Better Days

Akemi really loves her stuffed animals, if you equate obsessed with love. She isn't aggressively possessive over them. If I play with one of her toys, she wants to play with the one I am holding even though she has one between her paws. If I take a toy from her, she waits patiently for her toy or runs off to find another toy, usually less than 2 feet away with the zoo of stuffed animals we have scattered in every direction on the floor.

Day 251/365

One of Akemi's favorite pastimes is to capitalize on weakness. I suppose it can be seen as obsession. If there is an imperfection, she will fixate on that spot, regardless of which way the object is oriented, until it is not in a condition the manufacturer intended.

After dealing with squeaky and crinkly dog toys that last for 20 minutes or less, I gave her one of my stuffed animals that I received as a gift several years ago from Bug, a Winnie the Pooh autumn leaf scarf plush. It has been 1 year and he is still alive! Obviously, he has seen better days. This could also be a testament to how well Pooh was manufactured, except...

We discovered the key to consistently long lasting dog toys, at least for this shiba: buy human plush toys. How are they different, aside from price? They do not have an obvious goal for a dog to obsess over -- get the noise making thingie out and destroy it.

All of her stuffed animals last for months now, even a cheap ape holding a flower and weird red lips on its face, gotten from an after Valentine's Day discount bin for $2. We also rotate her toys so she forgets about that little thread she has been gnawing on that is magically holding the doll together.

- Cassaendra