going for a swim in the pool

I went for a swim in the pool while Nikki sat on the float and watched.

a lazy Sunday with Hoppy

Hoppy moved indoor for the winter, so I get to spend more time with her.

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/

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?

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?

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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!