Main Entry: Shi·ba Inu
Pronunciation: \ˈshē-bā-ˈē-nü\
Function: noun
Etymology: Japanese shiba-inu, from shiba brushwood + inu dog
: any of a breed of small thick-coated agile dogs developed in Japan
Kit is twice the size of Nova. I always thought Nova didn't really have canine etiquette. When I took her to the dog run, she made her rounds, greeted all the people, and ignored all the dogs. Maybe she is socially retarded in the canine world as she always seemed more interested in people than dogs. So it was good to hear she is communicating and standing her ground when Kit came to bully and take her marrow bone. After being snapped at by Nova, Kit backed off with a sad bashful face.
In real life, Nova surprisingly hates sweaters. It's been super cold out and I tried to get her wear one her owner left. She hates it. Nova will run away from me if she sees the sweater in my hand.
Hope everyone had a great holiday! Kit and Betsy opened their Christmas gift. After watching Mac the shiba inu play with his Kong Wobbler, I decided to get one for Kit and Betsy:
You'll notice Mac plays with his Kong Wobbler very nicely. Kit and Betsy play with utmost animal desperation and urgency.
Just a little break. I bought a fox plush pattern via Etsy awhile ago in hopes of making plush Shibal Inus. The whole thing was written in Japanese! So I had to wait until I had the time to figure it out. I made a practice shiba inu head tonight. Here is Betsy's head minus eyeballs:
Meanwhile, Rain is still perfecting dog beds for Kit and Betsy:
I watched a NOVA documentary called "The Science of Dogs". It featured a border collie from Austria named Betsy who had a vocabulary comprehension of 300+ words. Shibal Inu Betsy only has a vocabulary of 2 words: "studio" for the photo studio she and Kit sometimes run around in and "Gina". It appears "Gina" doesn't really mean me. "Gina" seems to mean someone exciting is at the door. If you say "Gina" to Betsy, her ears will perk up and she will look expectantly at the door even when I'm sitting right next to her in the room.
Michelle tells me Natto now knows the names of all her family members. I tried to teach Betsy "toy" and "bone" to expand her vocabulary (woah, flashback. Am I turning into my overachieving straight A enforcing Korean mom who sends her kids to S.A.T. after school academies?) with no luck. Anyone got any suggestions?
Rain got rid of Kit and Betsy Ikea beds because they were old and smelly. This gave him opportunity to practice using an old skool Singer sewing machine he ordered and sew up some nice dog beds. Turns out, the foam he used to stuff one of the beds was too dense and uncomfortable for the shibas to sleep in.
This is what ended up happening: Betsy insisted on sleeping in the cardboard toy box like a homeless person. Makes me wonder how long it took her to make this bed considering she does THIS.