What a strange new place this is

I got here late last night. I don't know who these people are. There's a man who feeds me, and a woman who simply adores me. A funny house with lots of stairs, I'll have to master them someday. Every once in a while I hear a clicking noise, then I get treated! I hope that I can get more clicks and treats. I sure miss my old pack but I think I can train this new pack pretty quickly to *my* way of doing things. I heard the woman say that she has booked puppy school already --good thing, they both need the training :)

It truly is a dog's life

Well, what a day I've had. I thought I'd treat the man who feeds me with some sleep overnight, at least a few hours in a row of it anyway. They tried to tucker me out last night but I still got up in the middle of the night and fooled them! But back to today...

The man who feeds me took me for a car ride right after lunch. I fooled him, and soon after we were on the highway I begged to get out and pee. I just really wanted to see what was around me. Noisy and dirty, yuck! I just couldn't bring myself to pee in THAT spot. He gave up on me after about 5 minutes and put me back in the kennel. We were soon on the road again, and I started begging because, well ya know, I HAD to go. He made me wait about 10 minutes until I met two very nice men that he used to work with. I got to pee before I met them (I'm a lady, after all) and was on my best behaviour. Sure was cold out, glad I have all this fur.

Off to our next stop, man who feeds me said something about a "customer" whatever that is. Then my favorite part, he took me back to the place I was born, and I romped around with my brother and mother and ate most of their food too! I slept the whole way home, I was even too tired to give the woman who adores me much attention I'm afraid.

Ahh, the life of a princess, chauffered everywhere and left to sleep afterwards. It truly is a dog's life.

Uh-oh... whadd'ya mean I gotta WORK?

I've been at my forever home for about a week now and yesterday I got bundled up in the kennel for another trip. This new place I went to was a bit scary. I could hear lots of dogs barking it up. The man who feeds me put my kennel down in the middle of a large open area and they sat in chairs and waited for someone else to arrive.

Finally they let me out! It's about time as a princess does not stay in her kennel after arriving, for I have my public to meet and greet after all.

Then this other woman enters the room and all of them begin talking. Bor-ing! I even have a leash on me, how indignant! I hear the new woman in the room saying that she's a private trainer and how Shibas are very food motivated, but -and get this line of crock- how I have to WORK for every bit of food I get during the day. Good thing I don't eat much I'm-a-thinking so I won't have to work too much at least. Us princesses don't like to get grime under our nails. More talking...

Hey, what's that?!? FOOD! I remember, I haven't been fed all day... looks like the man who feeds me has been slipping up? A bit too distracted maybe? Whatever. I'm paying attention to the woman with the food!

More talking. Something about Shibas this and Shibas that and how they differ from other pups. Bor-ing!

Finally! They get around to feeding me. It's about time. Whadd'ya mean I gotta SIT first? What's up with that? Okay, I'll sit, sheesh. So I do this five or six times, and keep in mind it's mid-afternoon, so considering I get one nibble for each sit this simply becomes a good deposit on the long-lost breakfast!

More talking... I think I'll lay down. Hey, waitaminute... LOTS of food all at once? Just for laying down??? Hmmm... I'm gonna have to think about this one. Maybe I'll sit real quiet and pretty and I'll get some more. Waiting... nope, hel-loooo, I'm over here? Waiting, getting tired... time to lay down again. Then all of a sudden, more food! I think I'll get the hang of this food thing.

More talking about how I'll live in my kennel more (less free run of parts of the house) and more about how I'll work to earn my tidbits.

Looks like the man who feeds me and the woman who adores me are completely buying into this crap as they bundle me up to take me back home. I think the free ride is over and I'll never see my beloved food dish again...

It has been a busy little while

Hmmph! I don't remember the last time my Food dish had anything in it, ugh I have to work for every scrap these days. At least I'm keeping my girlish figure neat and trim so I can't complain too much. Besides, all I have to do is push away that kibble with my nose and the man who feeds me sometimes switches over to something more yummy!

That reminds me ... I eat like a piggy! Ate so much wet food one night that I had to get sick all over the floor (they said it was pretty easy to clean up, lucky for them because my teeny tummy hadn't digested it yet) and prove to the man who feeds me and the woman who simply adores me that they gotta watch out for me from now on because I'm a piggy. They slept on the floor watching me all night long. Boy they must really like me a lot. I think I'll formally adopt them as Mummy and Daddy! Besides, it's sure easier for these two paws to type that then 'woman who simply adores me and man who feeds me'...

I was about to tell you about all the trips I've taken since I got here. Let's see... I get to ride in the kennel a lot with Daddy and sometimes Mummy. They take me places to meet people, like where Mummy works, and like the place with the funny table that I stand on and the lady who speaks really funny baby talk to me when she gives me a needle (I didn't even let out a whimper). But my favorite place was where my cousin Jade lives! That's me and her in a group photo on my page. She lives a few hours away, but I don't care because I slept the whole way. Daddy says that Jade is "90 something pounds" of Black Lab. All I know is that she sure can move pretty fast when she needs to!

Hey I gotta tell ya about this neat-o place I went to one day... Mummy called it "Puppy Daycare" but all I know is that it was lots of fun, many different Pups to play with and boy oh boy was I ever bushed at the end of the day. I had just enough energy left to give Daddy one kiss and just about fell asleep waiting to get in my kennel for the trip home.

Ya know, with the schedule of trips that I keep, I just have to get me one of them Palm Pilot thingees so that I can keep track of it all! I'm just not so sure that these paws can manage to work the stylus...

Travelling Puppy

Well holy moly... do I ever get a lot of rides in the truck. I can't wait until I'm old enough to sit on the seat. It's getting kind of boring being in the kennel all of the time.

Mummy and Daddy ran a lot of errands last Friday night and they kept telling me that I was a good dog. At least they remembered to let me out for a whiz every once in a while. Lots of strange sounds and places too.

Daddy was sick most of the weekend and on Saturday he left me in my pen except for the occasional trip outdoors for a potty break. The rest of it, he slept on the couch. Well, except for Saturday morning, we took a long trip and saw some boy scouts setting up a camp where Daddy had to deliver some papers. And Saturday evening he had a few errands to run then pick up Mummy from work. And Sunday morning he took me to a place where all these other women fawned all over me. something called a 'fun run'. One of Daddy's buddies said that I was quite a chick magnet...

But then they took me to a place with lots of other dogs and they called it Puppy Training - but you and I both know it's really training for Daddy and Mummy so that they learn doglish. I catch on real quick - there was this one thing where Mummy stood on the leash and all I had to do was look at Mummy and she'd feed me these really yummy treats! Some of the other dogs in the room didn't catch on so quick and I figure they went home hungry. Tough nookies, they'll learn soon enough... I had to laugh after we all went home and Mummy and Daddy learned they have homework, can you believe it they said, and I just laughed because they are both 40-something and they have homework! Hahahahaha! More food for *me* is all I can say, and that's all that's important, now isn't it.

Daycare again and the not-so-great escape

I like this place they call daycare. Mummy dropped me off at a place called Pawsitively Pooched (.com) not too far from my forever home. It's the second time I've been there. I recognized the place right off and went into my trademark Shiba Smile -for those of you who don't know, that's when my little prick ears go back and my whole butt wiggles along with my tail. It means I'm really excited and can't wait to play with everyone. Mommy and Daddy were both out of the house today and this is where they take me for days like this. I don't care -- I just wanna play with the other dogs!

When Daddy picked me up tonight, Brenda (she's one of the Daycare owners) told him that I was in both the puppy and the big dog playtimes today, and that I was so tired at lunch I didn't eat. I tell ya, I was pretty hungry by the time I got home! She also said that I was the darling of the place today and *I* have no trouble believing that because of course I am. :)

A couple of days ago I learned not only how to walk down stairs but how to get through one of the baby gates! I am so proud of myself! Ya see it happened the other day when Daddy left me on the main floor to go upstairs for a shower. Mummy said to Daddy that she heard me whining the whole time, and Daddy comes back downstairs and sees me squeezing back through the gate and onto the main floor where he'd left me. I gotta give him credit, he's pretty smart (sometimes) and he figured out that I got through the gate and was whining because I was not where I was supposed to be. He was pretty cool about it and didn't bust my butt for sneaking out on him. But then the stinker put up some corrugated plastic on the gate so that I can't sneak out again! Dangit, I have to figure out a new escape...

At least he doesn't carry me down the stairs anymore when I gotta go potty.

A wack-o night ends on a high note. Arf Arf... it's- grrrrrrrrrrr-eat!

I had a bit of a wack-o night last night. I had to wake up Daddy a couple of times to go outside. I haven't done this for weeks. I think he laughed at me the once. Imagine the humility of having to go #2 in front of someone, no privacy at all. Well then I did something that I've never done before and passed a large amount of gas. I did not fart, that's what male dogs do, I fluffed as Mummy would say. It's just that this time the noise was closer to a fart than a fluff. Anyways It startled me mid-stream and I had to run away from it. I think I got laughed at while it was happening. This happened a few times while I darted around the yard. Next time I'll know that it's okay to fluff (or fart) and go #2 at the same time and it won't startle me. Poor Daddy had to chase all over the yard to pick up after me this morning after the sun came up.

As far as dogs go, I'm pretty advanced eh. I have this page on Dogster (mind you it's the only thing that my paws understand how to do with the computer mind you as I'm just a pup) and I take my own pictures and do these diary entries. A girl's gotta do something to build her skills in between naps, feeding, whizzing, sleeping, playing and then doing it all over again. I mean you can only do so much napping, feeding, whizzing, sleeping, and playing before it gets old.

If I didn't know how to surf the Internet I would not have known that a great honour has been bestowed upon me today! So it is with great pride that I graciously accept the honour bestowed upon me today of being chosen for the Diary of the Day by Dogster. Allow me to clear my throat for the acceptance speech... ahem... I'd like to thank all the dogs that made this happen... My Dad, Koyote's Majic and My Mom, Koyote's Kricket. I'd also like to thank the Kennel where I was born, Koyote's Kennels at http://www.koyotekennels.com and Laura with all of her kind heart and deep knowledge on the breed. And last but not least the guardians of my forever home, Mummy and Daddy. I love you all! Shiba Kisses!

Whomever invented baths should be barked at and peed upon

Daddy was being awfully kind to me one day this week. He was handling me a lot and then he brought out the nail clippers. I whined and cried and struggled but he persisted and got the job done. I had the last bark because it took him a half hour, but to his credit he didn't put me down even once. He's getting toughened up and I'm simply going to have to up the ante...

And then! The nerve of Mummy and Daddy. They said something about a *bath*. It was my first bath and it seemed okay at the start. Daddy put me into the bathtub with a couple inches of water in it and I played around for a bit, like it was so far so good eh. But I had no idea it meant that I got wet right down to the skin! Hoo-Boy did I ever try to squirm out of that one but to no avail. At least it only took about 5 minutes. Then they got out the noisy black wind making thing that Mummy uses on her hair in the morning. The temperature was nice but every time Daddy pointed it at my head I tried to bite the air blowing at me. I sure don't like any air blowing on my face.

I'm now totally convinced that I don't like all of this personal grooming stuff, nails and baths and such. Whoever (or is it whomever, I can't remember) invented this stuff should be soundly barked at and then peed upon. Hmph!

What's this white stuff falling and on the ground?

Life is pretty simple for a pup... eat, sleep, play, sleep, go for a whiz, sleep and do it all over again. It was during one of these whiz times a few days ago that Daddy lets me out in the backyard and there's all this white stuff on the deck and the grass and it's falling down from the sky. He called it snow.

I was *so* startled by it that I almost forgot to go pee! At first I just stood there looking around, then I ran around and tried to catch the ones that were falling but there were too many for little old me -even though I am a fearsome hunter- so finally I just tried to eat up all the dead flakes that had fallen. This proved to be a larger task than I imagined. Then it hits me that I'm outside for a quick whiz and this stops me dead in my tracks... phew, that feels better, now back to the hunting task at hand.

Run around with my nose buried in the snow. It's cold! on my nose. I try to shovel it out of the way but there is too much! Okay, time for a new tactic... I'll run and POUNCE on it and maybe it will all jump off the grass in fear... POUNCE... POUNCE... nope, it is still there. Hmmm it looks like I could eat it, and it tastes like the ice cube I chase around the floor too. Not bad, not bad at all.

A few hours later Mummy takes me out front on the flexi and I run and chase and dig and eat and whiz and run and chase and dig and eat (but *not* the yellow snow!) and run and Mummy laughs the entire time. After 15 minutes of this I'm positively pooped.

The only downside to the snow is that my paws get cold and that I absotively hate the towel on the paws and howl my discontent when Mummy or Daddy try to wipe them dry. I try to tell them it hurts but they just say that it only hurts as much as being towelled off after a bath (see previous diary entry). Oh well, at least for the most part this stuff called snow is pretty fun!

How do you spell 'm-i-c-r-o-c-h-i-p' and what is it anyways?

Dear readers, so much has happened in the past little while that I don't know where to start.

Daddy tells me the white stuff is called SNOW and I *like* it. But, this being Calgary, the snow doesn't stay all that long at this time of year so the backyard is back to grass for the time being. I saw a few flakes fall the other day -just a few and they fell so slowly- that I was CERTAIN I could snap them shut inside my alligator-in-training jaws but this was not to be. I'll have to work on it I guess.

I got to visit Dr. Carolin again for my last shots. It was going pretty good until the microchip. Hoo Doggie that sucker HURT going in. I let everyone know that it hurt by the size of my YELP. I thought I was over it all and we were gonna split from the Doc's office but then Daddy has the gall to ask about how to trim my dew claws. You see they are black and small and he's been a bit scared to trim them.

Well the in-dignity of it all! I had to endure a clipping of my black nails by Doc Carolin! But, I am a Shiba Inu after all so I simply *had* to do the Shiba scream to show my discontent. And they all laughed at me. I was embarassed for sure.

I am beginning to know my surroundings and recognize the front of very important places when I'm being carried or walked in. Let's see, the very important places are (in no particular order): any pet store, our home, and Pawsitively Pooched (http://www.pawsitivelypooched.com) for daycare. If I'm in the kennel I do this little dance and it makes it tough for Mummy or Daddy to hold the kennel. But I simply get SO excited and I have to dance!

Daddy took me to a new pet store tonight -although most of them are new still- and he had me try on a vest for riding in the car. We purchased it and now I'm not going to always be in the kennel. Finally a princess who shall ride like royalty with my chauffeur up front and me in the back. I LIKE this arrangement! The vest we got was made by SuperPet just like my pup pal Sushi's. You'll see more about it here http://www.caninefriendly.com/vestHarness.html. Daddy says that it seems to be really well made and a high quality product.

He also got me a shedding blade because he said that I'm starting to lose my puppy fur and it's coming off in small tufts. He used that on me tonight and both of them were suprised at how much comes off even though I'm not in full 'coat blow'. Hey, they ain't seen nuthin' yet as BTO used to sing.

BUT doggone-it, they have me figured out on nails! Haha it takes two of them but this time they put a BIG plate of treats out near me where I could see and smell it but out of reach. Mummy held me and Daddy trimmed up the nails in about 5 minutes flat! I was *so* distracted by the treats that I forgot to scream. I guess next week I'll have to try a new tactic to prevent the nail trimming...