fly catcher

Today the door was left opened a bit and 3 house flies came into the house. Within half an hour, I caught all three, after quite a bit of acrobatic jumping and snapping at them. I did not eat them, just smashed them with my teeth and left them on the floor, on the couch, etc. so that my owners screamed when they almost sat or step on them because they were so disgusting. Kura the mighty hunter strikes again!

Christian the hugging lion

This is a really neat video about a lion cub raised by 2 guys in London, and was then set free in Africa. The guys who raised the lion went to Africa to look for the lion.

Click on the video to watch the reunion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25797678/

Hachiko movie

I learned that they are making a movie about Hachiko, the loyal Akita in Japan that waited at a train station for his master for 10 years even after his master died. An actor named Richard Gere is going to play the part of Hachiko's owner. If you missed my posting about Hachiko, check out my posting on April 1 titled "world's second most loyal dog". Akitas look a lot like Shiba Inus, except they are bigger and the face is a little less fox-like. The coloring and temperament are the same. Also check out this link about the movie. There are some shots of a cute Akita puppy that looks a lot like me when I was a puppy. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2008/03/24/quest.canine.co.star.bk.d.cnn?iref=videosearch

picture source: http://www.gimundo.com/Articles/Daily/914/27/03/2008/Hachiko:_The_Worlds_Most_Loyal_Dog

the ferocious shiba

Pretty wild looking picture of me, eh? Look at the long teeth I got.

I was actually trying attack the air stream that came out of the leaf blower my owner was using. I did not like it blowing at my face and messing up my fur. Shiba Inus are hunters of small games, so we can get pretty ferocious if we want, as you can see.

Solar powered

The typical California summer has returned with bright blue sky every day with not a cloud in sight. Fogs in the morning, but no clouds. I am just a happy, hyper dog that needs tot lie in the sun frequently. Shiba Inu's are solar-powered you know! Now, it is time for me to go lie in the sun and recharge my solar battery. Renewable energy is the way to go.

potty training

Although I am still pouting because one of my owners, the one with long hair, left for her 2-weeks summer camp, I decided that it is ok for her brother to help me blog once in a while.

I joined my owners' household when I was 7 1/2 weeks old (pic.).

The moment I arrived at my owner's home that day, my owners used a dog treat to lure me through the doggie door. Once through the door, they picked me up and put me on the far end of the grass area in the backyard. I did my thing, then they called me through the doggie door. That night, my owners made a nice cozy bed inside a crate where I could sleep. They placed the opened crate door facing the doggie door and I had an accident-free night. The next night, they placed the crate a few feet away from the doggie door. By the third night, I was allowed to roam the house and I never had any accident in the house. I also never slept in that crate again...Now I sneak onto my owners' beds at night or I lie right on top of the stairs where they could potentially trip over me in the dark.

Shiba Inus are pretty smart, eh? Now if only I can figure out how to get into the netting in the garden to get some strawberries and blueberries.

I will not be blogging everyday as I am still pouting, but please read my older posts at the meantime and feel free to comment about what you like to know about my life here in Sunny California.

Time to pout

Normally when one of my owners (I got 4) is not in the house, I either sit on the stairs and pout, or lie near the door and wait for them. I can count to 4 (pretty smart, huh?), so I always know when one of them is missing. Usually it is the tall one with the deep voice that disappears for days at a time. But today, the shortest one with long hair is leaving. She said she will be going to camp for a little less than 2 weeks. Oh no. It is time to pout as I sit by the door the next 2 weeks. Since I will be busy pouting, I will not be blogging. This will give you some time to catch up on some of my previous postings if you have not read them all.

Canadian Shiba

Wow! I have a visitor from Canada to my blog! Sushi, another Shiba, is also a dog blogger...Like me! Sushi and Bonnie, (the owner) post on the blog about cool stuff like a Shiba Rescue GTA, learning new tricks, and Shibas up for adoption! This Canadian visitor may be far away, but any blogging Shiba is guarenteed great! Read this fun blog at http://lifewithashibainu.blogspot.com/!

Picture credits: Sushi's blog http://www.lifewithashibainu.blogspot.com/

Hoverdog

As you may know, I (and Raven) like to check these funny animal picture sites, (Hotdog is about dogs, cheese burger is on mostly cats):

http://ihasahotdog.com/
http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Anyway, I found this picture little-dog races, and I would like to point out: "Hoverdog" the flying black dog on the left. Hee Hee Hee! It does not look like it has any legs.

Shiba Inu bobsled team!

Aww! Maybe I, (being a Shiba Inu) should start a Shiba Inu Bobsled team! We may be so cute that we can we can go into competition! We would run pretty fast, but facts are: 1. We would be hard to get in order. 2. No Shiba Inu can run in a straight line. 3. Each of us would want to be first. Wouldn't that be great?

miniature pumpkins

This year the miniature pumpkins in the garden came in early. It is July, and we already got little yellow baby pumpkins growing. My owners cut one of them and gave it to Raven's owner so Raven can play with it. My owners also found receipes on the Internet for stuffed miniature pumpkins. They are going to try to make the dish. Yummy!

trapped bird

Today a bird was trapped inside the netting my owners placed around the garden. No idea how the bird got in, but it was flying around inside the net. I guess it and it's friends were trying to steal our fruits. So of course I had to bark frantically until my owners came and opened up the netting so it could fly out. Cute little bird. Wonder what it taste like? Oops, did I say that out loud?

Ugly oysters

Oysters, I must say, are the most revoltingly, disgustingly, hideously ugly foods my owners have ever eaten. I mean, the shell is not pretty at all, it looks like a barnacle-covered rock! And once you crack the rock/shell open, you see this cream-colored slimy, shapeless thing that has little black and gross stuff in it. I tried to lick the shell of one of oysters. Excuse me but ewww. I can not believe that they have the nerve to make fun of me eating lizards. They must really love oysters....Okay I do admit that these oysters smell kinda yummy after my owners BBQ them. But they sure are ugly!

Rabbit buddy

For the past week, my owners have been taking the rabbit, (Hoppy) into the house because it has been so hot! Well anyway, I have won the honor of being able to be with her without anything between us. We chatted For a while, sniffed each other, and Hoppy took a look around. Trust me: I was very excited but I managed to keep calm till Hoppy was gone. She is so cute and fuzzy! Being larger than her, I gave her FREE grooming, and she licked my paw. Rabbit saliva is good for your fur, you know. I am glad I have a such great rabbit buddy!

off to the library

Today, as part of my owner's black belt test training, they went for a run/walk with me to the library, which is a little over a mile away, so round trip is about 2 1/2 miles. I am absolutely exhausted. I lost some weight while at the Petshotel a few weeks ago, but have been gaining the weight back with all that dental pellets, blueberries, and Hoppy's food, I mean my own dog food. The library is nice, because it is in the middle of an orchard so I get to sniff around all that peach trees while my owners went in to check out some books for summer reading.

bark collar

This special collar has a little sensor so that when I start barking randomly, especially in the middle of the night, the little ultrasonic beeper goes off, reminding me to stop barking. I do not mind it, and am pretty used to it. In fact, sometimes my owners forget to put the battery in, but I still know not to bark while the collar is on me. So when I have my red bark collar on, I am quiet like a ninja in the yard and in the house. Maybe the poor puppy down the street should get one of these so he can learn not to bark randomly.

yelping puppy

A few weeks ago, one of our neighbor got a new puppy. Unfortunately they lock the puppy in the garage during the day while they are working. So the dog starts barking about 7:30 every morning, and does not stop barking till the evening. Poor puppy. I tried to bark back to tell it that everything is ok, but the house is two doors down, and the poor thing does not seem to hear me. All that yelping is disturbing my mid-morning and my mid-afternoon naps.

omnivoire

In case you have not figure out, I love to eat, and I pretty much eat everything in sight. I love my normal dog pellets, but I also love blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and watermelons. I also love Hoppy's pellets which are made of hay. To supplement my diet, I catch (or try to) lizards, birds, flies, bees, and a few times, field rats. I even brought a rat I caught in the yard to one of my owners as a gift, but she just screamed and ran away from me. I wonder why. I did not really eat the rats though. Oh, I also try to catch the mailmen and the garbage men, but not to eat them, just to scare them because I am a mighty hunter. But, seriously, I like being a vegetarian. Give me blueberries any time. That is my favorite.

almost peach season

The branches on the white peach tree in our backyard are bending so low because of the weight of all the peaches on them. My owner tasted one. Still kind of hard but sweet. White peaches taste best when really soft because the juice just squirts out when bite into it. I cannot wait. We are running so low on blueberries that I need to start chomping down on new fruits in the backyard. Yum. I can't wait.

return of hummingbirds

Every summer my owners put up these hummingbird feeders. These cute little birds would zoom by, feast on the red honey water, and make these humming sounds while suspended in mid-air. I try catching them but have not been able to because they are tricky little things. They can change direction in mid-air so fast that I never know which direction they will fly. They also love to tease me by suspending just a foot above me, but if I jump, they just move higher. So close yet so far. They are very pretty and cute though.

Nom Nom, I'm a Panda!!!

Mmmmm... My owners are growing many bamboo plants in little glass cups, but now, most of them are over a foot tall. The plants are planted in pebbles and water, but we plan to move them outside. My owners are considering putting them in these pot that are 1-foot diameter, but they will plant them in soil! We bet they will grow like weeds if we do. Our backyard may become a bamboo forest. I told my owners "Don't worry if they become too big, I'll be there to chomp them down! I am Kura the Panda!"

speaking rabbit-nese

I can speak rabbit-nese! Whenever I go outside I remember to check up on my rabbit buddy, Hoppy. Hoppy is a 6-year old Netherland's Dwarf rabbit. She is really cute, with lush soft fur and pointy little ears. Anyway, we chat using a series of squeaks and scuffles. My owners were so surprised to hear me speak rabbit-nese when they first heard me and thought it came from another rabbit somewhere. We tell each other about our days, exchange news, and discuss various matters. Hoppy is such a great rabbit to talk with!

yellowjackets

There are a lot of yellowjackets in the backyard this summer. They are yellow and black wasps that can be aggressive and sting people and even dogs. I sometimes chase them around without knowing that they can sting me pretty badly. So my owners put up these traps around the yard. I sat on the porch most of today just watching them hovering around the traps and then going in.

July 4th fireworks

Every year on July 4th, my owners get very little sleep at night because whenever a firework goes off, even at a distance, I charge to the backyard and bark randomly and endlessly to help celebrate the birth of our nation. Afterall, I have to do my share of being patriotic. My owners can sacrafice their sleep for the good of our country.

pros and cons of Shiba Inus

My owners got this list of pros and cons for shiba inus. I think the pros are pretty accurate, but the cons are over-stated. So I am a tat strong-willed and a good escape artist. I am not that bad, am I? Cute little me?

Pros:
++ Similar to Akitas, extremely loyal to the owners

++ small-to-medium in size, athletic, spitz-like, with prick ears, fox-like face, rabbit-like coat, and curly tail
++ Very energetic and fearless

++ Perky and happy
++ Active, not your typical lapdog, but can cuddle up with owners when feels like it
++ Agile, fast runner, sometimes seems to fly through the air
++ Loves to exercise and engage in physical activities

++ Good guard dog, alert and very protective of owners, especially protective of children

++ Never a dull moment for a Shiba owner

Cons:
-- A bird dog, loves to chase small animals and birds

-- A jumper, can leap over tall fences or climb up structures
-- Need exercise daily

-- Can be destructive when bored or left alone too long

-- Can never be off-leash, oblivious to owner's calls

-- Escape artist

-- Strong-willed

-- Heavy shedding twice a year

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

I saw more pictures of my owners' trip to Hawaii. They went snorkeling and saw the Hawaiian state fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a fish, which is really cute. They also got t-shirts with the fish on it. Pretty neat fish, and I love the name. Maybe I should get a Hawaiian name too. Maybe kurakurukurua'a. How does that sound?

surfs up!

My owners finally printed out the pictures of them surfing in Hawaii from 2 weeks ago. Wow, surfing looks so cool. They told me that some dogs also learn to surf and showed me a couple of pictures they found on the Internet of other dogs surfing. I think I like to try that. I hope they take me to Hawaii next time. Surfs up, dude!

hazy sky in California

It has been pretty hazy the last several days because of the fires they have been having in different parts of California that were started by lightening storms. My owners' oma (German for grandmother) who comes to visit every year always commented that the sky in our area is always so incredibly blue during the summer without a cloud in the sky. But recently the sky has kind of a light haze. Also the temperature has been a bit cooler, which is nice, but I don't like the sky being light brownish blue. Even though we cannot see the fire, we can sometimes smell the smoke. I hope the firefighters can put out the fires soon.

poof chair

My owners got me this gigantic bean bag chair that is covered with fur-like fabric and is 5 feet wide. It is so comfortable that I sink right into it. I love it much more than my normal bed. It is so cuddly and warm, reminded me of when I was a tiny puppy cuddling up with my three siblings and my mom.

cherry tomato? No way!

Today my owners started harvesting the cherry tomatoes they planted. One of my owners loves them so much that he could eat almost a hundred a day. My owner tried to give me one of those as a treat. Yuk! I understand tomatoes are super healthy foods, but so are blueberries. I think I will stay with blueberries for treats.

mars landing

Today one of my owners was telling me about the Pheonix rover that landed on Mars where they found something that very likely is ice. That means there could be life on Mars. Maybe a Martian Shiba Inu? That would be really cool.

all out of blueberries

With both my owner and I chomping down on the blueberries all the time, we are totally out of blueberries. The only berries left on the plants are all still white and not edible. Sigh! I have to go back to those dental pellets for treats now rather than blueberries.

cast aside again

Summer school started today for my owners. They rushed out the door early this morning, one to game-design camp and another to the middle school summer camp then afternoon engineering camp, with martial arts black belt training after that. They did not get home till night time. So I did not see anyone for a whole day except for one owner who was in front of the computer all day anyway, and it is going to be like this for most of the summer. Boo hoo. I hope they play with me alot on weekends. I love going swimming in the pool with them.

one for me, one in the basket

It's harvest time for our blueberry plants. My owners planted 6 different types, and 3 of them have lots of berries. So early this morning, we all went out to to the backyard to pick blueberries. My owners gave me one, and it was so delicious that I started asking for more. So my owner gave one to me, one in the basket, then one to me, and one in the basket. I just love blueberries. So far we got Southern moon, Earlyblue and Jubilee that bear fruits. Earlyblue tastes reall sweet and are big. Jubilee have a lot of berries but are smaller. I cannot wait for Chandler to come in. I see a lot of white berries on the plants. That is the type that is sweet and the size of cherries. Yum!

too hot to be outside

Today my owners brought Hoppie into the house because it felt like we were in the middle of the desert with the temperature reaching 102. Whew! It was so hot that both Hoppie and I were glad to be indoor where we can breath. Rabbits can tolerate cold weather but not hot weather. She was hopping around her indoor cage while I lay around the cold hardwood floor with my tongue hanging out. Yesterday the thermometer in the car read 109 for outside temperature. My owners did not use the pool till it was 7pm because of the hot sun. I hope the rest of the summer is not this hot.

Room Service, Please!

phew! what a vacation! For the past week, my owners had abandoned me to go on vacation. puppy abuse! but I thought we were going to a mean old kennel, but we went to my alternative favorite place on earth: the Pets Hotel. The hotel is kinda like your human hotels, but better. Both dogs and cats can get their own room, social playtime with other animals, walks, food prepared in an actual kitchen, real live TV, grooming, and more! I had a fabulous time with my new dog friends, got pampered by hotel employees, and got special wet food mixed with my normally dry pellets! What a treat. I was excited to see my owners when they came back, but I miss the hotel. Someday I will go back. I am now going to email my new doggie friends! Video tour:http://petshotel.petsmart.com/tour/

buzzing bumble bee

Another beautiful 85 degree day today, so after school my owners were out working in the garden again. I was doing my usual guard duty of sitting on piles of dirt baking myself in the sun. Then this annoying bumble bee started buzzing around me and would not leave me alone. I chomped at it again and again without success. I leapt and hopped and it just kept whirling around me, taunting me, laughing at me. I finally had to leave my pile of dirt and move onto another pile. Defeated by a miseasely little insect... Humph...

Concert of the Owls

Early morning two of my owners took me on a walk downtown. We walked down, and went to get coffee and blueberry scones. As we were strolling back, we passed a house that had an owl living near it.

As we went by, it called "hoo hoo hoo, hooo, hooo" It was quite loud, so by the time we were half-way back to our house we could still hear it. He called again , but this time, we heard a response. "hoo hoo ... hoooo hooo hooo" As we walked back to our house we still heard both of them, hooting one by one. As we walked up the driveway, we heard another owl. "ho-ooo hoo, hoo hoo hoo"

This was the call of the owl that lives in our backyard! I could still hear the call of the first and second owl.s The three owls conversed in owl for a long time. My owners think that they were trying to find each other. I think that they just are having a concert. They kept it up for another hour or so. But it is day so they went to sleep.

I bet you 100 doggie treats that tonight, they will start up again and find eachother. Well, I cound always enjoy hearing little baby owls.

Planting Guava tree

Today one of my owners and I slaved over planting our guava tree in the back yard. She dugged and dugged for hours. I sniffed and sat on the pile of dirt watched her the whole time. She was trying to plant this pineapple guava tree. She dugged a hole over 1 1/2 feet deep and layered it with compose. She planted the tree all by herself with no one but me to help her. I cannot wait for the fruits. The flowers are supposed to be really pretty also.

Extinct!

My owners told me that today the government declared that the Carribean Monk Seals are officially extinct. When Columbus discovered America, they killed a bunch of the seals for foods. Later people kept killing them for fur and blubber and meat. So now they are no more on earth. Sniff.

Neat toothbrush

Check out this new toothbrush my owners got for me to keep my beautifully cleaned teeth nice and shiny. It got three sides so they can brush me even when I wiggle around, and best of all, it takes them less time to brush me.

Trip to the vet

The vet gave me a shot that put me to sleep for a few hours. She then scraped my teeth. Now I have beautiful teeth and great dog breath. Want a kiss? Still got plenty of dog drool to go around.

My new necklaces

Guess what? My fabulous wonderful owners went to the store and bought me a shiny, brand new flea collar! It is mostly white on the outer sides,but, there is a beautiful silver strip going around it! And even better, my owners got this adorable bandana! It matches perfectly with my gorgeously shaded fur and lovely collar! Ha! Now I have have better accesories than all the dogs in the neighborhood. I love my owners so much! I now forgive them for throwing water balloons at me!

Ring Around the Rosie!

Squirrels, what a nuisance! This morning I, the supreme dog and guard of the house, was patrolling the yard. Suddenly, I saw a squirrel, scampered up the palm tree. I ran over to the squirrel. It was on the trunk about 2 1/2 feet up, so I leap at it. It scampered around the trunk, parallel to the ground,and naturally I followed it around and around on the ground. Being afraid of me, it kept running around and around. I barked so loud that I woke the whole neighborhood, and we kept going. About the 50th time around, I decided to give that venomous squirrel mercy. Before I let it go, I assured it that next time I would not be so fair. Bet he was happy he did not have to take refuge in those spiky palm leaves, of my stomach. (Squirrels taste bad for breakfast, best to eat them at dinner) I went into the house napped and ate dog food after that.

Phew, such a hard day! Poor me!

surfing at the speed of light

We got fiber optic Internet connection, finally. Things are much faster now. Hopefully the Internet won't keep going down or get blocked as the cable company had been doing when the network got busy. I should be able to blog faster. Now I just need a faster laptop, hee, hee.

18.9 pounds! Yikes!

Yes, I have been told many times that I am on the plump side, but to actually be told by the vet that I am almost 2 pounds over what I thought I am is a real shocker. Apparently these fat cells have always been in my body, but during this past winter, I have managed to fill these cells with excess energy (ie food) that I did not use up. My owners better take me for lot so walks this summer.

cute buddies

This mastiff puppy and the lion cub are best pals. Aren't they cute?