lizard feast

Wow, it seems that my online shiba buddies Mika and Winnie also like lizards. Today I found a bunch of them, and caught another one, but my owner quickly made me drop it again (that dreaded command), and built a "lizard sanctuary" to block off an area of rocks and dirts where a bunch of lizards were hanging out so I cannot get to them. No worry, Mika and Winnie, next time I hit a stash of lizards, I will let you know and we can chow down together while no one is looking :-) Woof.

lizard! yum!

Yesterday I was out in the backyard enjoying the sun and I caught a lizard. I decided to eat it. My owner caught me with lizard tail and legs dangling out of my mouth and made me drop it. Don't know what is the big deal. It's good protein.

ode to Kura

In the wild wild west of Silicon Valley,
Lies a shiba inu named Kura.
Who loves eating blueberries in a way that is sloppy,
And hangs out with her best friend Hoppy.
She prowls the backyard for field rats and gophers,
Then catches a flying bird in a single bound, a blur.
Her passion is her family day and night,
Whom she loves and protects with all her might.
Her fearsome barks can scare a burgler on the prowl,
If not, at least charms him with her shiba howls.
. . . . . . . . . . by Kura's owner

allergies

According to my online shiba buddies Winnie, Mika and Jen, shibas do get allergies from pollens such as oak and dandelion, and even cockroaches. Wow. My allergy is probably from the pine trees from our neighbors where whenever there is a gust of wind, there is this thick yellow cloud of pollens that lands on our deck. With such a wet winter here in northern California, we got a lot of stuffs blooming. Sometimes I sneeze 10 times in a row, and once in a while hit my nose on the floor. Ouch! My allergy seems to be getting better, but my owners will keep benedryl and eye drops in mind next time I get an allergy attack.

Home

I just got back from the PetsHotel. A few days ago, my owners dropped me off, claiming to have some family emergency. I was really popular there, and all of the PetsHotel Staff loved me. The hotel had playgroups where I hanged out with other dogs. They even got doggie ice cream and phone time where owners can call up their dogs and talk to them on the phone. My owners never did that though. I got a great report card for being a social dog. Glad I am back!

Yarn

Today my owners found a ball of yarn, and one of them rolled it right in front of my face. Naturally, I pounced and played with the ball of yarn. Soon I got tangled up and uninterested. My owners laughed at me, and called me a cat.

dogs also have hay fever?

I have been sneezing a lot every morning when I wake up. It is allergy season here in northern california with everything blooming and tons of pollens. My owners are all having runny nose and sneezes. Now I get them too. I did not realize dogs are allergic to pollens too? Or is it just me?

happy birthday to me

It's my birthday!

Happy birthday to me,

Happy birthday to me,

Happy birthday dear Kura,

Happy birthday to me!

I am now 6 years old. It's now time for a nap.

evil gophers

We got a huge gopher infestation in the backyard. I tried to dig these little guys out of the gopher holes but it is just not working except I ruin the lawn even more. My owner put a few stink bombs into the holes, trying to smoke them out, and can you believe it, they kicked the sticks out of the holes. Shibas are good hunters, but I am afraid I am out of my league with these guys so deep in the ground.

iditarod winners

Maple and Larry won the Iditarod today. Yea for them. Oh,the guy in the middle of the picture is their owner who also won the last two years.
photo source: msnbc.com

iditarod ending soon

The Iditarod race is ending soon. The mushers and the poor brave dogs had to face severe blizzard and several dogs died. Oh no. It was apprently the worse many mushers had ever seen with really cold temperature and strong wind. Many mushers decided to stay in the checkpoint cabins much longer to wait out the storm rather than to risk the lives of the dogs. These dogs are so brave. Awesome.

a big fat rat

Today I was helping one of my owners in the backyard -- actually he was working and I was just nosing around. Then I heard a noise among the stack of cement blocks. I frantically tried to push away the cement blocks so I can catch whatever was inside. My owner pushed me aside and lifted the blocks, and there was this big fat rat inside. I tried to pounce on it because we shiba inus are ferocious hunters. My owner grabed me and locked me inside the house. While he was there playing with that rat with a shovel, I was inside whining and scratching the door as all good hunters do. By the time he let me out to the backyard again, the rat was gone. Darn! I missed all the fun.

Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings is today. I lost an hour of beauty rest! 

iditarod starting

The Westminster Dog show is like the beauty contest for dogs, while the Iditarod is like the Olympics for dogs. Only the strongest and most determined dogs can win. Check out http://www.iditarod.com/. It is starting this afternoon and the race will be 1500 miles. Wow, I get tired walking to the library which is a 2 miles walk. These are some awesome dogs.

Surrogate owner for a week

We got a visitor in our home for the past week. When he first came through the door, I did a really loud shiba howl and the shiba dance for almost 5 minutes. I could smell that he was related to my owners and seemed really liked me. He scratched my fur and pet me all the time. For a whole week, I followed him around, slept next to him on the couch, and pretty much ignored my real owners while the visitor was here. Now that he left, I guess I have to get back to being nice to my old owners. Afterall, we shibas are supposed to be really loyal.

A Rare Sunny Day!

After what seems like endless rainy days here in California, we finally had a sunny day. So I got to sunbathed outside. Tommorow the rain returns. Poor me!

bunny video

Another stormy day today so Hoppy and I hanged out inside the house and I helped her with her bunny food.

chicken is my middle name

Last night, there was a big storm. With all the patio furnitures got blown around the back yard, I got soo scared that I jumped on my owners' bed and hid under the blanket.

new top dog Stump

This Sussex Spaniel named Stump won the Westminster Dog Show this week. He is 10 years old. Wow, that's 70 human years. I am going to be 6 in a month, so I guess I am still a young pup compared to Stump.

photo source: msnbc.com

Top dog

This top dog from last year's Westminster dog show will soon be replaced by a new top dog for 2009. The competition is next week. I can't wait. I spotted a shiba inu in the show with name starting with "Copperdot" last year, which means that shiba was related to me from the same breeder. I doubt a shiba inu will win the top dog honor. But should be interesting to watch on TV.

More Puppy Pictures

Puppy Pictures

favorite passtime

Hoppy and I just love to look out the windows together and watch the birds in the backyard.

One blog visitor asked why I get along so well with Hoppy because shibas are hunters. Hoppy was one year old when I join the family as a 7 week old pup, so she has been my playmate all my life. I even make rabbit sound when I am with her and I just love rabbit food.

My buddy Hoppy

Hoppy and I had fun today hanging out.

Most popular dog breed

According to the American Kennel Club, Labrador Retrievers are the most popular dog breed in the U.S. for 18 years in a roll. What, no Shibas? Actually, we shibas can "sometimes" be "a bit" difficult to keep, and only those humans who are willing to put up with our unique personalities should look at getting a shiba, regardless of how cute and adorable we may be.

a shiba who can be off leash

My owner told me that another shiba inu, Winnie, can be off-leash. Wow. That is so amazing.

For me, my owners have to have double doors leading to the front yard. They call it our "air lock" so that I don't bolt out of the house.

Winnie is allergic to chicken but not ducks, which is interesting. My owners are going to check in on this as I eat a lot of chicken. Check out her blog at http://awinnieday.blogspot.com/

photo source: winnie's blog

Shiba Cartoon

Check out Mika's blog, (http://mika-gruffs.blogspot.com/) it is hilarious. I love this cartoon from his blog. It is sooo Shiba Inu.

Quick, Give me a boost!

Wow, if only shibas can do that too, I would be over my backyard fence so fast. My owner's previous shiba could jump 6 feet high, but I am smaller (only 18 pounds), so I can jump maybe about 4 feet high.

photo source: msnbc.com

Happy New Year

I decided that my New Years Resolution is to loose weight. I will eat more blueberries and less dog treats. But if my owners force me to have treats, I guess I will have to! Happy New Year.

New Guinea Singing Dog

My owners recently saw a New Guinea Singing Dog at the San Diego Zoo. It was remarkably like a Shiba Inu. The NG Singing Dog had the same red coloring, slanted almond eyes, pointy ears, and fluffy tail just like shiba's. Unlike shibas that bark and sing, the NG singing dogs only "sing", with an unique howls that was eerily similar to shibas. Based on genetic testing by the researchers at the San Diego Zoo, the NG Singing Dog is the missing link between wolves and modern day dogs. I wonder if Shibas are kind of in that category too, which could explain our unique personality and our stubbornness (ie, untrainable to be off leash).
photo source www.rarebreed.com/breeds/ngsd/ngsd_buna.jpg

ho! ho! ho!

I refused to wear the santa hat, so my owners pretended that I was wearing it. Merry Christmas.

Second Dog

While the President-elect Obama still trying to figure out First Dog for his daughters, his VP already chose a puppy, a German Shepherd. What? No Shiba Inu? We shibas are much cuter, although this one is pretty cute.

nice towel

photo source: www.moillusions.com

bye bye, puppies

Well, 3 of the shibas went to their new owners this past weekend, so only 3 left. Two more will be leaving soon. All the puppies no longer have the shiba pup's "black mask", and now all look like adult shibas. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shiba-inu-puppy-cam

last chance for shiba pup cam

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shiba-inu-puppy-cam

So far the site has had close to 9 million hits during the past 7 weeks. The puppies are 8 weeks old, and will be going to their new homes this weekend. The owners of the puppies have decided to keep one, but the next few days are the last chance to see all of them together. Check out some older clips of them too so you can see how much shiba pups change from tiny stubby nose furball into a fox like dog.

graduation

Check out my graduation picture from my intermediate training class. I aced the test. I was able to be off leash while my owners left. I did the "down" command which none of my previous 4 trainers were able to get me to do. I knew to "go to bed", "leave" the food on the floor while walking pass it, and of course, the "sit" and "come" commands. The only one I am still not sure of is the "return" command where I had to go to my owner, and turn around and sit next to my owner. Next month I will be in advanced camp, where I will be AKC certified (that's Amercian Kennel Club). My owners are not sure I can get that because Shiba Inus are nortorious for running loose when off leash if we get distracted by a bird or something because we are such natural hunters.

puppy pics

With all the excitment of the popular shiba pup cam on the Internet (see post from last week) I thought I would share some of my puppy pictures. Yes, all shiba pups look like giant furballs and with a big appetite for chewing. I was 7 weeks old in these pictures, on my first day in my new home.

return of furby

When I was a young pup, my owners used to annoy me with this talking Furby toy that spoke gibbrish. I used to bark at it because it would not quiet down. I was so happy the toy finally broke (mysteriously). Scientists recently found a real furby in Indonesia. Cute little thing. Hope it does not make annoying sound like the other Furby.

shiba pups cam

This site got 2 million hits since it launched last month. The six shiba pups are five weeks old. Check out
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shiba-inu-puppy-cam

and info about the pups
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1858007,00.html

hungry White House dog

One of the presiding dogs in the White House decided to take a bite out of a reporter's finger. Don't they feed the President's dog there? I would imagine there are tons of lizards and birds in the Rose Garden. Hmmm.

White House Dog-Elect

President Elect Obama had promised his daughters that they get a dog if he wins. I don't understand why he does not have a dog already. Everyone should have a dog, especially presidents. Anyway, MSNBC is running a poll of what type of dog Obama's daughters should get, and wouldn't you know it, Shiba Inus are not even mentioned. How sad.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27556702/

let yourself be heard

All you dogs out there, remind your adult owners to get out and vote!

holloween candy rules

By this time you should have collected lots of candy. as I said, chocolate is bad, but there are much other candies that are great to eat. Let me give you a preview.

Chocolate-----------------a no-no!!! i told you.
Licorice-------------------big dogs like this.
Jelly Beans---------------yum!
mints--------------------okay... so-so...
Skittles------------------ooooh!
candy corn---------------just like jelly beans!
Lollipops-----------------easy for owners to extract from mouth.
M&M -------------------you kidding!?!?
Hersheys----------------i warned you.
Cadbury-----------------ooooh la-la!
Gobstoppers-------------take long time to consume.
Hot Tamales--------------hot! hot! hot!
Twizzler-----------------twizzy.
bubblegum--------------sticky. dont eat it.
Ring Pop-----------------easy for owners to extract from mouth.
Baby Bottle Pop----------for puppies.
Starburst----------------just like bubble gum.

of course, I don't eat candy myself because I vainly need to watch my waistline. But make sure that after this you sit very still so your owner can brush your teeth. Remember, don't eat chocolate. And if you find a candy that smells fishy... don't eat it. trust me.

halloween

Hey you dogs out there! Happy Halloween! Wait, did i say happy? Halloween is not happy. Why? As you guys know, It isn't nice that this evening, kids like to boldly arrive at other dog's territories begging for candy. Well i have some advise. There are the three steps toward no more kids coming. I use them every year.

1. When someone comes, bark. naturally.

2. if you are let out, steal *ahem* i mean borrow some candy. it makes them get scared and they go away. usually.

3. chocolate? dont eat it. trust me. (for more information, visit the post: poisonous food for dogs in cats from march)

i guarenteed that if you are ferocious enough, you will suceed.

crazy Holloween costumes

Need I say more?

photo source: http://news/yahoo.com

math genius

Scientists did a study of honeybees and found that they can count to 4. When will human learn that other creatures are good in math too. For example, I am called a "geometry dog" by my owners because I always lie equal distance among my owners. If one is upstairs and one is downstairs, I lie at mid point between them in the middle of the stairs.

Ahh! That feels good

October is almost over. With the cooler weather, my owners are using the hot tub more. They don't let me go into the hot tub because they think it is not safe for a dog. But these Japanese monkeys seem to be having a good time relaxing in the natural hot spring.

photo source: msnbc.com