Animal Mania!

Our 6-month-old miniature Shiba Inu puppy has me wrapped around his paw. I know this is stating the obvious, but I just wanted to let any potential readers know that they can skip this post if they aren't obsessed with my dog.

Eddie's been on a few adventures lately. His first dog sitter was Uncle Sgt Dang, who watched him over Veteran's Day weekend when we went to Fukuoka. Eddie had the chance to play Call of Duty with Dang and his friends, and even play with a full-sized Shiba Inu. He gave us video proof of their playdate:

Today, Eddie got to meet two feline friends, Hank and Pearl! Pearl stayed out of the way for the most part, but Hank seemed to like chasing Eddie and playing in their parents' big backyard. 


First, they sniffed each other out. Both approved!

Next, Eddie explored the fenced-in backyard! He was delighted and decided to terrify Hank by running around like crazy:

We are so happy to be visiting Michigan soon, and even happier that our little furry friend will be staying with animal lovers like Stephanie and Adam! 


Speaking of going out of town, Miho and Pete are currently en route to Maui for their belated Honeymoon! Their Italian Greyhound, Brucey, is going to be hanging out with us until they get home again. I was nervous how the two puppies would get along, but they ended up sharing a rope toy, following commands together, and both cuddling on the couch together with me. 

Both inspecting the rope toy

Mom, can we have a snack now?

Beautiful Brucey is having a good time!

It's so hard leaving the furry creatures, but easier when we have great friends in Iwakuni to help out.

Eddie Update!

The puppy and I have been very busy lately. We're going on lots of walks and meeting lots of neighbors who can't resist his adorable face. I can't blame them.

Our neighborhood has some great scenery for long walks. Here are the lotus fields at the end of the growing season.

The lotus fields, a neighbor's house, and the sunset.

A picture from a walk at dusk.

Kisses!

Strike a pose!

These are some of the cutest kids in the neighborhood. 

The two little girls were fishing and ran over to play with Eddie when they saw him. The little boy is Filipino-American and loves Eddie too! These kids motivate me to learn Japanese! Kawaii!

                 

Eddie loves his care package from my Grandma Anna! :P Thank you so much! He loves his lion the most but he has fun with all his toys. He will chase his basketball to the end of the earth. :)


Now, here's a chance to get up close and personal with Eddie. Most of his cuddle time comes after a bit of biting and being bad. I think he might be making progress, but it's the reality of puppyhood. Eddie's teeth are growing fast and I was going to just take a picture, but he moves so fast that a video helped me capture his teeth better. Then it turned into tickle torture. Enjoy!

I think these moves might be inspired by the following classic:

Then! A spoiler! If you want to be surprised by Eddie's Halloween costume this year, don't click "play" below. If you don't mind because you're on the other side of the world and you need more cute puppy videos; play on, playa!

The main reason why we call our pup "Eddie" is because it reminds us of this hilarious cartoon: 

In Japanese, mame means 'bean', so a mameshiba (Eddie's breed) is a bean-sized dog, or shiba. We saw it only fitting that he should dress up to explain his name to his friends. I guess it's similar to a dachshund dressing up as a hotdog for Halloween. One word: adorable.


Leave a message if you're lurking out there!

Furry Critter

We have a new puppy! I'd like to introduce the blog world to Eddie, short for Edamame. He's a two-month-old Miniature Shiba Inu who melts the hearts of everyone he meets! Today I had a really fun encounter with my Japanese neighbor when I took Eddie out to do some "business". She doesn't speak any English, but cried out "Kawaii!" when she saw his furry little face. I handed him over the fence and they nuzzled and bonded for a minute as we mimed questions and answers to each other, such as how big he will get and how old he is. 

Anyway, this little dude is a handful, as all puppies are, but he is so smart! He's learning to sit when he eats, goes to the door and stares wistfully into the distance when he needs to go outside, and cuddles endlessly! He's the best.

Family Portrait

I'm so happy to have a new playmate here in Japan! Eddie is going to be a fun walking partner and hopefully we'll make fun trips to the Kintai Bridge to go sight seeing when he's older.

Let me know if you have any good puppy training tips! We're crate training him, but he's spending a lot more time outside of his crate than inside. I'm also trying not to give him treats too much, but who can resist a face like that? Every moment with Eddie is mostly like this video:

Thanks for checking out the blog!