Special Announcement, Grym has a Brag

Grym Esquire, Caucasian Ovcharka, has become the third dog in my home to officially earn his CGC, or Canine Good Citizen. Grym is 11.5 months old, so this has been a great early birthday present. He is a confident, well socialized, well rounded dog that I can take anywhere, and he was pretty much this way from the get go thanks to the hard work of his breeders. They chose a very chill, confident male for me, who has turned out to be a great match for the lifestyle here.

Grym being an excellent boy at the CGC test

Grym standing pretty for the camera

So, why am I so excited about him passing this test? There are a lot of stupid people out there who love to just walk up to a strange dog (especially fluffy dogs who look like bears) and make it accept their unwanted hugs and pets. There is a lot of bias towards large dogs who look tough, who are certain breeds, and no matter what stupid, invasive or cruel thing a total stranger does, the dog is expected to tolerate it or be punished. Grym is my "can take anywhere" dog. I mean, he's really, really good and reliable in public. I don't want him to be punished for doing what he was bred to do (protecting his family). So, just in case, here's proof that he is well behaved and can follow basic obedience commands.

Flyball News and Pack Updates

Exciting news from the pack: Beebe and Farrah made the long journey north to Canada in our brand new SUV to participate in the Seattle Flydogs flyball tournament in Cloverdale, BC. Beebe was a champ. I can not complain in any way about her performance. She averaged just under 7 seconds for each run, and ran about 30 races thru the day which is a lot of hard sprinting for a small dog. It is a team sport, so although her individual performance was outstanding (only 2 incompletes), the team was not awarded as many points as there were new dogs running and with that went quite a few overall no-scores. As a team, we aim to always get a time, but some newer dogs like to skip jumps or interfere. Oh well, better luck next time :)

Not exactly speed racer, but I am going to take the tortoise and hare approach here. She is accurate and reliable, so the speed will come later. We get no points for incomplete runs or fouls, so I would rather have a slower time than no time. She is 9th in breed rankings for points, and is in third place for points in active dogs (not retired or inactive). She seems to really enjoy it, and was thrilled to work for a brand new pen light. She got a long rub down and massage when we got home, and ate like a champ too.

Farrah had a blast. I bought a new fur tug and she went to town with it while ringside. She was not bothered by the crowd or noise at all, loved all the attention and new dogs, and did some dead ball retrieves for the tug. I have really high hopes for her in this sport, and she is a real speed demon, much faster than Beebe so I hope she turns out.

The boys stayed home with Grandma while the girls were away. They are all much quieter and comradely when the girls are out.

Grym is SOOO good with our new fellow, and they are the same goofy age which is entertaining to watch. The new lad has become Grym's personal cleaner fish and just loves to wash his face for him.

They all get along really well. It makes management much easier, so I am grateful to their respective breeders for sending me some nice temperaments and great dogs in general to work with.

This is Dedication

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."

Goodies for the Chickens

I bought some organic food pellets for the chickens, but I also want them to get as much green stuff as possible, since they can't range where the dogs go on the lawn. A good solution suddenly occured to me when I was at my local green grocer/deli, Tacoma Boys. They make a lot of their own goods, and source organically from local farms. I asked for any green stuffs passed selling date or left over from their kitchen prep. This is what they were awesome enough to give me FOR FREE!

Zucchinni, cabbage and apples. They have a few other people who take the bruised fruits/veggies for their animals. So, not only do I absolutely love this store, now I can get FREE organic goodness for my little flock.

I chopped up some cabage heels, strawberries and apple cores to make the mix more yummy for them.

I turned down the free onions. In general, avoid giving your hens onion or garlic as it will taint the natural flavor of the eggs. Same applies with egg storage. I don't refridgerate my eggs, but I am careful not to store them in the onion or garlic basket since they will absorb the odor. However, if you have fresh herbs that are good in omlettes, you can put them in a paper sack along with the morning eggs for a day, and this lends a very gentle flavoring to an already delicious home grown egg.

Available Shiba Inu in Rescue in Seattle

These guys are available thru Seattle purebred Dog Rescue:

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/18835198

http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/18651338

Laughter to Tears in 0:27 Seconds

You don't have to know Japanese to understand this video of a loyal dog who refuses to leave it's companion. This is something that can be appreciated, respected, and honored no matter what culture you come from.

Continued: Would You Take Your Dogs With You?

"So you say that you are getting a divorce, moving to a place that "doesn't allow pets", and are going to "have" to take your pet to a pound?! This woman has been through a 9.0 earthquake, is hungry and cold...she STILL HAS HER DOG!"

So very glad this older kid is in safe hands, and wasn't left behind.

Would You Take Your Dogs With You?

This photo of the tsunami aftermath really, really gets to me. I'm glad this little guy made it out ok.

James Harriot and Day Care Vaccine Dilemma

I'm sipping tea and watching James Harriot's "All Creatures Great and Small," and I began thinking about this little dilemma we have, Farrah and I. Firstly, when I was growing up, I totally wanted the James Harriot experience. This involved living in a little stone cottage in the country with my family and animals, doing my best to help them while being self sufficient in the old country style. I feel very lucky, looking back, to find myself basically there, but there are still quite a few things that I haven't been able to work out on my own.

Farrah is enrolled in puppy classes at a nearby training center that is affiliated with the Tacoma HS. I really, really like this center and their training philosophy. I have taken 4 classes there so far with Grym and Farrah, and I can honestly say that this puppy training experience has been wonderful. I mean, I am learning new things every week, where-as at our old dominance/alpha facility, I felt like I was taking steps backwards.

Farrah has been approved for daycare, but she is required to have a bordetella vaccine in order to attend. I don't routinely give this to my dogs, as I like to keep vaccines as minimal as possible (and as required by law). I also don't think it's worth giving, I don't think she needs it, and I don't want to over-vaccinate my breeding bitch. Part of my issue is also safety. I trust the staff, but it would be horrible if a strange dog mauled her and that prevented her from being shown and bred.

The dilemma is, do I give on these points in favor of socializing and exercise? I'm home all day as it is, and she does socialize at the classes we attend about 2-3 times a week. Lest we forget, she does have a pack of 4 other dogs at home to learn from, in addition to the play dates she gets with her Shiba friends Penny and Eli, and outings to the pet friendly stores. She does get plenty of exercise each day playing with the other dogs here and zooming around the acre. This was pretty much why I wanted a pack and some land, so I wouldn't have to rely on dog walkers and daycare. Is it worth it to give her the vaccine so she can get 1 extra day a week at a daycare?

For your viewing pleasure, a photo album of a day in the life of my Shibas, and their Shiba friends on a playcare day:

Penny and Farrah

Eli, Farrah and Beebe

Eli

Grym and some curly tails

Checking out fences

Beautiful sunny day in the back 40 by the shop

Penny

Farrah checks out the new chicken coop

My gardner

Ike and his favorite Auntie Pam

Butt sniff chain

Ike likes laying in the grass and taking in the view

Penny and Eli drool over the chickens

What do you think or what would you do? Are there benefits or cons that I am overlooking? Fun question: what would one of James Harriot's clients say about dog daycare?

No More Anonymous Comments

Much thanks to the idiot anonymous poster who said, "your both bad" in response to this post,

http://2naughtyshibas.blogspot.com/2010/11/ot-other-lindsay-tompkins.html

You know where you can stick it. Maybe you'll find a dictionary while YOU'RE at it.

Brushwood Dogs

"We are hunting wabbits."

Hmmm, why is it that Shiba Inu are sometimes called the Little Brushwood Dog? 

Thankfully, everyone has nice white plumage so mom can see them better when they explore, even Grym the honorary Shiba.

I have been clearing debris like a mad woman with the intent to keep them safe from being poked by sharp sticks, or eaten by lurking raccoons. Instead, all of the country critters and their extended families have decided to move in to the giant brush pile that has resulted from the clearing.

She's in there, somewhere.

And the dogs just think that's swell.

Ike's bleached bottom



Ike is hunting

As long as I don't catch any giant talking rats named Nicodemus stealing my electricity, I think a wood chipper rental can wait until sometime this summer. To conclude, a shot of Grym, wisely enjoying the groomed portion of the property.