good-bye, summer

This past weekend was really hot, high of almost 100. So my owners and friends took advantage of the nice weather and went swimming a lot. That meant I also went into the pool a few times and did a few laps. While I am innocently sunbathing outside, my owners would sneak up on me, pick me up, and dunk me into the pool. They think I look cute when I swim. I don't mind going in when it is hot out. My owners make sure I know how to get out of the pool on my own and which direction to swim towards. I am glad they train me to swim because the number one cause of death for dogs is drowning in the backyard pools. Eeek!

the "down" command

Today I went to the training camp again. The trainer tried to have me go down to my stomach. Of couse I refused. That is a submissive position and there was no way I would do it. I had three other trainers during the past five years and I had never done the "down" command. This trainer was so determined. After tricking me with a treat where I went down once, I figured out and stood my ground, literally. Shiba inus are not submissive on command, doesn't she know that?

dogs, the superior species

The truth finally came out. Scientists found that dogs are the most superior in aerobic exercises, adapting to needs for endurance, and better at using oxygen to generate energy. They found this by testing dogs from the Iditarod dog race. Overall, we dogs are just superior to all other mammals physically, including human.

At home, it is so obvious that I am superior. I paw my owners, they rub my ears. I sit by my food bowl, they rush over to fill it. I sit by the door, they take me out for a walk. Of course dogs are superior.

source: msnbc.com

training camp..part 2

My owners are determined to train me to be "off-leash". Ha! Dream on. Yesterday I learned the "wait" command as my owners and I learned in the doggie training camp to not run out the door and to sit by the door patiently until my owners gave me the signal. I performed beautifully at camp, but at home is a different story. Havn't they realized that shiba inus are strong willed?

let the shedding season begins

The weather has gotten much cooler now. The temperature dropped from high of high 90's to high 70's in one week. This means my fur start to get kind of loose. Every time my shake myself, my summer fur starts flying all over the place. My owners are groaning about having to lug out the vaccume cleaner to clean after me.
We shibas are awlful cute, but we do have this fur problem twice a year because we got 2 layers of fur, and the undercoat sheds every start of summer and winter. Soon my fur will start clumping and these clumps will hang off my body where my owners will try to pull them off. My predecessor, Uni, used to lie there for half hour and just let my onwers pull all the clumpy fur off. But I am kind of stubborn and would not let them touch me. They sometimes use the furminator (see earlier post about it), but sometimes they give up and just let me walk around looking like a molting, mangy dog for a couple of weeks till I am done shedding.

"D" is for drama queen

So it is not just me who yelps so loud when I am getting my nails cut. This is a clip of a shiba screaming when having her nails cut! We shibas are pretty good in being dramatic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT2p5latG6o

"C" is For Cookie

Cookie Monster from Sesame Street would not have liked my owners because they do not give me doggie cookies. The cookies get stucked on my teeth, then they have to brush me otherwise I get ugly looking plaque really quickly. But I do love the taste of doggie cookies. Yum.

favorite treats

My trainer at doggie boot camp was complaining to my owners that the normal doggie treats did not work for me. She could not figure out how to reward me as typical beef jerky stuff does not thrill me too much. She should have known that to get me to do anything, I take only fresh blueberries and rabbit pellets. My owners have been using the pellets from Hoppy's feeding bin (Hoppy is my rabbit buddy) to entice me to do various things like sit down the moment I run to them, leaving foods they dropped on the floor alone, etc. I wish they give me blueberries, but I am pretty satisfied with rabbiet pellets, for now :-)

graduating from doggie training class

Today I graduated from doggie training basic boot camp. With my trainer's help, I was able to show my owners how I sat, came, and heel with hand signals. My owners used to train me with a leash and I did not like that. Now with the new training, they do not use the leash. I still have not learned to be off-leash. That would be in the intermediate class.

organic flea killer

Although I do not scratch, so I do not have fleas, my owners thought we should still use flea killers on me just in case because I romp around in the back yard so much. They put some smelly oil on my back, which is made of peppermint oil, thyme, cinnamon, lemongrass, and clove. It is supposed to be a natural flea killer. Smells more like they are ready to cook me by marinating me in all these spices. Now I walk around smelling like a piece of stake ready to be BBQ'ed.

"B" is for nasty bees

b
Today, one of my owners got stung by a bee. I was laying down sunning myself enjoying the beautiful 80 degree weather, and she and her mom were pulling weeds in the backyard. Then a bee tried to sting her. She and her mom made a big deal, while I kept sunning myself. Later, I went over to investigate her neck, (where she got bitten). I think that the bee tried to sting her, but she pulled it off half way. My owner told me Uni, the shiba inu they had before me, was stung by a swarm of bees and had to be taken to the emergency room for several days. I hope I never get stung by one.