Had To Steal This From The Hawaiin Shibas

I Am Shiba. I Am All Of The Above And More.

Earth to Belle-chan. Hellooo Belle-chan!

How can you tell if your Shiba is deaf?

Even though Belle-chan is a Sp. Ch. North American agililty dog, her recall ability is the same as every other Shibas. If you say, "get in your box," she runs the other direction or if you say, No- Belle-chan continues to trot on her merry way as if The Woman's existence is non-existant.

Belle-chan stopped hearing the words, "Treat!" "Walk!", and "Car!"

Belle-chan kept sleeping when the doorbell rang.

Belle-chan would not bark at other dogs barking (and trust me, she never misses a chance to tell another dog to "Shut up!" or "I'm in Charge!"

She will bark if she sees me reacting to something but even then, Belle-chan would be looking around, acting as if she was trying to figure out what was going on.

Someone can call Belle-chan's name and not even an ear twitches. If I jump on the bed while she is sleeping, she acts startled until she realizes it is me, and then she is all happy and apolegetic, licking my face and settling back down. Even The Woman has to be careful when she approaches her from behind, trying not to startle or scare her. Belle-chan requires gentle attention as The Family realizes now that Belle-chan can not hear us.

There is a level of humor behind Belle's recent change. When I hear the word "Treat," I am there first and she is no where to be found. The Woman has to go looking for her, and if she is asleep, The Woman waves the treat under her nose and watches her become alert. Belle-chan will follow me around sometimes, like when she suspects that there is food being distributed behind her back or if she thinks that there is a dog around that needs to be reprimanded for being in her personal space. I don't mind her following me around but Belle-chan gets all uppitity if I do things without her, like go somewhere in the car because she did not want to leave the bed (even after being shown the leash).

Belle-chan still leads a great life. She eats her meals regularly with all sorts natural products and extras. She still gets lots of walks and car rides. She sleeps on the bed every night, and gives a great good morning greeting to both me and The Woman. At night, after the evening consitutional, she hangs around downstairs until about 8:30 pm, and then hops up the stairs and settles into the bed for the night (although last night, for the Super Bowl, she stayed up until 9:30 pm, spending her time sitting next to That Guy on the ottoman watching the game- such a treat of her to give us her presence for that extra hour!)

Belle-chan is 13. She is a chubby old lady who yells at other dogs for playing on her lawn. She likes her naps, her belly rubs, and her meals to be delivered regularly. She is still her Diva self- she just doesn't hear the fanfare anymore whenever she enters the room.



I Am Shiba. I Will Look After My Best Friend.

Sunny Sunday Shibas

I Am Shiba. We Do Sundays Right.

Belle-chan

We all went to the vet yesterday for our yearly check-up.

The Vet said I looked great (and I do, of course).

The Vet said Belle-chan looked chubby (and the scale proved that she was).

However, sadly, it was also determined that Belle might have an ear infection so the Vet sticks one of those q-tip things into her ear.

Let me back up for one moment. This is a very small office with many dogs visiting and two residential cats. There is non-stop barking as we are interacting with the Vet.

That is until the Vet put the q-tip in Belle's ear to get a sample to examine.

The scream was a classic; one that every Shiba owner knows and loves so much. That scream of dissatisfaction, that scream of personal space invasion; that scream of the indignity of it all. It was not a yelp of pain; it was that sound that comes from a Shiba's heart.

It was a moment of Shiba perfection.

And there was dead silence in the Vet's office for about thirty seconds.

The Woman looked at the Vet Tech, who had a horrified expression on her face, and said, "You have now experienced The Shiba Scream. Consider yourself blessed." The Vet looked at Belle-chan with that look of "Now, that wasn't that bad now, was it?" as Belle-chan wagged her tail and appeared quite pleased with herself.



I Am Shiba. Our Screams Can Stop Time Itself.

The Bark Side: 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial Teaser

Although there are no Shibas in this commercial, I suspect it is because we don't sing on command, or that maybe the Force is just too strong in us. But this commercial is cool. It has my approval.



I Am Shiba. I Make The Sith Lord Look Weak.

Chaos, I Tell You, Chaos!

I am most displeased. Nothing is as it should be.


The Woman decided to completely clean the kitchen of all dog fur (something about dust bunnies and shedding; I have no idea of what she speaks). First she disassembled our crates and took all our blankies to the laundromat to remove that wonderful aromatic Shiba smell and replace it with yucky non-scented stuff. Please note that in this photograph and the one below, I am not only expressing my unamusement with the entire endeavour, but also working hard to return my scent where it rightfully belongs.

"Oh this is just so wrong." ^^^

I even have to look in on her several times to see if she is done yet. Are you done yet? Are you done yet? When will our dog food bowls be dry? When will my crate be put back? Is that cleaning solution you are using healthy for my paws?

Belle-chan, of course, takes the easy option out whenever there is chaos.

She merely goes to the bedroom and naps.

There is change happening and she prefers to avoid it rather than supervise or confront it head on.

Belle-chan's philosophy: This is not happening. If I sleep, it will just go away.

My philosophy: I most certainly did NOT give you permission to do this!

I Am Shiba. Next Time She Does This, I Won't Leave My Crate.

New Year's Resolutions

This year it was very easy for Belle-chan and I to decide upon our New Year's Resolutions.

She will blow her coat in the Autumn and Spring.
I will blow my coat in the Winter and Summer.

This way, we ensure that The Women gets exercise through vacuuming and meets two of her New Year's Resolutions: clean the house and exercise more.

So, all of you who believe that Shibas are not considerate on their owners needs just don't recognize how much we go out of our way to help you.



I Am Shiba. I Am Helpful.