Shiba Sixth Sense

My mommie's cousin came over the other day. She seemed happy when she first arrived, but after all of the humans came back from dinner, I realized that the cousin was missing. Hmmmmmm? I recall hearing the soft rumble of her Honda Civic pulling in and the grinding noise that her emergency brake makes when she pulls it up. Where is she?

Some time later, the cousin came in and began to cry. Her boyfriend had broken up with her......for absolutely no good reason -- that jerk! She sat down and couldn't stop crying. I tried to comfort her. I could smell the rise in her body temperature and the salt in her warm tears. All I could do was look into her wrenched face and offer a pair of sympathetic brown eyes. I stayed by her side for as long as she needed me and nudged her tear-soaked hands to let her know, "I'm here for ya, girl!" I sighed heavily as she ran into the bathroom to let out a healthy cry.

Is something on my butt?

Lately, I've been obsessing over my backside. I mean, I know it's gorgeous and everything, but it's not that. Let me TELL you about it. The other day, I went potty in my usual spot. There were no problems at first. But, then I noticed this horrible clump hanging from my posterior! Oh, my Shiba! I simply panicked. I kept spinning and spinning trying to get at it, and I couldn't reach it. At first, Mommie was too busy laughing at me to help, but FINALLY she came over and pulled the clump off me. UHG! My face was so red!

So, ever since then, I've had to check out my butt, like, every five seconds. I'm soooo worried that something is stuck back there. There goes Mommie laughing at me again. It's not funny! I'm a lady, and I have to look my best. Sigh. My life is so hard.

Cat Cologne

I don't know what it is about me, but the cats in my neighborhood just LOVE me! Instead of the usual hissing and back-arching behavior I'd expect from a cat, they actually run up to me and start rubbing their chins and tails against me. Well, sometimes their overly eager friendliness takes me aback, but I do the usual butt sniff just to be polite. There is this one hu-yuuuge grey cat that looks like it swallowed its meal for the year that likes to play chase with me. Mommie seems to think it's humorous for me to get chased by cats. How embarassing! First, my obsession with playing with cat toys. Now, I've almost become one of them. Maybe, they've adopted me as their local "cat-dog". YAROW! AWKward!

Roswell Shiba Inu Meetup

Wow! I got to meet a bazillion Shibas today! Red ones, black and tan ones, baby Shibas, and Oh-My-Shiba, I almost flipped when I first saw what looked like one GIANT Shiba. Turns out he's an Akita, named Teddy. I felt just a leeetle inadequate next to him. Anyhoo, I had a great time meeting so many other shibas. Can't wait 'til next time!

Roughin' It on Red Top Mountain

Woohoo! I went camping with Mommy and Daddy this weekend. When we arrived at our campsite, I noticed a cute little bichon frise peeking from behind her tent next door. I gave her a friendly shiba wave of the paw, and she snootily yapped at me. 'Fine! Don't wanna know you anyway!' I thought.
Mommy walked me around so that I could scan the area with my scent-o-matic memory device, which is the oh-so-convenient and built-in shiba nose of course! Sniff, sniff! I marked the boundaries of this temporary home as Mommy gathered wood and pine cones. Daddy was putting together some contraption that looked like a UFO, which was staked to the ground.

After the UFO assembly was complete, Mommy and Daddy cooked a tantalizing dinner of steak, cous-cous, beans, and corn. I even got a piece of that juicy steak! To die for! Mommy fixed my usual dinner of cardboard crunchies du jour but added in some cous-cous with it. Delightful! I was starving so I devoured it, but I had to keep my eye out for some pesky caterpillars who kept giving me the willies by crawling up my leg. Yikes! After dinner, we went on a walk and explored the lakeshore nearby. There were some enormous rocks along the shore that I had a grand time jumping and climbing over. Then, we relaxed on some rocks near the UFO, which I later learned was called a "tent", watching the lightning bugs blinking and hovering about.

That night, we all slept in the tent. It was a warm and cozy arrangement, except for Mommy who kept waking me up by calling my name and frantically unzipping the tent flaps and waving them in and out. She tried to wake up Daddy too, but he kept saying that his nose was too stuffed up to notice any horrible smell.

The next morning, we were awakened by the eerie squawkings of several hawks in the area. I warily stepped out of tent and kept my ears perked up. I was quite nervous because I smelled them nearby. I was so nervous that I couldn't eat. Mommy kept trying to get me to eat, but how could I eat if there were dangerous predators nearby, salavating in the trees?

Later, it began to rain so we all piled into the tent. After enduring some terrifying clatter made from the steadily intensifying rain falling onto the tent, we decided to go home. Hooray! It was fun "roughin' it", but I think I like city life much better!

Ode to Lichen

Oh, lichen! Fuzzy and cool beneath my paws
Over aged roots and bald rocks you crawl
You smell delightfully of very old mold,
The most pungent dirt scent that the earth could hold.
And what flavor your tiny brittle leaves contain.
I'd like to eat you with beef gravy, but ...I'll take you plain.

Blow, wind, blow!

Today was a particularly windy day as the arctic air rushed down for its final wintry performance before retiring at the dawn of Spring. I found the cold air absolutely refreshing and dove happily into each icy breeze that blasted into us as Mommy shivered and did a funny little dance. She let out a little yelp as if she were in pain. Hmmm....perhaps she'd broken a toenail or something. I made a mental note to give her some sympathetic kisses later at home. I sniffed the chilly air and wished that it could be winter all year long.

We headed for the dog park after finishing our walk around the neighborhood. I played with some rough dogs then went off on my own to check out the smells du jour. I had just rolled around on a deliciously pungent squirrel carcass when I heard a slow and oddly resonating crackling sound nearby. As the humans gasped and the squirrels ran for their lives, a rain-soaked aging giant of a pine tree whispered its goodbyes to world and crashed into a nearby oak tree. The oak firmly held the fallen pine like good Samaritan catching a fainting stranger.

The other dogs had stopped in mid-scuffle, with ears pricked and tails alert, cautiously scanning for any further movement. A cream-colored cock-a-poo whimpered and circled anxiously around her Mommy's feet, shivering nervously as her Mommy picked her up to comfort her.

I, of course, had started heading for home. I was not about to hang around waiting for another tree to come crashing down on me. I could hear faint echoes of my name being called, but I didn't care. I was getting the heck out of there. "Gotta get home. Gotta get home. Must get away. " That was all I could think about. Some guy with a goatee tried to grab onto my leash that, for some reason, Mommy likes to keep on me when she lets me loose at the dog park. It's like an annoying second tail. Everyone is always tying to grab onto to it when I'm playing the chasing game with Mommy.

I heard my name again as I barely missed a passing car while dodging the reaching hands of the goateed human and stepping out into the street. At least I didn't have to cross the street to get home. Run. Run. Run. Run. Almost there. I heard Mommy's voice again, and Daddy came running out of the house. What a sight for sore eyes! I greeted Daddy, and he took me inside. Whew! Safe at last! Mommy then came running up behind us, looking a bit raggedy for some reason, and let out a long sigh. Maybe that broken toenail was really starting to bother her. Ah, I then remembered to give her some kisses to help her feel better. As I comforted Mommy, I thought to myself that perhaps it WAS time for Winter and it's powerful winds to retire for the year, after all.

Trip Around the Block w/Daddy

The other day Daddy took me on my daily little trip around the block. It was a bright sunny day and I was having a good time sniffing around, peeing and generally enjoying a charmed life in my neighborhood. Then suddenly, out of the blue, along came a big BANG! Oh my! What was that??? I tried to run home, but Daddy held my leash tight and I couldn't get away to safety. Then I saw what it was, it was a big, metal and wood box with rubber wheels! Why would it do that? Life will never be the same again...

Now I am always scared every time I have to go on a trip around the block and pass that big, metal and wood box that makes a big BANG! I try to run past it as quickly as possible. I just get so scared around that thing. What if it wakes up? Or worse, what if it eats me up??? It must have been angry that I was having a good time sniffing around, peeing and generally enjoying a charmed life in its neighborhood...

Now I learned my lesson about who's boss around here. Therefore, I've decided that the best way to handle this situation is to keep a watchful eye and uncurl my tail every time I pass by so it knows that I'm not meaning to intrude on its turf. In this way, I hope to communicate a message of peace, love and understanding with the big, metal and wood box that makes a big BANG! Then its neighborhood will once again be a safe place for me and my doggy friends to pee and sniff in once and for all. On the other hand, perhaps I could convince Daddy not to take me on anymore trips around the block...I'm just not convinced its worth the risk...I'd be just as glad have a good time, sniffing around, peeing and generally enjoying a charmed life in MY dog park!!!

Words of advice from a young "adult" shiba....

Wow! What a fabulous year I've had! Now, I'm an "adult" and puppy no more. I've learned how to behave appropriately like a mature and dignified young lady. These days, puppies annoy ME. Poor dears.....they'll learn their manners in time. And, have you seen me lately? I'm absolutely gorgeous!

I remember when I first arrived in this giant multi-level box these humans call a "house". It was so vast and deep with cold slippery floors. I heard noises echoing from everywhere and detected no scent of my brothers and sisters or even Mom. I was so frightened. My human mommie and daddy put me in this plastic crate every night. I cried and cried -- sniff -- what scary memories! Now, I love the crate. It's warm and inviting and my "safe place" to hide in when the noisy garbage truck comes on Tuesdays. Oh, how I HATE that garbage truck, always gorging itself on smelly trash; and its human friends with all that clamoring and clinking of glass bottles and banging recycling bins around. Who knows what they'd do with me if I were outside when that garbage terror arrived. They'd probably feed me to that monster! --Shudder--

Anyhow, I digress. You should see how good I am at performing my tricks! Mommie is especially proud of me when I come when my name is called. I still have trouble hearing her call me when I'm at the dog park, but I'm improving. It's so hard to resist all of those fascinating smells. You know, ha ha ha, I remember when I was a teenager. Oh, I was so stubborn! It's funny...as I get older, I realize that everything Mommie told me was right. I was too focused on trying to be independent and rebellious. I thought that I knew everything! Now, I understand and appreciate Mommie so much for taking good care of me and loving me so much.

So, to all of you human Mommies and Daddies out there...I just want to let you know something. Be sure to be patient with your stubborn teenagers. Don't give up! Stay consistent and practice those lessons you learned in obedience class every day! Your little one will learn in time, especially after passing the one year mark. :) I certainly did. And whatever you do, give your pup lots and lots of love, affection, and play time to earn their trust.... lots and lots of exercise and regular walks to satisfy their urge to roam.....and lots and lots of yummy treats and praise to reward us for listening well. Your pup's self esteem will build beautifully with good, well-earned praise!

Sigh.....a shiba's life is beautiful.....isn't it? :)

Do I have to?

:( Mommy's mad at me. I can tell. She won't pet me. She won't talk to me. She won't even look at me. Just because I went on the carpet this morning, pretended to pee at my spot so that I could hurry and go play at the dog park, and refused to obey her "come" commands all day. I heard her say something about being frustrated about training me and that I don't listen. I listen! When I want to. I like getting treats and belly rubs for those silly little commands. But seriously, how many times a day do I need to sit and lie down and come running when my name is called! It's so exhausting! You humans are sooooo high maintenance. It's so hard to keep you happy. Ugh!

"Teenagers!" Mommy sighed.

I really miss Mommy. We didn't have our daily game of tug-o-war with the rope toy today. *Sniff*. I walked up to Mommy and rubbed my head on her leg to say that I was sorry. Mommy tried to ignore me, but I didn't give up. I picked up the rope toy and waved a paw at her to get her to play. When she looked down at me, I gave her the saddest face I could muster.

That's when she broke down. She told me that she missed me and that it was okay. I was forgiven. She gave me kisses all over and a belly rub and a neck massage and scratches on my sides! She gave me a long hug as I kissed the salty tears off her face. "I love you soooo much, my little baby. But, you really have to work on behaving. I'm your Mommy, and I just want you to be safe so you have to obey me and come when I call you. Can you work on that, sweety?" I kissed her hands to tell her that I will work on it.

I'm so happy that we made up. I love my Mommy and missed her so much. The next day, I behaved for Mommy. I came when she called me from all the way across the dog park. I even got a piece of hot dog for that one! YUMMY! I guess it's not so bad having to follow orders. I know that Mommy's just trying to protect me, and she is my guardian. -Sigh- Okay, so I understand the "come here" command, but "sit" and "down"? What's up with that?