Divine Bears

Before the first World Cup game today, we watched a documentary on TV about the old Sami people and their religious beliefs. They talked a lot about bears,  who were animals held sacred by the Sami. They held everything sacred, a straw of grass had the same importance as a human. Yet, there was not a word about wolves or dogs. What did they think about wolves? Did they have dogs? I would have liked some information about this.

World Cup Trivia

The 2014 FIFA Football World Cup starts tomorrow. This is why I will now repeat a blog entry on World Cup trivia that I wrote on Tuesday, July 13 2010, after the final of the 2010 World Cup.

Flags
There is red in all of the flags of European World Cup winners, but in none of the flags of South American World Cup winners.

Gold Medals
There are now as many gold medals won by Spanish speaking countries (Uruguay '30 and '50, Argentina '78 and '86, Spain '10) as Portugese speaking countries (Brazil '58, '62, '70, '94, '02).

Spain is, so far, the only football World Cup gold medalist of the 21st century not to have won gold in the 20th century too.

Four countries have won gold in the World Cup before winning any other medals: Uruguay ('30 - first ever World Cup), Italy ('34), England ('66), and Spain ('10).

All the three countries which have won gold but no other kind of medal has fourth as next best result: Spain in '50, Uruguay in '54, '70, and '10, England in '90.

Silver Medals
The Netherlands is alone on top of the list of "number of World Cup finals of countries which has been there but never won gold": three: the Netherlands ('74, '78, '10), two: Czechoslovakia ('34, '62) and Hungary ('38, '54), one: Sweden ('58).

The Netherlands is the country which has lost the most games for World Cup medals without having won any: three finals ('74, '78, and '10) and one bronze game ('98). Germany has lost four finals ('66, '82, '86, and '02) and one bronze game ('58), but has won as well.

Four countries have won silver before winning any other medals: Argentina ('30), Czechoslovakia ('34), Hungary ('38), and the Netherlands ('74).

Sweden is the only country to have won both silver ('58) and bronze ('50 and '94) without ever winning gold.

Many Different Medalists
Out of all the nineteen World Cups played so far, there are only seven when all the medalists have taken medals before: '70, '78, '82, '86, '90, '94, and '06.

The World Cup 2010 was the seventh where medals have only been awarded European countries, the others being '34, '54, '66, '74, '82, and '06. There has been no World Cup with only South American medalists.

Out of all the nineteen medalists, there are as many as seven that has not won more than 1 bronze each.

The USA (bronze '30) is the only medalist not to come from the football associations of either Europe nor South America.

Top Scorers
The 2010 World Cup was the third where more than one player has won the list of top scorers, the others were '62 and '94.

Fans
Some people living in Africa can say that they live in the country winning the first World Cup played in Africa: inhabitants of the Spanish towns of Ceuta and Melilla and of the Canary Islands.

While Brazil is the only South American country to have won gold when the World Cup was played in Europe ('58), other South Americans can also say their home country won the World Cup when it was played in Europe: inhabitants of French Guyana, since France won in '98.

Raised Petrol Taxes Hurts Dog Breeding

The Swedish government institute that works with economical prognoses. Konjunkturinstitutet, has published prognoses on what has to be done to make Sweden fulfill its goals on lowering emissions of carbondioxide and other greenhouse gases. One of the ways to get there, is to raise the carbondioxide emission taxes substantially. This would make the price of petrol (or diesel oil) much higher.

What worries me about this, is that a much higher petrol price will have a detrimental effect on the Swedish dog breeding. Dog breeders often live in the countryside and need cars. They often have to bring their dogs long distances to go to dog shows and other dog competitions to make their dogs champions, thus proving their worth as breed dogs. Then the breeders often have to travel far to get their bitches to male dogs for mating. Many dogs are large, and so the dog breeders need large cars that consume relatively large amounts of petrol. With higher petrol prices, all of these journies would become more expensive.

Dog breeding is already an expensive hobby, most people lose money on it despite the high prices for pups, but they do it for the love of the dogs. At the same time, dogs contribute very much to society, so dog breeding is very important for society. If the carbondioxide taxes would be raised, I wish there would be an exception from the raised taxes for dog breeders.

Princess Leonore

We watched the young princess of Sweden Leonore being baptised today. It was aired live on TV. While I have not fully understand why humans baptise their children - dogs never baptise our pups - I liked the ceremony.

Daniel would probably have watched as well, but he had to be outdoors, mowing the lawn. It is important that he does this, it keeps ticka away.

I hope Princess Leonore will live a long and happy life with many dogs around (but now I repeated myself).

Origins of the Moon

Scientists have found traces of another world on the Moon. Analyzing rocks brought back from the Moon to Earth by Apollo astronauts, they have found minerals that differ from what you would expect. They see this as proof of the theory that the Moon was formed from debris from a planetary collision about 4.5 billion years ago, when Earth collided with another celestial body in the very beginning of the history of our solar system. This is interesting, isn't it? It does not really matter that it is of no consequence to our everyday life. Science does not always have to be, it still gives us this sense of wonder, when it provides us with a greater understanding of the world around us. This is good in itself.

National Holiday

Today is the seventieth anniversary of D-day, the British, American, and Canadian invasion in Normandy, to throw Nazi-Germany oit of France and the rest of Western Europe. The invasion succeeded, to the benefit of all in this part of the world.

In Sweden, it is also our national holiday, for other reasons. It was quite all right, we had a little celebration at home,

Danish Constitution Day

Hello, Orange here!

This day is the annual Danish Constitution Day. It is the national holiday in Denmark. I have no family ties to Denmark, but I like the Danish flag. It is mostly red and then white. This means that it has the same colours as a red Shiba Inu with the white ura-jiro, like me. I hope the Danes have a nice national holiday. In Sweden, we celebrate ours tomorrow.

Prison Sentences Against Wolf Tormentors

The Court of Appeals of Lower Norrland in Sweden has sentenced two men to two years each in prison for hunting down and killing a wolf bitch in a very cruel way. The judgment was on the 28th of May 2014, case number B 539-13.

One of the men used skis, the other a snowmobile. They hit the wolf with the snowmobile, then crushed the head of the wolf by smashing it. The Court of Appeals finds the evidence enough to sentence both men to prison, though one of them was freed when the case was first tried. The prosecutor appealed and now both are sentenced to prison. This is good. Wolves are protected animals. Also, regardless of protection by the law, no animal should be tortured in the way described in the judgment - or in any way, for that matter.

I am pleased that prison sentences was the outcome of the trial.

Chocolate Pudding

Humans always say chocolate is poisonous for us dogs. We did not get to taste the chocolate pudding that Paula and Daniel had for dessert tonight. They had some whipped cream too, though, which was tasty. When you do not get to taste one thing, there is often another great thing to taste. This is important to know in all aspects of life. Just consider, if the chocolate pudding is not available for you, the whipped cream probably is, and it is certainly just as tasty.

Rain

There is a heavy rainfall tonight. This is typically Swedish summer weather. I would, however, like sunny days and clear summer night skys better.

Chihuahua

Daniel's brother Elias has bought a dog, a male, long haired Chihuahua called Sheldon. This is nice, it has been a while since Elias had a dog. I believe all humans fare better when they have at least one dog.

Football National Team

The World Cup in football is coming up. Sweden is not playing, our national team was not good enough in the qualification games. Tonight, though, it played a friendly game against Belgium, which will participate in the World Cup. I was not interested in the game. How could the result be anything but another lost game, considering that Belgium is highly ranked? It could do nothing to boost the team for the World Cup either, since the team will not participate. I will follow the World Cup for the great sport event that it is, but it would be better if Sweden would be in.

No Show

I did not get to go to the dog show today. Despite this, I had a rather nice day, since Nils-Olov came by when both Paula and Daniel was away. i love Nils-Olov too.

Fifteen and Three

Today we celebrate Mum, who turns fifteen years old. This is a grand age for a dog. Mum is still going strong, enjoying life and the treats that comes with it. Happy birthday again, Mum!

We also celebrate the third birthday of my own second litter of pups. These are Fumi here in our city Örebro, Zeus in Kristinehamn, and Anzu in Bergen, Norway. I wish they also have happy birthdays!

Granddaughter

I went over to Paula's parents today with Daniel. Paula was there already. We had a little get together, and Mia and Stefan was there with my granddaughter Soya. It was nice to see her again. We played together, and I taught her a thing or two about life. Soya is a good girl, I am proud of her. I hope she will do good at dog shows, too.

Yellowstone Wolves

Reintroducing wolves in the Yellowstone National Park in the USA had more benefits than people would have thought.

This only goes to prove how important the wild cousins of us dogs are for the eco system.

Ears

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula and Daniel have been concerned that I have tilted my left ear once in a while over the last days. They have looked into my ear, but have, of course, not found anything out of the order. They even put some cleaning fluid in it. This was highly unpleasant. Can't I just be allowed to tilt my ear, if I want to? It is as if there would be anything wrong with me. It is not.

Thunder

Hello, Orange here!

It has been warm for many days in a row. This afternoon, we had thunder and lightning. This is common after many warm days, I have been told. Thinder and lightning is an interesting thing of nature. It often comes with heavy rain, and this happened today too. I guess all of the things growing in our garden needed the rain.

Bad Result

daniel is disappointed that the political party he favours did not do better in the election for the eu parliament tonight. i understand that.

still, we can be happy sweden wom bronze in the iihf ice hockey world championship. this is not a bad result.

42

Daniel is turning 42 years old today. If he would have been a dog, he would have turned six. We have celebrated him extensively. It has been fun.

Hamuketsu

The Japanese are fond of everything cute. Shiba pups are evidence of this: the cutest pups of any breed, and the breed is a traditional Japanese breed. In modern day Japan, the love of cuteness sometimes crosses the border of what can be defined as fine art, such as fine paintings, haiku poems, cherry blossoms and Shiba pups. These over the top cute things are often called kawaii. The latest kawaii craze is called hamuketsu. It is just the thing that the Japanese word litteraly means: hamster bottoms. People get crazy over pictures of hamsters seen from behind. Many books of such pictures are sold. I can see why this is called kawaii. Had the craze been over pictures of Shiba pups from behind, it would have been cuter, but also fine art, thus not kawaii. The Japanese society sure is fascinating.

Summer

Hello, Orange here!

Summer is coming. It has been a warm, sunny day today. The grass is growing tremensously fast. Daniel mowed the lawn last weekend, he may very well have to do it next weekend again. I am glad I do not have to mow the lawn. It seems boring moving around a noisy herbivore on wheels all over the garden. I rather just spend my time in the garden sunbathing. It gives me more satisfaction.

Dogs Keeping Disease Away

New research tells us, once again, how helpful dogs are in society. On the shores of Lake Michigan in North America, Border Collies have shown great skill in keeping seagulls away. The droppings from the seagulls is a source of the venomous e-coli bacteria. The bacteria count has been significantly lower, where the Border Collies have kept the seagulls away.

I think this might be something for more shores around the world. You do not have to kill the seagulls, just keeping them away from where humans and dogs use the beaches. Dogs will do the trick!

At Home

Heool, Orange here!

Hailey asked me to make a blog entry today. She said she was not up to it. neither was I, I said, but she replied that I have to make the occasional blog entry when I do not want to, if I want to make blog entries when I do want to. There is a logical argument there.

We had a calm, uneventful day at home today. paula worked yesterday, so she was off from work this Monday and at home with us all the time. These are the kinds of days that I like the most. The only downside with an uneventful day is the trouble of writing a blog entry, when you have not got that much inspiration. I did manage this much anyway. Come back tomorrow, there will be another blog entry then.

No Swedish Planes for the Swiss

Switzerland and Sweden is often mixed up by foreigners. Both are small, neutral, European countries and the names are a little similar. Switzerland was planning to buy Swedish fighter airplanes, Saab Gripen, but voted against it in a referendum today. I guess the positive thing with this is that our air forces will not be mixed up so easily.

Out of Petrol

Daniel mowed the lawn today, but did not finish it. He ran out of petrol for the lawn mower. This was a little unexpected, I would have guessed he would have had petrol enough. Well, he purchased some more in the evening, so the lawn that was not mowed today will be tomorrow. This is good.

Hässleholm

This weekend, there is the annual dog show in Hässleholm. We are not going this year. I normally love to go to dog shows, but I really do not think I could do better in Hässleholm this year than I did eight years ago. That was when I won Best in Show Pup there. Hässleholm will always be my BIS Puppy show, so I do not care so much that we do not go there now. Best of luck to all the pups who want to follow in my paw steps this year!

Early Americans

Scientists have researched an old skeleton of a human found in present day Mexico. The skeleton is about 20,000 years old. It gives clues about the earliest humans in the Americas. I just wonder about the earliest dogs. Who were they and what part of society did they have? It would be interesting to know this.

Double Lyalties

It is not easy having double loyalties. Last night, Sweden palyed Norway in the ice hockey World Championship. I am Swedish, but my Dad was Norwegian. In most winter sports, I root for Sweden, being the underdog, but in ice hockey, Norway is the underdog. Sweden won the game, but I could have been happier. Well, I do not mind, at least. If any of the countries I love has a good chamce of winning gold, it is Sweden, thus, it is good when Sweden does win.

Cat Returned Home After Three Years

It is now over three years since the huge tsunami struck Japan in the spring of 2011. One family lost their cat, who was nowhere to be found. After months of searching in vain, they thought he was dead. However, he has now been found and reunited with his humans. I think this is a fantastic story. Miracles do happen.

Norway Won

We watched the ice hockey game between Norway and Denmark today. Denmark scored first and led by 2-0 for a while. Norway came back, however, and won by 4-3. I hoped Norway would win, because of my late Dad, who was from Norway. He would have been happy for this victory.

Earlier in the day, Italy defeated France. I would have thought France would win, they did win over the  ice hockey great power Canada the other day. Well, it is always more interesting when you cannot predict the results.

In Formula 1 this year, it seems certain already that one of the two Mercedes drivers will win the championship. They have won all races, including the Spanish GP today. The excitement lies in speculating which of the two drivers will be the champion. It would have been more exciting, had Mercedes not been that much better than everybody else. Will any of the other teams catch up later in the season? I doubt it, but you can never be certain.

No Dog Songs

We stayed up until late last night, watching the Eurovision Song Contest on TV. This is why I had no time to post anything in my blog before midnight. I did not vote for any song, I will never vote, until there is a good song about a dog or dogs. There are too many songs not mentioning dogs at all. Are not dogs important enough in society for humans to write more songs about us?

Ice Hockey

Today was the first day of the IIHF ice. Hockey world championship. Sweden starts playing tomorrow. Sweden won gold last year. We hope the team this year can do the same, but  there are a lot of good teams in the championship. I would not think Switzerland will repeat its feat of winning silver, not after losing to Russia 0-5 today. Interestingly, though, France beat Canada after penalties. Maybe France will be the big surprise this year.

Soya

Hello Karstuhl here.

I haven't heard about my pup Soya in a few days. Maybe her humans have sold her? I would not think so, when one of her humans is Paula's sister, but why do they not give me any news? I'm a bit worried...

Pizza

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula and Daniel made pizza for dinner tonight. It was tasty. I am not sure I was supposed to taste some, but I saw my opportunity. When a Shiba sees an opportunity, the Shiba has justice on her side. Nobody complained. Pizza is great.

Eurovision Song Contest

The first semi final in the Eurovision Song Contest took place today. I read about it on the BBC homepage, where they wrote about which songs to look out for. sweden's song was not one of them. Sweden did make it to the final contest on Saturday, but I do not think Sweden will win. So far, I have not determined if I will vote for any song.

Cookies

Karstuhl and I got some cookies to eat today. This is not common. Cookies are great, sweet food. I wish we could get cookies more often. Daniel had the last cookies we had at home, though. He could have shared some more, I believe. Then again, I think I would not have shared, had I had control over the cookies, so I understand him.

TV Debate

the leaders of the political parties in the swedish parliament held a televised debate tonight. i was a little disappointed, because none of them said a word about dogs and how to improve the standard for us dogs. everything was just about humans. there need to be more focus on dogs in politics, i believe.

No Dog Toys in Happy Meal

Hello, Karstuhl here!

If you are at McDonald's, you can buy hamburgers. If you buy their kids' meal, called Happy Meal, you can get a toy. They have different toys for boys and girls. I guess this is because boys and girls often have different interests. I just wonder why you cannot chose to get a dog toy instead. Dogs do not have the same interest in toys as children, so what is a dog person to do, when buying a Happy Meal? It is time for McDonald's to do something about this!

Switching Between Channels

Sometimes, there is nothing great to watch on TV. Then we can switch channels over and over again. This is troublesome, when The remote control is not in my possession. I could always settle for some TV programme about wild animals or the like, but there are others in the family who have other ideas on what is good enough TV. This may be alright, but sometimes, there are just to many switches from one channel to another. Well, one can always turn the head away and fall asleep instead. I do this once in a while, too.

What About Working Dogs?

This day, the first of May, is a holiday in Sweden. The socialistic political parties use the day to demonstrate for such things as workers' rights. I wonder what they want to do for working dogs. I have not found any article online about this, despite the date. This is bad.

The politician I know best, Daniel, is conservative. I know he is a great friend of dogs. He may be a better candidate for political office even for working dogs.

Celebration of Spring

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

New Moon

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

Changing Names

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

Mowing the Lawn

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

Barbecue

Hello, Karstuhl here!

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

Lights Out

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

USA Reaffirms Support for Senkaku Islands

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

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Hello, Karstuhl here!

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

Disappearance

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

Lunar Eclipse

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

Chasing Each Other

Hello, Orange here!

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

Easter Celebration

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

Good Friday

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

Candy Days

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

Calm but Less Fun

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

The World Out There

Hello, Soya here!

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

Veterinary Check

Hello, Karstuhl here!

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

Four Generations

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

Stolen Show Dogs

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

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

Hitler Mugs Not for Sale

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

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

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

Some Puppy Thoughts

Hello, Soya here!

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

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

More Land

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

Rain

Hello, Orange here!

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

Racing Around

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

Early Bird

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

Sun Dogs

Hello, Orange here!

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

April got Grand Pups

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

Playing with the Pup

Hello, Orange here!

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

April's Fool?

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

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

Scottish Kennel Club to Join the FCI?

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

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

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

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

No More Japanese Whale Hunts

Japan will stop hunting whales in the waters off Antarctica. The country will obey a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), delivered today. The decision followed a suit by Australia, challenging the claim by Japan that the hunts were just for scientific purposes. It has been shown that Australia was right, Japan was wrong.

Well, even though I love Japan as a kind of second homeland, as the homeland of my dog breed, I would never defend anything Japan does. If the hunting of whales affects endangered species, which is apparently does, the judgment of the ICJ was correct. Hunting is good, in it self, but if hunting is making certain species of animals endangered, that kind of hunting is bad. We have to preserve species for the future.

Poodle News

Paula and Daniel subscribe to the Poodle News magazine from the Swedish Poodle Club. This is a thicker, more glamourus magazine than the magazine of the Swedish Shiba Club, Shiba-no-kai. I am a little jealous. On the other hand, the magazine of the Shiba Club has its focus on the best, most glamourus of dog breeds there is. This tilts the balance in favour of the Shiba Club's magazine, nevertheless, doesn't it?

Knighthoods

Australia has reintroduced the possibility for its citizens to become knights, in the British fashion, putting a Sir or a Dame before the first name of the knight. I think this is a good idea. Dogs have the opportunity to get a lot of titles to put in front of our names, showing that we are show champions or champions of other dog competitions, et cetera. It is only fair that humans would also have the opportunity to put additional titles to their names. Titles are cool.

Weekend Away

Paula has gone away for the weekend. She did not bring any of us dogs. The advantage of that is, I do not need to feel jealous that another dog gets to go to a dog show. I love going to dog shows, but Paula's trip this weekend was not headed for a show. While I cannot think of any better reason to go away for a weekend than to go to a dog show, there are other reasons to go. Meanwhile, all of us dogs are helping Daniel watching the house.

A Castle

Örebro Castle, a big building in the centre of our city dating back to the 14th century, is now available for rent. If anybody want office space here, you can rent it. I am not interested myself. There are to few good places to take walks around the castle. There is a little park by the castle and another small one on the north side of the river, bit it is not much compared to the surroundings where we live. Some people are bound to be interested, though. The castle is a fine building.

Another Snowfall

Hello, Orange here!

I cannot make any sense of this thing called spring. It is supposed to be ever warmer, and the winter with snow is supposed to be but a memory. Still, although we have had fine spring days, these has been intersected by days when it seems like it is still winter. This morning, snow fell again. Granted, it was temperatures well above the freezing point later in the day, so most of it melted again, but it still did not feel like spring. On the other hand, I am barely a year old, and with such limited experience of springs, who am I to question the wheather? It is, nevertheless, a fascinating world we live in.

The Pup

Hello, Orange here!

There have been talk about Polly's pup. With this pup, I am not the youngest dog around. Pup Soya is just five weeks old. I have had the opportunity to meet her now, through a fence. She is a nice acquaintance, but she is really small. Was I this small, when I was her age? Well, I guess I was. It os fascinating!

Feeling Sick

Paula is feeling a bit sick today. I wish I could help her more. Dogs are good at helping their humans feeling better, but our love and care only goes to a certain point. Beyond that, even our powers are too small. This was, obviously, such a moment for Paula. Well, she would probably feel even worse without us. We do help as much as we can.

Outdoors

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My little pup Soya has been outdoors many times today. More and more, she wants to do her stuff outside. She is a true Shiba! As you may know, Shiba pups are normally housebroken when delivered at the age of eight weeks. This is something we take pride in. Cleanliness is civilisation.

Snow Again

Hello, Orange here!

We got snow again yesterday. It was still laying on the ground today. Still, it is not a thick enough layer of snow to be fun to play in. I think I like the real winter or a warm spring day better. Eventually, summer will come, I have been told, and then there wil be another winter. The snow that fell now just feels out of place.

Evening Snack

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Soya and I got some sour milk as an evening snack. Soya enjoys the taste of it. She is still inexperienced, though, and put a front paw in the milk. Then she backed away, putting some white paw prints on the floor, before Daniel helped her cleaning the paw. She sure is cute. I got the most of the evening snack.

Spotting Owls

I went with Daniel and Fuji on an evening walk tonight, when we met a couple of women who knew Paula since childhood. They told us they had been neighbours of Paula. It is not common meeting people on our road, especially not people wothout dogs out for a walk. These two women had stopped and gotten out of their car, however, to spot an owl that we could hear. I cannot see the fascination in just spotting birds. Birds may be prey, or in the case of owls, potentially evil puppy snatchers, but other than that, I do not care for birds. We all have different interests in life, however. It was nice meeting these friends of Paula.

Deworming Soya

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula dewormed Soya this morning. Understandably, Soya did not like it. It certainly is not tasty, but it is necessary. I was there, making sure everything went well. It did.

Quick Progress

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Soya has learned how to climb out if the litter box. This is quick progress, I believe. She is my girl! She has also learned how to climb back into the litter box. This is also great. I had more to keep an eye on with my former litter, with two pups, but it is not easy looking after Soya either. I like it, however. It is fun to hang out with Soya.

Soya Wants to Climb Out

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It is nice having a pup. Soya is getting a personality now and it is nice to be with her. She is not yet four weeks, but she has started to discover the world outside of the litterbox. Today, she stood by the edge of the litterbox whining, wanting to climb out, but not yet big and strong enough to do so. I did not help her. It is actually not in her interest to help her get out, no matter how much she is whining. Still, it shows that she is curious about life and not content with what she has, if she sees other things. This is good. You should never just be content with what you have. My daughter Soya will do very fine in life, I am sure.

Daylight in the Mornings

It is daylight now, when we take our morning walks. I like that. It is not that I have trouble seeing in the dark, but it is easier when it is brighter, and it is a sure sign spring is here and the warm summer is coming.

It will be darker again, when humans go through this unnecessary thing of turning their clocks for daylight savings time. I guess you save daylight in the morning to use it in the evening. I cannot see the point. Humans are strange, sometimes.

Are Poisonous Snakes More Important Than Dogs?

According to a judgment by the Court of Appeals of Western Sweden (Hovrätten för Västra Sverige) on the 11 March 2014 (case number B 4635-13), a veterinarian has been sentenced to fines. His crime was that he had captured three adders, with the purpose of making new antidote to use on dogs bitten by adders.

The veterinarian held the adders in captivity for a month before letting them go again, also releasing the small adders that had been born in captivity. His purpose, thus, was that of a scientist and a veterinarian, wanting to save dogs. Capturing adders, however, are not allowed under Swedish law. It is a crime against the laws protecting certain species of animals.

In my mind, the lives, health and safety of dogs must be considered much more important than a temporary limit of the freedom of a couple of adders. The adders where not held in captivity for a long time and were returned to their natural habitat. No harm was done to them.

Dogs are part of human civilisation and veterinaran care of them is a vital interest of society. From a strictly legal point of view, I guess the sentence against the veterinarian was correct. However, I believe the law must be changed. Veterinarians must be able to work for the benefit of domestic animals in the way that this veterinarian tried to do.

Recession? I Hope Not

Exports have leveled off lately, says the Bank of Japan. It is not the Swedish exports I am talking about now, but the exports of Japan. I have never been to Japan, but as a dog of a Japanese breed, I feel that Japan is, sort of, my second home country anyway. This makes me concerned, when I read about the Japanese economy and that it is not doing very well. At least, I hope there will not be a recession. Japan has the third largest economy of the world, and it would make the whole world better, if the economy of Japan would become better. I hope it will be.

Meat

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Daniel came in to me and Soya with some minced meat today. It turned out not everything was for me, some of it was meant for Soya. I envy her, for trying meat for the very first time. She did like it, but did not eat very much. I got the major part of the meat. It was good. Life is good, when you have a pup.

Keyboard

When writing on an Ipad, the keyboard is in the screen. This is a little difficult to use for me, with my paws. Ordinary keyboards are easier, there I can use my claws, if I feel the need. The screen keyboard does not react to the touch of a claw, though. Well, I am lucky I am a rather small dog, with small paws. It can be done.

Unable To Plan Ahead

We all always get to go out late at night. Then again, sometimes, some of us will still want to go out at a later hour to do their stuff. I never need to, I can plan ahead. Tonight, again, one of the other dogs disturbed all of the rest of us, asking to go out. It is rather inconsiderate, not to foresee the needs of the night and doing something about it before it becomes urgent. Well, it is still very rare that we are disturbed in this way, which is good.

Qualification Round Without Dogs

The Swedish qualification to the Eurovision Song Contest is finished as of tonight. Sandra Nielsen won with a slow song that I cannot remember. I guess most Swedes wanted it to win, but the international jury groups was more into Ace Wilder, who ended second. I did not vote. I will never vote, unless there is a good song about a dog or dogs. I wonder why noone ever writes such a song. There are so many songs about love, but not about the love of a dog. Well, miracles may happen another year.

Nice Friday Night

I got to go with Paula and Daniel to Paula's parents tonight. I always enjoy such visits. It is different from my everyday life, yet common enough to be familiar. I love Paula's parents. Another thing that I love, is good meat, and I got some of the same kind of meat that the humans had for dinner. This was great. All in all, a great evening. If the rest of the weekend is this nice, there will not be a thing to complain about.

Technical Problems

There was something wromg with the Internet connection, I could not load the page to write in my blog. Now I can, but it is late and I feel tired. Karstuhl's pup is doing fine, Karstuhl has told me. This is the main focus right now, so when the pup is all right, everything feels fine. You do not care much about Internet connections not working properly, when the pup os doing all right.

Cutting Claws

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula and Daniel cut the claws of my daughter Soya tonight. At first, I was not worried at all. I trust my humans. Then Soya started to scream, and she did not stop. I figured they had cut one claw to short, so it hurt and bled, and became worried. However, everything was all right, once Soya came back down to me. Soya was not hurt at all. I was actually a bit embarrased on her behalf, pups her age normally do not scream this much just for having their claws cut. Well, I am a mother, and it is my duty to look after my pup. I love her, regardless of her unnecessary screams.

Crimea

There is almost a war starting in southeastern Europe, on the Crimean peninsula in the Black Sea. Whenever there is a war among humans, dogs tend to fare bad. For all the dogs in Crimea, I hope for a peaceful solution to this crisis.

Grandpup

Humans say they have a grandchild, if they have a child who gets a child of its own. Dogs get pups, not children. Thus, the pup that my daughter Karstuhl has got now, must be my grandpup. So far, I have not met her. It is the habit of dogs that the mother is alone with her pups for the first weeks, and the pup is just two weeks today. I am looking forward to seeing my grandpup. Eventually, I will.

Any Ideas for a Blog Post?

I know I have some readers, when I write this blog. My blog service provider have statistics showing this. Once in a while, I am not so sure what to write about in this blog. I would therefore like to invite my readers to suggest topics for blog posts. You may do this by commenting on this post. It moght be that I do not do anything about every idea right away, but I will be grateful for all ideas I can get. What do you say, do you have any ideas?

Early Spring

It is the first day in March, but it feels more like April. We have an early spring this year. There have been many days with temperatures above the freezing point lately, and just a little snow is left in small piles here and there. It is damp and muddy outdoors. I think I would prefer a little more true winter. The weather is not ours to decide upon, however. Perhaps this is a good thing, it gives us something to talk about and complain about, while we know noone is to be blamed. Thus, nobody can take offence, when we whine. This may feel relieving once in a while.