While browsing Wikipedia yesterday I stumbled upon this little bit of information:
"A distinguishing characteristic of the breed is the so-called "shiba scream". When sufficiently provoked or unhappy, the dog will produce a loud, high pitched scream. This can occur when attempting to handle the dog in a way that it deems unacceptable. The animal may also emit a very similar sound during periods of great joy, such as the return of the owner after an extended absence, or the arrival of a favored human guest."
If there was any question, Ameya has definitely mastered the Shiba Scream.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Parowan Fun
This last weekend we were went to Parowan to spend some time with my family. We did so many fun things, it is hard to remember them all. I will let pictures tell at least some of the story...
One of the things on our agenda was family pictures! It has been years since we last took a family picture and Hunter hasn't been part of one yet, so that was kinda fun.
Of course we had to include our cute puppies (the big dog pictured above is Inky, my families black lab that we have had since I was 12).
Because we somehow missed getting a sister's picture at my wedding, we made it a point to get one.
And one of all the girls...
Other than family pictures, we played some Risk, Phase 10, and the dice game that they play in Pirates of the Caribbean. My mom, sister, and I got a pedicure and watched Water for Elephants. We also went shopping and had some Cafe Rio (Hunter was included in those two). We had BBQ hamburgers on Saturday and BBQ steak and chicken on Sunday - both of which filled my craving for good BBQ food. No good BBQ is complete without smores - and if you are a Heidenreich (or from Parowan I think) roasted starburst. My favorite moment while making smores was when Kenny took some starburst out to roast and was really alarmed when he pulled out red starburst after red starburst. Turns out we had bought the all reds bag. He learned that the hard way. It was so funny and he was so confused.
Our puppies were in little dog heaven all weekend. They got to run around and dig to their little hearts content. Because the weather was nice, we left the sliding glass door open so that they could come and go as they pleased. Happy side note - there were considerable fewer accidents inside this way. At least they are getting the general idea on potty training. haha. One night I took Jimmer out to go potty and shut the screen door behind me. Because it was dark, I think Jimmer forgot the door was there and when he went to jump inside he ran smack into it then took a few steps back in confusion. That was another one of many highlights of the weekend.
On our last day down there, they both really got into digging. When Jimmer is really riled up he will try to dig on his bed, or a blanket, etc. He really gets into it, but it is a very different story when he is actually digging in the dirt. He was flinging dirt a good 6 feet behind him. By the end of the day they had a hole big enough for Ameya to be completely hidden in. Jimmer's white fur had turned a tannish color and they both had dirt all over their noses and eyes. Needless to say, their baths when we got home were some of the dirtiest I have ever seen. haha.
Here are our little brown nosers.
All in all, it was a very fun weekend! We had a blast hanging out with my whole family and getting away for a few days.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
the leash factor
We finally got Ameya a leash and collar yesterday and we tried them out last night for the first time. Boy, was that an adventure! Let's face it though, almost everything with this puppy is an adventure. haha. Almost everything about her is night and day different than it was with Jimmer - more on that later though...back to the leash story.
She handled the collar okay - her only reaction being the occasional scratching of it with her foot. But to say that she freaked out when we put the leash on her would be a gross understatement. She cried louder than we have ever heard; and that is saying something. Not only did she scream, she pulled with all of her little weight to try her best to get out of it. Honestly, you would think we were trying to kill her with the way she was acting. Walking her on it was also a joke. The screaming only got worse and worse the farther we tried to take her. I will say this though, her tolerance has increased exponentially as she is now able to successfully walk on it without freaking out for the most part. Our theory is that watching Jimmer helps her to know that it is normal.
Our leash experience with Jimmer was nothing like Ameya. It is almost like he is empowered by his leash. He will take bigger risks and do things that he would otherwise not do when he can see that we are holding his leash (while he is attached of course).
We have decided that most of their differences stem from the fact that Jimmer was a Pet Store Puppy and we got Ameya straight from her litter. Shortly after we got Jimmer, we read a lot of things that made us shy away from getting another pet store puppy, which is why we got Ameya from the breeder. We figured that there would be differences, but not as many have manifested themselves. Some examples (besides the leash one) include:
1. Ameya is LOUD. Granted, I am sure some of that is genetic and some has to do with personality, but I think at least some of it comes from the fact that she wasn't separated from her litter mates for x amount of time before getting a new home. That first night we had her she cried so much. Even now she is so much more vocal. Jimmer tends to suffer in silence whereas Ameya is a bit of a drama queen and lets us know when she is even feeling the least bit of discomfort. We didn't hear any noise from Jimmer for about a month. We celebrated the first time we heard him bark. We heard Ameya bark within the first couple hours of having her. They both growl and snarl, but again, it took Jimmer a lot longer to get comfortable enough to do so. Ameya makes more noise in an hour than Jimmer makes in a week.
2. Ameya has no irrational fears. When we first got Jimmer, he had a lot of fears - some that he has overcome and some that he still struggles with. The best example of this is linoleum/tile. Ameya has no hesitation and walks right through the kitchen, the bathroom, and the entryway. In order to get Jimmer comfortable enough to walk through the entryway I had to trap him in the kitchen with me anytime I cooked those first few weeks. He still doesn't like it, but he can stand it without cowering or shaking. A couple other examples include walking on the road and various other surfaces and jumping off the couch/other high places.
3. Ameya is a lot more hesitant around other dogs and unfamiliar people. From day one, Jimmer would be so excited to go up to other dogs and even people. His little tail would start wagging and he would make (still makes) a concerted effort to go say hi. Ameya on the other hand, takes time to warm up before she is comfortable. She has fully assess the situation before she is willing to jump in and enjoy herself.
That is a synopsis of our experience with pet store vs. home grown puppies. I don't think that one is better than the other, but each have their own set of quirks. It is interesting to see how much of a difference it makes.
Lastly, I wanted to mention some of the nicknames we have come up with for Ameya. Besides things such as Diva and Drama Queen, we often call her May-May or Meya or simply May. Who knew Ameya would have so many options for nicknames? haha.
She handled the collar okay - her only reaction being the occasional scratching of it with her foot. But to say that she freaked out when we put the leash on her would be a gross understatement. She cried louder than we have ever heard; and that is saying something. Not only did she scream, she pulled with all of her little weight to try her best to get out of it. Honestly, you would think we were trying to kill her with the way she was acting. Walking her on it was also a joke. The screaming only got worse and worse the farther we tried to take her. I will say this though, her tolerance has increased exponentially as she is now able to successfully walk on it without freaking out for the most part. Our theory is that watching Jimmer helps her to know that it is normal.
Our leash experience with Jimmer was nothing like Ameya. It is almost like he is empowered by his leash. He will take bigger risks and do things that he would otherwise not do when he can see that we are holding his leash (while he is attached of course).
We have decided that most of their differences stem from the fact that Jimmer was a Pet Store Puppy and we got Ameya straight from her litter. Shortly after we got Jimmer, we read a lot of things that made us shy away from getting another pet store puppy, which is why we got Ameya from the breeder. We figured that there would be differences, but not as many have manifested themselves. Some examples (besides the leash one) include:
1. Ameya is LOUD. Granted, I am sure some of that is genetic and some has to do with personality, but I think at least some of it comes from the fact that she wasn't separated from her litter mates for x amount of time before getting a new home. That first night we had her she cried so much. Even now she is so much more vocal. Jimmer tends to suffer in silence whereas Ameya is a bit of a drama queen and lets us know when she is even feeling the least bit of discomfort. We didn't hear any noise from Jimmer for about a month. We celebrated the first time we heard him bark. We heard Ameya bark within the first couple hours of having her. They both growl and snarl, but again, it took Jimmer a lot longer to get comfortable enough to do so. Ameya makes more noise in an hour than Jimmer makes in a week.
2. Ameya has no irrational fears. When we first got Jimmer, he had a lot of fears - some that he has overcome and some that he still struggles with. The best example of this is linoleum/tile. Ameya has no hesitation and walks right through the kitchen, the bathroom, and the entryway. In order to get Jimmer comfortable enough to walk through the entryway I had to trap him in the kitchen with me anytime I cooked those first few weeks. He still doesn't like it, but he can stand it without cowering or shaking. A couple other examples include walking on the road and various other surfaces and jumping off the couch/other high places.
3. Ameya is a lot more hesitant around other dogs and unfamiliar people. From day one, Jimmer would be so excited to go up to other dogs and even people. His little tail would start wagging and he would make (still makes) a concerted effort to go say hi. Ameya on the other hand, takes time to warm up before she is comfortable. She has fully assess the situation before she is willing to jump in and enjoy herself.
That is a synopsis of our experience with pet store vs. home grown puppies. I don't think that one is better than the other, but each have their own set of quirks. It is interesting to see how much of a difference it makes.
Lastly, I wanted to mention some of the nicknames we have come up with for Ameya. Besides things such as Diva and Drama Queen, we often call her May-May or Meya or simply May. Who knew Ameya would have so many options for nicknames? haha.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
tulips!
Last week I was in serious need of a date with just my amazing husband. I dropped little hints and he definitely picked up on them. On thursday, the only nice day last week, we went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was sooo pretty! And so much fun!
All pictures are compliments of my iPhone...we meant to take the nice camera, but ended up forgetting it so I practiced my mad photography skills with the surprisingly good camera on my iPhone.
It was slightly, correction, very windy so don't mind the wind blown hair.
I loved the coloring on this flower and had to take a picture. Later we ran into a whole patch of them....
These ones were also fun...
And, as a tribute to the tulip festival, we got our picture taken in the cliche cut out stand.
Yay for spring! Hopefully it is coming for reals now!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Fish is on the Menu!
Fish Tacos to be exact!
Ever since I started to get a little more brave as far as cooking goes Hunter has wanted me to make fish. I have basically flat out refused up until this point because there are so many things that can go wrong when cooking fish - at least that was my rational.
Last night, however, I got brave. I found a recipe from Betty Crocker that seemed hard to mess up (also it includes avocado which makes everything better, haha). I refused to buy the fish until the day before I actually made it though. They turned out really well and we both enjoyed them. I thought it appropriate to share the love.
Here is a beginner's guide to delicious fish tacos:
Grilled Fish Tacos with Creamy Avocado Topping:
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced (I used 2 - we are big fans!)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup ranch dressing
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 lb halibut, skin removed, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used half halibut half tilapia because halibut is sooo bloody expensive, but the halibut was definitely the better tasting fish)
Lettuce
Tomato
Taco shells
In a medium bowl, mix avocado, cilantro, and dressing. Set aside. In a large bowl mix oil, lemon pepper seasoning, chili powder, and salt. Add halibut; toss gently to coat. Place in grill basket. Place basket on grill over medium heat. Cover grill, cook 5 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Fill taco shells and enjoy!
Side note: due to lack of a grill, I cooked it in a frying pan on my stove top and it worked wonderfully.
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