Maybe "bonkers" is too harsh a moniker, but, if nothing else, she is certainly hyperactively energetic. That's simply not normal for an Akita though. Her predecessor, Yuki, was the epitome of calm nobility, a trademark of the breed. Hana? Not so much...
Hana has her own toy box chock full of squeaky toys that have long since had their squeekies annihilated. At 5 1/2 years old, she's no spring chicken anymore. However, she still plays with her toys with reckless abandon, usually whilst upside down, using her two front paws to throw whatever hapless stuffed critter that's within her range up in the air so she can catch it again. Wildly entertaining.
But for a dog whose ancestors were historically used to track & hunt large game (including bears) in Northern Japan, this one is beyond foo foo. Her worst transgression? She's done a number on our bamboo floor from her daily scoobydoobydoo-running in place-freakout fest greeting every time we come home from work. Ouch, ouch, and ouch! So a word of advice to those considering bamboo flooring - yes, it's beautiful & sustainable - but don't bother if you have kids that like to rollerblade in the house or ridiculously bonkers pets in the 70+ pounds weight division. There will be track marks galore. Can you imagine her back in the day with a samurai handler on the northern island of Honshu in the Akita prefecture? He'd be like, WTF?! (in Japanese, of course). Regardless, Hana is still our baby.
5/19/10 Hana with Bunny & Monkey. All three are quite discombobulated.
6/5/10 Hana, overseer of all, but master of none. Hmmm.....
You're sure she isn't sneaking out to Starbuck when you're not looking? This all looks like too much caffeine. (We've had a lovely bamboo floor in our bedroom for 4 year, no scratch so far).
ReplyDeleteTown Mouse, I've had my suspicions. I think my hubby is the culprit. He always offers Hana his leftover Starbucks latte when we get home from work. She never seemed even remotely interested, but then who knows what really happens behind my back!
ReplyDeleteHaha, what a great post! Got me thinking. I think that Squeekies Annihilated is a great metal band name. I am also now wondering what 'WTF?' is in Japenese :D
ReplyDeleteLove the dog! Even if she is hyper :D
We're owned by one mellow, and another equivalently bonkers dog ourselves. No bamboo here. For our future kitchen remodel we've wondered if concrete floors (although hard on the feet) might be our best most durable option. The kitchen island is often a racetrack...and I can more than empathize with the scooby doo cartoon peel-outs across the floor whenever the door bell rings. Sometimes I wish I had half the energy of our youngest dog (just now 15 months old)...not to mention her enthusiasm for...well...everything! By the way, Hana looks adorable...and I love how they never look the least bit spazzy in still photographs! :P
ReplyDeleteDear camissonia, you have a very beautiful dog! And look with the philosophy of the Japanese at your bamboo-floor: think "Wabi-Sabi" - everything changes, and that's the beauty in it - to have everything perfect is weird, not lived in. Your floor is definitely recognizable as "yours". :-) Britta
ReplyDeleteKyna, Squeekies Annihilated does sound like a fitting name for a metal band. My sister's ex was in a metal band (of the home-grown variety) and I remember on one of our camping trips to the Western Mojave, when I excitedly pointed out a bird called the 'Loggerhead Shrike' to him that was perched on a barbed wire fence, he replied (in his, hey dude, I'm a cool sort of surfer dude-rocker dude intonation), "Hey, that would be a cool name for a band." DUDE!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you would say WTF in Japanese, but you've got to check out the website "WTF Japan, Seriously!? Hilarious. http://www.wtfjapanseriously.com/
Clare, concrete floors sound great for a high-poochie traffic area. A friend of mine lives in a loft with concrete flooring and it actually has a really nice look and feel that surpassed my expectations for a material that would seem rather cold and industrial. And you're right - our spazzy pets always look so docile and well-behaved in photos. Such posers!
ReplyDeleteBritta, what a great philosophy! I will now repeat the mantra of Wabi-Sabi every time I look at the gouge patterns on my floor. Life isn't perfect, and neither should our living quarters be.
ReplyDeleteWe have a bonkers rat terrier, standard size so much taller than your image of a rattie. About 40 lbs of all muscle and bone. He's my dad's dog but owns the whole family. When he was a pup my sister seriously counseled daily sedatives. He's 7 now and slightly mellower. Still he sometimes gets that frenzied energy that send him tearing round the cottage, round the flower beds, round the parked cars, round the cottage... repeat repeat repeat. I worry he's going to give himself a hernia. Smart and affectionate and now we wouldn't change him of course. Your Akita looks like an "always on" type of dog too - and has those pointy ears like our Duncan that make em look alert at all times. Fun to read about your bonkers pet!
ReplyDeleteHi Country Mouse. I can just picture your Duncan with his crazy energy. And you're right - age does little to tame a bonkers dog's inherent need to tear around the block, or anywhere else for that matter. That's why we love them so!
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