Tracking Devices for Dogs

A company in a small town just north of our home city in Sweden has received a large order from France on devices for electonically tracking dogs. The company normally manufactures similar devices for wild animals. I am concerned about devices like this. If you would manufacture and sell similar devices for humans, you would be widely critizised for invading privacy. However, similar devices for dogs does not seem to make people cry about invasion of privacy for the dogs. I am concerned about such privacy, however. Are not dogs worthy of our privacy, to some extent? I believe we are.

Unexpected Find

A Swedish police dog who was just out to rest from a car ride suddenly marked a piece of ice for his human companion. The ice contained a small gun. It will be examined to see who owns it. So far, nobody knows where it came from and how it ended up on the side of a country road in Sweden. Somebody may become very lucky that the police dog found the gun, or if it has been used in criminal activities, very unlucky. I hope to get to know more, it sounds like the start of a detective story.

Clouded Leopard

A cat species discovered as late as three years ago, the Sundaland clouded leopard, has been caught on film for the very first time on Borneo in Indonesia. It is a relative of the Asia mainland clouded leopard, but a separate species. It is the largest predator on Borneo, which sounds like a cool thing to be, but it is still regarded as an endangered species. This is not due to commercially used forests, such forests can very well hold and preserve many species if managed in a good way, but there are still few of these cats around. I hope the species will be around for many centuries to come.

Deep Concern

Kuro chan is deeply concerned over the fact that Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has been forced to recall a large number of cars of the Prius model. It is not only that he is a Shiba Inu, and as such of a Japanese breed, but that he was born and raised in Japan. I am also concerned, but not as concerned as Kuro chan. We hope this does not reflect too badly on Toyota's reputation of building cars with very good quality. When you think about it, recalling cars has its positive sides to the manufacturer, it shows the great concern that the manufacturer has of the well being of its customers.

Casualties of War

Two Swedish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. Sweden participates with soldiers in the multilateral peace force in Afghanistan, but some Swedes are upset now and want Sweden to withdraw all Swedes immediately. There are naturally some risk to be hurt or killed when you participate in such a force, but it goes with the job. Being there and being part in upholding peace and civilisation against the extreme islamists called the Talebans is a good thing. I believe Sweden should participate, as long as there are Swedes who are willing to go there and participate in the peace force.

Snow on the Roof

With all the snowy days this winter, and with a roof that is far from steep, we have a lot of snow upon it. This may be dangerous, snow is rather heavy and may break the roof, if there is too much of it. Daniel has spent part of the weekend shoveling snow from the roof. I did not like the sound of it, but I do understand the importance of it. I hope our roof will stay intact.

Song Contest

The first round of the Swedish trials for the Eurovision Song Contest was aired on Swedish Television today. Out of the eight songs, not one was really good. Paula believed the two songs that went straight to the finale was the two best songs, so for her sake, I am glad those songs did. We have to hope for better songs in the Saturdays to come.

Runeberg Day

Today they celebrate Runeberg Day in Finland. It is a day commemorating the famous poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, who wrote some of the most revered poems about Finland and the war in 1808-09, in which Finland was lost from Sweden to Russia. A sad result of the war for Swedes and Finns alike, but the Russian Grand Prinicpality of Finland eventually became the independent country of Finland that exist today. Runeberg also wrote the lyrics to Finland's national anthem.

On Runeberg Day, you are supposed to eat Runeberg cake. This is a small cake with frosting and raspberry jam. I would have liked to taste one, but it does not seem like you can get any in Örebro. Runeberg did write all his works in Swedish, still an official language of Finland but more common back then, but he is regarded as a poet of Finland and I guess this is why we do not celebrate him much in Sweden. We should, though, there are no bad reasons to celebrate and cakes are always a good thing.

The First Week

Paula has made her first week at work. You may find that strange, since it is Thursday today and she is working full time, but since she has some evening hours alongside her day hours, she get an occasional day off here and there. Tomorrow is her first day off. This is good for us dogs, because then she will be at home with us most of the day. While we are perfectly capable of being at home alone, it always feels better when Paula and Daniel, or preferably both, are at home too. Paula will generally not have any weekend hours, so both she and Daniel will often be at home all weekends as well. This feels good.

Even More Snow

They said on the radio this morning, that the more southern parts of Sweden had heavy snow falls, and that we would get a little snow in Örebro later in the day. However, by that time, snow was already falling in our home city. Daniel has been out shoveling snow. He is starting to get really annoyed with all the snow, because he have a hard time finding places to store it all. We have a lot of high piles of snow in the yard. Nevertheless, it is always fun for us dogs to play in newly fallen snow.

Weird Idea for Peace Prize

The Italian edition of Wired Magazine claims to have nominated the Internet for the Nobel Peace Prize. While I can agree that the vast opportunities of communication that the Internet has brought to the world is good for peace, the Internet is an inanimate object. One of the main ideas of the Internet is that nobody and everybody owns it. If the Internet would get the prize, who would get the prize money, and what would be done with them? I believe giving the prize to the Internet simply cannot be done. It is a weird idea. On the other hand, I was not the only one who thought Barack Obama could not get the Peace Prize last year, but he did. If the Peace Prize committee want to take the edge of the ridicule from last year's prize, giving the prize to the Internet would be the perfect choice. I would not vote for it, would I be part of the committee, but I am not.

Work

Paula has started her work today. She will work about half the time from morning until afternoon and half the time from noon until evening. Today she works from noon until evening, and we are at home with Daniel. It will be interesting to hear what Paula has to say about her new work. She was a bit nervous this morning, but I guess that is just what you would have to expect. We are all certain she will do a tremendously fine job.

Winter

This is the last day of January, and the winter is as cold as ever. We had about 20 cm of new snow this week. According to the meteorologists, there will be more snow next week. I like new snow, it is fun to play in. At the same time, I hope the winter will not be too long. I am expecting pups in the second half of February, and they will want to go out by the end of March and in April. It must not be too cold when my pups want to go out. Well, we cannot know now what the weather will be like a month from now, but nobody can take my hope away. I just hope the best for my pups, that is all. We will have to see what February will be like.

A Miracle on the Baltic Sea

A Polish research ship in the Baltic Sea recently discovered a dog way out on the sea, who tried to stay afloat on small patches of ice. The crew managed to rescue the dog, who is now safe and warm onboard. He had been seen floating down the Polish river Wisla on the ice, but nobody had been able to save him before. It is uncertain who is really this dogs human, out of four people who have claimed him, he has met two, but did not recognize them. So far, the ship's crew takes care of him, and will keep him until his identity and real humans may be identified. The question of his identity is important, but the main thing is, of course, that he is safe now.

Friday Night

It is Friday night, and we are winding down at the beginning of the weekend. Life could only be slightly better, Paula could be home. Paula spends the evening with her sister Mia and Mia's dog Kesshi. We are not complaining, everybody cannot be at home all the time. I hope she has fun, like we have.

No Swedish Budget Deficit

Out of the 27 member countries of the European Union, 20 have such high budget deficits that the European Commission demands that they take action against it. Sweden is among the seven countries that are financially sound and are not required by the Commission to take any further action. This is good, it means that the Kingdom of Sweden has a very good economy even in the current recession. A sound government economy is one of the most important things for the economy of the whole country to thrive economically. This is because the government part of the whole economy is so big and important, and because the government can levy new or higher taxes if its economy is bad, to the detriment of other parts of the economy. It must be said that the current administration is good at handling the kingdom's economy. This is something for all grown up humans to consider in the general election this autumn.

Spyker

The Dutch car manufacturer Spyker has purchased the Swedish car manufacturer Saab from American corporation General Motors. It is good for all fans of Saab, because General Motors would have closed the factory otherwise. I am a little worried, though. Spyker was involved in Formula 1 for a year and a half recently, but then sold the racing team to Force India. Will they hold out for a longer time with Saab?

An Unnecessary World Championship

The world championship in bandy is played in Russia now. The only two countries who really compete for the gold medals are Sweden and Russia. Finland, Norway, Kazakstan, and the USA participate as well, but this is more an excuse for the bandy fans to call it a world championship. Sweden just beat the USA 14-6 with a reserve team. The championship could actually be played as one game between Russia and Sweden. Outside of these two countries, hardly anybody cares.

It is not an olympic sport, too few nations are good at it. The sport in itself is almost like ice hockey, but played on an ice big as a football field and with a red ball, a ball hardly visible on TV. You can only become a professional if you go to Russia, but who would want to do that? I think bandy should be scrapped, in favour of ice hockey. The sport is unnecessary, and the world championship even more.

Paula Is Back

Paula came back late last night. I wanted to wait until she came home before I posted anything in my blog, because her homecoming would be the best thing to write about. She came home at half past eleven in the night, and immediately occupied the computer to upload pictures from her visit in Norway. It was interesting to see the pictures and hear her tell of Dad's breeder, who is also Hibiki's new human. I did not get to use the computer before midnight, that is why I did not write anything in my blog yesterday. It did not matter, though, the main thing was that Paula came back home.

Missing Paula

When Paula is away for the night, she usually come home early in the morning. We hoped she would this morning too, but she did not. She is missed.

Hibiki Has Left Us

Hibiki left us for his new home and new human family today. April, I, Dad, and Daniel accompanied him and Paula to the airport, from which they flew to the final destination, the town where Hibiki will live from now on. Dad has told Hibiki about this town, he has first hand knowledge of it since he was a pup. (Sometimes, I have a hard time picturing Dad as a pup, even though I know he once was one.) We miss Hibiki, especially April, but we are convinced that he will have a good life with his new family and we know his new humans have been looking forward to welcome him home for a long time. It will all be great and we will surely meet Hibiki again at future dog shows.

Customs

There was a show on American border patrols and customs on TV tonight. One of the customs officers was a dog named Dixie. She searched baggage for food, since it is illegal to bring unsealed food into the USA to prevent bacteria and such things to come in. A young man had to pay a fine of $ 300 for having a sandwich in his bag. He denied that it was his intent to smuggle it in, of course, but who would not? This was a good catch by the customs dog.

Sometimes, I wish I could have a job as important as this customs dog. I am not complaining, but there might be more to life than this. On the other hand, I am quite happy with my life as a pet and show dog and a mum. The mum part is rewarding and important, and so is the show dog part.

Ultra Sound

Paula and I went to the veterinarian today to make an ultra sound exam of me. I have never been in doubt that I am expecting pups, but it is always nice to have the vet's word on it. According to the vet, I am expecting at least four pups. This would make my next litter the biggest litter so far in our breeding programme. I am not surprised at that either, with my second litter and the nice father I picked for it.

Mum is a little envious at me for expecting pups. It is not that she, at her age, want to have more pups, but when expecting pups you get more food to eat, and food has always been Mum's biggest love.

Farmville?

Paula is playing an online game called Farmville at Facebook. The object is to grow crops, that can be sold so that other stuff can be bought and the farm can be developed. So far, she mostly grows strawberries. I cannot understand the fascination of this game. It would be completely different if she would have a pig farm or something like that. Since it is a computer game, thus a bit unrealistic, I would also like it if meatballs could be grown. Berries are not as cool, because meat is much tastier than berries.

Sports Gala

The Swedish Sports Gala was broadcasted in live television tonight. I was not interested. I like to watch sport on TV sometimes, but I believe the highest form of competition is dog shows, and they do not care about dog shows on the Sports Gala. I hope they will eventually have live TV coverage of main dog shows in Sweden.

Early Sunday Morning

We had to get up early this morning, despite it being Sunday - the day of rest - and despite the late night yesterday. Paula and Daniel went away with some of the dogs, but not me, but they would not say what they were up to. Sometimes, this would mean they would go to a dog show without me, since they know how much I love to go to shows. However, I do not think they went to a dog show without me today, because the pup Hibiki came along. He is old enough to go most places, but would not be old enough to enter a dog show ground, with all the dogs and potential health hazards this might bring pups. I wonder where they went and what they did. It is terrible not to know, even though the worst thing today was getting up so early on a Sunday morning.

Graduation

Paula graduated from nursing school today. There has been a lot of preparations and planing for this day, especially this week. There were talk about inviting family for a dinner after the ceremony at the university and talk about cake, so we anticipated it with high expectations. However, it has turned out that the dinner was not at our place and that the cake was eaten at the dinner at that other place. Rumor has it, the other place was Paula's parents house, but we are not certain, because none of us dogs were invited. Instead, we had to spend most of the day with just the company of each other, as Paula and Daniel were away and no other human friends came to visit us. It is understandable that Paula and Daniel do not tell us outright if they will go to Paula's parents without bringing any of us, because they know we get disappointed if we do not get to come. On the other hand, it is sometimes better to know and be disappointed than not to know and being unable to know what to think.

Oh well, it might have been a disappointing day for us dogs, but Paula only graduates once and the main thing is that she is happy about how the day turned out. Daniel came home on many occasions during the day to let us out and to give us food, so we were well taken care of the whole day anyway. We will have to hear about Paula's day when she comes home later tonight.

Human Languages

Humans are said to have the most advanced languages of all animals. However, it comes with a price: they often cannot understand each other. While all dogs have the same language around the world, humans have hundreds of different languages. This also makes it difficult for us dogs. We are capable of learning the basics of human languages, but learn the specific language that our humans speak. Paula and Daniel still uses some commands in English when talking to Mum, since she lived her first five years in America.

In England, a dog was taken care of by a shelter, where they first thought he was deaf, because he did not respond to any commands. This was before they realized he came from a Polish family and did understand commands given in Polish. Now they have managed to make him bilingual, so he understand some English as well, thus making it easier for him to get a new human family in England. I hope everything turns out well for him.

Borders

There is a US TV documentary that we have seen a few times about the US border control. It is quite interesting to see when they apprehend people with the most stupid answers to simple questions. I believe border control is important, not least for the safety and health of dogs and other animals. Border controls can keep diseases out. It is nice to see the effectiveness of the US authorities, especially since I am half American myself, through my dear Mum.

It Is a Sin

Daniel has had a "semla", a Swedish cake of a white bun, whipped cream, and almond paste. It is fattening, but gluttony is not the main sin here. A semla is not supposed to be eaten until Fat Tuesday, and then it can be had until Easter. It is a sin to eat it during other times of the year! I could have saved Daniel from part of the sin by eating part of the semla, but he would not allow it. Well, if he wants to sin, and will not allow me to help him from it, it is up to him.

Wrinkle Genes

Scientists have found the gene behind the wrinkles of the Shar Pei dog breed. It was a gene which is known to make an enzyme important in the production of skin. Thus, more skin than the amount which seems enough is produced, giving the Shar Peis their wrinkles.

In fact, a lot of research is made on dog genes. The many different dog breeds from pure bred dogs make it easy for scientists to discover the individual role of each gene. This is but one example of how we dogs are essential for the modern human.

Busy Week

This is going to be a busy week. Paula makes her final week on the nurse education, and it contains mandatory lectures from early morning until late afternoon from Monday to Thursday. Meanwhile, Daniel has got his full time job to think of, as well as his political work. The dogs of the household have to guard the house while Paula and Daniel are gone. This is not always easy. There are sometimes noisy vehicles going by on the road, and you can never be sure whether they have any business being here or not, so you have to take the safest bet and rather bark at one too many than one too few. We also have to take care of Hibiki, who is still a pup, even though his mother April does most of the work. It will be calmer next week, when Paula is done with her education, but has yet to start the work that she has got from the 1st of February. We can look forward to that, while enduring this week.

Wolves from a Zoo Killed

All the wolves at a zoo in Scania in the south of Sweden have been killed by the zoo keepers. The reason stated is that the wolves got out of their enclosed yard and started to hunt and kill other animals of the zoo, such as deer and elks. There seem to have been a bit of a power struggle within the wolf pack, which made them more unruly than usually. I cannot see that killing the wolves was the only, nor the best, option. If wolves get out of their enclosed quarters, the fault is not with the wolves, but with the fence. The fence could have been made better. The wolves' instinct to kill prey is not abnormal either, on the contrary, one of the purposes of herbivores is to be food for carnivores.

The authorities must look into this. It is bad zoo keeping.

Web Site Addresses

I am quite happy with the web site address of my blog. It may look a little complicated, but if you want to get to my blog, you can always find it. For other people, such as all of those who have a bigger ego than I, it may be worth it to purchase a special web name. If you buy a name on the top domain of Montenegro, you can have a domain that can truly direct people to you. This top domain is .me, which opens up for a lot of possibilities. While it would be a little fun to have a special domain name, I personally do not think it is worth it. It is, nevertheless, a good enough topic for a blog entry, I believe.

Hibiki at Work

Hibiki has been with Daniel to Daniel's work for two days in a row now. He says there are many nice people there and that he has had fun. I am a little jealous, I would also like to do something special like that once in a while. On the other hand, Hibiki will leave us in two weeks to move to his new home, while I will stay here. I will get more chances to visit Daniel's work in the future.

Burned

Paula made some food in the oven, but when taking it out, she burned her thumb. She had to keep it in cold water for a long time. Paula is a humble and good person, however. She said it was better that she burned herself than that any of us dogs was burned, curious as we usually are when she or Daniel is cooking. Maybe she has been inspired to become so humble by me, humble as I am. It is a good way to be.

The food was good, we all got to taste some.

Record Breaking Tuna

A single tuna fish has been sold in Japan for 16.28 million yen, the highest price paid in Japan for nine years. This tuna weighed 232 kg. The Japanese eat a lot of tuna, not least in sushi. It sure would be something to get a taste of this huge fish, but it is naturally highly unlikely that I get to do it.

At the same time, there are concerns that tunas are being fished too hard. Tuna stocks are diminishing in the Atlantic and the Medditeranean, and I believe it would be prudent to take care of the stock in the Pacific as well. I do not suggest a complete ban on tuna fishing, but with limits on the fishing the tuna stocks would surely be bigger again.

Weird Idea

It will be even colder weather in Sweden. North of us, it is colder than here, of course. There was a radio show today where they spoke about the cold weather. They talked to a dog ower who had a weird idea. She said she planned to learn her dog to go on a litter box indoors on the really cold days, instead of taking him out. This is weird. How can you deny your dog to go outside to do what he or she has to do? It is close to mistreating the dog. You can take shorter walks or have the dog in your yard for shorter times, the dog would not want to stay out for long either, but to completely deny your dog to go out should not be allowed.

Waffles

Paula made waffles for lunch. Waffles are great food, even though it does not contain any meat. All of us dogs got some parts of the waffles to eat, even little Hibiki. We all enjoyed the waffles very much. We got ordinary food later in the day, and while it is tasty, it is far from waffles, and sometimes it gets a little boring. I wish we could have waffles more often.

Too Many Wolves Killed

I heard that it is now confirmed that too many wolves have been shot and killed. This is terrible. The Swedish wolves were already too few and had a gene pool that was too narrow, the hunt certainly does not help.

Some Shiba Inus have sesame coloured coats. This colour is known for its resemblance of the coat colour of wolves. Mum, my brother Jiro, and my daughter Meja are among the Shiba Inus I know of who have sesame coats. I hope none of those get lost in the woods when there are wolf hunters on the lose there.

Killing Wolves

I am a little disturbed by the fact that the Swedish Parliament has authorized the hunt and killing of wolves in Swedish forests. Swedish hunters and sheep breeders do not want wolves, but I feel akin to them. Wolves are, after all, the wild relatives of all dogs. I also doubt that the Swedish wolves have such numbers that they can cope with hunting, especially since they have a narrow gene pool, with only very few ancestors.

In other countries, sheep breeders have no trouble with much larger numbers of wolves, because they have herding dogs who are big and strong enough to protect the sheep. I believe this is the right way to protect the sheep, by letting dogs do it.

The worst thing about the wolf hunt is that it started by new year and it seems like the hunters have already shot and killed more than the numbers allowed. The news reports are not clear on this, but if it is true, what can be done about this? Will more wolves be imported from other countries? There are also wolves being shot at, but whom have not been found afterwards. I really hope there are no wolves hurt and suffering out there.

A New Year

A new year is here, and I will continue to write in my blog this year as well. It will be interesting to see what this year will bring. One year ago, my pups were one day old, back then I did not have much time to think about anything but them. You could say I have more time to speculate now. However, I have learned from experience that future is very hard to foresee, therefore, I will not try today. Time will tell what happens anyway. If you do not make too many expectations, you have less risk of being disappointed. I am a dog with a positive attitude to life, so I make sure not to make too great expectations to refrain from becoming disappointed. I wish 2010 will be a good year for all of my blog readers.

Birthday

Today is the first annual birthday of my pups Meja and Bagus, from my first litter. It has been an exciting year. To me, the most exciting time was the first months, of course, when the pups lived with me. I have since received many reports from them and I know they live good lives in their respective families. Meja has also started a dog show career and made some progress in the show rings. There is no better subject for this final blog post of 2009 than to congratulate them on their birthday. Congratulations!

Cold

It is very cold outside now. We took our normal morning walk, but have since only been outside in the garden for short periods of time. Luckily, it is warm indoors. I suppose the snow will lay on the ground for a long time this winter. It has been cold for a long time now, so the temperature regulating seas must also have become cold, thus keeping the weather cold for a long time in the beginning of next year. The snowy landscape is really beautiful on sunny days like today. I rather like this weather.

Production Is Up

The production in Japan continues to rise. In November, it rose for the ninth month in a row, this month by 2.6 %. I believe it is safe to say Japan and the world is on its way out of the recession. This is promising for next year.

Another Happy End

A year and a half ago, the cat Linus disappeared from his home and humans on the Åland Islands in Finland. On Christmas Eve, he suddenly came back. He was dirty and tired, but recognized his humans and is now reluctant ever to go outdoors. I am glad he found his way back home.

Did Anyone Believe Scandals Where Over?

The Japanese voted for a change of government this autumn, after many decades of having the same party at power. Being too close to power for too long time is never good. However, officials of the new governing party has now been involved in a scandal regarding election funds. Well, who would have thought there would be nothing wrong with the new government? I still believe it is a good thing for Japan that there was a change of power, but no people at power are flawless, new or old.

A Lot of Snow

We had a heavy snowfall last night, and the snow kept falling until late in the afternoon. While I and the other dogs had fun in the snow in the dog yard, Daniel struggled with removing the snow from the driveway. He managed quite well. Some people who chare the start of the driveway with us came just a few metres more on their snowy road, then they had to put in the reverse and go away again, whereas there were no problems whatsoever to go on our driveway. It is fun to play in the snow, but it is enough for a while now.

A Dog's Life - As It Should Be

This is a story worthy of Christmas. The mix breed Oscar has been fortunate, and his fortune has been spread to many other dogs. He was saved from a dog pound when he was up to be killed, and his new owner was so inspired that she took him on a journey around the world to make people save more dogs. In total, 15 000 dogs have been blessed with new homes - and as many homes has, of course, been blessed with these dogs. Words are not enough to say how happy I got when I read about this. May more people be inspired!

Christmas Eve

It is Christmas, and I would like to wish all of my readers a merry Christmas!

We have a white Christmas here this year. It is fantastic, with over 10 cm of snow to play in and enjoy the white reflections of. The snow is really making this dark time of the year much lighter.

We started to celebrate Christmas early today, eating meatballs for morning snack. It was nice.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, the biggest festivity day of Christmas in Sweden. It is also Hibiki's ninth birthday, if you go by the number of weeks there has been since he was born. Hibiki asked if this would mean he would have two celebrations, one for the birthday and one for Christmas. I answered that this was not the case, that weekly birthdays are not commemorated for dogs when they are older than eight weeks old and ready to move to their new family. Hibiki would have to ask his new humans for celebrations, once they get around to taking care of him. April defended her son, though, saying that I should not say anything about new humans not taking care of a pup, since I have stayed with the same humans who bred me. Well, this is not because nobody else wanted me, it is just that Paula and Daniel wanted to keep me, so it is not comparable situations. Nevertheless, I made peace with April and told Hibiki that we would all have a great Christmas, him included, regardless of his age.

Spam

I have decided to make it harder to write comments to my blog. This is due to recurring spam comments that I am getting tired of erasing. I hope tose of you who make true comments about my blog posts will keep doing so. Spam is just such a nuisance.

Rug

Our Pharao Hound friend Primus has such a thin and short coat, that he uses a rug to keep himself warm on the cold winter days that we have now.

Shiba Inus never have to use rugs in the Swedish climate. While we do not have quite as thick coats as, for example, Samoyeds, we do come from Japan, which has a climate rather similar to that of Sweden. Thus, we have coats adapted to cold days in the parts of Sweden where we live. To us, the idea of wearing a rug actually seem a little stupid. If you cannot cope with the Swedish climate, are you of a dog breed that should live here?

Well, I like Primus. He is a friendly and nice dog, whose fellowship I would definitely miss if he would decide to move south. I do not care that he uses a rug in the winter. On the contrary, Primus' rug is black, just like most of my black and tan coat. I think it is nice that he uses a rug that makes him look a little more black and tan, than the usual red of his natural coat.

Advantages of the Cold

There are some advantages with the cold temperatures that we have today. For one thing, Paula and Daniel think it is perfectly reasonable not to force us dogs out on long walks on their days off. Well, I normally want to go on long walks, but once in a while I prefer not to. When it is this cold, I always prefer not to. Then it is good that we do not take long walks.

Another advantage is that frozen groceries can be stored outdoors. Daniel turned the freezer of this evening to defrost it. A defrosted freezer runs better, can store more food instead of ice and snow, consumes less energy, and is thus cheaper in the long run. All the groceries from the freezer are currently stored in bags outdoors, while water drops from the shelves of the freezer.

The dripping ice makes me think of the alarming reports on the climate and the thawing ices of Greenland and Antarctica. World leaders are debating climate issues and what might be done about it i Copenhagen right now. This is ironic, since the weather is so cold in all of Scandiavia just as this summit is held.

Cold Outside

It is below -10 degrees Celsius outside. I do not like it when it is that cold.

Sally Has Left the Building

April's pups turn eight weeks old today. This means that they are old enough to move away from home. Her daughter Sally did that this evening, Sally's new family just could not wait another day to get her. I can understand why. Sally is a very cute and charming little pup. She will now get to know my brother Jiro very well, since he lives with the same humans.

April's son Hibiki, on the other hand, will stay with us over Christmas. It is not that his new humans do not want him as eagerly as Sally's, but they live at a greater distance and just could not make it earlier. This is all right with us, Hibiki is a charming pup as well.

More Snow

Snow is falling. Snow has been falling all day. It has been thin flakes, far in between, but they have fallen constantly, and we have a fairly deep layer of snow on the ground now. It is fun to play in, especially for April's pups. It also makes the surroundings look less dark, since the white snow reflects much light. It is supposed to be temperatures below the freezing point for many days now, so we can really hope for a white Christmas this year.

Snow

Snow is falling, and April's pups experience snow for the very first time. They did not think much about it, did not seem surprised at all, but wanted to go indoors a little earlier than they have usually done. Maybe this was due to the snow, which is cold on your paws, but they never told me.

Sadly enough, it is not so much snow yet that it is fun to play in it.

Burning Down His Own House

A man in Haukipudas in East Bothnia in the northern parts of Finland burned down his own house this Friday night. According to the police, the man was drunk. The most horrible thing is that a dog and a cat were in the house and died in the fire. They must have felt panic and had painful deaths. I hope the man is severely punished for cruelty to animals.

Standing Ears

April's pups Sally and Hibiki have started to lift their ears. There are some, who know things about Shiba Inus, who say that the more perfect size a Shiba Inu ear has, the earlier it will stand up on the head of the pup. There is no doubt in my mind that Sally and Hibiki have a great pedigree and are themselves great Shiba Inus (with the exception of Sally's creme coloured coat). Raising the ears at the age of seven weeks is early. Nevertheless, my pups did it earlier.

Name's Day

Today is Daniel's name's day, by the Swedish calendar. We have all congratulated him. If there is one thing I do not like about my name, it is that I do not have a name's day in the calendar. It is nice to have an additional day every year to celebrate, besides your birthday. Well, the celebrations today involved all of us dogs as well, we got a lot of moose meat to eat. Since we could celebrate on something that was this good today, maybe name's days of our own are not very important.

Dog Show in Finland

Paula went to a dog show in Finland today. It is a two day show Saturday and Sunday, and she only brought Calvin. I always think it is fun to go to dog shows, but I am already a Finnish show champion, whereas Calvin is not. Thus, there is a better reason to bring him than me. It is good for the pedigrees of our common offspring if he becomes a Finnish champion as well. I hope he does. I also hope Calvin and Paula bring some dog candy home, dog candy is often available and cheap at dog shows.

Watching the Pups

I am helping April watching her pups. While April is the only one who sleeps by the pups, I have actually been outside with them more often than her over the last couple of days. The pups are true Shiba Inus, on the fast track towards being housebroken. Paula and Daniel help them by letting them out often, I help them by watching over them and guiding them outdoors. We will certainly have them housebroken by the age of eight weeks, when they are old enough to move to their new families. This feels good, it is good for the breed and good for our breeding programme to have pups who are this good.

Independence Day

Today is Finland's independence day, which they celebrate as their national holiday. The background to the celebration is the declaration of independence from Russia on this day in 1917. We have also celebrated it a little, mostly because we like Finland and believe its independence is a good and important thing, but also because we have a pup here at home who is white as a moomin troll. This is April's daughter Sally. She is cute, is she not:

Busy

We had a busy day today, with friends coming over to visit the pups. We spent the morning preparing for the visit, but it was fun. The human child and the pups were equally fond of each other.

In the evening, we had another visitor, Mia came over to see us. That was also fun.

Visitors

We have visitors who want to see the pups both tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so we are rather busy preparing for it. I will write more tomorrow night.

More Moose Meat

Paula's father Nils Olov is very nice to us. He is preparing more moose meat for us dogs. This can be stored in the freezer and will be perfect as snacks when we go to dog shows next year.

April's pups was in the sofa for the first time this evening, while we had us some glühwein. It must have been an experience for them, being up there for the first time. I could tell they were a bit uneasy at their paws, but Paula and Daniel looked after them and it all went well for the brief period of time that they were there.

誰が日本語で、私に連絡しようとすると何ですか？

ご希望のコメントを残して私はそれを変換しようとします。ありがとう！

Studies

Paula has her last exam in her nursing studies tomorrow. She has some items left to do afterwards, before she gets her degree in January, but this exam is the most important thing. I have helped her study for it tonight, and shared some popcorn with her. That was a good trade.

Yet again, I received one of those strange comments today. I tried a different online translator, and it seems this comment was in Japanese. It makes sense that someone would try to comment in Japanese in my blog, since I am of a breed of Japanese origin. However, the translation just gave me a lot of words, I could not comprehend the message. I believe that it is some kind of spam, so I rejected this comment as well.

Ups and Downs for Dad

Daniel was away from town for work today, and Dad got to come with Paula to pick him up at the railway station in the late afternoon. I envied Dad for this, I would have liked to come too.

What I do not envy is that Dad then had to go to the veterinarian. Even though it was just routine, it is never a joy meeting the vet. However, what Dad disliked the most was a thing that happened while waiting for his turn to see the vet. While he was lying on the floor resting, a young Tibetan Spaniel just walked up to him, and would not back off when he growled at it. The Tibetan Spaniel's human held it in a leach, but allowed it to come within half a metre of Dad. This is invasion of privacy for a Shiba Inu gentleman, but neither the Tibetan Spaniel, nor its human understood this. Luckily, they went away after a while. Paula said she was about to intervene just about the time that they left.

After the visit to the veterinarian, Paula, Daniel, and Dad went grocery shopping. Dad stayed in the car, but when Paula and Daniel came back, they gave him two hot dogs for all his troubles. This is definitely something I envy.

All in all, I believe Dad's journey held more positive than negative experiences. He enjoyed telling us about the hot dogs, too.

By the way: I rejected another comment in what I believe is Chinese. I still do not know why I get them.

Raising Pup

Dad and I help April raise her pups now. Paula says Dad is the best male dog here, when it comes to raising pups. It makes sense, since he has the most experience. He helped raising my unruly brothers. I was, of course, not unruly myself, but I observed and learned from my parents. Paula also says I am best of the females to help April with her pups. I have had pups, so I know what it is all about, and April and I are good friends. Dad and I are making a good job, and the pups are eager to learn from us. It is an interesting job, it is fun getting to know the pups, and it makes me feel a little more useful than I ordinarily are.

On a side note, I have received comments to my blog over the last three days that I have rejected. The comments seem to be written in Chinese, but I have not made any sense of the text when I have tried to translate it on online translation pages. While online translations does not make good translations, they generally give you some sort of impression of what the translated text says. This is not the case here. Since I have no idea what is written, I reject the comments. I am curious though, and hope to get the message in a language that I can understand.

Paying Bills

Daniel occupied the computer all evening to pay bills. I believe he should have done this earlier, but he claimed he had other things to do, such as work (even though it was Sunday) and setting up Christmas lights. Well, the result was that I did not get access to the computer until after midnight. This blog post is therefore actually the blog post of Sunday, but dated on Monday. Paula occupied the computer in the same way a couple of days ago. It really makes me annoyed, but what can I do after the fact? Well, I hope I can write a better blog entry Monday evening.

Rain, Rain, Rain

This November has had quite boring wheather. There has been almost constant rainfall, sometimes a lot, but often just a small downpour, and when the rain has not fallen, it has still been overcast. The air and the ground has been moist all the time. Parts of the yard has turned muddy, the grass giving up. It is sad. I hope the December wheather will be more like winter. Snow would be welcome, for the fun of playing in it and because the landscape seems less dark when it is white. We will have to see.

Heh Heh Heh

Some news are just hilarious, you would not quite believe they would be true, were it not for the general truthfulness of the news agency reporting it. The BBC reports from the Pacific Ocean island country of Vanuatu, that the Prime Minister has lost his seat in parliament due to a paperwork error. Under Vanuatu law, if a Member of Parliament is absent from three consecutive sittnings without notification about the reasons for the absence to the Speaker, the MP loses his or her seat. Prime Minister Edward Natapei has been away on a Commonwealth summit and must therefore forfeit his seat. The remaining MPs will have to chose a new Prime Minister, while a by election will be held on the seat vacated by Mr Natapei. What a blunder! Was there not a single co-worker of the PM who could foresee this and make sure to avoid it? I just laugh at it.

If Mr Natapei has dogs at home, I guess they will be pleased to see him more often, as a prime minister usually work long hours. That would be an advantage of the blunder.

Disappointing Pizza

Can pizza ever be a disappointment? Yes, if you ask Daniel, it sure can. He bought some take away pizza for dinner tonight, but when he came home with them, he discovered that he had not got the pizza he had ordered. Instead of salami sausage, there was mushrooms all across the pizza, and Daniel dislikes mushrooms. I volunteered to have the pizza instead, but he did not think that was a good idea. However, they were nice at the pizza place, they asked for forgiveness and came by with a new pizza of the right kind with their delivery car. That is good service and Daniel thanked them for it.

Playing with Pups

Today, I got to get up close with April's two pups for the very first time. They are almost five weeks now, small and very cute. They play a lot with each other, and I played a little with them too. I guess we will get to know each other even better in the weeks to come.

Paula said anyone (by which she meant anyone who knows dogs, of course) could tell by my behaviour towards the pups, that I have had pups myself. I believe that is true. I did learn much about pups from having pups, and these skills came back automatically when I met April's pups. It was nice to say hi to April as well.

On the Origin of Species

On this day, 150 years ago, Charles Darwin's groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species was first published. It is often considered the first book where the theory of evolution of species was presented, and the main rule behind the evolution, which is the survival of the fittest. Thus, humans got to know the basic idea on how all living things has evolved from the most primitive life forms. Yet, controversy about the ideas went on for decades, and some humans still not believe in evolution. Many humans believed that all species had been created as they are, unchangeable, by God, by the dawn of time. The idea of evolution seemed, to them, as illogical.

I am a little puzzled to learn that humans actually thought that all species were created once and for all and could not change. Sure, changes takes generations, but humans had been around for generations to witness such changes. Indeed, humans had instigated such changes themselves in many species, when they had bred dogs, horses, and other animals as well as plants to their liking. Breeding as a form of shaping a species would not be possible, if the idea that all species were created unchangeable would be true. Yet, humans had been shaping different species by breeding for centuries before Darwin's book was published.

Well, there is reality, and there are the ideas that explain reality, and sometimes, you do not need the ideas explaining reality in order to use reality to your liking. I guess this is what the humans did who changed animals through breeding, while believing that species were unchangeable.

Monday Post

This is my Monday blog post. I am so annoyed that whenever there is a late night, and the clock strikes twelve, the post automatically receives the date of the next day. On evenings like this, it ruins my efforts to really have a daily blog. Everything was late, and I suddenly realized there was just a couple of minutes left on Monday. I asked to get the computer, but Paula had to have it to check homepages of other Shiba Inu breeders. While this is an important task, I cannot help but think that I should at least have had the opportunity to start my blog post on the early side of midnight. I do not judge Paula, she has worked until late and did not return home until close to eleven at night. She would certainly have given me the computer earlier, had she been her usual self and not as tired as today. Perhaps I should have written in my blog much earlier?

The Manipulative Minds of Cats

It is probably not a surprise to anybody that I believe dogs make the best human pets. After all, I am a dog myself. Still, there are numerous other reasons that this is true. Dogs are friendlier, more co-operative, comes in many more sizes and shapes, and are more useful to humans than other domestic animals. The dog is also the oldest human companion.

I have now found out another reason that dogs are better pets than cats. Cats are manipulative, and this is scientifically proved. Scientists at the University of Sussex have found that cats modulate their purrs to the same frequency as human baby screams. Humans are highly sensitive to sounds of human baby cries, which is only natural and good. Cats have found this out, however, and use it to manipulate and exploit humans when they purr to get food and the like.

Dogs are also able to find out things like this, but we do not manipulate our humans to get what we want, we love them, and we get our food in return for that. If you want a manipulative pet, get a cat, but if you want a loving pet, get a dog.

Birthday Celebration

Daniel's father Åke has turned 70. That equals 10 dog years. It is an honourable age, and while his real birthday was last Wednesday, today was when the whole family gathered in Stockholm to celebrate.

I found it interesting to take a walk around the block where Daniel's parents live. I have been to Stockholm before, but that has been for dog shows and dog shows are never so close to the centre of the city as Daniel's parents live. We saw the Historical Museum and the theatres Elverket and Maxim from the outside.

We came back home rather late, but it was a nice trip. Celebrations are always worth a journey.

A Hero

A jury has chosen this year's hero dog in Sweden. It is a newly founded prize for a dog who has done something exceptional, by an animal insurance company and an animal protection organization. The recipient is the Border Collie Jenna from the little village Orrbyn in the northern parts of Sweden. Jenna sounded the alarm that there was a fire in a barn, thus saving 160 animals. I believe it is a well deserved prize.

New EU Top Officials

The European Union has a new President and a new High Representative of Foreign Affairs. The posts has gone to Belgian Herman Van Rompuy and UK Baroness Ashton, respectively. It is a man from a small member state and a woman from a big member state, and consensus seems to be achieved. There are articles about them both in Swedish and international mass media, the Swedish one focusing on this agreement as an achievement of the Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt as the man behind the smooth process of reaching an agreement, whereas I have read more about the two persons in international mass media. However, I have yet to find out what dogs these humans have, if any. Can you truly trust a political leader who does not have a dog (or perhaps other pet)?

Lollipop

Paula had a lollipop this evening. There were talk about her not wanting all of it, so some of us dogs stayed really close to see if she would give it up and give it to anyone of us. I would have wanted that lollipop really bad. We do get enough food to eat, that goes without saying. However, anybody can feel the urge to get someting more once in a while. There is seldom candy like a lollipop for me (though Paula and Daniel say I get candy often), so any time there is a chance to get some, I try to show my keen interest. I finally got hold of this lollipop. This made for a sweet evening, in every sense of the word.

Culinary Capital of the World

The culinary capital of the world is not Paris any longer, but Tokyo, according to French culinary guide Guide Michelin. While Paris has ten three-star restaurants, Tokyo has eleven. This is a great homage to the Japanese food culture. With our Japanese heritage, it is a small wonder Shiba Inus are so interested in tasty food.

Traffic Jams

This afternoon, the public vaccination against the swine flu started in our home town Örebro. The authorities have rented the Örebro Fair for this purpose, since it is a large building with a lot of parking spaces. As late as yesterday, the Örebro County Kennel Club held an unofficial dog show there. The news media reported that there was a traffic jam around the Fair, with queues of cars stretching a long way. There was not enough vaccine for everybody who tried to get some.

I am not surprised about the queues today, but I believe many humans make wrong choices. In my humble opinion, a dog show is much more interesting than getting a flu shot, even an unofficial show. There would be many more humans going to the dog show yesterday than to the vaccination today, if they would make the same choices as I would. Nevertheless, there were no reports about long queues of cars to the dog show yesterday. I guess we just have to accept that many humans consider their protection against the posibility of a flu more important than the certain entertainment value of a dog show.

April's Pups

April's pups are now three and a half weeks old. Last week, they have started to discover the room outside of the box where they live. They have gained in speed and are now quite fast on their small legs. We can all hear them make noises once in a while, when they complain over facts of life that they have yet to learn to cope with, such as that you just cannot walk anywhere when there are obstacles in the way. They are cute, though not quite as cute as my little sister Suri or my pups Meja and Bagus were in the same age.

Water on the Moon

There is water on the Moon, much more than previously thought. NASA has made probes impact the Moon, and measurements show that the plume of material ejected from the surface contained significant amounts of water. This discovery is important for the future settlement of the Moon. Water is essential for life, thus, important for settlements. Water on the Moon makes settling it much easier and cheaper.

The impacts were made near the lunar south pole, in areas that have not seen sunlight in milliards of years. The Sun never rises high above the horizon that far south. Mountais then prevents the sun rays from getting to all areas of the surface. Think about it, in an area where you can say that there is a permanent lunar eclipse, water is found. In an odd way, just because my name is Lunar Eclips, this makes me proud.

Bad TV Reception

Paula has bought us a new TV connection, that is supposed to give us TV broadcasts via the Internet. Unfortunately, the connection does not work. She and Daniel even bought us a new, better TV set, but to no avail. We have to make do with the old antenna at least until Wednesday next week, when a cable guy would be able to come here and see if he could repair the Internet connection. This is bad. I do not watch much TV, but I like to watch shows with dogs sometimes, and I know that Paula and Daniel have some favourite TV shows that they like to watch. We just have to hope that everything will work out next Wednesday.

Great Meat

This evening, our ordinary dog food was spiced up with a fairly large quantity of moose meat. This is meat that costs many hundreds of Swedish crowns per kilogramme, but that we get for free from Paula's dear father Nils Olov. It really makes the meal worth waiting for.

Garbage

We have had a lot of useless stuff in our barn for a while. Since we moved in to this house, we have bought a new stove and a new washing machine. The old ones, along with other stuff, has been stored in the barn, for no other reason than that it takes some effort taking them away as garbage. Well, today, Daniel finally got rid of the stuff, with the help of Nils Olov. This is good, it makes more room in the barn for dog show equipment.

WARNING

We listened to the radio this afternoon, P4 Extra on Swedish Radio. One of the reports were about the Boxer Leon, who died from eating "BARF" (Bones And Raw Food) diet. There are pieces of animal bones in this food, and one piece punctured the colon of Leon. The poor dog must have been in pain, and then died. I must therefore warn all of my readers for "BARF". Do not use "BARF" for your dogs! Veterinarians recommend ordinary dog food.

Comments

Some of the comments to my blog are not nice. I decide not to publish them. Today, I had received a comment which was just a rather sexually offensive advertisement. I wonder why people make such comments. They are probably sent out in large numbers, but do they promote any sales? I do not want to think they do, but at the same time, if they would not, then the comments would stop coming. Well, they will never be published on my blog, anyway.

Father's Day

Today is father's day in Sweden. I have celebrated my Dad. I have also celebrated Calvin, the father of my pups, on their behalf. Daniel talked to his father in Stockholm over the telephone. A little later, he and Paula went over to her father, who lives much closer, just a few blocks away. Not everyone lives so close to their father as I or Paula do, who can easily celebrate them. This is too bad, because it is always fun to have reasons to celebrate.

I am blowing my coat, but Paula helped me brush all of it this evening. It feels good to get rid of all that excess hair and I look better.

A Nice World Record

A restaurant in Concord in New Hampshire, eastern USA, has set a new record in making the largest meatball in the world. This meatball is 101 kg! To make it a record, the meatball has to be edible and has to be made in a single day. The restaurant managed to do that. Then they donated the meatball to feed the hungry.

Some world records seem unnecessary, others are just silly. However, meatballs are one of the great inventions of the human culinary art. They are tasty, healthy, uses the parts of meat that would otherwise be scrapped, and can be seasoned to fit anybody's taste. Making the world's biggest meatball is really something to salute to. I just wish I would have been there and able to taste it.

No Japanese Team Left

Toyota announced the other day that they will withdraw from Formula 1, citing economic difficulties due to the hardships in the world economy. I am disappointed. Honda withdrew last year, and now Toyota, which means that there will be no Japanese team in Formula 1 next year. As a Shiba Inu, I have always hoped that these teams would do well, but they never did. Who is left to hope for now for us Shiba Inus?

Being Outdoors

I love being outdoors in our yard. We have a fenced in yard where Paula and Daniel often entrust us dogs to be by ourselves. The problem is, they want to decide when I will get indoors again. I want to decide that for myself.

Sometimes, I stay outdoors when they open up the door to let us in. Later, I sometimes have to bark numerous times for either of them to open the door to let me in. I realize that this makes them annoyed sometimes. They are mostly annoyed by my barks, but also by my decisions to stay outdoors sometimes, certainly because they know I will then bark when I do want to get indoors. Still, I must be allowed to decide upon these things myself.

Both Daniel and Paula often admit that one of the reasons that they like us Shiba Inus is our free spirit. We do have a strong will and a sense of pride. A Shiba Inu is nobody's serf. We do what we want to do, and when we want to, we do everything good. I just wish I could walk in and out without help, like I can on the warm summer days when Paula and Daniel keeps our front door open. It is not my intention, nor my wish, to make Paula and Daniel annoyed. Nevertheless, since it is impossible for me to walk in and out unaided during the cold months of the year, I guess I just have to annoy Paula and Daniel when barking to get indoors.

Repaired Computer

Our main computer has not been working well, so the other week, we left it in the shop for repairs. We have got it back now. It seems like it is working properly now. I am glad it is, because it is a good computer, as long as it is working. I hope we will have good and undisturbed use of the computer for a long time now.

Top Predators and Biodiversity

Wolves, the dog relative in wildlife, are top predators. New research shows that top predators like wolves play a much more important role for biodiversity than previously thought. Wolves kill large prey like moose, and the remains of the moose enrich the soil where it is left. The soil becomes more fertile, causing rapid growth of microbial and fungal life. This just adds to all the other evidence of the importance of our relatives, the wolves. Dogs are important in human civilisation, wolves outside of it. Are we not great?

I Am a Bitch

There has been a story in a Swedish news paper about a couple of humans in Sweden who have given their child a gender-neutral name and who refuse to tell people they meet or get to know whether this is a boy or a girl. According to the article, the child is three years old and knows for itself what sex it has got. However, the couple claim they want to raise their child without the preconceptions that the world gets if they would say whether it is a boy or a girl. This story is said to have been spread across the world, making some people rather upset. I guess this is because they are not used to the concept of not knowing whether a child is a boy or a girl.

Before I say anything about this story, I must say that I am not sure it is true. The names of the couple and the child are not stated in any article, and the couple are said to refuse to give any interviews. If they want to make a statement, I find this very odd. Nobody can collerate the truthfulness of the story, therefore, nobody can say for sure it is true or not. The concept of not telling what sex your child has is so odd, it might as well be made up. The only thing saying that the story is true, is that it is published in a reliable Swedish morning news paper, Svenska Dagbladet, but this is not quite enough for me.

Given that the story is true - for the sake of the argument - I think it is a silly thing, not telling the world whether you have a boy or a girl. I made no secret that I had a boy and a girl in my litter. Sooner or later, the sex will be known to the public anyway. What if it would hurt the child, when the sex, that it has kept secret, is revealed? I believe this is the wrong way to achieve gender equality, you have to accept two different but equal sexes, not deny the differences. Why not learn your children, or pups, to be proud of their sex, instead of hiding it? I am a bitch, and I am proud of it!

World's Oldest Dog?

The oldest dog in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is British Dachshund Terrier cross breed Otto Jones. He is twenty years and eight months old, and apart from a little arthritis and some grey hairs, there is nothing that shows he is very old.

I would like to be old myself, as long as I am as healthy as can be. Shiba Inus can get really old, though I have not heard of any who became twenty years old.

It should be noted that while this dog is a cross breed, there is nothing that says that other Dachshund Terrier cross breeds will be as long lived as he is. I do not even know what Terrier breeds are in him. He must have hit a jackpot in the genetic lottery.