carrot.

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Who knew Betsy would like carrots? 

Kit wouldn't go near them. He's more of a meat and potatoes kinda guy.

allergies.

Once in awhile, Betsy has sneezing fits:

excited!

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I often wonder if Betsy thinks "Gina" means me or if it means someone's at the door:

ukulele.

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After I got back from my trip to Hawaii last summer, I decided to teach myself the ukulele. Kit was not happy to be introduced to my ukulele. In fact, he was afraid of it!


Are your dogs afraid of strange things?

happy birthday rain!

Happy birthday to Kit & Betsy's owner, Rain!

My favorite video clip of Rain and Betsy as originally posted here:

Here's a far superior home movie shot a few years go by Ve when all three of the Shibal Inus were still together. Her dog, Henri, is an honorary Shibal Inu:

Tsunami-surviving dog rescue

Tsunami-surviving dog rescued after three weeks at sea:

I saw this video via Kaiju's Twitter feed. This dog was super lucky. I can't imagine what I'd do stranded for three weeks at sea. There's still time to pick a print! 100% of all proceeds from everything in the store will be donated to ARK to benefit animals from the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Pick-A-Print will end on April 12th!

--- EDIT ---

After rescue, the dog was reunited with its owner!

happy birthday michelle!

Happy birthday to Natto's owner, Michelle!

["You gonna finish that?" - Williamsburg, NY]

My favorite video clip of Michelle and Natto:

doppelganger.

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Have you guys ever seen the Japanese commercials for SoftBank?
They're kinda strange but pretty funny. I think they're ads for cell phone plans.
The featured family consists of a dad (the dog), mom, son (black dude) and daughter.
I can't decide which is more impressive: the talking dog or the black dude speaking in Japanese.

Kit as William Wallace.

Here is Kit as William Wallace:

This was taken a few years ago on a cabin trip to upstate New York. Kit, Betsy, and honorary Shibal Inu, Henri are going to another winter cabin trip this weekend! It's gonna be a snow weekend blast. Will be back with more Shibal Inu adventures!

Happy Presidents Day!

mm-hmm.

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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.

* * * BTW! There's only a week left 'til the year ends! Why not get a 2011 calendar now on sale for $10? * * *

invisi-dirt.

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Kit and Betsy like to gnaw on marrow bones as a snack. It helps keep their teeth clean and keeps them occupied. It's funny to watch them try to bury it.

Q: What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

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I do not think dogs need clothes and doggy sweaters unless it's for functional purposes. Like the time I knitted Betsy a sweater because her undercoat hadn't grown in time for cold weather and she was shivering during walks (Sweater FAIL btw. Betsy hated her sweater). Although I think costumes can be fun when done in tasteful manner. Rain won't let me dress the dogs up for Halloween though. Otherwise, Kit would be superman and Betsy would be Robin Hood as done by Shio.

Speaking of knitting, I went to the Duchess County Sheep & Wool Festival with Nova's owner Jenni and my friend Laura this past weekend. We got to see sheep dog demonstrations! I learned that border collies are total OCD workaholics. They are happiest when all their sheep are gathered and in order. What super smart and well behaved dogs!


[Workaholic at work - Rhinebeck, NY]


[It's been a long day - Rhinebeck, NY]


[OMG they lemme hold one. Shot by Laura - Rhinebeck, NY]


[Look out world. Almost ready to put sheep in order - Shot by Laura - Rhinebeck, NY]

I don't think the Shibal Inus would make very good sheep dogs. Kit would just bark at the sheep. Natto would try to play with them. Betsy would take a sniff and roll around in their poo. Nova would not go anywhere near them.

hunt.

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Zuko has got some awesome pictures of shiba inus hunting over on his blog.
If Kit and Betsy went hunting for wild boar, it would most likely look something like this:

How can you take those fluffy tails seriously?

deer.

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Took Kit, Betsy and Nova on a cabin trip getaway last weekend. I really don't understand Betsy's obsession with poop. Neither of the other dogs were as equally fascinated. Once released into the dog pen, Betsy managed to find old poop from previous dog visitors and rolled around in it. While on a long leash outside the pen, she found deer poop and rolled around in that also. She had to be washed twice.


[Video shot by Jenni]


[Basking in the sun - Bethel, NY]


[Shade chaser - Bethel, NY]
Look at that innocent face. You wouldn't be able to tell she rolled around in deer poo.


[Maxin' & relaxin' - Bethel, NY]


[You take this side, I'll take that side - Bethel, NY]

sand.

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Took Kit, Betsy and Nova to the beach over Labor Day weekend. Betsy loves to dig through the sand:

*squeak*

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I got Kit a squeaky football for his Gotcha Day. Been watching a lot of Friday Night Lights. I think Kit is very much like "Smash" Williams. He's not as fast though because Betsy got to his football before he did:

As you can see, they LOOOOOOOOOVED it. I think because the ball also squeaked when it was released. It didn't last very long though as Kit and Betsy managed to tear the ball apart and eat the squeaker.

ball.

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Seriously, this can't be comfortable:

[Betsy had a long day - SoHo, NY]

I bet she'd rather be sleeping on something like this:

HEX Tennis Dog Bed via www.hughhayden.com

shop update.

I spent the weekend making button pins for the Etsy shop:


My very awesome friend, Laura from Prismera, was nice enough to let me use her button making machine. She even made a little video of the button making process:

hygiene.

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katsu.

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