November 30, 2019　=========

☆  supplies 必需品

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We have a Costco here in Adelaide, finally! They opened a few years ago. They are a great place for stocking up on pet supplies at a slightly cheaper price. They sell dog food, of course, but they sell other supplies, such as dog beds and blankets, which is useful.

What about in Japan? I know there are a few Costco stores, but where else can you buy pet supplies? Is it generally cheap to buy pet supplies? I remember there being many stores in Tokyo that sold dog clothes and fancy leads and toys for dogs. They weren’t cheap though!

Is there a local pet store whereRead more about November 30 – supplies[…]

November 29, 2019　=========

☆  affection 愛情

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The third sample answer is, “I’d love a cat, but they don’t show much affection.” What do you think? Is that true? The cat I had as a teenager showed affection, I think. Just not all the time. When she was a kitten, it was sooo cute, she always wanted to ride on my shoulders. If I was sitting down, she would sleep on my shoulders, balancing between the sofa and my shoulders.

When she got bigger, she was really too heavy, but she still loved to balance on my shoulders. Even when I was walking, she would try to stay on my shoulders. It was veryRead more about November 29 – affection[…]

November 28, 2019　=========

☆  odor におい

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OK, so this is not on the topic of odors, but sometimes, Facebook is so creepy! Here I am writing emails to you each day about animals and living with pets, right? Today, I opened my Facebook page, and there was a notification about an event I might be interested in… “Communicating with animals.” Ha ha! Facebook is reading my emails… That’s creepy!

Anyway, let’s talk about odors. One thing I love about my dog, is that he is short-haired, so he really doesn’t have an odor. Of course, he smells like a dog, but he doesn’t have an offensive odor, that makes me want to washRead more about November 28 – odor[…]

November 27, 2019　=========

☆  vet  獣医

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Choosing a vet is so important, I think. I loved our vet in Japan. He was kind and gentle with my dogs. And he was also a dog trainer, so on the weekend, I took my dogs to his training classes, to help them be more obedient.

When I came back to Australia, I went to a vet recommended by my neighbor. He was great, but his specialty, believe it or not, was actually exotic birds! We kept going there, though, as he was kind and close to our house. Then about two years ago, his new staff member told us that our dog was sick, andRead more about November 27 – vet[…]

November 26, 2019　=========

☆  room スペース

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One of the other sample answers is, “None right now, I don’t have room.” In Japan, that was how I felt about getting a pet, so for a long while I had fish! They were great. So beautiful, and they didn’t need much room.

Unfortunately, during the Tohoku earthquake, their tank was rocked about so much that it smashed and the fish were still alive but had no home. It was quite devastating. So, after that experience, I decided that even though I love tropical fish, and they do not take up much room, I would not keep fish as a pet any more.

Bye,

Chris

November 25, 2019　=========

☆  breed 品種

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This month’s Q&A is “What kind of pet would you love to have?” And one of the sample answers is, “A dog – any breed would be fine!” In the past, this would have been my answer, but now that I have had the Italian Greyhound breed as a pet, I don’t know if I could have any other breed! They are just so wonderful!! Ha ha!

That’s the thing about pets in general, I think. Once you have a great pet, it doesn’t really matter what the breed is. However, if you fall in love with a certain breed it is definitely hard to choose anotherRead more about November 25 – breed[…]

November 24, 2019　=======

☆  obedient 従順な

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Another useful phrase word for this week, “Your dog is so obedient.” I love watching obedient dogs with their owners. Of course, they are well-trained, so that is fun to watch. But more than that, you can tell that there is an important and special bond that the owner and dog. The dog is obedient because he (or she!) trusts their owner.

On the other hand, you can find well-trained dogs that are obedient but there is no real bond or “love” for the owner. I’ve seen that in the case where the dog is purely trained as an attack dog, or a guard dog for aRead more about November 24 – obedient[…]

November 23, 2019　=========

☆  pampered 甘やかされた

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If your pet is pampered, they are spoiled and indulged a lot more than a pet probably should be! Our dog is pretty pampered nowadays. When we had two dogs, they stayed in their cage overnight, it was their bed. However, since the older dog died, the younger one has been stressed and refused to sleep in the cage anymore.

So, now he gets to sleep in a nice warm bed with someone in our family. That’s pretty pampered, I think. He’s not sleeping ON the bed. He’s sleeping IN it!! A bit TOO pampered really…

How about you? Do you have a pet? Are they pampered?

Bye,

Chris

November 22, 2019　=========

☆  exotic 外来の

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One of the week’s useful phrases is, “My friend keeps exotic birds.” In other words, the friend has birds from exotic, distant, foreign locations, at his (or her!) house that are his pets. When I was growing up, my mum loved her parakeet, but that is hardly an exotic bird. Everyone keeps them!

Nowadays, though, exotic birds are becoming much more popular. Because of this, there are strict regulations and laws to stop people from illegally importing or breeding them. They can also carry diseases that we don’t have in Australia, so when they come here from exotic locations, there are a lot of medical checks theyRead more about November 22 – exotic[…]

November 21, 2019　=========

☆  domestic 国産の

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I have a feeling that the Japanese translation is not quite right, today.

When we talk about domestic animals, we don’t mean animals that are from that country. For example, in Australia, we have koalas, kangaroos, and dingoes, but they are not domestic Australian animals. This is not the correct use of domestic. To describe that situation, you would say that koalas, kangaroos, and dingoes are native Australian animals, not domestic animals.

A domestic animal is one that is not wild, and is either kept on a farm to produce food, such as pigs and cows. Or, they are kept at a home as a pet, by theirRead more about November 21 – domestic[…]

November 20, 2019　=========

☆  healthy 元気な

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The American Heart Association say it supports research that says that owning a pet can decrease your risk of heart disease and keep you healthy. They say that owning a pet lowers cholesterol, stress, and blood pressure.

In addition, owning a dog will keep you healthy in another way, too. As dogs require regular walks, their human owner gets healthy from these regular walks, too! I believe this was true for me. Before getting dogs, I rarely did exercise. After getting dogs, I walked more, then started running, and now I am training for a marathon! Thanks to my dogs, I am very healthy!

Bye,

Chris

November 19, 2019　=========

☆  clean きれいな

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One reason I chose Italian Greyhounds for a pet was because they have a reputation as being very clean dogs. They are short-haired, so there is never much dog hair to vacuum up.

The breeder also told us that they tend to keep their sleeping area very clean, and never have accidents in their bed. I don’t know about other breeds; however, I would assume that most dogs would prefer a clean sleeping area and therefore do their best not to pee or poo in their own bed!

Do you have a pet? Are they generally clean and easy to keep clean?

Bye,

Chris

November 18, 2019　=========

☆  playful 遊び好きな

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Many people get a dog rather than a cat as a pet because they have the image of being more playful, I think. Puppies and kittens are both playful, but dogs tend to stay playful for longer, whereas once the kitten becomes a cat, they are generally less playful.

Sometimes I meet people walking their dogs, and even though the dog is old and grey, they are still playful with my younger dog. I love seeing animals being playful with each other. So much fun to watch!

If you were going to choose a pet to live with, would you look for a playful pet or a calmRead more about November 18 – playful[…]

November 17, 2019　=========

☆  feed 餌をあげる

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One of the useful phrases this week is, “How often do you feed him?” I have used this before, at the vet. I was taking my Italian Greyhound to see the vet, and there was a woman there with her true-size greyhound. The dog was so beautiful, but very big! 

So, I asked her, “How often do you feed him?” She replied, “It’s a she, not a he.” So, then I asked, “Sorry! How often do you feed her?” She said that she fed her cooked chicken breast three times a day. So, naturally I asked “How much do you feed her each time?” She said aboutRead more about November 17 – feed[…]

November 16, 2019　=========

☆  vaccinate 予防接種をする

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Interestingly, as I mentioned yesterday, although you can get a discount on your animal registration yearly fees if you have desexed your pet, there is no discount whether or not you vaccinate your pet.

I guess because most people will happily vaccinate their pet, to make sure that they don’t get sick, right? In Japan, our vet would send us reminders whenever our dogs were due to be vaccinated. However, in Australia, our vet has never reminded us, ever! It’s up to us, to vaccinate or not.

In order to bring the dogs to Australia, we had to show proof that they had been vaccinated, but once weRead more about November 16 – vaccinate[…]

November 15, 2019　=========

☆  desex 去勢する

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When you desex an animal, you take away it’s reproductive system so that it cannot have babies. One of the best ways to avoid the animal rescue shelters from becoming too full is to desex your pets so that only licensed breeders can produce puppies or kittens for sale.

Unfortunately, many people in Australia don’t desex their animal, for some reason. Some say it is cruel, some want a “tough” dog, not a desexed dog, others worry that it will change their personality. So, to combat this, the government introduced higher registration fees for pets that have not been desexed. It’s quite an expensive fee to payRead more about November 15 – desex[…]

November 13, 2019　=========

☆  adopt 養子にする

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One of the useful phrases this week is, “My motto is ‘adopt don’t shop’” … the idea behind this is that it is better to adopt animal that doesn’t have a home, so that it doesn’t need to be put down by the shelter. So, instead of buying a new puppy from a pet shop, adopt a rescue dog instead.

What do you think of this idea?

I got my Italian Greyhounds from a breeder. That was his business, and he only bred this kind of dog. He also had a pet hotel so the dogs could stay with him if you needed to go away. And heRead more about November 13 – adopt[…]

November 12, 2019　=========

☆  prepare      準備する

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There’s a lot to prepare when you buy a pet and bring them home. First, they need a place to sleep. Then you need to prepare a place for them to eat and drink their food and water. If you’re getting a cat, you’ll probably need a litter-tray for their toilet, right?

When we got our dog, we prepared everything for him – a cute little bed, a nice place for him to sleep at night and during the day. However, from the moment we came home, there was no way he was going to sleep in his bed. He only ever wanted to sleep on myRead more about November 12 – prepare[…]

November 11, 2019　=========

☆  groom 毛づくろいをする

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If you groom an animal, you clean its fur, usually by brushing it. Oh my goodness, as you know from my other emails, we live near a big oval. So, a lot of people bring their big dogs to this park to groom them!

Some days, when it’s windy and someone has groomed their dog, you can see big lumps of dog hair blowing across the oval!! I’m not kidding! People bring their Malamutes, Golden Retrievers and other big dogs to the oval, sit on the bench and groom them… all of the hair falls out, and blows across the oval and playground!

I love dogs, but ummRead more about November 11 – groom[…]

November 10, 2019   　=========

☆  poisonous  毒のある

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When I think about poisonous animals, I think of snakes and spiders, and I know that some people do like to keep these kinds of animals as pets. It’s crazy, I think, and dangerous for the owner, but also unfair to the animal.

However, living in Australia there is another poisonous animal that we have to think about. If you live in the countryside or on a farm, then there are likely to be many snakes, and many of them are poisonous to both humans and animals. Unfortunately, many dogs will chase a snake without realizing they are poisonous. It’s quite common for dogs to dieRead more about November 10 – poisonous[…]

November 9, 2019   =========

☆  economical            経済的な

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When I got my dogs, I never really thought about the costs, other than the purchase costs… but wow! There’s a lot to consider. Luckily, my dogs are a small breed, so they don’t need a lot of food, but that is the only thing about them that is economical, I think!

They get cold, so they need lots of blankets. The Italian Greyhound breed is well-known for their bad teeth, so we needed to get dental work done… that was definitely not economical! I did look into pet insurance, but it was more economical to save money by myself instead of paying a yearly insuranceRead more about November 9 – economical[…]

November 8, 2019      =========

☆  loud （声が）大きい

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My two dogs are Italian Greyhounds (yes, pure breeds and expensive!) I got them in Japan, but my next dogs will be rescue dogs from a shelter. The good news is that they were never loud. They don’t really bark and are happy to just play with each other and us.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, I needed to have my older dog put down a few months ago. Since then, the younger dog has been very loud whenever he is alone. He barks if we leave him in his cage, he barks if we leave him out of the cage. I feel terrible for him asRead more about November 8 – loud[…]

November 7, 2019 =========

☆  expensive 高価な

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This week, the useful phrase is “A pure breed is always expensive.” In Australia, pure breeds are very expensive! In fact, most people tend to get their dogs from the rescue center, so they are not expensive, but still cost a little bit.

In the past, rescue animals used to be free to adopt. Unfortunately, people used to adopt the pet and then if they didn’t really like it, they would take it back to the shelter! So, the government decided rescue animals should also cost money, not just pet store animals. So, now you pay $300 or $400 to adopt a rescue dog or cat.Read more about November 7 – expensive[…]

November 6, 2019　=========

☆  messy めちゃめちゃな

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Since we are talking about living with animals, let’s talk about messy animals. The first dog I had growing up was so messy. We couldn’t leave him inside while we were out because he went through the trash and left us with a messy kitchen.

Then I got a cat, and she was never messy. Just quiet and reserved, and friendly when she wanted to be.

My current dog is never messy, never tries to eat rubbish from the bin, doesn’t dig in the garden. He’s only messy when he drinks water – he tends to spill it all over the place!

Do you have a pet? Are theyRead more about November 6 – messy[…]

November 5, 2019　=========

☆  intelligent 知能がある

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A person or animal that is intelligent has the ability to think, understand and learn things. Do you think that animals are intelligent? Are all animals intelligent or just some?

I guess it depends on what we believe “intelligent” means, right? If you need language and to speak, then no we cannot say other animals are intelligent like human beings. But, if we just mean they are intelligent because they can learn things and be trained by humans, then yes, maybe many animals are intelligent. Actually, if we look at the way many animals in the wild hunt together and live in groups to help them survive,Read more about November 5 – intelligent[…]

November 4, 2019　=========

☆  kid-friendly  子供にやさしい

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When you have kids, they generally ask for a pet at some stage, right? I was lucky, because I already had two dogs, my kids didn’t ask for a pet – they already had a pet.

If they do ever ask for a pet, I might consider something other than a dog… What kinds of animals would be kid-friendly? In Australia, the most common choice is either a dog or cat. Cats and dogs are a big responsibility and they live a long time, so I wonder what other choices there are…

I found a list of 10 kid-friendly pets. Number one on the list was a cat.Read more about November 4 – kid-friendly[…]

November 3, 2019      =========

☆  advice 忠告

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Do you have a pet? If so, what sort of advice would you give to someone considering getting a pet? Would you say, “Yes! Do it!” Or would you suggest that they think more about certain things?

A few of my friends have said that they are planning to get dogs. They weren’t asking me for advice, but I gave them some anyway! Ha ha. I told them that if they like camping, then please think before getting a dog. Most camping places in Australia won’t let you bring a dog because of the danger of dogs attacking the wildlife. So, you always have to goRead more about November 3 – advice[…]

November 2, 2019      =========

☆  attention 注目

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One of the useful phrases this week is, “A dog needs a lot of attention.” As the owner of dogs, I’d have to say this is true. My dogs definitely didn’t want to be alone, and that is why we got two. So that they could keep each other company.

When I was growing up, I had a cat. She was an awesome pet, and for a cat, surprisingly friendly and affectionate. However, she did not need attention! If she wanted to be near you, she would come. If you went to her, and she didn’t want the attention, then she would leave and go somewhereRead more about November 2 – attention[…]

November 1, 2019　    =========

☆  pet ペット

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This month, we are looking at the topic of Living with animals. A very simple word to start with!

Do you have a pet? I had two dogs, but this year, one of them was too sick so we decided to put him down. He was 16, so he had a great life – some years in Japan, and some in Australia! Lucky pet!

Sadly, one of the hardest things about owning a pet is that eventually you have to say goodbye. But life with a pet, or pets, is great, and I wouldn’t change a thing!

Bye,

Chris