the name dog, so it must be nice. The thing is that it looks like extra suns in the sky. Why it is called sun dogs, I do not know, but a great name it is. We will see

April got Grand Pups

April became a grandmother again today. Her son Botan, who lives in the Netherlands, is the father of a litter born early today. We have all congratulated her. It is nice being a grandmother, though I believe it is better for me, as a maternal grandmother, who can get to know my granddaughter Soya. This does not mean April cannot be happy for the pups, just that she cannot experience the same joy. Well, we know Botan, anyway, he is a nice lad.

Playing with the Pup

Hello, Orange here!

Pup Soya has been more and more introduced to the company of the rest of us dogs. She is a fun little dog and she and I have played  on and off today. This is nice. I can see she enjoys it just as much as I do. I wish we can play some more tomorrow.

April's Fool?

Did you get fooled by anybody yesterday, on April fools' day? I was not.

My blog post yesterday was a joke. I supposed most readers realised that, at least when I finished by stating that the question of FCI membership would be on the referendum ballot. I think it would be nice if both the Scottish and the English kennel clubs would join the FCI, but it sure will not happen in the foreseeable future. Well, we can go to sog shows there and dogs may move from here to there, and vice versa. These are the most important things.

Scottish Kennel Club to Join the FCI?

This autumn, Scotland will have a referendum on whether to become an independent country or stay as a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

As most dog breeders know, modern dog showing was founded in England. The Kennel Club in England is therefore no member of the FCI, the International Kennel Federation, because they see themselves as the foremost kennel club anyway. In the same way, the Scottish Kennel Club is also not a member of the FCI.

If Scotland becomes independent, it is important that the Scottish Kennel Club also displays its independence from the English Kennel Club. It has, therefore, applied to become a member of the FCI. Becoming a member of this international organisation will be an important step towards full independence from the English overlords, since the English are not members of that organisation.

The ballot on independence from the UK will, consequently, also display a question on whether the Scottish Kennel Club should join the FCI or not.