Uncomfortable?

Do any of you have odd "sleeping" positions too? Mommy wants to know. She caught me "sleeping" like this and asked outloud "isn't that uncomfortable?" I call it shiba yoga. I'm not asleep in that picture, I'm meditating.
-Nami

Sunbathe

This post is for Loki's mommy and daddy. I like to sunbathe too. Of all places to lay, I look for the sun.

-Mika

Me too!!

-Nami

News

Hello everyone!
We finally moved to our new house with my gigantic back yard and swimming pool. I was put into the pool 3 times the first day we moved in to make sure I can get out on my own. Two days after we moved in, we went to go meet our new family member. She's a 6 month old red sesame (more red than sesame) rescue. (Pictures are on the camera, but mommy can't find the camera cable.) Nami is still going through her 2 week trial, but we're pretty sure she's staying. We had a couple of scuffles, but we're getting along great now. (She's the first dog I actually played hard with.) I don't get how she is so brave by the pool. I like to stand a foot away and stretch to sniff the edge of the pool, she just trots over and sniffs. She loves to patrol the perimeter of the pool.
-Mika
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Hi everyone! I'm Nami. I'm still adjusting, but I think I'm doing well. I would like to announce my apology to my older brother, Mika. I think I need to explain. On Monday morning, I woke up to Mika eating food out of my food bowl. I had to tell him that he was eating out of my bowl (hold on, I want to tickle mommy and make her squirm by licking her toes. hehehe) and nicked his paw pad and one of his toes with my teefies. I feel bad for doing that, mommy had to bring him to the vet (whispers: and they put a cone on him. He looks so silly, hehe.) I'm sorry big brother. Since that little fight, we haven't fought since and he let me kiss him and he even returned a kiss. When I first came, I was house trained, but only knew how to go on pee pads, and was on an odd middle of the night schedule. Since I have a nice big yard now, I've found that I like going potty outside so much more. I have such a large bathroom area now instead of a little 2ft x 2ft pee pad. Oh, I went on a swimming lesson too. Mommy was amazed at how quickly I got out the first time. Daddy put me in, and I swam a small circle, and managed to hop out without using the stairs. Daddy put me in again and I made it to the stairs faster than big brother.

Here is me after I went swimming and dried off a little. You can still see that I'm still kind of wet on my back. I ran away from the towel after a while, but mommy and daddy ended up giving me a bath anyways.

This is how tired I was after swimming.

On Sunday, we went to the Escondido street faire. I had lots of fun being shown off. (Mommy: they let dogs come to the faire. We were on our way to Petsmart and the faire was blocking off the routes that I was trying to use to get there, so after Petsmart, we dropped by the faire to browse.) Mommy and daddy were stopped so many times. Most people asked what kind of dogs we were, which meant mommy had to input that we're mischievous escape artists and some of our other "extreme" quirks. *lays down and looks sweet* I don't understand why mommy said that, I don't think we're that bad and hard to take care of, just let us be us- (Mika: -and we can conquer the world!). A lot of people stopped us and said that they were shiba owners too (or knew someone who owns one, or some). Mommy and daddy were surprised at how many shiba there were that were around the area (they didn't see any, but just from how many people stopped them).

Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm 20.3 lbs, and longer than my big brother (barely taller height-wise)... which means... When I finish growing, I'm going to be bigger than him!!!! kekeke

Okay, time to explore again!
Kisses,
Nami
P.S. Mommy helped me spell check. I had to give her credit because she let me tickle her for a while.

Oh, after my 2 week trial is up, mommy is going to take me to the vet to get a full check up and some preventative stuff. She can't do it now because she doesn't have all of my papers yet. That's being sent to us soon. The vet has my rabies information, but that's it.

We've (I use the word "we've" because I have some news!) been tagged by Huskee and Hershey!

Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Copy the image, rules and questionnaire
3. Post in your blog.
4. Answer the four questions.
5. Pick SEVEN friends to share with.
6. Come back to BLoGGiSTaiNFoCoRNeR at http://bloggistame.blogspot.com/ and leave the URL of your post in order for your blog to be added to the master list.
7. Have fun.

*****************************************

Questions and Answers:

1. The person who tagged you?
Huskee and Hershey!

2. His or her site title and URL?
http://huskeeboy.blogspot.com/

3.Date you were tagged?
18 May 2009

4. Persons you tag?
Ollie
Tierce
Rudolf and Goofy
Tsuki and Kitsune
Cortez
Chibi and Sumo
Akira and Shiro

So far, so good.

Mika's Mommy posting here:
I found one of Mika's chew and played fetch with him with it for a little while. Now he's chewing! Yay! And it's not one of the CET chews. =) I'm going to keep trying this to see if it works. Maybe he just needs to play with his food for a little first.

Yellowstone: Battle for Life

If anyone gets the Discovery channel, you should watch Yellowstone: Battle for Life, if you haven't yet. There is a fox that I kind of imitate. Well, I turn my head side to side when I hear something that I need to pinpoint the location of (like that one time I hunted that lizard up in the ice plants), and I tense up and try to walk quietly too. I haven't jumped up and nose dived 4 feet down beneath snow to get a rodent yet. Key word is yet. hehe.. I'm going to wait until mommy and daddy take me to deep snow and I'm going to try it. shh.. don't tell mommy and daddy. I want to surprise them and make them wonder if I'm truly a shiba.

Oh, Animal Planet will have it playing within the next week: 14 May, 15 May, and 16 May.

If you want to pre-order it, the Discovery channel store has it: Yellowstone DVD Or you can wait until it has come out and borrow it at the public library or something, I'm sure they will eventually have a copy. Mommy wants me to plug in: go support your local library. They have tons of good books and videos and could use support. Mommy used to borrow a majority of the books she has read and videos she has seen from the library. She now purchases books, but donates them to the library after she has read them to her heart's content.

Note: Picture is from the Discovery channel store site.

I went to the beach today!

Mommy and daddy surprised me with a trip to the beach today. The last time I went to the beach was over a year ago. I had no clue we were going to the beach until we got there. I just remember being really excited to go into the car and then laying down for a loooooong time. Then when mommy got out of the car, the smell of the ocean hit me like a ton of delicious bricks of doggy treats(mommy had the a/c and circulation on, so I didn't smell anything from outside)! I remember this smell! I was so excited when we were walking to the waterfront that I was zig zagging around in front of mommy and daddy despite the fact that they were trying to get me to "heel." They took me to the faaaar end of the dog beach in Coronado next to the base so I'd have to run further to escape to the non-dog side of the beach and the dog run area towards the street. Once I got there, they let me off leash and I was good for about half an hour. I was running around in the water and swimming about next to daddy when the water got too deep for me. Then, I decided, I like the sand more than water, so I went running towards the other end of the dog beach. It was so funny watching daddy just stand there looking after me and mommy running after me. I stopped by a family who were hanging out to sniff their bulldog's butt. Then I saw a couple throwing a nerf ball around and I played "monkey in the middle" with them until mommy chased me down and walked me by my harness back to daddy where I was leashed. Then mommy brought me back to the ocean to play in the water some more. We were there for probably an hour and a half, then we were on our way home. When daddy tried to rinse me off at the end, I was running away from the water. It didn't smell like the water I was swimming in, so I didn't want it to touch me. On the way home, I was so tired, I decided it was a great time to nap. Daddy took this picture right when I woke up, so I still look kind of sleepy.

Stuff mommy and daddy learned today: I can swim and I like water enough to voluntarily run and jump in and paddle about. Looks like mommy and daddy don't have to worry about me not being able to swim at the pool in the new house. Only have to worry about the new shiba, which they will hopefully be meeting this week or next! They've sent an email to the shiba rescuer with the days they are available to meet the new family member, hopefully one of those days work!

Me wading in the water with daddy.

Look! It's a shiba that likes water! Mommy kept asking me: "what kind of shiba are you?" But she was glad I liked water. She loves water, she lives for water. Daddy keeps calling her a fish out of water because sometimes she's awkward on land. Oh and she gets land sick, not sea sick. Such an odd human.

I was swimming.. mommy missed it. By this time, my feet were already touching the sand.

Still wading in the much liked salt water.

Mommy apologizes for the weird picture sizes. Daddy's cell phone camera sizes the pictures differently depending on if you use zoom or not. =/

Shiba Mind Control

I just came back from the local family owned pet store with mommy and daddy. I feel quite accomplished because besides getting the food that I was almost out of, I managed to use my shiba mind control and persuade daddy to get two bags of treats too. The store owner came up to me with a bunch of different treats to try. The first one, I just sniffed and backed away from. The second one, I took from her and then dropped it because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to eat it. I did end up eating it when daddy handed it to me. The third one, I just gobbled up! Daddy watched me munch on it like it was the best thing in the world and talked to the store owner some more. I was using my shiba mind control to make him buy some and it worked! Right after the store owner said that there were no fillers, wheat, hormones, added salt, artificial colors, byproducts, wheat gluten, antibiotics, added sugar, or artificial flavors, daddy asked me if I wanted some more. That was when daddy told mommy to pick up a couple. I think he wanted to buy three different flavors, but mommy said we'll save the chicken and banana one for next time. We bought the chicken and apple one (left) and the chicken and sweet potato one (right).

Video up!

Here is a link to the video to show how excited Mika was around the fountain! There are a couple of other videos from that day and the rest of the photos that I didn't post on here.
Pictures and Videos!

Finally!

So when mommy took me to the vet last week, the vet gave me a sample of the C.E.T. chew to try. Mommy has had no luck with me and chews (ranging from real bones, to compressed rawhides, to regular rawhide including the flavored ones, to rawhide chips, and those sticks where it's bits of rawhide pressed together to form a stick) and I'd chew on them for 5 minutes and whatever is left I would never touch again. The two samples that came from the vet, I actually chewed on until I finished them. Today, mommy drove out to the vet's office and picked up a bag of chews. Well, that and to pay for the fecal test because the vet forgot to charge for that test.

Actually, there was one kind of rawhide that I would chew. It's the one that is wrapped around peanut butter or beef and is covered with some sort of glaze. I like that one, but mommy doesn't think it does anything for me because of the filling and glaze that was on the treat. Plus, it got my bed all sticky so every time I finished the treat, mommy would have to wash my bed (that's a lot of wasting water). Needless to say, mommy doesn't buy the wrapped sticky rawhide anymore.

Mommy is going to keep the rawhide for the new shiba to see if he/she likes them. If not, she'll probably split them up and send them to her family. Their dogs like rawhides and have no problems with them.

The walk through for the house is tomorrow. Mommy is excited, it means they're getting closer to moving in. Daddy is planning on moving in next week, but mommy has a small surgical evaluation test next week on Friday. A laparoscopy is what she will have. hehe.. I think it's funny that mommy has trouble saying the word but could spell it for me. She has trouble saying some words, English was not her first language. If for sure we're going to move in next week, mommy is going to contact the shiba rescuer around here soon, but they're going to wait until the weekend after the surgery to bring the dog home since mommy and daddy will be at UCLA Thursday night to Friday afternoon. Her appointment is at 1000 but they don't want to get stuck in traffic. She's looking at maybe meeting the canidate shiba over the weekend or during the beginning of next week.

Confused

Mommy thinks I'm confused about what breed I am. Today, I was in the dead weeds area of the yard pointing like a pointer with my nose about a centimeter away from a lizard. I even had my right paw up and tucked back like a pointer. My tail didn't go straight though, but other than that, I was completely still until a few seconds later when the lizard moved. Then I just jumped back and sneezed, which to mommy was hilarious because she was laughing at me for a good couple of minutes before my stare to her made her stop. Mommy didn't get a picture because it happened all too fast for her to grab the camera, turn it on, and snap a picture. The lizard ran away before I could chomp down on it after I sneezed. I did go and search for it to see if it was still there for me to snack on, but unfortunately, it had already left.

Mommy will get some sounds of the imitator mockingbird sometime this weekend. The birds were mostly quiet today because of the USMC jets that were flying about.

Mocking bird

Mommy would just like to say: there is a mocking bird in one of the trees in the back yard that keeps imitating Mika's whine so I keep thinking he's at the door whining at me, but he knows that whining doesn't get him anything. By the way, he's not at the door, he's all the way up on the hill napping.

Rattlesnake Vaccine

I went to the vet today and it wasn't too bad. I got a clean bill of health and had tons of fun embarrassing mommy because I wouldn't stop shedding even though she brushed me and Furminated me yesterday. I was shedding just as much as yesterday! :) hehe.. While mommy was in the lobby before the appointment, a pamphlet caught her attention: "What do you mean I'm not protected against rattlesnakes?" with a weimaraner on the front. Mommy picked up the pamphlet and read it before I was called. During my appointment, she was talking about how we're moving to a place that has a lot more open areas/bigger lots. Our back yard is going to be 1/4 acre and a lot of people that she talked to said that where we're moving has a lot of rattlers. The doctor agreed that since I'll be in an area that is less populated and has been known to have a lot more rattlers, it would be a good idea for me to get the rattlesnake vaccine. So, I got poked today for the rattlesnake vaccine, I have to go back in 4 weeks for the booster. :( After that, it's every 6 months to a year depending on how many rattlies we see. Hopefully none at all, so I don't have to be poked so often and I don't get bitten. After we move, mommy is signing us all up for the rattlesnake avoidance class. She wonders how I will do in the class though since I am more independent in nature and I'm sure the rattling sound would intrigue me. Hopefully after the class, I don't forget everything because I don't want to get bitten and then have to rush to the emergency vet to get poked with more pointy stuff.

Some more good news: during my x-rays last year, the vet found a lesion on my lung. It's been at least 6 months and the lesion hasn't progressed. Mommy's glad that it hasn't gotten worse (and that I don't have to keep coming back every 3 months for follow up xrays). Mommy is disappointed that it hasn't gone away, but she's thankful that it hasn't gotten worse; that's all she could ask for. No one could figure out where I got the lesion from. I never got pneumonia or bronchitis after I started living with mommy and daddy, but I don't remember if I did before. I don't ever recall having bronchitis or pneumonia and my medical records don't show that I did either. hmm.. it's a mystery. Oh, and I got complemented on my looks. The vet says I'm looking better than ever at 21.3 lbs. I'm down 0.7 lbs. since the last time I was at the vet. My best weight range is between 21-22 lbs. and I think I'm doing a good job keeping my weight there. Mommy also helps with all those sessions of fetch for cardio and daddy helps with the walks. At one point last year I was a bloated 26 lbs. That was when daddy was feeding me human food and I was eating Beneful. Mommy kept telling daddy that I was getting chubby but he kept telling her that I was a good size. Thank goodness mommy didn't believe him because now I'm healthy, looking great, (mommy: have super strong butt muscles from all that fetch running up the hill, and you can see them too), and have lots of energy (although I do miss the human food).

Anyways, I'm all up to date and feeling good. Mommy and daddy brought me to the dog park today, but we didn't stay long because some bulldogs came in and when they pooped it was completely runny and the dogs didn't belong to the people who brought them in (they were just watching their friend's dogs). The people that brought them in didn't seem to know much about dogs (the mother was actually afraid of dogs, and the kids were kind of chasing after the dogs while calling the dog's name and just being too hyper.) Mommy didn't want me to pick up anything since I just came back from the vet with a clean bill of health (and a $350.00 bill for the xrays, vaccines, cost of annual exam, fecal testing, and a box of Frontline Plus since we were out). Anyways, I'm kind of disappointed that I had to leave early, but it's for my own health and I have a new chew to try out that the vet gave us to sample. It's the CET Chew since I'm not a big fan of tooth brushing and regular rawhides. I like this one so far, hopefully the enzymes in this chew will help me clean my teeth a little. Mommy is hoping I take to it, so I have something to chew that will help clean my teeth.