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August 2011!

I'm taking over!
Hiya people! This is Zodd speaking! Since my human (or as like to call her - my tender) is so lazy and never gets around to update my site I've decided to take matters into my own paws and get some work done!
So, here goes!

I've borrowed her photos though, since I'm no fan of cameras even if I have been known to strike a pose once or twice in my day.

I've struck less poses this month since my tiny allies have been the target for Sanna and that thing that's attached to her most of the time. The little fellas have been shot by her in all kinds of angles and I have to admit that I've enjoyed hanging with her while she's been out hunting butterflies.
I've sniffed a lot of spots that there's never time to sniff when we are out on one of our regular patrols, but now she's been so focused on the bushes, flowers and tufts of grass, stalking the poor flappy guys so I've had time to truly patrol my turf.
Did I say patrol?
Well, that's exactly what I've done, Tibetan Mastiff style! I've settled down to patrol my turf with my eyes. That's one of the best things I know - to lay down and enjoy the open fields, preferably from a high spot, and then tell Sanna if there's some weirdo approaching. Or some normal person. Or sometimes I simply mess with her and bark anyway. Haha, it's so much fun to watch her come to her feet and look around to see if anyone is coming our way. At times like that I giggle.

I know Sanna always tells stories about me. I'll let her think that she knows me well enough to share my inner thoughts with you guys, just because I love her.
She is really great in a lot of ways, but some stuff she simply can't understand. But that's the thing with humans... They live in their very own bubble and sometimes tend to miss the utmost important things in life. I've done my best to educate my own human, and in some aspects I'll have to say that I've done good.
Some of my lessons have been a total waste of time though, but I'm a Tibetan Mastiff (that's another word for stubborn) so I won't give up. She's got potential, my human.
So all you fellow TMs (and other dogs), even when things look bleak, don't give up on your people. One day soon the coin will fall down and they'll start working the very way you wanted them to work all along, the way they are intended to work!
It's all about patience.

So, one day at the very beginning of this month Sanna ditched me and took the boat to Hanö, a small island located out in the Baltic Sea, not very far from the small village I own. I've actually never been there, but I've heard that there are plenty of deer there and it would be wicked to go there one day and scare the antlers off of them, haha!
But I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of boatrides so I was kinda happy to kick back at home together with one of my other humans - Nina (that's Sanna's sister). Nina is really cool. She lets me just be and I'm almost more pleased with the progress I've had in shaping her than I am with Sanna. Sanna is too stubborn for her own good sometimes...
Don't get me wrong - I'm all for being stubborn, that's one of the pillars of life, but sometimes it gets kinda bothersome to teach someone something that they simply can't see the point in learning...
Well, as I said before - it's all about patience. I'll get there one day.
Anywho, back to the island Hanö.
Sanna was all excited when she came home and told me and Nina that she and her mother had unintentionally been swimming with a snake. And not just any snake - the only poisonous one we have in Sweden. Well, that's what she said, but I'm pretty sure there's more than one poisonous snake in Sweden. Or else she was simply (un)lucky to come across that lonely critter.
Imagine being the only poisonous one in a world of snakes and never be able to kiss someone else for fear of killing the one you love. Cruel stuff...
Or she could've meant that it was the only poisonous breed of snake we have in Sweden, but that's not what she said. But knowing Sanna that's probably what she meant.
She's not always very clear with what she means.
Another example of this is when she says "sit" to me. When I don't do anything (and mind you, I'm perfectly aware of what the word "sit" means - it's synonymous with "butt against the ground") she tells me again.
And then when I still don't react she tells me a third time, as if I didn't hear her the very first time...
If she had only been clear about what she meant the first time then I would've done what she asked, just because I'm fond of her, but why complicate things? I can't possibly know if she means that I should take a seat in a while or right away. And if I don't have any current plans of sitting I can just as well save the energy it takes to lower my behind to the ground until the moment I had planned sitting down anyway, right?
She should totally work on giving less confusing advise!

A view on Hanö.

The snake! A common European adder, so I suppose there must be more of them out there in the world.

I have three cats, did you know that?
I'm sure Sanna has mentioned them somewhere in her posts here on my site, but only briefly I think.
Fact is that I'm actually the youngest one in our house. Sure, I may weigh a few kilos more than my little peeps, but I'm still the baby brother to my cats.
When I moved to Sweden I was greeted by four cats (there was a lady cat named Shiva living here back in those days, she's passed away now due to a car accident) and I had never before met a cat so I was naturally intrigued by them. I remember I wanted to play with them, but it was a big no-no for some reason.
Whenever I tried to have a bit of fun Sanna was there to tell me to stop and I have to admit that my older cat brethren were kind of anti-Zodd at first. Well, not the old wise guy called Zak, he welcomed me with open paws, but the younger ones were all hisses and claws when I came too close.
That's not the case anymore though. I love my cats (I've loved them from the start) and I know they love me back. I'm especially fond of my red cat Shogo. We have a special ritual where he walks around my legs, purring, and I wash his ears.
I've told him that my saliva contains special strengthening substances...
Why, you might ask?
Well, Shogo's not 100% right in his head. Somewhere along the way he got it into his skull that he one day would rule the planet and the human race. Sure, I'm all for total world domination, but he's going about it in the wrong way.
Little guy really thinks he's got a shot and since I'm a loving brother I support him.
I've tried to tell him that either you already own the world (like myself) or else you don't. There's no in between. But he insists on hostile takeover and even though we've had long discussions on the topic he can't seem to see it from my point of view, so I'm simply trying to stall him with my trickery.
Hopefully he'll walk around here at home and be satisfied with the fact that he's already taken control of two out of five humans. And with the fact that he's got special Tibetan slime on his head, making him invincible.

My man Shogo!	Zak, the old wise guy! He's 14 years old.

Sasuke, the youngest of my three cats.
He's always stealing my food and my bed. And since he's the older one I always let him.

I've tagged along to a dogshow in Norje Boke this month. It's a specialty show for herders, livestock guardians and molossers and I felt right at home. But to be honest I have no idea why my own brothers and sisters of the Tibetan Mastiff breed doesn't belong to these other guys. It would be so much more suitable than hanging around with those distant and very tiny Tibetan tuft cousins at our specialty shows.
Humans and their logic is so illogical...
Anywho, I met a few nice ladies. There was this Pyrenean Mastiff that was totally gorgeous and who wanted me. Well, it didn't show exactly, but I knew she wanted me so I gave it my all. Turns out she was shy and not ready for love. Too bad since I could've shown her a good time.

Look how pretty she was!	A Bordeaux lady getting grabbed by humans.

 

There was this one night this month when Sanna and I had been in the city and we were on our way back home and the sky was magic! Sanna had the camera in the car and stopped by the roadside and I got a mini-walk while she went crazy over the wonders mother nature brings (myself included).

 

And after that small stop we jumped back into the car and drove down to the sea in my village. I took my patrol position on top of a table where I had a good view over the harbour.

Summer night by the Baltic Sea in my village...

You know what I like? No, I'll refrase myself... Do you know what I love?
I love when Nina comes with us on our patrols! I like to hang with my peeps, and there's not much that beats when I get to bring them all on my rounds. Bonus is when Lucas comes too, but he's got a lot of work far away at the moment. I would never survive without my pack. I know he's the same but sometimes reality isn't the same as your wishes. He's told me all about it and I understand, but I still miss him when he's not at home.
But two out of three peeps is not to bad (even if I prefer the complete collection) and so here's a few photos of me and Sanna that Nina took one day when we were out checking up on the borders of my turf.

Here I am with my human!

Me at my most naked stage.

Sanna always calls me king, so I guess I'm king of the forest too.

 

I've had a couple of playdates this month.
First with Noblesse, my special Dogue de Bordeaux lady friend. She's one of my great loves!

And then I went on a few walks with Stella, the Golden Retreiver. She's a shy girl, but very friendly. She wants her space so I give it to her like the gentleman I am.

Stella in the woods.	And me in the woods.

Stella likes to run fast. I have no idea why... Seems like a total waste of energy if you ask me.

 

And finally I want ot share some photos from a walk Sanna and I took in the pastures of Kråkenabben in the outskirts of my village (still my pastures though, make no mistake).
It was sunny when we left home, but all of a sudden it started drizzling. I liked it very much since summer is known to be warm, so I simply stayed out in the sweet rain and relaxed while Sanna and the camera took cover under a bush.

Here I'm asking Sanna why she's afraid of the rain.
She told me she wasn't, she just didn't want the camera to get wet.

Ok, so I did strike a pose or two this month after all. I can't help it. I guess it's simply in my blood.

Hehe, one more pose (in my defense I was looking for the cows who lives in my pasture during summer)...

And then it happened - the sun came out and so did the rainbow!

And I watched it too.

And just to make Sanna happy I did strike a few more poses since I knew this was one of those moments that can't be planned and that will probably not come again.

I had the cows to look at and I enjoyed the sunshine and the droplets in my coat.

It was totally worth the effort!
I got a hug and then Sanna told me that I, Zodd, is her very own pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.