Sunny Weather

It has been a day of sunny weather today, which is rare this summer. We have had a few good days, but not many. There have been more rainy days. We do not like to go out in the rain, even though we have to. It is nice to have dry grass in the yard, for a change.

Sunny weather makes me think of Mum. She was called Sunni, and her love was as warm as that of the sun on a hot summer day. It has been a year now, since she passed away. Not a single day go by, that we do not miss her. Perhaps I miss her the most. I still try to make her proud of me. She was, I know, but she could be more proud than that. I believe she would be.

Manuscripts

We happened to switch on a documentary on TV about Medieval English manuscripts. These were the hand written books that were the only books there was, before Johann Gutenberg developed the printer. Many of them were beautiful, but it took years to finish them and was thus only something for the very rich. The printer was a good invention.

One of the pictures shown from a manuscript intrigued me. It showed the nobleman Lord Talbot, with his family symbol: the dog. I like that! What can be better to show your nobility, than a fine dog?

Going to Stockholm

Paula has a holiday this week. She went with her mother and sister to Stockholm today. When she came home in the evening, she told us she had had great fun. I would not have liked to go along on that trip, however, they did not go to a dog show. If you do not go to a dog show, I believe you are better off staying home. I am glad Paula was happy when coming home, though.

Preserving Armstrong's Moon Suit

The space suit that Neil Armstrong wore, when he was the first man to walk the Moon, is deteriorating. The owners NASA will now try a crowd funding to get money to put the suit in a preserving environment, while still being on display for people to see.

(No dog has yet walked the Moon. The Fox terrier Milou from the adventures of Tintin did, but this was in a comic book.)

I hope the suit will be preserved. It is a valuable historical item.

Kissing

As a dog, I find some human behaviour a bit odd. The way they kiss, for example. New research reveals why humans kiss. It is actually a way of sniffing out a good partner.

Female humans are more attracted to males who are not closely related to them. This makes sense, it is a good breeding strategy. Humans have much lesser sense of smell than dogs have, but they have some. By coming really close, they can sense the smell, and are close enough to kiss.

Interestingly enough, couples of all human societies do not kiss each other on the mouth. This seem to be a cultural thing, rather than a genetic trait. Not even half of humans do this.

Ot os always interesting to learn new things about humans.

Window Frame

Some of the window frames on our house are tattered. They have been exposed to the weather for a long time and need some new paint. In his summer holiday, Daniel have used a couple of hours to wash and paint the window frame of the bathroom window. This was the frame that looked the worst. It looks much better now. There is a constant job in taking care of a house and a garden, but when you do, you see good results. We are glad the window is fine again.

Best Veteran

Today in Köping, I became Best Veteran among the Shibas again. I was also second best bitch. There were no males competing for Best of Breed, so if I would have won best bitch, I would also have been Best of Breed. The Champion bitch who won was worth the victory, but I would have wanted to win. Well, I am sure I will get more chances.

Another Show!

This summer is fantastic! I am going to yet another dog show tomorrow. This time, the show is in Köping, which is rather close to us. This is good, it means we can go there just for the day, will not have to rise up so early in the morning, and can get home fast when it is over.

On another note, Kenny is feeling fine. He was on antibiotics for an infection in the early summer, and was back for another check up with the veterinarian today. The vet said that since he was happy and did not seem to have any pain, and there was nothing else that suggested the infection was still in his body, he was certainly healthy. He will not need any more medicine. This is good. I am happy for Kenny for being free from his infection.

Village on the Moon

The European Space Agency, where Sweden is a member, are figuring on building a village on the Moon. This is great. I just wonder when dogs will go there. When will the first Lunar dog show be arranged?

Upcoming Show

Hello, Orange here!

I will go to a dog show. This will be my first dog show. Many of the other dogs here at home have gone to dog shows before. Indeed, Hailey, the owner of this blog, gladly go to dog shows as often as she can. Still, I am not sure what to expect. I am told it is fun, that there are many dogs and humans there, and you get candy. I guess it is something to look forward to. I just have to wait and see. There are a couple of weeks left. It will be in Askersund, which is not far away from here, as I have been told. If Hailey says it is fun, I am sure it is. She is usually right.

Blowing the Coat

My body does not coöperate with my mind. It has started to blow my coat at the peak of the dog show season. How can this happen to me? Where is the justice in this? There are so many Shibas who are not fond of going to dog shows, many of whom live with me. They may blow their coats in the middle of the season. I, however, love to go to dog shows, and still my body starts to blow my coat. Sometimes, life is unfair.

Today was the last day for entries to the Askersund dog show. This is the annual official dog ahow arranged by our regional kennel club, so it is home turf for us. Since I have started to blow my coat, I could not be entered. Daniel entered Orange instead. She is up for a treat. I envy her, but I will also give her advice, as she will be the one flying the flag of Aangenaam Shibas.

Good luck in Askersund, Orange!

Breeders Group

This Sunday was the very first that an all black and tan breeders group of Shibas was shown at a dog show in Sweden. It was at the Shiba specialty show of 2015. I was the oldest one, the others were offspring of me in one way or the other. We won an honourary price and was second among four groups. It is a great thing for kennel Aangenaam, as well as all of the other breeders and dogs who are behind the four of us dogs who was there in the show ring. We wish to thank all of those who made this possible!

Waiting for the Show

We arrived early at the dog show ground in Tvååker. I borrowed a little kennel to take a nap before the show starts. Daniel took a picture of it.

Early Into Bed for an Early Morning

We will get up really early tomorrow morning to go to a dog show. Thus, we have prepared everything and gone to bed early. I normally do not like very early mornings, but when the purpose is going to a dog show, it is for a good cause, so I like it.

Of course I can sleep in the car, while we are travelling to the show. Paula or Daniel needs to drive. There are good things coming with the fact that I do not have a driving licence.

Now it is time to sleep.

Cars Are Expensive

We have two cars, a small BMW that we usually use and a large Chrysler where more of us can travel att the same time and which we usually use to go to dog shows. We need the large car for the dog shows. Most car rental agencies would not accept that dogs travel in their vans. Going to dog shows is an essential part of our breeding. Still, it is expensive having a large car. It uses a lot of petrol, it has a high vehicle tax rate, and the service is not cheap. We had it in the garage for service today and how the money just seemed to get washed down the drain. At least, the loan that we took to be able to buy this car is paid off, so we will not have this expense every month any more. We hope it will work nicely for a long time after the service it got today. It is a nice, comfortable car, so we would like to keep it for a long time. Could we get a better, newer car without spending even more money? I would not think so. We will keep the Chrysler for a while.

Typo

When I am finished with a blog entry, I usually proof read it before publishing it. There are the odd misspelled word or something like that, that I correct.

Once in a while, however, I discover faults a couple of days later. I can correct them as soon as I see them, of course, but it is not the same thing. I always have this feeling that people have read the text, observed the fault, and become annoyed with it. This was the case today. I discovered that I had made an error in the headline of a blogpost the other day. These faults are all the more annoying, as the permanent link to the blog post in question has the original headline in the address. The link will not be changed, even though I change the headline.

The others here at home sometimea believe I take faults like this too serious. After all, this blog is just a hobby of mine, they say. They have also said my readers must be impressed enough with a Swedish dog writing in English. This may be so, but I take this hobby seriously, anyway.

I have corrected the typo in the headline. If you know what headline it was, you may leave a comment about it. Comments about other things are welcome too, as always.

Fire Place

We have plans on rebuilding the fire place in our living room. It is old and worn, and needs to be upgraded. The chimney needs some work as well.

We do not use the fire place in the summertime, so this is the right time for the renovation. It will be nice to have a new fire place when winter comes. When it is done, we can even look forward to winter. It will be warm.

Late Morning

this was the first day of the summer, when both Daniel and Paula had holiday. We slept until very late in the morning. There was no alarm clock waking us up. It was so sweet.

For the first time in many days, we had rain. It rained all morning. It feels better than usual to be able to sleep late, when the rain is falling outside. You know you do not have to go outside, when you hear the rain on the roof or the window, and you feel lucky you are in a comfortable, dry house. I love it.

The late morning had one unintended consequence. It took us more time than usual to get to the morning news. The USA won the World Cup final against Japan. Well, I rooted for Japan, so perhaps it was just as well I did not know of the result very soon.

Late Final

The final.of the World.Cup starts at 01:00 in the middle of the night, Swedish time. I would like to write a blog entry about Japan winning gold, but it will have to wait.

Deep Economic Plunge in China

The Chinese stock market in Shanghai has fallen steeply over the last weeks. The shares have been over priced and many people have lost money now.

I do not want to gloat, but I still feel it might be beneficial in some ways that the Chinese economy takes a blow. China has an agressive foreign policy in the seas where it borders Japan and other countries. If there are economic troubles at home, perhaps the Chinese government turns its attention to domestic problems. This would make the tension of the South China Sea to ease. It would be beneficial to everyone, the Chinese as well as the inhabitants of the neighbouring countries.

I hope this will be the result, but I cannot be sure. Auntie Linni points out that domestic problems sometimes cause governments to give more attention to foreign aggressions, to make the people divert its attention from the domestic problems. She is right, of course, but I hope this will not be the case here. The South China Sea does not need more international tension. We will have to see what happens.

Crossword Puzzles

Our local newspaper usually comes with big crossword puzzles for the summer and other big holidays. We got two big crossword puzzles on different days in the early summer. Daniel and I have finished both of them today. They take some time, it is fun passtime when you do not have any other things to do. Still, I wonder what we will do now. Will the smaller, weekly crossword puzzles do? We will have to see - unless we come up with some other relaxing passtime.

Japan Reached the Final

In the women's FIFA football world cup, Japan played England in the semi final yesterday night (early this morning Swedish time, since the cup is played in Canada). Japan won and will have a chance at the goal later this week.

The victory was not really one to be very proud of, since it was the result of an English own goal in the last minutes of the game. We can celebrate the victory, but it would have been sweeter, had the winning goal been that of Japanese players.

Most of us will hope Japan wins the gold. Calvin says, however, he hopes for the other team in the final, that of the USA. I can understand this, since he was born in the USA. My Mum would have said the same, had she still been with us. For the rest of us, we think of the Japanese origin of our breed, thus, we root for Japan.

Holiday

Daniel has summer holidays, and we sleep in and get to bed late with him. There is but one downside with this: I went to bed so late last night, the clock had passed midnight and there was no Daily Hailey blog entry. I have to get a grip and keep better track of the time.

In every other aspect, these days are nice and restful. We can sense that Daniel is winding down, he is less stressed and this makes him happier. When he is happier, so are we. You are always affected by the mood of the dogs and humans around you. Now we just want Paula to finish her last days of work so we all can have some free time together.

Gold!

Sweden won the UEFA U 21 European Championship tonight! Yeah! There are hardly any words to describe how big this is. I guess you can compare it to being best Junior at Crufts.

The Day After

The day after a dog show is always a day of rest. The past weekend, we had shows two days in a row. It is great fun, but also makes you tired. We have been able to take it easy today, though, which I appreciate. Nevertheless, I lokk forward to the next show. It is summer and show season, I love it!

Spectator

For once, I came to a dog show, but was not entered. I had to watch it from the sideline. It was interesting in its own way. Soya and Calvin competed and did quite well. I do think I would have done better, though I cannot say how far I would have gone. It seemed the judge was not that fond of black and tan Shibas.

I will be shown tomorrow. Paula and Daniel could not explain why they had not entered me to the show today. Paula said something about the judge being Canadian and North American judges not being that fond of black and tans. Soya was entered, however, which contradicts this explanation. I have to make do with the show tomorrow.

Ninjas

We watched this interesting British documentary on TV tonight about ninjas and Japanese history. The ninjas were often used as skilled special forces and spies.  It was so interesting, in fact, that I even took a long break in my preparations for the dog shows this weekend. Preparing for dog shows are, most of the time, among the best things there are to do at home. You can look forward to all the fun events and excitement of the show. I do not think many ninjas ever went to dog shows, Shibas used to be the dogs of the more noble warriors who were called samurajs.

Barbecue

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Rumour has it, Paula and Daniel was at Paula's parents' house tonight, together with Mia, Arvid, and Soya. They are supposed to have had a barbecue.

I am not sure I believe in this rumour. None of us dogs here at home were there to see and smell it. Could Paula and Daniel have attended a barbecue without bringing any of us? Maybe they did. After all, my daughter Soya is supposed to have been there. If this was so, there was some Shiba quota filled, at least. I hope Soya got some good, grilled food, if the rumour is true. If I could not get any, it is just as well she gets it.

Quicker Horses

A new British study shows that race horses have become quicker over short distances since the 1970's. It is unclear, however, whether this is due to better breeding or better training.

I believe the answer is both better breeding and better training. The article states that training has developed over the last decades. I know that dog breeding has improved, so it would make sense horse breeding has as well. When there are two possible answers to a complicated question, the answer is often a combination of the two.

It would be interesting to get to know more about this in the future. Insights into horse breeding may give ideas to improve dog breeding. Dog breeding is, of course, the most important breeding there is, but I do think that dog breeders can learn from other breeders, nevertheless.

Sykes

A new season of the splendid British crime series Midsummer Murders started tonight on Swedish television. We like John Barnaby more than his cousin Tom Barnaby, who used to be the man in charge of solving murder mysteries before. This is mainly because of the characters surrounding John Barnaby. His wife is a more loveable person than the dry woman who was Tom Barnaby's wife. Most of all, however, we like that John Barnaby has a dog, Sykes. You have to like a human who takes good care of his dog, like John Barnaby does. Tom Barnaby never had a dog. Hurrah for John Barnaby and Sykes!

Marit Björgen Walks Over

The famous Norwegian cross country skier Marit Bjørgen (ø is the Norwegian and Danish version of the letter ö of Swedish and German, it is pronounced in the same way) is pregnant and will therefore skip the next season of competitions. This is good for the Swedish skiers, who will face less competition.

I can understand Marit Bjørgen's decision to walk over the next season. No matter how eagerly you want to compete, your offspring is always more important. I have skipped dog show seasons myself, for having pups. All of my every day readers know that competing at dog shows is almost the best thing I know. This is, of course, next to taking care of my pups. The pups are always the number one priority. This is why I understand why Marit Bjørgen walks over. Her child is her number one priority now, while competing is priority number two.

Summer Solstice

Hello, Orange here!

This evening, we have the summer solstice of 2015. This is, thus, true midsummer, if you go by the science of astronomy. As I wrote yesterday, I think you should.

We did have some midsummer celebration today as well. It is Sunday and we had the opportunity to have a nice, relaxed day. There is never a bad reason to celebrate. Celebrating an extra midsummer on the true day of the summer solstice is a really good reason to celebrate. I liked it.

Midsummer

Hello, Orange here!

We celebrate midsummer every year in Sweden. The strange thing is, we always celebrate it on a Friday and Saturday close to the summer solstice, and not on the real day before and after the shortest night of the year. This year, it was many days before the real summer solstice.

It is nice to have a free day which is always on the same weekday, like at Easter. Still, I believe that if any celebration should be moving around the weekdays, midsummer is the day. It is, after all, the astronomical solstice that is celebrated. This should be celebrated on the Eve and Day of the summer solstice.

If you agree, there may be cause for a political campaign?

Another Tick

Hello, Karstuhl here again!

This is unbelievable. Tonight, I had another tick in my face. What are the odds that this would happen? Paula removed this tick as well. I really, really hate those little horrible creatures. They hurt, it is uncomfortable to take them away, and you can still feel a little remaining pain after they are gone.

Ticks may also destroy part of the coat, which is not good if you are going to a dog show. Under these circumstances, it might be good that Paula and Daniel promote my mother and my daughter Soya on dog shows instead. At least, ticks will never have any shows in their honour.

Ticks

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Ticks are common this time of the year. I had a tick who sat down just beside my eye today. Fortunately, Paula picked it off for me. Daniel made sure to kill it, before throwing it in the garbage.

We do not want any ticks to survive. No matter how hard we try, we cannot think of any good thing about ticks. I wish there were better ways of controlling and decimating the population of ticks. Except for certain bacteria causing illnesses, ticks belong to the species I mostly would want to see extinct. Still, I think this is something we will never see. One can wish, anyway.

Fallen Tree

A week and a half ago, there were hard winds. A birch at the outskirts of our property fell down over our lawn. Fortunately, it just fell on the lawn, there were no actual damage done, except that the tree had to be taken care of. Daniel and Nils Olov did this tonight. Nils Olov has a chain saw, with which he cut the birch into logs. The lawn looks good once again.

The good thing is that we now has more wood for the fireplace, for those cold days in the winter. The bad thing is the loss of a tree. What will come instead? Sometimes, new trees plant themselves. I hope a fine tree will plant itself and grow up in the place where the birch used to stand tall. I will miss the tree.

A Newborn Prince

Princess Madeleine of Sweden has given birth to her second child. As is mostly the case with humans, there was just one child in the litter.

I am a mother of many pups. I know what a joy it is to get pups and to take care of them. I am thus in a good position to know the motherly feelings that Princess Madeleine has right now. Congratulations to her!

I would also like to congratulate Sweden. Even though Sweden is not an empire, like Japan, it is a kingdom, which is almost as good. A newborn prince is yet another person who may succeed to the throne. The more successors you have, the less likely it is that the royal lines vanish and that the kingdom is - oh, the horror - turned into a republic.

Long live the newborn prince!

Fox Hunts?

In Britain, some people used to hunt foxes on horseback and with the help of dogs. This was a cruel form of hunting and it was outlawed in 2004. In North Yorkshire, many fox cubs have been found in a barn. Suspicions are they were kept there in order to be hunted in the old, outlawed way. The cubs are now taken care of in a sanctuary and will eventually be released into the wild. I hope everything goes well with them. It will be interesting to get to know more, if more information will be discovered.

Hunting is a good thing, as long as it does not involve animal cruelty. Foxes hunt. Dogs hunt. Humans hunt. It is just that we do not have to do it in a cruel way. If deer or mooses are just shot cleanly, everything is nice.

BIS 4 Veteran

Hah!

At the National dog show in Avesta today, I became Best in Show 4 Veteran under judge Anette Bystrup from Denmark.

It is nice to compete as a veteran. I know just what to do in the show ring, still there is a little less competition. I have the chance to win Best of Breed, but if I do not, I have the chance to win Best of Breed Veteran. This is a second chance to get into the finals. The humans who like the veteran class are also real fans of dogs who are a little older.

This is one of my best results ever in a dog show. I believe it is just that one time when I became Best in Show puppy at an international dog show that I got a better result. I am still very proud of that result. Perhaps I can win BIS veteran some day. Since veterans compete in the official classes in the breed, while puppy class is always unofficial, this would be better than BIS puppy.

Mum also got many of her best show results as a veteran. I am continuing this great tradition. I hope Mum sees this from her place in Heaven.

I am so happy for the result. I was BIS-4 veteran!

Visby in the Late Summer

Late in August, we will go to Visby for a dog show. I like this old city, but above all, I like the fact that there are always two dog shows in a row, Saturday and Sunday. It gives me two chances to go into the showring, two chances to show the world, yet again, that I am a splendid dog of my breed. I think more show venues should be like this, it makes for twice the fun on a single weekend.

Earlier in the summer, Visby will host "Almedalsveckan", the biggest annual event for politicians and political lobbyists in Sweden. I believe many politicians would be better of going to the dog show later in the summer. It could give them insights into the world of dog breeding, where humans and dogs work together for a better future for our joint civilisation with a minimum of government intervention. Some politicians would need to learn about this.

Police Dogs Help Track Fugitives

Six days ago, two convicted criminals escaped from prison in upstate New York. Today, police dogs have identified what appears to be a hideout they used early after the escape. This may help the police to catch the villains. Once again, we have evidence on how much dogs can contribute in society.

The place where the hideout was, is called Dannemora. I believe this name is originally Swedish.

Hotaru Ika

Nature can be fascinating, even though I often prefer the indoors. One perk of being indoors are the lights. In Japan, however, you can see squid that are luminescent on their own. I would like to see these squid in the sea.

Contracts

The Swedish Kennel Club has revised their standard forms for the purchase of a dog. If you are a responsible Swedish breeder, hence a member of the Swedish Kennel Club, the club statutes say you must use these standard forms when selling dogs. This makes these standard forms the most important legal forms of Swedish law. I hope you all are aware of them and make sure you use them. Good luck with the next purchase of a dog!

Affenpinscher

Many years ago, at the World Dog Show in Paris, Mum was taken for an Affenpinscher by the organizing kennel club. It took Paula a lot of work to have Mum's entry changed into a Shiba.

Now I have gotten to know an Affenpinscher in real life. She is a little black pup called Morran. An Affenpinscher is supposed to be all black, they have neither ura jiro, nor tan markings. I believe she looks quite cute anyway, even though the black and tan Shiba coat will always be my own favourite. It will be interesting to learn more about this little dog.

At a Restaurant

Last night, after the dog show, Paula, Daniel, and I went out to a restaurant in central Örebro and had some dinner. Good restaurants accept dogs as customers, at least at their tables outdoors. We were at a sushi restaurant that enjoyed having me there as a customer as well. I believe I added to the Japanese atmosphere, Shiba as I am. Paula also let me taste some sushi. I am still happy about this evening.

BOB Veteran

I won Best of Breed Veteran at the dog show today. Unfortunately, I was just second best vitch, beaten by a younger champion. The veteran prize is good, nevertheless. It gave me an appearance in the finals, even though it was a short one. Being there is fun, even if it is only for a while.

Show

Show tomorrow! Yeah!

Ancient Stone Constructions

Some old constructed stone structures in present day South Africa have been dated based upon the erosion of the stones. The estimate says they were built sometime between 200,000 and 160,000 years ago. This is much older than any other known ancient civilisation, much more than 100,000 years older.

I doubt that the estimated age is correct. It is not just that it is so much older than any other known civilisation, or that there are no sources mentioned from scientific papers. It is also that humans did not have dogs until about 40,000 years ago. No known human civilisation have been without dogs. Dogs are an essential part of human civilisation. I think humans can do much, but not have a whole civilisation without dogs. We are this important for humans, aren't we?

Losing a Mobile

I do not have any mobile phone. As a dog, I do not need one. I use Paula's and Daniel's computers and mobile devices, when I write my blog. Since I do not have any mobile myself, I can never lose it. Paula lost her mobile phone tonight and was quite upset, until she found it a little later. I never have to care. There are perks of being a dog, and living your life without mobile devices. It makes life easier.

Cold Summer

We have entered June, a summer month. Still, it is cold, humid, and rainy. It has been the coldest spring for many years. Will it ever be a warm summer this year? We do not like to go outdoors rainy days. Hopefully, the weather will become better.

Polytech

Hello, Polly here!

In English, a higher education of a kind more simple than at a university can be had at a polytech. I think it is good they do not call it pollytech, it would be a little offensive to those of us who are named Polly, don't you think?

Paula and Daniel both have degrees from universities.

Mother's Day

Last year, my mother was still here at the Swedish Mother's Day, the last Sunday in May. This year, I can just celebrate her memory. My daughter Karstuhl, and my other pups who do not live with me, have celebrated me, however. I appreciate this. I wish all mothers out there a happy Mother's Day!

Second

At the dog show today, I was second best female. This was a little annoying, but you have to accept the judgment. My granddaughter Soya was third best female, and as she was the first who was not a champion already, she won the CAC and the CACIB. The best result, however, was that Gunde became Best of Breed. He was also picked out in the group, but did not get any of the first four places. It is great for a Shiba to be on the shortlist for group placement. All in all, it was a good day at the show. I cannot wait to go to the next show.

Upcoming Dog Show

I am so happy. We will go to a dog show tomorrow, and I am one of them who will go and who will be shown in the show ring. It is the best thing there is to do. I just love the attention, the competition, and the excitement. Of course, I hope I will win, but if I do not, it is fun anyway. My grand daughter Soya will compete as well, and may win. If I do not win, I hope Soya will.

Hard Day

Paula came home this afternoon more sad and tired than she usually is. She had had a very busy day at work. I know the feeling and can have sympathy for her. Some days are busy for us dogs, when we are alone at home and watch the property. If there are many odd sounds outside, we have work to do. We will take care of Paula, this is something we are good at, too.

Ironing

Have I ever written something in this blog about the human habit of ironing clothes? Clothes may seem like a good ides, because you can put them on and take them of when you feel the need. You have to wash them, however, and you have to iron many clothes so they will look nice enough to wear. Daniel ironed some shirts this evening. This is when I am extra happy about my Shiba coat, which is really low maintenance, and still always good looking. Why cannot Daniel's shirts be like that?

The Science of Smoked Meat

Science can teach us a lot about the world around us. Some scientific research seems to be more important than others, though. At Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA, a research team has worked on improving the smoking of meat for barbecues. This improves the taste. I can think of few things that may improve our everyday life in a more tangible way than this. It must be good science.

Pie

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula made pie for dinner tonight. It was a nice, creamy cheese pie. I got to taste some of the dough, it was fantastic. I wish we could have pie more often.

Nothing About Dogs

Twentyseven songs in the Eurovision Song Contest. None of them says anything about a dog or some dogs. I will not vote.

Rain

It is no fun going out late at night, when the rain is pouring down. I wish there was some way of controlling the rain. Nature needs rain, and we need it to fill our well with water to drink and wash in. Still, could there not be a temporary switch just for short times out in the garden?

Genetic Split Between Wolf and Dog

A new scientific study suggests that wolves and dogs split into two separate genetic groups as early as 30,000 years ago. This is thousands of years earlier than preciously thought.

Archaeological evidence suggest that dogs and humans have acompanied each other for about 40,000 years. I have written about this before here on my blog. It is interesting to see that this early bond also gave way to an early dog genetic group.

The scientists behind the new genetic study says this finding may explain the stromg bond between dogs and humans. I believe this is an important clue to solving why this bond exists.

I like this comment on the study by biologist Peter Smith: "(The study) is showing that the deep, deep connection has existed between man and wolves - now our dogs - for many tens of thousands of years and that is why we love dogs so much. They are part of our own evolution into a modern society."

Sunshine in the Rain

It has been strange weather today. The Sun has been shining at times, but then there has also been heavy rainfalls. There have also been times when the Sun has been shining, at the same time as the rain has fallen. I guess you call this April weather, because diverse weather conditions like this is typical for the month of April. We are more than half way into May, though. It does not feel like we will have a warm summer, but you never know. I hope for the best.

WiFi

Hello, Orange here!

We are lucky to have WiFi at home. It helps us connect to the Internet. I asked around to see what WiFi means, but as far as I can tell, it does not really mean anything. It is just a name. I see no point in having a name which does not also mean something. Orange is the name of a region, a colour, and a fruit, as well as my name. This is cool. i like it when words can mean more than one thing. If WiFi actually does not mean anything, except WiFi, then I beliece it is a cool thing, but not a cool name. On the other hand, it is fitting that dogs have the coolest names there are.

Walking

Paula has started to walk to work and back home again. It is quite a distance, longer than some of our dog walks. We are proud of Paula, she really takes care of herself with this new habit. If she needs company on long walks when she does not have work days, I and the other dogs will gladly provide it. Walks are a nice way to spend your time.

Bronze and Gold

Mom's home country, the USA, won the bronze game on the final day of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. I like this, because I hoped the USA would win over the Czech Republic.

In the gold game, Canada outplayed Russia. sweden played Russia in the quarter final and could have won, but would certainly have lost to this great Canadian team. We congratulate the Canadians. We hoped they would win, because we like Canada better than Russia. This was a great game to finish the championships.

Warm Blooded Fish

A species of fish that is warm blooded, has been found for the first time. This fish, the opah, who lives in oceans around the world, manages to keep its body a few degrees warmer than the surrounding water. This is similar to birds and mammals, preciously thought to be the only warm blooded living beings. The warmth of the opah's body makes it possible for it to swim faster, thus being a good hunter. I guess you can compare this to the warm blooded hunters like dogs and wolves. We are better at hunting, because we are warm blooded. Warmth is a good thing.

Winning

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Paula was out with some colleagues this evening. They participated in a lottery, and Paula won a night at the hotel. She decided to claim the victory right away, so she will not be home tonight. I think I would have done the same. I would love to have a night for myself at a hotel, then eating hotel breakfast in the morning. Unfortunately, I do not think they would let a dog participate in a lottery of this kind. I have to be happy for Paula instead, dreaming what it would be like to be there now.

Quarter Finals

sweden lost its quarter final game in the ice hockey world championships to Russia. Sweden did not play well at the start of the game, but came back and got a tie, 3-3, at the end of the third period. The Russians then got lucky, by sheer luck, they got a 4-3 goal, then scoring 5-3 in an empty goal. Russia is a great power in ice hockey, it is not ahameful losing a game to them. Still, we are sad, having looked forward to a semi final where Sweden would have faced the USA. Now, we will all hope for the USA versus Russia.

Long Weekend

We have a long weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow is a Thursday, but due to the number of days from Easter, we celebrate the day Christ ascended into Heaven. Daniel will be home, but Paula will work. Nurses have to work on holidays sometimes.

I understand this holiday is a celebration of something proving that Christ is in Heaven. It is a little strange to celebrate that He left his followers, but I guess leaving them for Heaven, promising his followers to come there in the future, is something to celebrate. There are things I do not understand about the faith, but if everything was understood, it would not be faith, but knowledge, wouldn't it? Nevertheless, I do understand the concept of having a day off, which is a good thing.

Strange Purchases

Hello, Orange here!

Paula came back home tonight, after two days of shopping. She had not purchased anything in particular for us dogs. This is strange. Why would you travel for a long distance and spend many hours shopping, and still not buy any dog treats, for example. Paula said the dog section of the great store she went to was not good, it did not have much. If this is so,I can fully understand Paula, but how can a big store not have a good dog section? It is not a great store then, is it?

Shopping

Paula has gone away for Monday and Tuesday, travelling with some friends to a little place in the south of Sweden where they spend the day shopping. I cannot see the reason why you would want to go so far just to go shopping. It is not like there is a dog show there, or even a dog supply store. Why go away from home, if it is not to go to a dog show?

Work

Paula was at work today. As a nurse, she regularly works Sundays. Daniel was at home, but sat at his computer working for many hours. I am not a stranger to working weekends myself, most dog shows are at weekends. By the way, as a pet dog, you are on duty as pet every day of the week, every hour of the day. I do not mind, I like being productive this way.

Conference

Paula was at a conference of a most important kind today, a dog breeding conference. She got up very early and drove off, while the rest of us could sleep late. I would have wanted to come, the subject is very interesting and I do have some experience. I wish I could share this experience in a good way. Since I did not participate, I do not really know what items were siscussed and what was being said. If I knew, I could have commented on it here in my blog. Well, humans have an important role in dog breeding, so it is important they can discuss it as well.

No Games

There are no games.in the ice hockey world championships today. What is there to watch then?

Unnecessarily Exciting

Sweden played Germany in the ice hockey world championships today. Normally, Sweden would win easily. It is not that Germany has a bad team, they are always in the top championship group. Sweden is much better, however, being one of the four great powers of ice hockey. Still, Germany had a 2-2 tie at the start of the third period. While Sweden managed to get 4-2, Germany reduced and the game finished a mere 4-3 in Sweden's favour. This is proof that the sport is getting more attention outside of the great powers if ice hockey, but it is still shameful for Sweden not to defeat Germany more thoroughly.

Still, the USA should be more ashamed, losing their game to Belarus today.

Microwaves

Scientists at an Australian radio telescope has searched in vain for seventeen years to find the source of strange signals. They found out this year what the source was. It was nothing more strange than microwaves from the microwave oven in the kitchen of the observatory. When the door of the oven was opened before the programme was over, microwaves left the oven and was detected by the radio telescope.

They must feel a little silly, realizing this was the source of the signals. The staff caused the signals themselves, without realizing it.

They would not even have had the help of a dog sniffing out the solution, because microwaves cannot even be detected by the sharp noses of dogs. I wish we could, but there are limits even to our sniffing abilities.

Oh well, I guess science has made some progress by this discovery as well.

Sausage

Hello, Orange here!

Today, we got some sausage in our food. This was good. I love sausage. Every sausage is seasoned in its own way. This was salami sausage, which is very tasty. I do not think, however, that the seasonong of sausage has got anything in particular to do with the herb sage, which can be used for seasoning. The similarities in the words are certainly just a coincidence. I wish I could get some more sausage to eat. Eating sausage is better than thinking about sausage. Sausage is made for being eaten, not for being thought about. Hopefulky, we can get more sausage tomorrow.

Left Overs

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We got left overs from different dishes in our food bowls today. It was tasty and it gives a certain edge to the food that it is different than the usual food we get. I am not sure I like the word "left overs", though. It feels like it is quite right to get food this way, but what is right is the opposite of what is left. Perhaps we should call it right overs instead?

Birthday!

Paula's sister Mia celebrated her birthday today, so Paula and Daniel went there to celebrate. My granddaughter Soya, daughter of Polly, lives with Mia, so she represented the four legged part of our family.

Happy birthday, Mia!

A Cat

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Kenny was out in the yard today and started to bark. Daniel and I went out to see what was going on. It turned out to be a black cat sitting by the car, outside of the dog fences. When Daniel went out to look closer, it dashed off. As far as I could see, it was quite a cute cat, so far as cats can be cute. It was a pity it did not want to say hi. I guess ot figured it was better safe than sorry, not knowing it would never have been sorry for saying hi to us. Cats can be quite interesting aquaintances.

Ice Hockey!

A sure sign that spring is here: the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship has started. Sweden met the Czech team, who play on home turf this tournament. These are two of the four major ice hockey national teams, and the game was realy good. Ultimately, it ended with a 5-5 tie, and Sweden won on penalties. Having tied the Czechs on their home turf is a good result. We are looking forward to the rest of the tournament.

Spring

On the first day of May, spring starts. We celebrate it in Sweden the evening before. It is fun.

Deep repentance and deep friendship

Japan's Prime Minister Abe is on an official visit in the USA. He talked before a joint session of the Houses of Congress, offering his "deep repentance" for Japan's role in the Second World War and the death of American soldiers. This is a sign of the deep friendship that exist between Japan and America these days.

I am glad these two great countries are friends. This is a good thing for peace and prosperity in both countries, and their combined role in the world exonomy makes this important for the whole world. Both countries are defenders of democracy, rule of law, and human rights.

For me, personally, this friendship has a personal meaning as well. I am of a Japanese dog breed, and my Mum was born and raised in the USA. This might not have happened, had Japan and the USA not been friends. I probably have this friendship to thank for my life.

Repentance for old wars has a symbolic meaning. It does not heal every old wound, but it does strengthen the friendship. This is good.

Taxes

Paula went through the information about her taxes for last year tonight. It must be hard to be a tax payer. I am glad I am a dog, I do not have to pay taxes.

Bread

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Being in the kitchen has its perks sometimes. Daniel was making sandwiches and Linni, Calvin, and I each got a piece of bread. There are many things tastier than bread, but it is always nice to get some extra things to eat. It is also nice to know that this is not for everyone, but only for those of us who were in the kitchen. Being singled out and getting extra things to eat is great. It made the whole day feel a little special. I wish more days would have little perks like this.

Why Not a King?

The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is up for re-election. He has held the position for 26 years, but seeks another five year term. Why not declare oneself a king and make a constitutional monarchy out of the country instead? I guess he believes he would lose some of his power that way, but I believe he would become more well respected throughout most of the world. Being re-elected over and over as a president is just a farce, sitting tight as a king is respect.

Useless Trip to a Show

Paula went to a dog show in Västerås yesterday. I cannot explain why she did, because she did not bring any of us dogs. It must have been a most useless trip to this dog show.

Weekend

It is Friday night, and the weekend is coming up. Humans are free from work. This means that they can spend more time with their dogs. This is good..

Bad Connections

Usually, I am a well connected dog. I have got friends in a lot of places. My connection with the Internet is also generally good. Tonight, however, the Internet is grumpy. It works on and off. I cannot figure out what is wrong. I do hope that I can post this blog post on my blog before midnight, nevertheleas. If you think this is nothing for me to write about, the reason I cannot come up with anything better is the bad Internet connection. We can blame the connection.

Drone on PM's Roof

A small drone suddenly landed on the roof of the offices of the Japanese Prime Minister. A security alert was triggered, of course. If they would have had dogs there, the dogs could have taken care of the drone, killing it if necessary. Shibas would not back off from a challenge like this. If a drone would land without permission in our garden, we would probably take care of it in a proper manner. Dogs are good at keeping up security.

Red Mailbox

The weather is getting warmer. It has been sunny and nice today, we have all enjoyed it outdoors. Most of nature is getting greener. On the morning walk, there was a new red feature, however. The neighbours two lots down have got a new, bright red mailbox. It is a shiny, new mailbox in painted metal. Even a small detail like this can make the neighbourhood nicer. I like it.

Affection Between Dog and Human

Japanese scientists have proved that there is a special bond between dogs and humans, that make us feel the same kind of affection for one another that humans feel for their children. The most interesting thing about the study is that the same bond cannot be seen between humans and wolves, even though the wolves tested had been raised by humans. This shows that humans and dogs have evolved a special bond during the millenia that we have lived together. I am not really surprised, but it is amazing, nevertheless.

Vikings

Paula follows a TV series called Vikings, about Ragnar Lodbrok in the 800's. It is quite interesting, but I would like it more if there were more dogs in it. Vikings did have dogs. Not Shibas, of course, but other dogs od spitz breeds. It would be possible to have dogs in the series, played by modern dogs but truly looking like dogs of the age. It would make the series much better.

Celebrations

This is not Paula's father's birthday. It is on Monday. This is, however,  the day when the birthday is celebrated with the family. He turns 70 years old. This is an awesome age, ten dog years. I turn ten myself this autumn.

Happy birthday, Nils-Olov!

Check Up

Hello, Orange here!

This was the day when my pups went to see the veterinarian. At the check up, everything was alright with both of them. I had not expected anything less, but it is nice to get the result documented. We had a nice day together afterwards, the pups and I. It is so easy to love them.

Ring Steward Course

Daniel went away this evening to a ring steward course. He is an authorised ring steward, but it is important to keep the knowledge up to date. He told us he was the only man on the course, all the others were women. I wonder why it is more common that ring stewards are women than men. Not that it makes any difference, but it is a curious trivial fact.

Eight Weeks

Hello, Orange here!

My pups turn eight weeks old today. A lot of things have happened during these weeks, they are now small individuals capable of many things on their own paw. Still, it feels like time has moved very quickly since they were born. I wish these fun days with the pups would last forever. They will get their own families and grow up to become adult sogs. Wishes aside, I truky hope they will get great lives.

Change of Plans

Hello, Orange here!

The plan was to get my pups to the veterinarian today, for the check up before they move to their new families. The check up was cancelled, however, since the veterinarian was sick. We had to postpone the check up until later in the week. I am certain my pups will pass the check up with excellent result, whether or not it would happen today. They are great in every aspect. Too bad for the veterinarian, though.

Shaving

I am glad I am not a Poodle. Our Poodle friends Laila and Momoko need to get shaved quite often. They do nit shed their coat, so it just keeps growing. If not shaved, they become too hairy.

Shibas do not have to get shaved or have their hair cut. This is yet another advantage of being a Shiba, that I have discovered in my life. I become increasingly convinced that there is nothing better you can be born to, than being a Shiba.

Vacation

Vacation is a good thing. It is when humans are at home from work, to spend more time with their dogs. Vacation is often had in summer. Today, Paula and Daniel have discussed having vacation in July this year. I am looking forward to it.