Summertime by Me, Yoshi.

During the day here it is kind of boring. I have to entertain myself a lot. For example, I have to get my own ball from under the tv and book thing. Mom actually IGNORES me when I ask her to get it for me!

 Mom says this is just "the way it is" and I have to "deal with it". She says that she has to work again for a while. I do not like her work.

 She also has been gone a lot either to the hospital in someplace called Springfield where dogs cannot go, or to Grandpa's house. At first I was not allowed to go to Grandpa's house. She said he had surgery and was not ready to handle me.

 As if I need handling? I do not need to be handled. I need to be rubbed and paid attention to, yes. But handled - I may be diva but let's not get too carried away!

 I tried to get Mr. Moose into the whole ball chasing thing, but he really didn't seem to care. (Honest, this was a Moose. Boo ate off it's ears and antlers and all that's left is a stump that looks like a Monkey, but it isn't; it's Mr. Moose)

 It takes longer when I have to get the ball out by myself.

 But somehow it seems more satisfying. I did it ALL by MYSELF!

 Sometimes Mom is right even when I think she's wrong. Sometimes in the evenings we go for a walk at my favorite walking place. There's this bridge...

 and there's trains at the end of the walk. Sometimes there are lots of them, and sometimes just a few.

 Today Dad rode his bike and met us at the car. Then Mom drove me to my newest favorite place on earth. Can you guess why I love this place?

 First I have to be very patient and "Wait" which is mommy's second favorite thing, right after "Leave It!" But then if I am good she says "Go ahead"....

 so I do! Maybe this summer isn't so bad after all! 

Do I, or Don't I?

Sometimes people ask Mom if I shed. Because I consider this to be a very personal question, my general response is something like this:

"I am sorry. I didn't hear you. Were you talking?"

Mom is more polite, and tells people that yes, I do shed. Sometimes she says "A LOT!" and the people make a face. Sometimes they ask how much and she says something like "Well, twice a year Shibas, 'blow coat'. When that happens he sheds TONS!" She says that it's something people should know about before they get a dog. Some dogs need more care than others, apparently. I need ALL the care. Mom brushes me about once a week most of the time, but when I blow coat? She brushes me at LEAST twice a day. She wants me to tell ALL the people thinking about Shibas that they should know this. She says that when she and Dad were looking for a dog, and decided on a Shiba, one of the things they thought was "Oh, that would be awesome, like Kioshi (the Akita), but smaller, and with less hair!"

(24 hours worth of shed hair. Does not include brushed-out part scattered to four winds in backyard)

Well, I fooled them! Less is relative. So is smaller. Unless it's "less supper" which is a critical situation. Or "less MINE", because of course all of the things are MINE things. Less as compared to, say, a poodle.But as compared to the average dog, apparently I shed a lot. We're not going to get me started on "smaller". Just don't go there!

Mom sweeps every day and brushes me two to three times a day. Big chunks of my coat just come off in tufts. Mom says she could Love 2 Pet (it's like a Furminator, but it has a rake side, too) me til the cows come home, but I still manage to have more loose hair all over me. The furniture, their bed, my bed - all covered with a layer of peach-colored fluff. I say it's just my little gift of love to Mom, to help keep her busy and occupied. Plus, think of all the bird's nests in the neighborhood lined with warm, soft Shiba undercoat! I am an ENVIRONMENTALIST!

Do you shed? How much? (See. I told you. It's personal, isn't it?!)

She Went and Did It!

Mom had talked about having me neutered, and stuff about testicles, and I did not understand what that all meant.
I understand now.

Mom said that because I have allergies and because I am too tall, I should not make babies. I think she put a little too fine a point on things. One day a few weeks ago we met a new vet named Dr. Howell. I liked her office a lot. It has cats. TONS of cats! Everyone was very nice, except that I did get a distemper shot. Dr. Howell does not mind of mom avoids some of my vaccines, but in order for her to neuter me in her office, she required a distemper shot. 

About a week later we went back to visit Dr. Howell again. This time mom left me there with cricket and my quilt. She said she'd be back. I don't know where she went. I do know that when she came back to get me, I looked like this. I don't remember what happened up there. I still like Dr. Howell just fine. When I woke up I had this cone on my head, but I really didn't mind at all. Mom thought I would be completely freaked out by it. I did get her to cut some off, convincing her that I couldn't eat or drink. She had to tape the cut off pieces back onto the hood when I started licking my butt in the middle of the night.

That's when I found out the worst of it. MY NUTS WERE GONE!! GONE. Not there, completely gone!! I moped and acted twitchy for a couple of days just to make sure mom was good and upset. She and dad cleaned my stitches every day very carefully. Dr, Howell wanted me to wear the cone for 14 days. By eight days my stitches were all healed. Mom cut one out at a time over a day and a half to make sure the incision was really healed. Then she took the cone off for a few hours and watched to make sure I did not have a lick-fest. I didn't, so she let me have it off forever.

While I had it on, mom did really mean stuff to me:

Seriously?

Really? Come on, mom!

Things I learned about the cone:

You can catch stuff in it, which makes catching easier. Dad threw my ball and I used the cone to help me get it. Less work, still as much fun!

You have to be careful of the water bowl when you have it on. I toppled it twice. Mom eventually put my food and water on top of a bowl to make it higher and easier for me to eat and drink. 

I look really good in purple tie dye duct tape.

People will feel sorry for you and give you stuff if you look sad when you have the cone on. Totally scored some sweet treats this way!

It's not as bad as people think it is. Mostly, we're dogs and we adjust to anything if we have to. 

LIKE NOT HAVING NUTS!

I Love Me.

I am watching them all. I think I am better. And I want to play with everyone. This looks like fun, even without television cameras and everyone wearing their best sensible shoes. I bet I am better than all the dogs. I wonder if mom will bet on me?

Just popped in to share some videos (the embed thing isn't working, but the links should) of me that mom took last night which will show that:

1.) I play well with others.

2.) Daddy is a cheap toy

3.) I am Wikkid Spoiled.

Mom is a sucker, and she KNOWS it!

I am ONE.

I am almost as bad at blogging as my mom is. But this is IMPORTANT!

I had a BIRTHDAY!! It was my first one. I liked it a lot.

Mom made me a cake. It was made with FISH and had cream cheese on top.

I shared some with Boo. Mom made me. I didn't really think he needed any.

And then there was a pile of presents ALL FOR ME! Mel & Boo did not like this part.

But now I just wonder, most of the time, which one should I play with first?

Trying

I will try to blog a little today. Mom is always so busy now. Summer is a busy time here, with chickens and things. She has DUCKS and won't let me eat those either, and TURKEYS which I also can't eat. In fact I get in trouble if I try. I got out with mom three or four times a week for walks or errands or visiting or all of those. I love the nursing home. Everyone is so nice and compliments me. Mom stands behind me and says I am spoiled, and a brat, but I don't think she means it. How could she? I am very good on the elevator now, and wheelchairs and walkers don't bother me usually. Sometimes if one moves differently or gets close I might shy away a little. Laundry carts, meal tray carts (I love those!), and medication carts don't bother me. I love the people, too. Mom still tells me to stay OFF and I have a hard time obeying. I want to get close to the people. They pet me and rub me and most of them let me give them kisses which I LOVE to do. Sometimes if I get over-excited mom has to make me calm down. It is hard not to get excited when you're young.

(Immediately after Mom saw this picture on the big screen, she cut my toenails off. She loves to do that and I hate it! I only stand because there's food after.)
I am very much all boy, all the time. I do not believe in sitting still for long. Sometimes I nap and then I HEAR things, like a bird or the wind, or something mom can't hear.

Then I WAKE UP and run to the noise. There are a lot of noises here between the chickens and the woods.

Mom has been finding new places I can go in to. I can go into CVS and Walgreens, which is really good for me. I have to be VERY good and mom says "act like a service dog" when we are inside. We walk sometimes on the bike path where there are other dogs. I was much better with other dogs before my testicles got so big. Mom says one of these days she's going to chop them off with scissors if I don't knock it off. I kind of like them, though, so I try to behave. I think she might just do it one of these days if I am not careful.

Nana is not dead, which is supposed to be a good thing, but I think she makes mom kind of crazy a lot of the time. She does not take care of herself, which she thinks will make her die faster. She may be right, but I heard mom say she'd outlive us all. I hope not. I kind of want my real mom back, the one who's not distracted and tense all the time. That's why I have not been blogging. It's exhausting trying to make mom smile at LEAST once a day!

Unexplained Absence, Explained.

A few people have been asking me lately why I haven't been blogging as much. Mom says we get a lot of something called email, which means people ask where I have been and what I've been doing. The truth is, not a lot. Mom's mother, Nana, has been kind of not so good lately. We used to go and see her at The Arbors, but now we go to a place called Charlene Manor, which is a nursing home. I think that means "more people that like to rub my ears" or it seems that way so far. Mom used to work at this place. I wonder if she misses it there. It seems nice to me.
I still go to the yarn store on some Fridays to deliver eggs. Some days I can't go anywhere at all because mom is at places where dogs my age, and with my minimal training, can't go. Apparently I have to have a special class before I can go to a place called "hospital". From what mom's been saying, they need me there! She says that once I finish my therapy dog certification I can go, but I can't do that until I am a year old. I think Nana will be gone by then. But I can maybe go and see other people who don't feel so good.
Other stuff I've been doing:

I play. Mom or dad try to throw the ball for me every morning, and sometimes if mom knows it's going to be a long day she leaves me with a bone to chew, a beef bone. I love them.

Learning to sleep out of my crate like a big boy, and not howl at mom or dad until after 6AM. This has been REALLY hard.

Hanging out with my friends. This is me and Jack at Dad's birthday party. I like Jack a lot.

Hanging out with my bros. This is brother B. He smells good.

Hanging with mom and dad on the deck in the evening when mom is done with Nana and dad is done with StupidWork. Mom says that StupidWork pays for my kibble so maybe I should shut up about it. But it's dumb. Both of them gone so much, it annoys me a LOT.
I have not been back to school yet. Mom says maybe soon, now that Nana is settled in a new place to live. Mom spent a lot of time this week cleaning out Nana's old house. Now all of her stuff is in our garage and it smells funny and not like our stuff at all. Mom says I may NOT pee on it, which seems pretty stupid to me. Then it would smell more like us. Speaking of pee. I had a urinary tract infection, which I don't think I understand, except that it means I get AMERICAN CHEESE twice a day! Mom says it is medicine. HAH! That's MY kind of medicine!

Oh. Mom brought home all these stuffies.

Then she said I could not have them. How fair is that? Votes, please! I think I should get to keep them. Mom says they can go someplace called eBay and I can have a hoof or an ear or a bone instead. I am not sure how I feel about that, but since she has the thumbs, I think I am stuck!

Who's a Winner?

I DID IT! I passed my Canine Good Citizen test! I KNEW I could! Mom says this is just the beginning for me, but for now I'd like to take a break from school I think. I'd still like to go out a lot and see people, but I need a break from the rigors of academia, just for a few weeks.

I should catch you up on my life lately, and then tell you all about test day!
It has been raining a LOT, almost every day. I am very sick of rain.

Rain means that we don't go out as much, even though mom bought me that dumb raincoat and said we'd go out anyway. I still get to go places in town most of the time.

But mostly we lay around and wait for it to stop raining. It's very boring. Mom has lots of things to do inside. But we don't. Sometimes mom goes out alone. I'd rather be taken along.
I visit the yarn store every week, and last week I got to go to a new store. It is called Good for the Soles, and they sold mom these cool new shoes she has. She had a question about her shoes, and Jill and Tim let me come right into the store! I was very good. I laid down next to mom, and even walked with her when we were testing out the shoes. The shoes are called minimalist shoes. I don't wear shoes, so I don't know what all the fuss is about. Mom doesn't wear shoes much either. I guess these shoes are sort of like being barefoot, which seems to make mom happy. Anyway, I liked Jill and Tim a lot and I hope we go back there some time. I got to ride with mom to take Nana for errands, and this time I got to sit in the back with my crate instead of being stuck in front with Nana. I like it in back better, I think. I can go in my crate and lay down, or I can stand in the middle between the seats and watch traffic. I don't wear my harness, but my leash is bucked into a seat belt for safety.
Last weekend mom was gone a LOT. On Saturday Girl and Gerbil came and got her and took her away for HOURS. It was for a thing called a bridal shower for Shannon. I have met Shannon, and I liked her, but I don't see why she needed people to give her a shower. Mom gives me a shower and there's no audience, and no presents. Well, except for a piece of kibble if I am good. Anyway, mom was gone for HOURS. Then on Sunday she took off without me again - this time to teach a knitting class. This really made me mad. She came home smelling JUST LIKE the YARN STORE. I do not understand why I did not get to go! Monday she went away and bought a new refrigerator and left me here.
When mom comes home after days like this I prefer it if she sits in her chair and knits, or lays down with me on the couch.

I don't really like it if she decides she has "things to do" that don't involve me. Sometimes I get very angry. Sometimes, to let mom know that I am angry, I do bad stuff.
Someone named Kimberly, who is called somebunnyslove by some people, was coming to see mom today, so yesterday and this morning mom was all about chores and cleaning. She cleaned inside of the house. She cleaned part of the barn. None of this had anything to do with me. So this morning, when she dropped some yarn while she was tidying up and "putting things in their right place", I stole it.
And I made sure she knew I was not happy with her.

It turns out the yarn I took is not just any yarn. It is called Artyarns Cashmere Glitter, and it is very expensive. Mom used it for a design, and this was a leftover ball. "...almost a whole SKEIN!" is what mom yelled when she caught me. I didn't much care. I just went on with my business. Serves her right. She goes off without me all weekend, and again on Monday, and then she cleans and tidies and is out in the bar on Tuesday. But she seemed pretty angry about this yarn.
She tried to fix the yarn before the Kimberly girl came. That just meant she was ignoring me even more. I got kind of pouty. This was supposed to make her notice me MORE, not ignore me so she could fix the yarn! Finally she gave up on the yarn, but she still didn't talk much to me.
Kimberly came and I met her and she was nice to me. I liked her. She and mom sat at the table, which was also NOT ABOUT ME. I whined and paced and said I needed to pee, when really I didn't need to that much. I just wanted attention. Maybe I should have been nicer to them. Because look what Kimberly did!

She FIXED my mess. In the end she made a nice neat ball of yarn out of it! Mom was MUCH happier after that.
But then mom LEFT again! She said she had an interview with Auntie Kathy, which makes no sense to me. We see Aunt Kathy almost every week! What made today different? Mom said it was "radio". Then she changed her story and said I could not come along because I was grounded for killing the yarn. I think she lied. I think the radio place doesn't like dogs. I got left behind AGAIN!
When mom came home from the radio thing I went out and went potty and helped her do chores. She said we would go for a walk, but then she didn't take me and didn't take me and didn't take me, and then all of a sudden it was 5:30 and dad was home, and it was almost time to leave for school. Mom said we would go early and take a walk around town before my big test. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but it was alright.
Here's what I saw on my walk:
First I saw a very big, very loud truck that scared me.
Next I saw people going to eat at Hope and Olive. The lady said I was very well behaved.
I laid down on Main Street, and mom made me do a couple of turns, left and right.
I saw a man who said I was a fox.
Then I saw a lady on Main Street pushing a little shopping cart just like the one at school and the one Nana has. I stopped and sat down so she could bend over and pet me. She said I was very handsome, which I am, and she rubbed my ears and said they were soft. Next I saw a shifty guy who made me nervous, and mom said she agreed, he made her nervous too.
Then we went down Bank Row, and I saw a strange dog at MagPie. I sniffed the air, but didn't even try to stop to say hello.
I had to cross the street in front of Village Pizza. We walked back up Bank Row by the Town Hall. There was a loud funny-acting lady with a cigarette and a big bright bag on a bench there. She asked if she could pet me, so mom brought me over and she petted me. I sat and did not jump up. The lady acted very funny and kind of scared me, but I sat. Next we walked past a group of young people that mom called "sketchy", but they liked me and I wagged and was polite anyway. I sat and stayed in front of a place mom called Clark's even when a motorcycle stopped to let us cross. I HATE motorcycles, but I went anyway and was not afraid. I jumped a little when the motorcycle drove away. We crossed Federal Street behind another sketchy young person - there's a lot of them in Greenfield now, mom says. We walked to the library and crossed the street again and I got to head back to the car and dog school. I had to lay down on Hope Street outside of the church where people were going in and coming out for some kind of meeting. I had to see that loud truck again, and it did not scare me as much, but I also didn't want mom getting any ideas about laying down in front of it, so I encouraged her to walk faster. We got back to school and mom gave me a drink and let me rest for a while.
All along the walk I had to stop at every intersection. Mom would say "halt", and I would sit down and wait until she said forward. We practiced some turns, and some laying down and sitting.
The reason why I am telling you all of this is because when we got back to the car mom patted my head and said something really, really important. She said "You are an amazingly good boy, and even if you don't pass, you are still the BEST canine citizen in the whole world. It's OK with me if this test doesn't go well, because I KNOW you are a Canine Good Citizen!" That made me feel good.
We went inside before testing time and mom did some paperwork. I was a little nervous. There were a lot of dogs. The new CGC class, and the beginner class and a puppy kindergarten were all there. That is a LOT of dog smell. When the classes were over, I got to take my test again. I had some bumpy spots, I wasn't perfect, but I did what mattered most, and I passed!
Tomorrow strange men are coming to deliver the new refrigerator. And then on Friday I get to go to the yarn store and tell EVERYONE that I PASSED!
I remember when I came here I was scared. I didn't need to be. This is right where I belong - with a mom who loves me and believes in me, even when I am not perfect. So who's a winner now? ME!

See you soon!

Epic Fail.

Uncle Steve calls me "EF" (that means Epic Fail) and dad referred to my class last night as GED Prep. I don't think this is a compliment. Mom got mad and said she had a GED, and a college degree, and what did dad mean, exactly? Dad looked kind of worried for his safety after that. That made me feel a little better.
Mom has made me do a ton of things since my bad night. We go into town a lot more. I have to lay down all the time, and especially in front of distractions. I have to lay down a lot. Last night I had a class that mom said would decide whether I could be retested any time soon or not. I tried my best. It was really hard. There was a German Shepherd who barked at me. He still has his boy-bits, like me, but I think he may be older than I am. He ignored most of the other dogs and barked at me all during class. I tried really hard to be good, and I was good, mostly. I had a couple of moments. It is hard to be good when someone is trying to get you to respond to them. There was also a Rottweiler, a pitbull, and two Old English Sheepdogs, two children, and new strange people. They all seemed much nicer than the shepherd. I did ok, mom said. Not perfect, not horrible. She says I can try the test again, but if I fail I have to go back into the class with the shepherd. I hope I pass.
I definitely have a different attitude about things now. Mom says that she thinks the bigger my testicles get the smaller my brain gets. I don't know if that's true. I do know that I feel different now. I feel something I don't really understand. Mom says it's called hormones and I'd better get used to it.
We went to the vet last week, not for me but to get medicine for Boo. He has arthritis in his hips and mm gives him a shot once a week to help. it helps a lot. Maybe too much, because now he wants to steal all my stuff. Before he didn't care what I had, he just laid around and sighed and panted a lot. I got on the scale. I weigh 23 pounds.
We went for a walk this week in New Hampshire. I got a tick. The last tick I had was actually biting me. This one was just walking on my leg. Mom does not like ticks, I guess. She ground it up with two rocks into tiny pieces and all it did was walk on me. Mom has issues!
Before our walk mom went shopping at two stores and left me in the car. It was raining and dark and I had my crate and the windows were open. Mom went very fast. It was not hot. Mom says that soon we won't be able to do that because it will be summer. It bothers me that I can't go in ALL stores! I like being with mom on errand day. After mom did her errands we went to Petco. First we walked around the big building where Petco and some other stores are. It's in a city with noise and cars and people and dogs. Mom made me lay down right there next to the city noise and traffic. Then inside Petco she made me lay down in front of a lady with three little kids and a shopping cart. I had to stay until they went by.
I do think mom would be easier on me if I had just done what I was supposed to during that stupid test. I don't know if I like hormones very much if they make me do stupid things.

I did well and mom let me pick two toys out of the clearance bin. I fell asleep on them as soon as we were in the car. Shopping is very hard work!

Crime Doesn't Pay

And neither does messing with mom. Since my decision to NOT lay down during my CGC test, here's what's been going on.

Mom makes me lay down with Boo.

She makes me lay down in the powder room when I follow her in.

She makes me lay down in the kitchen when I follow her there, too.

She makes me lay down next to her chair when she's working.

I even laid down under the table at The Green Bean in Northampton.
There's a bunch of other places too. All day long, all I hear is down, down, down. Sometimes she gives me a treat, most of the time she does not. It's like when I was little and she was teaching me all of these things. She thinks I am STUPID and a BABY and don't know how to lay down!
Maybe I made a mistake. I don't think I am very happy with the outcome of messing with mom.

I hope she doesn't make me repeat the whole class again. I could have passed. I just didn't want to!

HAH! I WIN!

Remember when I said I had a trick or two up my sleeve? Well I did! I totally failed that dumb test! TAKE THAT MOM! I am seven months old and I do NOT have to do what you say! So there!
I don't get why she won't give me my chicken gizzard now. She's looking kind of annoyed at me. Maybe I should reconsider and work on being good? I should think about that. But for now I am enjoying being bad. It's FUN!

Banned? Never!

Mom has been so busy with her new book coming out that she has no time to help me blog.
I have been up to a lot lately. We were going for long walks every other day around the pond, but then the mom got worried about the Rottwielers. Apparently they are loose in the woods while their person works. Apparently they don't like other dogs. When they drove past our house and I was walking on the road with mom, they tried to eat the windows to get at me. I totally could take them. Mom is being silly. So we haven't walked for a few days, first because of the dogs and second because mom killed a whole bunch of chickens this weekend and was "too busy". As if anyone could be too busy for me! I like it when she kills chickens, though. I get livers and hearts and things as treats sometimes. I want to kill my own chickens, but mom says no. I had one the other day, but it was already dead. It still had feathers, and it was a nice bite-size. Mom had set it down on top of a grain bin, and I got it! She thought I was too far away on my dog park. Can you believe she has a dog park in the barn?? The door is closed. I am not going anywhere. And she has a HOOK she sticks my leash on. She says it is so I cannot get into trouble. But I find trouble anyway. I shook that dead baby chicken as hard as I could. Mom and dad were working and at first no one knew what I had done. Then mom figured it out and I got in BIG trouble.
Every morning I help mom with the chickens. She opens the door and I sit and watch them come out. I am not allowed to move. I have to sit very still and not chase the chickens. It is VERY hard work. Owen gets to just wander around and sniff stuff while all of this is going on. He doesn't even wear a leash; he could kill a chicken, and he DOESN'T! He's kind of dumb I think.

Tomorrow is my Canine Good Citizen test. I will pass because I am me. Mom says that is not enough. Today we went to the yarn store for a last practice before the test. She told me to lay down and I said no. She told me again, and I still said no. We did that for a while. She made me, and I stayed down, but I was mad. We sold some fresh chickens at the yarn store, and then we delivered some to a school, the same school that hatched out baby chicks last month for mom. That was fun. Then we went to The Arbors to visit Nana. There was a lady in the lobby with Nana. I went to see her and she said "down" and pointed at the floor, and I laid down like I had known her forever. I hope mom gets the point. She is not the boss of ME! I will show her. Wait till tomorrow night! I have a BIG PLAN! Mom will learn!
Girl has her own place now, so I am taking her room. Mom calls it a guest room, but every night I go in and sniff everything to make sure it is where I left it, since it's MY room now. After I check my room I go with mom into the bathroom. Every night I get my teeth brushed. I really like it now, and if mom forgets I stand in front of the sink and whine.

Mom does a very good job on my teeth, and then she does hers. While she brushes her teeth I get to go into the bedroom and play with dad. The other night Mel got into the bedroom before me - usually he is not in the bedroom EVER. I tried to chase him out, but the door was closed. He ran under the bed, and I chased him under it. Dad let Mel out, but I kept going under the bed in a big circle; door, bed, door, bed, over and over. I go under on dad's side and pop out on mom's side, and then run to the door. It is SO much fun! Mom laughed at me, but I think really it was with me.
On Saturday I made a new... well maybe it is a friend. Really I am not sure what it is. It's small. Very small. And it smells very funny. Sometimes it pees when it walks. It is, mom says, 4 weeks old, and part Beagle. It lives with my "brother" Eric and his fiance Rachel and my nephew Aidan.

Mom says that Jack, this small thing, will be my friend when he is bigger.
If we are going to be friends, there need to be some ground rules. Actually, only one rule.

MINE!

I will try to get mom to let me post about how I do on my test tomorrow. I am SO going to mess with mom! Stay tuned!