Death in the Dutch Royal Family

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We have received notice that a brother of the King of the Netherlands, Prince Friso, has died after a year and a half in a coma. He suffered severe brain damage in a ski accident in Austria, when hit by an avalanche at off piste skiing. He never recovered.

Our thoughts go to the family, the Dutch people and Dutch dogs. We know one Dutch dog, of course, Botan, who was born and raised here at our kennel.

Off piste skiing is dangerous. This is but one proof.

Great Weekend!

Yesterday, my daughter Polly won CAC and was BOS at the dog show in Askersund. Today, my son Gonza won CAC and was BOB at the dog show in Ronneby. Gonza is not much more than a year old. They sure follow the paths of their parents. I am so proud over them. Do I need to say more?

CAC

Hello, Karstuhl here!

This was the day of the Askersund national kennel club dog show. It is the annual show hosted by our regional kennel club, so you can say it is home turf for us. Calvin and I did very well. Calvin went in champion class, of course, and he became best male. I won a CAC and was best female. Thus, we met each other in the competition for Best of Breed, which is good among nine Shibas. Calvin was Best of Breed today. I think I will beat Calvin sometime in the future, if we will go up against one another again, but I congratulate him for the victory today. My main goal was the CAC, another step on my way to becoming a champion. Look out for me in shows to come!

Hamburgers

Hamburgers are very tasty, especially those that Paula makes herself. She made some for dinner tonight. I got to taste. It was so good, I even got a little sauce on my ear. Well, eating slowly has never been a virtue, in my mind.

Blowing Coat

Many of us are blowing coats now. I do not. I know that there are dog shows left, blowing your coat before these shows will clearly lower your chances in the shows. It is best to do whatever you can do to preserve your coat. Good luck to Calvin, who has already blown half his coat and who will be shown in Askersund this weekend.

Aircraft Carrier

Japan has unveiled a new, huge warship. It is an aircraft carrier with a flight deck 250 metres long. Reports say it is the biggest Japanese warship since World War II. The carrier is supposed to be used in border-area survellance and anti-submarine missions. With the recent tension over the Japanese Senkaku Islands, which China claims, it is a good thing that Japan has a good defence capacity. I hope it will never have to be used in an actual war, but then, having a military strong enough to deter your enemies from making war with you is the main purpose of it.

Baking Bread

Paula has a new hobby. She is baking bread. It is not just any bread, but so called LCHF bread. This is supposed to be healthy. I do not know about that. LCHF stands for low carn, high fat. The best hing to eat, then, is meat. Bread can never be as healthy, nor as tasty, as meat. There is some value having a varied diet, as well, but I would not mind more meat, to eat more like the LCHF diet suggests.

Solar Powered Lights

We have had some solar powered lights in the garden since last summer. They have never worked. Daniel has now reviewed the construction and got rid of a seal that was hidden inside. You could not see this seal, unless you disassembled part of the lamp. As far as we can remember, there was no word or picture about this seal in the manual to the lights. However, they are shining tonight. We like that. Better late than never.

Good Ridance

We transported some garbage to the waste depot. It is good not to have it in our garden.

Concert

There is a concert playing a kilometre away, or what it is to Brunnsparken from us. We can hear the base at home, even indoors. It could be a little disturbing, but we do not care. These things do not happen often. It is also Friday night, when humans usually party more than other nights since most of them do not work Saturdays and Sundays. We let them do this, it makes them better people, and better people are nicer to dogs.

New Kind of Antibiotic Discovered

Antibiotics are good stuff. It helps both dogs and humans, and other animals of our liking, to fight off bacteria and the diseases created by them. There have, however, been more and more bacteria who are resistent to the antibiotics we know and use.

Scientists have now discovered a completely new kind of antibiotic compound in a microorganism living in the sea off the coast of California. This antibiotic compound seem to be effective on some bacteria who are immune to all other antibiotics.

This is great news. Fighting off bacteria can save many human and dog lives. I hope antibiotics can soon be on the market derived from this new discovery. Perhaps it is also grounds for a Nobel Prize, like Alexander Fleming got for discovering the antibiotic penicillin. Go, science!

Summer Is Still Not Over

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

Wolves Helping Bears

Hello, Karstuhl here!

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

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

Calvin Did It

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

April's son Javier became Best Puppy.

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

Show Tomorrow

Hello, Karstuhl here!

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

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

Bad TV

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

Semi Finals

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

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

Nils-Olov

Hello, Karstuhl here!

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

Plastic Bottles

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

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

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

Building a Terrace

Hello, Orange here!

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

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

Taking Down a Bush

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

In the Countryside

Hello, Orange here!

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

Fish Stock Recovery?

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

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

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

Fumi

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

Beauty After Pregnancy

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

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

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

Online Game

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

The Orange Team Lost

Hello, Orange here!

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

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

Grilled Food

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

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

Paper

Hello, Orange here again!

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

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

Course

Hello, Orange here!

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

Night

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

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

Orange Being Green?

Hello, Orange here!

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

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

No Shame

Some people are shameless.

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

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

I do hope the Poodle find its way home.

The Importance of Microchips in Dogs

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

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

The Risk of Vacations

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

4th of July

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

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

Gotland is the Thing, the 24-25 August

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

More Toys

Hello, Karstuhl here!

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

Weekend Away

Hello, Orange here!

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

Show

It all started with heavy rain, as we were preparing to go to the show in the morning. The rain continued on and of most of the morning. Then it was warm and sunny in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we were not as lucky with the show result as with the weather. Javier was the most fortunate of us Shibas, he won Best of opposite sex puppy. Out of all of us, the most lucky one today was the Poodle Momoko, whose son became Best in Show "special colours" yesterday and won a CAC today.

Borås

we went to Borås this afternoon. It is a town about three hours away by car, where we will be at a dog show tomorrow. I get to go into the show ring! I am so looking forward to tomorrow.

Vacation

Both Paula and Daniel will have vacation now, for several weeks. This is great, it means they both wil be home with us more. It also makes us all a little lazy, this is probably why I do not write this blog entry until after midnight, making it less than daily. Oh, well, if you have a vacation, you must allow yourself to do things like this, don't you?

Spain v. Italy

Hello, Orange here! We are watching the second semi final in the FIFA Confederation Cup today. Brazil won against Uruguay yesterday. Spain is playing Italy today. We hope Spain will win. Italy was the better team in the first half of the game, but unable to score any goal. I have heard the Netherlands has a rather good national football team, playing in the greatest colour of them all: orange. They do not play in this tournament, though. I hope to see them in next year's World Cup, though I will rather see Sweden, Spain, or Japan as winners.

Japanese Acquisition

The Japanese company Softbank will purchase US mobile phone operator Sprint for $21.6 billions. This is the largest overseas Japanese takeover ever.

I expect the US company's customers will get a better service in the future. Japanese companies are good at that. In this way, they are similar to dogs of Japanese breeds, like Shiba Inus. We are great at providing any kind of service.

Summer TV

Two Swedish summer TV classics started tonight. One is the sing-along show Allsång på Skansen, live from Stockholm. The other is new episodes of the British criminal series Midsomer Murders. We watched them with Paula's parents, as we were there for dinner tonight. While it might not be the very best you can watch on TV, especially the Midsomer Murders feels a little overexposed, it is still great just because it is summer tradition. Traditions must be adhered to, unless you have somthing way better to do.

Sleeping Tight

It is Monday, so Daniel got up early and took us out for walks. It feels a bit harsh when you are used to sleep longer in the weekend. However, we can always go back to sleep afterwards. Paula slept too, she worked in the afternoon, so she did not have to get up at all in the early morning. Just when waking up, that seems like a great idea, but I actually like the early walks followed by another turn into th realm of dreams.

Rain

It has been raining on and off all day. Daniel has not been able to mow the lawn, as he said he would if he could. He has a cold, so it was perhaps for the best that he stayed indoors. Resting indoors is the best way to cope with rainy weather.

Midsummer

Happy midsummer to you all!

Spain Versus Tahiti

Hello, Orange here!

In the football tournament FIFA Confederation Cup, there was a game tonight between the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Tahiti. Confederation Cup is a tournament mainly between the winners of the national team tournaments different continental football associations that are members of FIFA. Spain is, of course, the winner of last year's UEFA European Championship, while Tahiti is the winner of the last Oceania championship.

Javier and I watched the game together, rooting for Spain, since both of us have close relatives there. We did agree, however, that while the game was fun to watch, it was far from exciting. When Spain scored its eighth goal, while Tahiti had not scored any, we started to feel a little sorry for the Tahitian team.

The final score was 10-0. We are happy about the victory and hope Spain will win the whole tournament.

Amazing Number of Followers

I suddenly had a burst of readers viewing my blog today. The statistics said 110 views. A normal amount per day on my blog is about 30. I do not know why this would happen today, but I am happy for it. There are probably be new readers there, I hope they will come back.

Waffles

Paula made waffles for us for lunch. She is so nice to us. Waffles are great food.

In Sweden, we have a Waffle Day on the 25th of March. There is still nothing in this great tradition saying that you should not eat waffles other days. Waffles can be eaten any day. This is good, since they are so tasty.

RIP

Rest in peace, Peanut!

Last Night

The last night with a dog is mostly when that dog is a pup who will leave us for his or her new family the next day. Not so tonight. Peanut will leave us and this whole world.

Some die young. This is life. Still, it seems unjust anytime it happens. With someone so happy, friendly, and nice as Peanut, it feels very unjust.

You have made the world a better place, in the brief time you were here, Peanut! We wish you bon voyage to wherever you will go, while part of you will always be with us in our hearts and memories.

Breeding Trees

Scientists in the UK have discovered a variety of the ash tree which is resistant to the attacks by a certain type of fungus killing off ash trees. This fungus has recently been discovered in the UK, but scientists trust that they will be able to grow resistand ash trees from the resistant variety. The downside is that the resistant variety consist of so few trees, that they have a very narrow genetic base. However, by cross breeding the resistant trees to other ash trees in the UK, the scientists hope to get a wider genetic base of resistant trees, which will also be better suited to the UK climate. It is amazing what breeding can do over generations, not just for dogs.

In the Countryside

Hello, Orange here!

I have been elevated to the status as sometimes guest writer in Hailey's blog. This is an honour, I have been told. I do believe it is.

This evening, I was the only dog who got to come with Paula and Daniel, as they drove out into the countryside. We visited Paula's sister and her boyfriend, the latter living in a typically Swedish, red house in the countryside outside of our home city. They are very nice people and I had the opportunity to taste some cat food. It was not my favourite, but quite good, nevertheless. It was a nice evening.

Peanut's Disease

We are facing a tragedy in our pack. April's daughter Peanut, who was born last spring, has an autoimmune disease, causing her own body to attack her eyes and pigmentation. This is why she has trouble with her skin and recently also her eyes. The disease is not hereditary, but exist among several dog breeds and also among humans. It is due to a mutation. The disease cannot really be treated, the effects can only be surpressed for a while. She is already over sensitive to light. We will not have her with us for much longer, but she will always have a place in the heart of everyone of us.

Norwegian Salmon

An organisation in Norway, Norges Sjömatsråd (Norway's Seafood Council), has recommended that salmon from Norway, when sold in Sweden, should not be sold under the Swedish name of the fish, but the Norwegian name. Swedish authorities believes this not to be an issue. The law already says that you have to state the origin of the sold food on the package, so whether "salmon" is written in Swedish or Norwegian is really of no consequence. I agree, whether it is from Norway or any other country, it is still salmon and still good, tasty food. It remains to be seen if Swedish food chains adopt this recommendation, but I would not count on it. It just seems unnecessary.

Oldest Living Man was Japanese

The worlds oldest living man, and the oldest man ever to have been recorded as living so long, was a Japanese who has now died. The title of being oldest living human is inherited by a Japanese woman. She is not the oldest woman ever to have been recorded as living so long, that record is held by a French woman. Still, the Japanese population brings forth relatively many humans who live to very old ages. They are healthy, the Japanese humans, just like dogs of Japanese breeds are. Japan must bring forth something good for the health and longevity of humans and dogs.

Paula Is Back Home!

After eight days in the hospital, Paula was allowed to go home today. (Hospital care of her kind is voluntary, but you have to be stupid to go home against the recommendations of the doctors.) We are all excited to have her home. Life is not the same without Paula. Our house is not the same without her. We need her, and we believe she needs us too. Now life can return to normal.

Not a Great Victory

In the World Cup qualifying game today, Sweden played the Faroe Islands. This is a small group of islands in the North Sea. It belongs to Denmark, but has some self government and its own football team. It has a very small population, smaller than the city we live in. There are, of course, always eleven players from the start in each team, but a smaller country has fewer people to chose from, thus a lower possibility of having a good team. Despite the odds, Sweden did not win by more than 2-0. It is a victory, which is a main thing, but it is not great and does not do well for the amount of goals made, which can be of importance if our team end up with an equal amount of points to another team in the end of the qualifying round. Well, Sweden still has a chance to get to the World Cup, and this is the most important thing now.

Not Much Fun

So, reigning world champion and leader of this year's championship, Sebastian Vettel, won another race from start to finish today, in Canada's Grand Prix. It is not that he does not deserve it, he is a great racer in a great car, but the championship would be more fun to watch if it was closer and if it looked more like we would get another world champion this year. It is a little like French Open in tennis, where Rafael Nadal won his eighth title today, he deserves it, but it is not much fun for the spectators.

Wedding

The Swedish princess Madeleine got married today. The marriage was, of course, shown on Swedish TV. We had the TV on this channel most of the time, but changed channels when the qualification to the Canadian GP in Formula 1 started. You have to make priorities.

We wish Princess Madeleine all the luck she can have as a married woman.

Austria - a Historical Anomaly

Sweden is playing Austria tonight, in the qualifying round to next year's FIFA Football World Cup.

Austria is a strange country. The people speak German, just like in Germany. Until the middle of the 19th century, there was no doubt that modern day Austria was a part of the many German countries which existed at the time. Then in 1871, the rest of Germany united into a German Empire, while Austria stuck to their own Emperor. After the fall of the monarchies in 1918, many people was in facour of merging the new German and Austrian republics. This would make sense, since the only real reason for the countries not having united sixty years earlier was their different monarchs. The victors of the First World War did not want Germany to gain Austria, though. Later, Nazi Germany annexed Austria, but the victors of the Second World War did not want Austria to stay part of Germany. Furthermore, the Austrians wanted to be independent again, to show they had also been victims of Nazi German occupation (even though a lot of the Austrians had been in favour of the annexation and gladly fought on the Nazi side in the war).

In short, the main reason for Austria being a sovereign country, is that it had its own monarch in 1871. Being a separate country as a republic is just strange. Austria should reinstate its monarchy, then there would be a real reason for the country to exist. Now it is just a historic anomaly. Because of this, they should lose the game.

D Day

Hello, Sunni here! (Hailey's Mum.)

In Sweden, you may think you have all the reason to celebrate your National Holiday today, for ending a union with Denmark and Norway in 1523. In the rest of the world, this is celebrated as D Day, when in 1944, Americans, Brits, and Canadians landed in Normandy, in Nazi occupied France, and started to liberate Western Europe from tyranny. There were a few Swedes among the troops, but Sweden took no part in this war against tyranny.

I was born and raised in America, but this is not the only reason for me to say this. You should remember D Day on the National Holiday festivities today, because without D Day, you might still have had nothing to celebrate in Sweden.

Name Day

Today is Daniel's second name day. Just like dogs, humans have long official names, but they usually just use one first name and one family name. Daniel has two first names besides Daniel, his second name is Gustaf, which is the name day today.

Gustaf was the name of the Swedish king who was made King of Sweden on this day 1523, finally ending the Danish dominated Kalmar Union that Sweden had been a part of for more than a hundred years. It is thus the latest day that Sweden has become fully independent, which is the main reason for it being the National Holiday.

We do not only celebrate National Holiday today, but celebrate Daniel a little bit, too.

National Holiday

Today is the National Holiday of Sweden.

Daniel has a day off from work, but he says he celebrates by working anyway. He is reading important papers on an upcoming new statute, all in line with his job as a legal adviser on the Swedish Transport Agency. Daniel is of the opinion that you celebrate your country in the best way by working for a better country, as he is doing. In a way, I can agree with that, though I always enjoy resting while celebrating Sweden as well.

Happy National Holiday to all the Swedish dogs and humans out there!

Hospital

Paula is at the hospital. She has had trouble with her stomach, so she had surgery yesterday. Now she is alone at the hospital after the operation.

I wish I could be there with her. We all wish we could be there with her, or at least that some of us could. There are, however, restrictions on visitors. As far as we can understand, dogs are not allowed. We do not really understand why, but those are the rules. Humans can visit for some hours during daytime.

We hope Paula can come home tomorrow, so we are able to give her all the love that she deserves.

On Having a Blog

Orange, the pup who is the youngest member of our dog pack, went with Paula and Daniel to Paula's sister and sister's boyfriend tonight. When returning home, Orange told me Daniel and Paula had been asked about my blog, and that these humans had had some doubt that I am the one who really writes it. Well, it may sound implausible, but dogs are capable of more than most humans believe. You are, of course, fully free to make up your own mind on the question of who is the real author behind my blog, but I am not in doubt. Whatever you believe, though, I hope you find the blog interesting and come back often.

Whale Candy?

Rumour has it, you can buy dog candy made from whale meat in Japan, from endangered species of whales. This is not good. There are so many non-endangered animals to make candy from, so why make it from the meat of endangered animals? We want the endangered animals to live on for generations, and when they are of enough numbers, we can make candy of some of them.

Disappointed Again

The weekend is here tomorrow, and since it is summer, there is a dog show. paula will go there with some dogs, while Daniel stays at home with the rest of us. I will not get to go this time either. I am really disappointed.

Birthdays!

Mum is celebrating her 14th birthday today. This is an awesome age. We celebrate with her.

My pups of the Aangenaam F litter celebrate their second birthday today. These are my daughters Anzu and Fumi and my son Zeus. I salute them as well.

Birthdays are great. I cannot think of any reason to celebrate that is a bad reason, but birthdays are really good reasons.

Lethal Beaver

You may think you know what animals are dangerous to humans, but did you know beavers should be on that list? A man in Belarus has recently died from the wounds a beaver inflicted upon him. The beaver population of Belarus is growing and they are said to be a growing threat to humans, as they come closer to human settlements.

Perhaps they could use some more wolves, making the number of beavers smaller?

Cake

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel had a piece of birthday cake left this evening. I was lucky enough to get to help him finish it. Cake is always tasty. Not meat tasty, but still very tasty. It made this evening better than average.

80-year-old Human Climbs Mount Everest

Age is no limit in the Japanese society. Old people are revered, and Japanese people often get old - just like the Japanese dog breed Shiba Inu, that I am of.

One Japanese man, Yuichiro Miura, has just recently climbed to the top of the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, at age 80. It makes him the oldest human ever to climb this mountain top. This is the third time he reached the summit. Who said you would have to take it easy at an old age?

There is a Nepalese man who is 81 years old, and who held the last record after climbing this mountain top at the age of 76. He now plans to climb it again. Well, if he makes it, who knows for how long he will keep the record again?

Another Victory Yesterday

Without repeating what I wrote yesterday about dog show victories, I have to tell you that Kenny also was victorious. Kenny is the father of two of my litters, among our common pups are Karstuhl and Anzu. He resides in Spain now, and at a dog show there yesterday, he won his final Spanish CAC, becoming Spanish Champion, and was also Best of Breed. It is hard to become a Spanish Champion, there are higher requirements than for many other champion titles. This also makes this a greater accomplishment than most champion titles. Karstuhl and I sends our congratulations to Kenny.

Success for Anzu!

My dear daughter Anzu, who lives in Norway, was successful at a dog show today. The show was held in Bergen, where there is a large Shiba population - Anzu is one of many. She won CAC and Best of Breed. That's my girl!

It shall also be noted that Tarou won a CAC and CACIB at the show where he, Gunde, and Kicki was with Paula and Daniel here in Sweden. Kicki then won the same and BOB, while Tarou won BOS.

Anzu's victory may be the most important for our kennel today, because she has our kennel prefix Aangenaam in her name.

Feeling Grumpy

Early morning tomorrow. Some of us are going to a dog show. I love dog shows, but I will not be allowed to go. Small wonder, then, that I am feeling grumpy this evening.

Birthday

We are celebrating Daniel on his birthday today. He got money for a new lawn mower, a new suit, shirt, and tie. All of it got his huge approval.  He also gave us some extra treat, which got our approval.

Paula worked late tonight, so we will celebrate more tomorrow.

Happy birthday, Daniel!

Logging in

Sometimes, I have problem logging in to my blog. The Blogger page, where I have my blog, claims that I would already be logged in under a different identity. i have now discovered why. When Daniel logs in to his Youtube account, he gets logged in to Blogger as well, despite not having a Blogger account with the same user identity. I do not know why this is, but we can do something about it. I have, thus, now told Daniel always to log out from Youtube, when he has been using that site. I hope he will follow my advice, it would make my life a little easier.

Tigers Lack Genetic Diversity

The wild tigers of India lack genetic diversity. They are also divided into small populations isolated in different part of the huge country. This poses a huge risk for the long time survival of the species.

I believe dog breeders could help. Many experienced dog breeders have made tremendous efforts to preserve and bring small dog breeds back to viable populations. The experience and knowledge of these dog breeders should be able to help not only the tiger, but many endangered species. I hope biologists realise this.

Macaronies

I had had food, but when Paula offered me some macaronies, who am I to turn them down? That would be rude, wouldn't it? Consequently, I had some macaronies as a later supper tonight.macaronies are tasty. If there would also have been meatballs, it would have been perfect, but I have no reason to complain.

Gold!

Yes! Sweden won the gold in the ice hockey world championship.

One has to congratulate the Swiss as well. Given the normal status of the Swiss national team, it is a greater effort of them to win silver than it is of the Swedes to win gold.

The USA Won Bronze

Mum is happier today. The USA, her home country, beat Finland and won bronze in the ice hockey world championship. Congratulations, Mum!

The game was tied after full time, and it went on to be determined on penalties. Thus, Finland did not do a bad game, but either of the team has to win. This time it was the USA that was a little better in the penalty shootout.

Now we hope that Sweden will beat Switzerland and win gold. If this happens, it will be the first time since 1986 that a country hosting the championship also wins the whole tournament.

Mum Was Disappointed

Mum was disappointed yesterday.

We were up late to watch the Eurovision Song Contest, and it was not over until midnight. This is why I had no time to write any blog entry yesterday.

Mum was disappointed for two reasons.

First, her home country America lost to Switzerland in one of the semi final games of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Sweden won the other earlier yesterday, and we had all hoped for a decisive gold medal game between Sweden and the USA. This will not happen. The USA have to fight Finland to get bronze.

Second, Mum's official name, beside her many dog show titles and kennel prefix, is Total Eclips of the HRT. This name is from a hit song by British singer Bonnie Tyler. In the Eurovision Song Contest yesterday, Bonnie Tyler sang for the UK, and Mum was naturally hoping that the woman behind her own name would win the competition. However, Bonnie Tyler did not do very well, despite having a great song. She ended up far away from victory. I guess Paula was right, saying that Bonnie Tyler's song was not modern enough. The contestants are surely mostly competing about the votes of young people, so the song needs to feel modern.

We hope for American bronze and Swedish gold today.

Barbecue

We took the grill out of the winter storage today and had a barbecue. Mia and her boyfriend Stefan came by and it was a noce evening. I got two pieced of chicken filet. More evenings could be like this.

Semi Finals

It could not have been a better result in the quarter finals of the Ice Hockey World Championship. Mum's home country America beat Russia 8-3. Switzerland continued its winning streak by beating the Czechs. Our neighbour Finland beat Slovakia. Then, in the last quarter final, Sweden beat Canada.

The USA will play Switzerland in one of the semi finals. This is good, because it means that either of these countries will be in the final. For as long as the current format of the tournament has been played, with a true final game, neither the USA, nor Switzerland, has reached that game. The USA last won a bronze in the 2004 championship, and before that in 1996, while Switzerland has not won any medal since 1953, when they won bronze.

Most of us hope that Sweden will win the gold, but Mum has her hope up for America. That would also be nice. America has not won the World Championship since 1960, when it was the same tournament as the Olympics, and has not won the separate World Championship since 1933. By comparison, there was a short time since Sweden's latest gold in 2006 or time without a gold between 1962 and 1987.

Go, Sweden!

No Competitions Today

The first semi final in the European Song Contest was yesterday, the second is tomorrow. The final is Saturday.

The groups in the Ice Hockey World Championship were finished yesterday, the quarter finals are played tomorrow.

There are never dog shows in the middle of the week, neither Formula 1 races.

All in all, among all of the competitions going on, nothing really happened today, that I am aware of. Some days seems a little more dull than others. This was one of them. It will be better tomorrow.

Best Best in Show?

Hello, Peanut here!

As has previously been reported in this blog, Gunde became Best in Show this weekend.

I asked my mother which was best: Gunde's BIS at a specialty, where there are judges specialised in the breed, but not many other breeds to compete against in the finals; or Haileys BIS at an international all breed show, but in puppy class? If I would have asked Hailey, she would have held her title in higher regard, of course. Gunde would have said his title was the best. This is just like my mother said that no matter what, her own World Winner title was better than either BIS.

Well, my mother could not give me a straight answer. She mentioned all of the pros and cons that I told you above, but when I pushed her, she said a title for an adult dog must be a little better.

I wonder if I get away with writing this in Hailey's blog.

Unfit for Survival?

There are species of animals that are very endangered, so much so that they are really on the edge of becoming extinct. One such species is the sweet water fish Mangarahara cichlid from a river in Madagascar. It is believed to be extinct in the wild, due to dams constructed by humans, making their natural habitats dry. Three fishes are known to be alive, all of them males. Female fishes of this species are therefore sought after. The hope is that some private fish collectors have at least one female, which might be the basis of reconstructing the species.

There are, however, dangers. The last known female to be alive was put together with the male living in a zoo in Germany, but instead of mating with her, he killed her. I figure this may show that not all species are fit for survival. Sure, it might have been this particular male that was mentally ill, but if one of only a handful of individuals remaining of a species is crazy, how can you reconstruct the species without keeping that mental illness in the genetic lines?

I say this fish species looks unfit for survival, so maybe it should not survive. I hope I am wrong, though. It would be a happier ending of the story, if the species is reconstructed.

Norwegian Specialty

Paula is with some of us dogs in Norway, for the Norwegian Akita Inu specialty dog show. Unfortunately, I did not get to come this time.

Today, our friends won a lot. Gunde (a.k.a. Kokuhou, who was father of my latest litter) won Best of Breed and then also Best in Show against dogs of other Japanese spitz breeds. Gunde also won a Norwegian CAC and thus became Norwegian Champion. On top of this, April's son Javier won Best of opposite Sex Puppy.

From home in Sweden, we send our greetings and congratulate our friends. I would have wanted to be there myself. Some say, however, you cannot go to every show there is. I would want to disagree. It is so much fun to go into the show ring, not only when you win.

Alleged Attack

In news from California, four animals claimed by some to have been Pit Bull Terriers, have been said to be responsible for the attack upon and death of a 63 old lady who was out jogging in Los Angeles County. The animals were not in the company of any human, and the last one to leave the woman is said to have run of into the desert. The woman died from her wounds on her way to hospital.

There is nothing in the news article saying what caused the fight between the animals and the woman. Nobody can say for sure that the animals were Pit Bull Terriers, or even dogs, since they are all gone. What we have are the stories by witnesses, such as a police deputy that was on the site, firing at the last animal to leave the place of the fight. No witness can say that the animals had collars or humans around.

Dogs do not normally attack humans. Indeed, I would say there is a higher probability for a human of being viciously attacked by another human than by a dog. Dogs who have humans around are brought up to trust and love humans.

Remember, everybody must be considered innocent until proven guilty. We do not even have proof the woman was attacked by dogs. If she was, there is still nothing in this story saying why she might have been attacked. I would not rule out the possibility that she was violent first, whereupon the animals acted in self defence. The woman's death will be investigated by the coroner, it will be interesting to hear what the result of that investigation might be.

Dog Age Calculation

A human scientist has made investigations into the aging of dogs. This is really interesting.

The common knowledge is that one dog year is equivalent to seven human years. While this is actually a rather good rule of thumb, it is not completely true. The ageing differs between different breeds, and as no other known animal differ so much in sizes as dogs do, this calls for different calculations for different breeds.

I will not waste my time repeating what this scientist has come up with, but recommend that you read this article about the findings.

There is but one thing I do not believe in this article. It says that dogs have been around humans for 15,000 years. As far as I have read many times before, the correct age for the dog-human bond is actually about 40,000 years. We dogs are an inseparable part of civilisation.

Raising Glasses

Today was anorher spring holiday. Thus, Daniel did not go to work, despite it being Thursday. The thing that is celebrated is the ascension of Christ into Heaven. I guess a good thing to do for this celebration was to raise the glasses up in the air, like humans often do when fhey have alcoholic beverages to celebrate. A toast for Christ!

Sweden v. Norway

The annual ice hockey world championship is on. Tonight, Sweden played Norway. Generally, Sweden has a much better national ice hockey team than Norway, thus, it was no surprise that the Swedes played much better than the Norwegians. I am quite pleased with the result: 5-1 in Sweden's favour. My late Dad, who was born in Norway, always hoped that Norway would win in sports. He would not have been happy. As I am born and raised in Sweden, Swedwn is always my facourite. I hope Sweden will go on to win the gold.

Birthday

Today was Daniel's mother's birthday. They live in different cities, but talked over the phone for more than an hour this evening. I like that. One should be nice to one's mother. I am, and my daughter Karstuhl is.

Food

Sometimes, I wish life would be a little more exciting, so supper time would not necessarily be the best time of the day. On the other hand, food is a great thing. Does life really have to be better than a nice meal? I really do not think so.

Mia

Paula and Daniel went to Stockholm today, to visit Daniel's family. In the meantime, Paula's sister, our dear friend Mia, came by and took us out for a while in the middle of the day. It was nice seeing her, as it always is. We also made a new friend, Mia's friend Johan. He was a great guy. I hope to see both of them again soon.

35 or 5

One human year is roughly equivalent to seven dog years. This means that dogs are only really concerned with human birthdays, if they turn a year which can be evenly divided by seven. Today, Mia turned 35, or five dog years. This is worth celebrating. Happy birthday, Mia!

Bumble Bee

We had an unwelcomed guest in our house tonight: a bumble bee. I do not like flying insects, especially not when they can sting you. I tried to warn Paula and Daniel, but they just told me to go back to sleep. If you want a watch dog, what good am I, if you do not act when I try to wake you up and warn you for a potential danger. A sting of a bumble bee is definitely no small thing.

In the morning, Daniel saw the bumble bee, as it tried to fly out of the house through a closed window. Insects do not see glass and do not learn from their mistakes when they bounce off the glass time and time again. They are stupid animals. This is, of course, one of the reasons I do not trust them.

Daniel opened the window and let the bumble bee out. So far so good, though I would rather have seen it punished for disturbing our sleep. On the other hand, a stupid animal like a bumble bee would not learn anything from such a punishment, so maybe just letting it out was just the best thing to do. It is not necessary to kill it, if you can let it out easily.

1st of May

Yesterday was a holiday in Sweden. I am not sure why it is. Nevertheless, the leftish political parties usually use the day to demonstrate. I do not care much. Red for me, is the colour of red Shiba Inus, or the colour of the sun in the flag of Japan.