Fall Is Here

Fall is finally here in upstate New York! The weather has been nice and mom and dad seem to think that means we want to spend more time outside. I think they forgot that we are inside dogs. They have even been leaving us in a big outside cage they call the "Kennel." I don't know why they think we would want this, but they apparently misjudged our true desire to stay inside, even if that means we are in our shared crate while they are out of the house. The "Kennel" is roughly 6 feet wide by 20 feet long by 4 feet high. The two ends are covered, and it is only a matter of time before they decide to cover the middle 10 feet. They placed a little house inside, but neither of us have willingly walked into that. The only time we have gone in was when they made us. When they leave us in it, they usually get in their car and drive off somewhere. While gone, we sit at the gate and wait until we know they are back, at which point we scream like we have been left there for days. Inside the house, we have a different battle. "The Baby" has decided to start moving on his own. He crawls around on all fours and seems to think everything he sees is his. He thinks our water dish is a place for him to splash and play. He likes to play with our chewed up cow hooves. Our dog beds have become his own personal bounce house. He lays and plays on them like they belong to him. He also thinks that we like to be chased and climbed on. Kanooka usually runs away from him, but I have learned that if I put up with him, it usually means that I get praised and rewarded with a treat. Hopefully soon, mom and dad will let us start hanging around more when he eats, he drops a lot of food, but they always keep us away from him. Pray that some things will start turning around and that mom and dad start letting us clean the floor for them after meals.

Until next time!

~Ronin

world's greatest shibas

Mom and dad found out that they have the World's Greatest Shibas yesterday. They accidentally left the gate to the back yard open yesterday, and we didn't run out at all. Not even when mom left us in the back yard while she went on her walk. When mom finally realized the gate was open, she promptly shut the gate and gave us a ton of treats. I like being such a well behaved shiba, and I'm pretty sure that Ronin does too.

~Kanooka

Outside

We spent a lot of time outside today. It was a pretty nice day. Overcast, but no rain. Our time outside was not just because we enjoy the weather, it all started this morning at about 5:40am. Mom let us out for our morning pee, but little did she know that there was going to be more excitement than that. Mom went back in the house to make coffee. As she was making coffee, she noticed an aroma that was stronger than the coffee right in front of her. She came out to see what was going on and noticed a skunk smell. I ran up to the door, but Kanooka wouldn't approach the door. She went back in to bring our food outside to us. While she was gone, we thought we might be able to rub the scent off of our faces in the mud. Mom came out with our food only to find our faces black. That is also when she noticed that we both took skunk spray right to our faces. Mom wouldn't let us in the house. Dad came down to see us and made us go in our old crate. We were in there until mom could make an appointment to get us groomed. We both look great now, they really did a great job grooming us, but our faces still smell a bit. It wasn't until about 6 that we were let in the house again with limited access. We aren't allowed on the couch at all, and if we start to stink too much inside, they may have us go in a crate in the garage. It has been quite a day, and hopefully the last day like this.

~Ronin

Grooming

Dad took us to get groomed today because mom kept saying we looked like homeless dogs. Dad thought we looked like we were falling apart. We usually just get thrown into the bathtub, but once a year dad takes us somewhere to get it done. I think dad does a great job grooming us, but for some reason he doesn't want to express our anal glands. I don't know why he won't do it? At the groomers, they brushed what looked to be a second shiba out of each of us. They finished Kanooka first, and while they were working on me, Kanooka was screaming. He sounded like someone was hurting him. The lady that groomed us had taken our collars off of us, and couldn't figure out which ones we were. She originally put my collar on Kanooka. Then she couldn't figure out how to get our car harnesses onto us. Dad had to help her identify which ones we were, and then teach her how to put the harness on. We now look like champions... well at least I do.

~ Ronin

Since mom and dad have brought home "the baby," I have noticed a few things in my four months of observation:

1. Mom and dad will not be returning it.
2. It eats a lot, much more than us. Mom feeds it at least every two hours.
3. Mom prefers to feed it in it's room.
4. It seems to grow at an alarming rate. Since it came, it has already doubled in size.

With these observations, I hope to befriend it. Then I will train it to feed me extra food. To ensure nothing happens to it, I guard the stairs to make sure he stays safe. Until next time!



~Kanooka

Superbowl

Mom and dad strapped us in the back of the car today after they came home from church. We ended up going over to grandma and grandpa's house to watch the superbowl. While there, we saw our old cat, Pete. He went over with us before Christmas while mom and dad went out of town, but when they brought us back, they never brought him back. I guess grandma decided to keep him at her house. It was nice to see him, but we don't need any other distractions at the house. With "the baby," we are already fighting for the attention we get. They keep talking about going to see grandma and grandpa in Chicago, so I have a feeling we'll be back soon while they are out of town. At least they don't leave us at the kennel like they used to in Arizona. One of the kennels was not exactly the nicest of places.

Until then...

~Ronin

p.s. check out Kanooka with his mouth open.

Dad got a new camera, a Canon Rebel T1i with a 50mm f/1.8, so everything has been his subject, even us. Here are a few new pictures.

~Ronin

To Grandmother's House We Go

Mom and dad woke us up early today. Dad was running around the house getting things together. He tore down our crate and took our beds from us. He then put everything in the car. He packed the baby, IN OUR SEATS, and stuck us in the back of the car, like luggage, and used our leashes to keep us back there. They drive a Subaru Forester and the back is bigger, but the back seat is OURS. We had to stay back there for 3 hours. When we got there, we were left in the car until the baby was brought in the house. When we were allowed to come out, we realized that we were at great-grandma and pop pop's. We are now lounging around the house, using internet access from one of their neighbors house. We like when people leave their internet open for others. We leave tomorrow afternoon. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

~Kanooka

p.s. While at great-grandma's, Ronin was investigating her cat, Sugarplum. She did not like Ronin going near her, so she attacked him and bit his ear. He is doing okay, but is a little freaked out.

Pictures

Since "the baby" has arrived, it has been very difficult to get mom and dad to take pictures of me. They used to take pictures of me all of the time. Now, I have to resort to sneaking into the pictures they are taking of "the baby." They only time they took pictures of us specifically was when we were outside playing in the snow. I'll show you a few examples of what I am talking about, and then end with a picture of me in the snow.

~Kanooka

P.S. Our birthday was on Tuesday and we are officially 4 years old now. For our birthday, dad played in the snow with us.

After Christmas

Mom and dad left us in New York over Christmas while they went to spend time with the family in Illinois. We stayed at grandma and grandpa's house, and so did Pete (the cat). It seemed like they were gone for so long. After about a weeks time, they eventually came home. They told us that they got to play with our mom, dad, brother, and sister. We hope we can go with them on the next trip. We can tell they love us more than Pete because he is still at grandma and grandpa's. We are wondering if Pete will come back. It has been a week and a half since we have been brought back home. I guess we'll see about that.

Until then, enjoy these pictures of our dad, brother, and mom.