Herding The Corgi | Blog

Spot the Difference

2012-01-31T22:40:00.001-05:00

This morning my living room floor looked like one of those Spot the Difference drawings in a Highlights magazine.

What's missing? Ah yes. That's better. :-)

Early Morning

2012-01-20T07:52:00.001-05:00

We were all up pretty early at our house today. Babies needed bottles and dogs needed a scoop of kibble but what settled us all down again? Something to chew on, of course! Now why didn't I think of this before? :-)

Corgi Blog Gift Exchange

2012-01-04T22:03:00.001-05:00

Some of the Corgi Bloggers among us decided to organize a Christmas gift exchange and it was a good idea. Personally, I love it when we can come together in a way that is tangible like this... the "paw it forward" game is another good example. Don't get me wrong. I love that we support one another through discussion and charitable giving but gift exchanges are just good old fashion fun!

Winnie and I received our package just a few days before Christmas...

Our gifts were beautifully wrapped but we were so excited to open them that I forgot to take the picture!

One of our gift requests was a puzzle toy. An ongoing personal guilty nag of mine is that I haven't given Winnie enough exercise since baby Claire arrived on the scene. I feel a little better though at least giving her something to keep her mind busy...

"ZZZzzzzzzzz ZZZzzzzzzzzzz..."

Winnie loved her new toy. We didn't have anything like it and she worked at it so long that she actually fell asleep with her paw still on it. :-)

The treats are a big hit, too. They are a super smelly (in a good way) soft snack that are perfect for breaking apart and tossing so Winnie can catch them in her mouth... yet, another little game that's quick and fun to play.

Thank you SO much, Secret Santa for our terrific surprises!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T13:13:00.001-05:00

Jingle Dog!

2011-11-30T10:16:00.001-05:00

It's officially past Advent 1 so I make no apology for Christmas-ifying things... The latest of which is Winnie.

I found this super cute collar on sale at our local pet store and it even has a sleigh bell on it! I'll be honest... When Win comes bounding in from the far end of the yard and you hear that metered jingle getting closer and closer it's like a childhood fantasy come true. :-) Today, I'm living the dream with my jingle dog.

Sticking Close

2011-11-25T20:15:00.001-05:00

Ok... I don't know about you but my (husband's) family can really fill a house for the holidays. It's nothing to have 35 people around for dinner. We sit at the table, on the couch, on the steps, and even out in the garage!

My favorite part about this? My pooch Winnie sticks close. She's not accustom to such a crowd at our place so she figures it just safer to stick by "mom." It feeds my ego, and makes my proud of our canine/human bond. Yay us. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T12:57:00.001-05:00

Today, I am thankful that my dog is so willing to share with my baby. It's sweet but gross. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. :-)

Dog Joy

2011-11-11T14:52:00.001-05:00

I'm always amazed at how happy Winnie is to just BE with me. Here she is helping me clean the bathroom... Which I did last night after baby went to bed. Gotta love that Corgi smile. :-)

Corgi / Baby Update!

2011-10-31T08:58:00.000-04:00

We're still here! Oh my gosh... I can safely say two thing now that I am 2 years and 9 months into dogie parenthood and 7 weeks into human parenthood...

Having a puppy really is a good "warm-up" to having an infant.
Having an infant is the hardest thing I've ever done.

I'm not complaining, mind you... both experiences have, to date, yielded huge dividends in cuteness as well as a general sense of compassion.

Our baby girl is growing like a weed and has started giving us 4 whole hours of sleep in a row this past week. Our furry girl has given up sitting with me for each of our midnight feedings. Here's a picture of Winnie chilling with us at one such feeding back in September... look in the shadows just above the sleeping baby.

*Sigh... I wait and wait but I GUESS they don't need a corgi for this.

Winnie still loves here baby. She sits with us for "tummy time" and desperately tries to "clean" Claire's face of any leftover milk drips. But is always very gentle. I'm so proud of her.

Just us girls... Mommy, baby, auntie, and me!

I'm only now starting to get a few things done around the house. (Like get a shower every other day) SO... in an effort to catch up I took Winnie to our local Petsmart Groomer for a once over. This was actually the first time she's been to a groomer (I dunk her in our laundry tub and grind her nails here at home) but she did okay! Here she is on the table getting the "Furminator treatment."

Boy... what a treat! I get yelled for getting on the table at home...

As an aside, Yes, Winnie climbs onto our table like a mountain goat is we leave a chair out and she thinks we're not looking... I REALLY hate that. We have evidence of this on two occasions once when we found nearly a dozen cornbread muffin wrappers on the floor from muffins that WERE on the table. And once when a squirrel was chattering in the window and she forgot herself, jumped up for a better look, and then jumped down when she remembered we were watching.

On another note, has anyone out there actually USED the Furminator. Those things are so stinkin expensive but it seems to have done a good job on Winnie today. I guess we'll see how long it lasts.

At any rate, I hope to get back in the habit of making more regular posts. And I've enjoyed reading YOURS from my phone... it's so much easier than sitting with a laptop as I hold the babe. Which is a lot these days. :-)

Welcome Baby Claire!

2011-09-10T11:05:00.000-04:00

She's here! Winnie welcomed her new baby, Claire, last week!

Claire 1 Day Old

Here are the stats:

7lbs. 11oz.
20 inches
September 1, 2011 @ 1:47am

Since we've come home from the hospital Winnie has been a champ! She's been cool, collected, and very attentive. Winnie has a very concerned look whenever Claire cries (which luckily is not over the top) as if to say "Hey! Our baby needs something!" And she sits up with me at all of our midnight feedings.

Claire is a VERY good baby... the only trouble she's given us is that she's sort of a reluctant eater. This cute little girl just gets too cozy whenever we settle in for a feeding and falls asleep! Winnie, being the helpful corgi that she is, will sit next to us on the couch (when invited) and give Claire's feet a few good licks... this wakes Claire right up and we're good to go! Thanks Win!

I'll try and get some pictures of the two of these guys over the next week or so. I haven't quite figured out how to juggle a camera and a baby yet but we're learning as we go. Thanks for all the well wishes!

New Trick! (spin)

2011-08-21T19:40:00.000-04:00

Being that I'm less than two weeks away from my due date my energy level has been L-O-W to say the least. Winnie has been a terrific sport. She's really given me a break by not demanding a walk everyday and just sort of keeping me company on the couch when I can't muster up the energy for anything more. But like every dog... she needs more.

This is the face of a dog who needs more...

My solution: New Dog Tricks!

Brilliant, right?

I thought so, too.

I downloaded an iPhone app called 101 Best Dog Tricks. Now, it's actually only 10 dog tricks (a few that we would all already know such as "sit"). It's sort of a teaser app to get you to buy the book... 101 Best Dog Tricks, which I may because I like the app so far. Here's what it looks like:

Each trick has step by step instructions, a short video demo and a "log" feature so you can record up to 20 training sessions for each trick... it's good for us people to remember that once isn't always enough to really "learn" something. For .99 cents... I'd say great... money well spent.

So, I waddled out to the back yard and Winnie and I started learning the new trick "spin" Kind of a dorky trick BUT it IS something we can do together that keeps her thinking with a little outdoor play that doesn't completely poop me out. I think this will be a good little discipline for us for a while. What do you think?

This is the face of a happy dog... that just had lots of treats... yum. :-)

Nursery Update

2011-08-16T09:49:00.001-04:00

Okay... so here's what's been going on the last few weeks.

We've "finished" our basement. (And I use that term loosely...)
Moved all of our office furniture and supplies TO the basement, a.k.a our new office
Moved all of our nursery goodies TO the old office, a.k.a. the new nursery

Whew! Our so called "finished" basement got that way by tearing out some old gross flooring and putting in some bright new paint. We've also unloaded a few boxes of IKEA furniture down there but don't have it assembled yet. Winnie, rightly so, as been focusing our attention on the nursery.

This daughter of ours is already one VERY loved little girl. Our family, friends, and community have gifted her more than she could possibly need. So we started by taking things out of the lovely gift wrapping and putting it in like categories around the parameter of the room... Winnie had her eye on a very cute stuffed duck. I wonder how long we'll be able to keep her from it after our little one starts playing with it.

Herders also make great sorters... look at what I did!

Next was assembling the furniture so we actually had some place to PUT everything.

I'm not at all convinced these guys know what their doing.
I'm going to supervise from the hall way so I don't get assembled up into the dresser... *sigh.

When all was said and done we ended up with this...

I still need to find a themed lamp and window dressing but in all pratical ways we're ready!

... a close up of the crib.

After painting the basement we decided that wall decals were a much easier way to go for the nursery and being that cute corgi decals are hard to find we settled for woodland creatures. :-)

Our official due date is September 3rd so we're only a few weeks out! Everything has been going great - other than the usual, uncomfortable tiredness that seems to be my life now. I'll keep you posted as our household grows by one! :-)

Blogaversary Give-a-way!

2011-07-02T12:48:00.001-04:00

Hey, we missed it by a few days but we JUST passed our one year blog-aversary! It's been a really fun year getting to know some of you out there in the corgi-loving community. We've had paw-it-forwards, donated to good causes, and made some friends.

Happy Blogaversary!

To say thanks for your readership we're having a Blogaversary Give-a-way! Winnie and I would like to send you one of our two favorite books PLUS one of our favorite toys. You can pick from:

Both of these are reviewed on the "books" page so you can see what you might like better. We'll also include one of our favorite toys, although Winnie hasn't picked it out yet. What do you have to do? Simply respond in the comments section to this blog post and tell us why your like to cruse the dog-blogs. Be sure to include what book you would like and your email address so we can contact you! Have fun! And Thanks for reading Herding the Corgi!

'Dangerous dogs' Ordinance

2011-06-21T17:57:00.000-04:00

How often do you guys keep up with what your city or county says about dog ownership? If you're like me it's not exactly a pressing issue. There's a lot of other things on the'ol "to-do" list before poking around dog related city ordinances. There is one in my community, however, that has been getting a lot of attention lately. The 'Dangerous Dogs' Ordinance.

Here's a link to the full article if you want to give it a read... it'll only take 5 minutes, promise.
http://mobile.mlive.com/advsag/pm_29311/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=lNWh1kZt

Okay, weather you read the whole thing or not there's my synopsis... see if I missed anything. First, the ordinance is specific to "dangerous dogs" including: pit bulls, presa canario, bull mastiffs, rotweilers and german shepherds. Now the owners of these breeds must:

register their dogs and pay an additional $20 fee to regular dog licensing
post a sign in the front of their homes that say "dog on premises"
keep their animals on leash or in a 4-foot pen.

I can't help but feel this was a really poor use of our city councilman's time and energy. Of all the news reported, none of them identified specific issues that the city has (or hasn't) been having with these dogs so I'm left to assume that usual suspects apply but in my mind it boils down to this... poor dog ownership leads to poorly trained and frustrated dogs that THEN become dangerous.

You guys are are informed dog owners... am I wrong about this??? WE are the people that try to provide healthy and fulfilling lives for our pooch-partners and even sometimes WE don't get our fur-balls licensed on time (if at all) is an additional $20 free really going to help this problem? Yes, a sign warns neighbors and visitors, fine, they can have that one... no issue there. But what about that 4-foot pen? That's the size of a baby's play-pen. How much more frustrated and dangerous is a 80lb dog going to be in a pen they can hardly turn around in???

I don't like this one bit... I think a dog-education class for these dog owners would be a much better way to go. A class that talks about healthy diets, lots of exercise, proper training... and someone to teach the class that can convince some of these people that only PROFESSIONAL dog trainers should ever be responsible for "attack dogs." Now, instead of establishing a program that promotes responsible dog ownership all that has happened is that when a dog does cause an issue... it's that much more likely to be put-down. Sad.

Hum... maybe that's an idea? Can we lobby an amendment for education classes? I wonder... anyway... that's my rant. Where do you guys weigh in? Oh and here... a photo of my not-so-dangerous corgi. :-) This girl makes me smile.

I don't know what you're talking about... I just DESTROYED that rawhide. Pish, I'm dangerous.

Dogs and Moving the Furniture

2011-06-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

In an effort to get ready for Baby we're moving some office furniture to the basement and turning the office into the nursery. This sounds easy enough. Although while my husband and I pack boxes and/or haul heavy things up and down stairs in a somewhat cheerful way... Winnie seems to be very worried about the changes. I wish I had had my Flip handy because the poor creature just sat in the doorway of the office and whimpered. She is seriously concerned about these changes. Which leads me to ponder the following thought...

Don't mind me. I'm just going to sit in my corner and pout.

When Baby actually gets here how will Winnie adjust to a new routine? Maybe we should start making more of the changes now that way it's not such a big deal. Hum... up every 2 hours for a bottle... maybe not THAT part of the routine. :-)

Just Another Manic Monday... or is it Friday?

2011-05-20T13:48:00.000-04:00

Hey Guys. I've been a SUPER bad blogger lately with no good excuse. I've been putting in a lot of hours at work and with some of my other civic groups trying to get projects and schedules up-to-snuff before I go off the map into Baby Land late this summer. That doesn't mean however that you haven't been on my mind. :-)

As a matter of fact, Winnie came into the office with me this afternoon and INSISTED that I not put posting off another moment.

Do I need to come up there and type it for you?

It's the look that knows...

I've also started reading Living with Kids and Dogs...Without Losing Your Mind by Colleen Pelar. The official review will be coming shortly but I will say that so far the book has offered a lot of insight. One funny little tip goes like this:

Dogs can get jealous now that your spending so much time with baby. Try working dog and baby time in together so that EVERYONE is having fun at the same time. For instance, instead of cleaning up the bits of cereal that junior left on the kitchen table after snack time, just wipe them onto the floor! Fido will clean the mess and REALLY start to look forward to junior getting his snack.

How this works in real life is TBD. But it's a fun thought!

BABY UPDATE:
June is the last of my once-a-month appointments. Then we start every two weeks. Crazy, right?

How Much is Too Much? Kids and Dogs.

2011-04-27T12:16:00.000-04:00

Blogs are fun. They are timely, relevant, and help build a since of community. What's not to love, right? Well, they are also very public and most of the time that's what we want! More readers! :-) However, I think it's also safe to say that there are certain things we don't want published for the world to see.

So here's my issue... family. How many pictures of people do you post? Do you use their names? Will they like what they read? Naturally, Herding the Corgi is not a controversial blog but nevertheless I think these questions are worth asking.

Why the sudden boundary of personal space you ask? Well, much like Corgi Butts, Herding the Corgi will be getting a new addition! My husband and I are expecting our first child in September. We're pretty excited and we know that Winnie will love having something wiggly down at her level. (I think a "Get Low" onesy from the Corgi Butts store is definitely in order.) And you KNOW that babies and dogs make for great entertainment.

So here's what I need from you guys:

Your thoughts on blog privacy
Your thoughts on living with kids and dogs

Fire away!

As a side note, we've already instituted a "baby gate" to keep Winnie away from construction we're doing to get ready for Baby. She doesn't love it. Poor pup. :-)

Seriously? But how will I be sure you're doing it right?

Antler Chew Update

2011-04-06T15:39:00.000-04:00

As many of you remember form my March 12 post, The Antler Chew Bandit, Winnie recently got a new deer antler to chew on. We like this for sever reasons outlined in my previous post but the real test on chew toys is of course... How long to they last??? Well, just to give you an update Winnie started chomping away on March 12 when the antler looked like this:

March 12, 2011: New

Today on April 6 it looks like this:

April 6, 2011: Nice rounded tips

23 days and the antler chew lives to fight on! :-) The tips have been worn away but the bulk of the chew is still there and I can honestly say no funny smell, no staining on the carpet, no gooey ends. Yup... the antler chew delivers.

Winnie, Meet Toothbrush...

2011-03-30T10:58:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago at Winnie's Annual Vet Check-Up our vet found that Winnie had chipped a pretty big chuck off of a back molar. Ouch, right? Apparently not. Other than a little pawing at her face Winnie seem pretty unaffected. Nevertheless, our vet suggested that I get a dogie toothbrush and try cleaning the tooth each week because it will be more prone to collecting plaque and thus causing future trouble. Sounds like a plan to me so this is what I got...

Chicken flavored toothpaste... yum, right? :-)

Via my favorite online pet supply supplier - the Drs. Foster & Smith - I purchased the EZ Finger Toothbrush and some Drs. Foster & Smith brand Tartar Control Toothpaste.

I've tried a regular tooth brush first but Winnie just wanted to chew on it. I had hoped that a finger style brush would give me more control and when she started to "chew" I would (for obvious reasons) be more immediate in my response to tell her "gentle"... so far I've been right. I liked the idea of this finger brush extending down to your palm for a better grip and more control.

I picked the Drs. Foster & Smith toothpaste because unlike the other toothpastes I found that just "polish" the tarter off the tooth this one includes an special enzyme that helps actually "break it down." Maybe that's total crap but it seems like a sound concept.

The packaging included some good advice about how to introduce your pup to the idea of brushing her teeth so I won't belabor the point anymore. I took a short clip "Winnie Meets Toothbrush" just so you could see how it all looks. Winnie seemed to like it... I guess time will tell! Enjoy.

Oh! Did I mention that the toothbrush is dishwasher safe? Bonus! Okay... bring on the slobber.

The Dog License Dilemma.

2011-03-19T15:44:00.000-04:00

Do you license your dog? I know this sounds like a silly question since we're all SUPPOSED to license our dogs but my thought is that maybe not all of us do. Apparently the cut off in Michigan to get the cheap rate ($12) for a dog license is February 28th. Obviously we missed it. I could have sworn it was in March but, no. Instead the price doubled ($24) because I waited to get my license at our annual vet check up on March 16th. I have two thoughts on this:

Yes, I think we all SHOULD get the license. It helps our local government keep track of the needs and trends of its citizens which SHOULD lead to more dog-friendly cities that include parks, trails, clean-up bags, animal control, and other dog accommodations. It also insures that licensed dogs are up-to-date on vaccinations... which is good.
Doesn't this seem like old technology? Why don't these things automatically renew or at least send a notice each year?

We got a new ID tag just for good measure, too.

I feel like I got a little ripped off. I'm a good dog owner. Winnie is clean, vaccinated, well fed, well exercised, well trained, well socialized, AND neutered so she won't be adding any unwanted critters to the mix. Now don't get me wrong, I'm good for the $24 bucks but why do I feel like the good-guys just got taken? There are a TON of un-licensed dogs out there that are NOT so well taken care of and no one has the time or energy to police this anyway. My point? It would have been really easy to say at the vet "Oh, the price just went up? Uhh... I don't have my checkbook today so I'll just take care of it later." and skip out on my civic dog duty. (Yup, I said dog duty and I'm sticking to it) I wish someone in a municipal office out there would have said "Hey, let's give these otherwise proactive people a break and remind them they need to register their pooch... you know, the pooch that doesn't make any trouble for us anyway." Instead they punish the people that are at the vet - doing the right thing - with a higher price.

That's my rant. Here's your $24 bucks Michigan. Please put it to good use.

Annual Vet Check-up

2011-03-16T19:11:00.000-04:00

Winnie had her annual Wellness Exam today and passed with flying colors! She's a lean 22lbs. And Dr. Mayer actually commented on how muscle-ly Winnie was... nice, right? Must be all that pulling on the leash... who knows. My only concern going into the appointment was that Winnie has been pawing at her face lately and I can't figure out why so I asked. Ears looked good, eyes looked good... ah ha... her teeth.

How do you tell a human your tooth is broken, exactly?

Winnie has some pretty pearly-whites. She's young and is a crazy chewer so she keeps them pretty clean all on her own but apparently she chipped a tooth! She chipped one of her back molars to be specific. And after doing a left-side/right-side comparison it seems to be a pretty big piece missing. Poor Winnie!

The Vet's official recommendation is to get a dogie toothbrush and be sure to keep it clean since that tooth is no longer smooth and will be more likely to collect tarter and build up. Otherwise the official prescription is to just wait and see. Since dogs aren't particularly prone to infections in their mouths she said there was no point in extracting it unless it really started bothering her. I guess that makes since. Poor girl. Too bad you can't just cap it like a human. :-/

The Antler Chew Bandent

2011-03-12T22:25:00.000-05:00

The CRIME... tampering with mail from the United States Postal Service.

This was clearly not addressed to Winnie.

The DEFENDANT... Winnie Boadicea Petunia Matilda Gizmo Simons.

Who? Me?

Yes, you. This is exactly how it happened. I was expecting several small packages one of which was one of those tasty antler chews that Kelly from Corgi Butts told us about. This morning, I went to fetch yesterdays mail from the box and two of the packages arrived. Without much care I tossed the mail onto the kitchen table and when upstairs to shower and start the day. When I step out of the bathroom what do I see? THIS...

Nice!

You got it. Did you hear me say anything about opening the package? Nope. Winnie did it herself. That little stinker got on my table, picked out the package with the antler chew in it and helped herself. Are you kidding me? She has never done anything like that before. I was totally dumbfounded. Do you punish that somehow? I have no idea. So I just cleaned up the packaging still on the floor and left it alone.

On the other hand the antler looks REALLY cool.

Peak Antler Company: 10 inch Large Dog Chew

No slimy goo. What's not to love?

Dog Friends

2011-03-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

Does your pup have a best-dog-friend? Winnie did. A Golden Retriever named Miguel. Last Fall he moved to Texas and boy are we missing him. (And his family, of course. :-) Field trips to the dog park and hikes just aren't as fun without this boy. But here's the thing... I found that not only did having a steady dog-date for outings make me more consistent with taking Winnie out and about but Winnie picked up a lot of good behaviour from Miguel. For instance, Winnie can be shy about getting in and out of cars... if Miguel were still here I'm sure she would just follow him right into the back seat without a problem.

Have your dogs picked up anything from their dog friends? Good, Bad, Ugly? :-) Anyway, here are some Winter Romp shots of Winnie and Miguel before he left... Don't these two look like their having a blast?

We're coming! We're coming!

Wait! What was THAT? Shhhh... Oh, it's just a cross-country skier.

There's nothing like a good run with your pal.

Book Review: The Other End of the Leash

2011-03-09T11:11:00.001-05:00

So Winnie and I are going to try something new here at Herding the Corgi and move some of our favorite books and toys from the sidebar and into actual posts. Then we'll put them on their own page so you can find them again more easily.

As I was collecting some of the information for the Book Review page I noticed that although I've talked about it a LOT I've never actually written an official review for The Other End of the Leash so here it is!

In my opinion, if you were only going to read ONE book about dogs it would have to be The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs by Patricia McConnell. In fact, I've had a few friends that have gotten dogs in the last year or so and I went out and just got the book for them. I think so highly of it that I've actually purchased the darn thing 4 times. Now, that's an endorsement, right?

Patricia McConnell is an animal behaviorist that specializes in dogs. Besides the usual academic litany you would expect she has a sheep farm and several different herding dogs of her own. As an added bonus I keep a link of HER blog over in the Dog Blogs section. Check it out!

The Other End of the Leash is written from a bit of an academic perspective and can be scientifically minded. However, this is an angle that I found quite helpful since Winnie was my first real swing at owning a dog. I mean, we had a dog or two when I was younger but without ever building real relationships with them. (My mother was scared of them so mostly they stayed outside and like most things... out of sight is out of mind. I'm not proud of the start but that's what it was.) I however did like dogs and wanted to correct my own behavior to better communicate with them. That is exactly what this book talks about. How to act around animals of another species.

A short skim of the table of contents looks like this:

Monkey See, Monkey Do
Translating Primate to Canine
Talking to Each Other
Planet Smell
Fun and Play
Pack Mates
Patient Dogs and Wise Humans
Personalities
Love & Loss

So you can see how it's a little sciency but McConnell does a terrific job of speaking plainly. Here's an excerpt so you can get the feel:

"Greetings, Canine and Primate Style - Imagine walking down the street and seeing someone whom you know and are happy to see. What do you do? Most of us call out his name, maybe wave to get his attention, and move directly toward him. It's especially polite to look directly at his face as you get closer, walking straight toward him, looking right into his eyes and smiling. ... This is just not friendly if you're a dog. Direct head-on approaches can be threating to dogs, ... The politest of dogs tend to approach from he side, perhaps even at 90 degrees. They avoid direct eye contact. On the other hand, two dogs standing face-on staring into each other's eyes are trouble - big trouble... "

I think this is just one of the best dog books out there but if this is a little too basic for you then I would definitely suggest looking into some McConnell's other materials via her blog and website. Have you read The Other End of the Leash? Feel free to post some of your own thoughts and experiences!

Watching the Dog Show

2011-02-16T11:31:00.000-05:00

Winnie and I caught the second night of the Westminster Dog Show last night...

So when do we see the Corgis? This isn't even my group.

We were really enjoying ourselves until it occurred to us that it was the second day and we missed the herding group!

AHHH! Use your thumbs and LOOK - IT - UP...

So we got online and looked it up... turns out that a Bearded Collie won the group. Not my fav. But the Pembroke Welsh Corgi made the cut and came in 4th.

Did you click that link and look at that corgi? She doesn't have anything on a Tri like me. Granted I've never tri-ed.

After that we admittedly lost interest and played a game of "tug."

Umm... it would help if you got off the couch.

Congratulations to the 2011 Westminster Kennel Club winner: GCH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, Scottish Deerhound. If it had to be a hound... we're glad it was you. :-)

Hey! Fill that bowl with water... showin' makes a pooch thirsty!

Corgi Circles & Photos

2011-02-11T17:04:00.001-05:00

Winnie has officially completed all of her ~~Crop~~ Corgi Circles in our back yard. She's established the parameter as well as built some turn-arounds. And as she flys down her path it really looks pretty fun!

I snapped some pictures of the flash of corgi butt fluff and DUDE look at that muscle tone. Way to go Win-bot! (Short for Bionic Winnie, a pet name my friend Cindy gave her when we had her chip installed.) I wished my rear looked that good. :-)

Oh the sun feels good!

CHASE ME!

These were however the best shots I could get. Butt shots. Winnie makes me work really hard for good photos. Not because she's uncooperative but for some reason the camera freaks her out. I read somewhere that dogs can interpret cameras as if it were a "big aggressive eye" starring at them. They wouldn't be all wrong. Which then makes since that when I get out the camera she tenses up and MOST of the shots I get look like this...

Crap, that THING is back.

I'm not going to take this crap... either play or don't but enough with the staring!

I'm going to make sure the neighbors know the trouble your making!

Some of you post some really terrific shots on your blogs and I'd be thrilled to hear any tricks you have to get your pooches to just be themselves. :-) That's what we want, right? Okay, I'm all yours... lay it on me.

The Corgi Didn't See It's Shadow

2011-02-02T10:22:00.001-05:00

... so this must mean Spring will come faster, right? Well, you couldn't tell it today!

Michigan, like MOST of the mid-west is getting bombarded by snow. Personally, we've gotten 10 inches overnight and its still coming down. I wanted to take some photos of my shadow-less corgi (corgis are about the size of groundhogs, right?) but there was no way I was heading out there in that blizzard just yet. So, I body slammed our back door to get it open against the drift that had accumulated and let the pooch out to fend for herself. Here is a clip I took from the window. :-)

After she got back inside (which didn't take very long) this is what I saw...

This is bad news for a shorty.

Poor kid. More updates to come. :-)

Winnie & The Daily Corgi

2011-01-13T13:27:00.001-05:00

Winnie's on The Daily Corgi! Boy... a while ago when I first started cruising the dog blogs I submitted a few photos of Winnie to The Daily Corgi and her number came up! Here's the link... Winnie on The Daily Corgi. I hope you enjoy it and welcome to all of you who are visiting Herding the Corgi for the first time today!

I can't believe it! The Daily Corgi! I'm a star!
(And a welcome in Boston, too. Thanks Laurie!)

Winnie's Birthday!

2011-01-05T17:01:00.001-05:00

It's Winnie's second birthday today! I've been feeling a little under the weather so we didn't celebrate as much as we may have liked to BUT we managed a fun trip to the pet store and gifts!

First we decided to go to Pet Supplies Plus because they sent us a birthday present.

Thank you Pet Supplies Plus.

Winnie picked out some fantastic things...

We got some Zuke's, All Natural moist training treats (great for stuffing in treat toys and something she's never had before), a can of Venison Natural Balance Dog Food (for a special dinner tonight, who wants dry kibble on your birthday?), and a Extra-large Jolly Ball!

The Jolly ball was actually a recommendation from Taryn (A Tale of Two Cardis) in a comment she left in a September post titled Unlikely Toys. In Unlikely Toys, Winnie loved herding a big kickball around our back yard but popped it in a few days and the fun was over. THIS one looks extra sturdy. They have Jolly Balls with a handle for easy carrying but I thought that handle-less might be easier to "herd."

Here's a pic of Winnie rounding the bend with her new present...

I'm going to get you!

And apparently trying to ride it like a circus elephant...

If this were just a little BIGGER!

I think this will be a winner. :-) Happy Birthday, Puppers! I think 2 is going to be a good year!

Sleeping it Off

2010-12-31T11:15:00.002-05:00

Winnie is back from her whirl-wind Christmas tour. We hit three cities in 5 days and everyone in our house is ready for a vacation from the vacation. The last stop on our tour was at my in-laws who have a fantastic fenced in back yard...

In addition to lots of room to run there were 3 other dogs in tow to horse around with...

The crew consisted of:

Juno - 1 year old, 55lb, hound/lab/other mix
Sassy - 6 year old, 25lb, Yorkshire terrier
Izzy - 2 year old, 7lb, pom mix
Winnie - 2 year old, 25lb, corgi

These guys didn't slow down for a second so they spent a lot of time outside and that in combination with nearly 20 people to keep track of really took it out of Winnie. The morning after we got home THIS is that I saw...

...up in our bed, under the covers and everything. What a pampered pooch. :-)

Anyway, Winnie and I wish everyone a restful conclusion to the holiday sprint and a very happy New Year!

Mobil Blog - Work in Progress

2010-12-24T08:55:00.001-05:00

Well, we're on the road visiting family for Christmas and I've tried to post a blog via email and text. The texting post (seen below) worked well and happened FAST! It posted in a flash after I accidentally sent it before writing more than one line. (The profound words "First post via text!") No kidding, right? But I was unable to give it a title or attach a photo... hum.

The email method failed completely (reasons unknown) so here I am sitting at my computer again.

The picture I tried to attach was this one:

I love Grandma's! I love hamburger!

Winnie is smiling because we're at my Grandma's house and one of my uncles keeps giving her bits of hamburger... as if I don't know. Anyway, we hit the road again this morning for our second city of 3 for the holiday and hopefully I'll figure this business out! :-)

2010-12-23T19:58:00.001-05:00

First Blog Post via Text!

The Dog Blog Goes Mobil

2010-12-22T15:52:00.002-05:00

Yo! Me, the hubby, and the pooch are mere minutes away from hitting the road for lots of Christmas fun and travel. Here's the best holiday photo I've taken of Winnie so far...

Trees in the house are so unnatural

She still looks ticked I'm making her do it. To help remedy this problem I set up Herding the Corgi to accept email and text messages and blog posts! Maybe now I can be more frequent AND more candid. :-)

Have any of you done this already? Any tips or tricks to share? At any rate, we're going to give it a try. If they come out really crappy I'll take them down and start over, ok? Ok. Safe Travels!

Throwing Balls in the House

2010-12-16T07:48:00.001-05:00

There has been lots of talk lately on the dog-blog circuit about how to burn energy in the Winter when it's too cold to play outside. Winnie and I make our contribution to the conversation with this wonderfully armature (a.k.a. of poor quality and somewhat goofy) video of us playing with one of our favorite toys... The Hole-ee Roller! Enjoy!

PS I just got the Flip video recorder and it's awesome! You'll love it.

Kibble? No, Treats.

2010-12-01T10:39:00.000-05:00

Every morning it's the same routine:

Alarm Sounds
Husband gets in shower
Dog takes husbands spot for a short snuggle
Walk down stairs
Dump a scoop of kibble in the bowl.

Today instead of eating her breakfast I saw this:

Winnie: I need your attention.

Amy: What's wrong with you? You have a bowl full of kibble. Go to it.

Winnie: I do not want kibble. I'd rather have treats, please.

(If I look at things Winnie will often follow my eyes so to make the point I look at her dish.)
Amy: Hey, eat your breakfast so we can get on with things.

(To make her point she used my own tools against me and looked up at the cupboard where I keep her treats.)
No, treats.

We repeated this exchange - looking at each other and looking at the things we wanted to the other one to do and it cracked me up. I sometimes wonder how much time I spend telling Winnie things but not listening (or misinterpreting) to her but for all the exasperating moments we've had, this conversation was pretty clear.

Do you give your dog a multivitamin?

2010-11-22T16:17:00.000-05:00

I have an on-again-off-again relationship with multivitamins. I like the concept. You know... help regulate digestion, provide you with the basics despite your crappy diet, build your immune system, so on and so forth. But then there is all the controversy like... Can the supplements even be absorbed by your body? How much is too much? Do they contain any toxins? Geesh... I could be taking these things for years! What will THAT build up look like? Anyway, I assume all the same questions can be said for supplementing our dogs.

I did my own personal research on the human side of the issue about two years ago and concluded that the GNC brand was the best bang for the buck and was likely to help me rather than kill me so this is what I take. Where does Winnie come in to all of this? Right here.

GNC Multivitamin for Dogs

My darling pooch is an on-again-off-again eater. She doesn't have an allergy and is medically fine. But every few days she skips a meal. (Keeping her girlish figure?) And I'm sure as heck not going to supplement her with TREATS at this rate. So I give her a doggie multivitamin each morning. This prompted me to ask all my original human-vitamin questions again... doggie style. :-) However, as luck would have it, GNC just came out with a pet line of supplements. So, I got them.

I feel good about giving them to Winnie. I'd like to think that because she's a young adult this will help ward off future illnesses and so on. But what do you think? Have anyone else done their homework on this? I guess I could ask my vet but what the heck... why don't you weigh in? :-)

Here's a smiley corgi picture of Winnie just for kicks.

It's always something new...

2010-11-13T13:14:00.001-05:00

Today, I poked my head out the back door to call Winnie inside and saw this...

What? Doesn't everyone sit on the bench?

Apparently, sitting on the ground just isn't going to cut it anymore.

Dogs & PTSD

2010-11-11T14:27:00.001-05:00

I know, I know... it's been a while since I've gotten my act together and made a quality post. My apologizes. It seems that as soon as November strikes I hit the ground running and don't stop until January each year. I've had good blogging intentions mind you... I've taken HOURS of Winnie video trying to capture the moment that she unscrews the mighty Kong Wobbler but it always seems to happen when the camera isn't rolling.

I'm so ticked I about this thing I wont even look at the camera.

Even my poor pup has suffered from my lack of free time. We have gone on walks every day without fail until these past few weeks. I know this girl has energy to burn so I load her down with a backpack and a few cups of kibble so she can get the most out of the exercise we do get.

However, my real reason for posting today is because it's Veterans Day... Many of us don't even recognize the holiday but I think it's even more important to acknowledge where we've come from and where we're going since we are in fact still at war today. In honor of the day, TIME magazine ran an interesting article about Dogs and how they are helping soldiers with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Have a look. And when you're done thanking a Vet for their service, thank a dog for theirs! :-)

Party Review

2010-10-28T08:12:00.002-04:00

That's right, take a photo of the cute doggie.

This past weekend Winnie went to her first party! My nephew turned one so we loaded the car and when to go celebrate. The house was F-U-L-L of people, pets, and children... actually, let me give you the exact stats:

12 adults
8 children
2 cats
1 other puppy

Winnie, mind you, has run of our quiet house with just my husband and me to bother her so I was watchful to see how she would handle all the commotion.

Gozzo, the King.

Winnie did really well. She was sweet to pets and people and didn't pull any of her usual household stunts. The only two very minor hiccups were Gozzo the cat and one other child. Gozzo is a 20lb Russian Blue that rules the house. Poor Winnie just wanted to play with him but he'd swat her on the nose and tell her to buzz off. Which she did. (Don't worry, he doesn't have any claws) And this other child was just scared of dogs. He would see Winnie and scream. Then Winnie would look around her as if to say "What!?! What are you scared of??? Should I be scared, too?!?" Pretty cute.

What a lovely book. I'll read it to you. Oh wait, I can't read English... just Welsh.

Winnie, DID help my nephew open some presents just to get a better look but I think he liked it. He and Winnie are buds. His grandma also has a corgi that he gets to hang out with so this house is a fan of the long and low. I'm proud of my little fur-girl.

Halloween Costumes? How will you vote?

2010-10-19T10:11:00.001-04:00

So this year Winnie and I are going to a Halloween / Birthday party at a friends house so I thought "If we're going to dress up, would Winnie like to join the fun?" Maybe. Actually, after trying to put a few things on her she really didn't like it so I came up with another idea. Festive bandannas! Here's a picture from the Doctors Foster & Smith Website that I was thinking of getting.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/dog-supplies/halloween/ps/c/3307/11828

What do you think? What will you do? Vote in the costume poll!

PS Fun that they picked a corgi model, right? :-)

A Kong Defeated

2010-10-13T15:17:00.000-04:00

Last August I got Winnie the Kong Wobbler. I blogged about smart dogs needing smart toys and posted a video of my little hair-ball trying to figure this thing out.

Today, she did.

Uh, oops. Did I break it or beat it?

This little fluff-nugget actually unscrewed the darn thing! (In her defense I DID put a treat in there that was too big to get out but she was so fast! It's not like they were ALL to big.) Has anyone else had this problem?

(Sorry for the grainy photo... my phone was the only thing handy and I just couldn't believe it!)

Monkey See - Dog Do

2010-10-12T22:27:00.001-04:00

I was reading Patricia McConnell's blog The Other End of the Leash and her most recent post sports this video asking "Do Dogs Inherently Understand Pointing Gestures?” My own expericnce has been very close to what this clip shows. How about you?

PS The "eyes closed" bit cracks me up. I know Winnie for sure knows that if she wants to do something she shouldn't do... she just needs to wait till I'm not looking. It's not just my theory anymore!

All Dogs Go to Heaven

2010-10-12T18:43:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago our church celebrated the Feast of St. Francis with a special evening service that included an animal blessing. Boy! Which one of our little fluff balls couldn't use one of those! I know it's a little late but here are the photos. Surprisingly we had ALL DOGS at the service. As you can see in the photo below, some of us were more excited to be here than others. This could have been Winnie last year. She jumped and barked the entire time.

OMG! (Literally) Bless me!

This year Winnie was a good girl. I think just being older made her more relaxed. Or maybe it was because she found a friend with turkey legs just like her!

What ARE you? You sprawl like a Corgi but you are FAR too hairy!

In the spirit of being a little wiggly Winnie didn't really want to hold still for her blessing. I think the priest actually made the cross upside down. Do you think that's bad? :-)

What's going on here? Hey, wait a second...

All and all it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. There was also a pet friendly reception that had some milk bones, puppy chow, kitty litter cake, gold fish crackers, and more. Pretty cool.

Paw It Forward

2010-10-06T17:09:00.002-04:00

Winnie and I received our Paw It Forward package full of great things from our fellow dog blogger Jenny and her pup Stanley over at Corgi On My Mind.

The package came on Monday but we've been so busy this week that poor Winnie had to wait till today to open it. I know, how do you deny a dog a package that smells of treats? I was a mean dog mom. But it was worth the wait!

Listen Ma, it's addressed to ME! I'll decide when we open it!

The first thing I saw was a card featuring a very cool illustrated rendering of Stanley on the cover and a wonderful personalized book mark with Winnie's picture!

Finally, someone that knows what I'm talking about here!

Of course, Winnie went right for the treats.

This one! Open this one!

About one second after I took this picture Winnie pushed her nose in the bag and helped herself. These were some pretty fancy treats. Real chicken jerky wrapped around a real dried apple slice. Gourmet!

I don't know French, but I know delicious.

All in all we received a portable water bowl, two bags of gourmet treats, the Kong stick toy, a Natural Balance food roll, and a festive Halloween bat squeaky toy.

Wait, is it my birthday?

Here's a close up of some of the other treats. The squirrel cracks me up. And the cookie looks like it should have been for me! Ha!

The smallest bone is what Winnie normally gets... there's some perspective for you.

Natural Balance is actually what I feed Winnie all the time. Well, the kibble version not the food roll version but this stuff makes the BEST training food. You can cut it up small and it's irresistible. Try it.

Get some.

The other hot favorite was the squeaky bat toy. What fun getting it so close to Halloween! I think it sort of even looked like Winnie. (It's the ears)

This doesn't seriously look like me, does it?

Thanks Jenny and Stanley! We've really enjoyed our Paw it Forward package and we got to try a few things we don't have around here in our own pet stores. What a treat!

In the Paw It Forward tradition Winnie and I will take our turn assembling a goodie box full of our favorite things to pass along to someone new. If you haven't been the recipient of a Paw It Forward box yet and have a dog blog be the first to leave a comment on this blog with your email address and you'll be the next in line! (Tip: type "at" instead of using the @ symbol to avoid getting spammed. Like this: name(at)email.com)

Here's a clip of Winnie playing with her Bat Toy. She's a happy dog.

A Low Bar for the High Jump

2010-09-30T18:08:00.005-04:00

Today Winnie and I took out the Agility Starter Kit. It's only been a few months since we got it but you know... better late than never. Winnie spent a long day in her kennel while both my husband and I were at work so I thought "What could be a better way to stretch our legs and use are brains that to try something new?"

I know what this means!

The first thing I did was go and get my treat pouch. This is more or less a little nylon bag with a stiff mouth so your training treats are easily accessible and your pockets don't get all crummy with kibble. I don't love this "clip on the pocket" model but it gets the job done. I think I would prefer something more like a fanny pack. I always seem to be bumping this one with my arm.

Pish... can you say cake walk?

Next, we set up the "high jump." Obviously, because this was our first time we set a "low bar." :-) Winne can jump surprisingly high for a corgi. She can get on our bed, with a running start, which is 30 inches tall. (I don't encourage her to do that by the way... but sometimes she can't be stopped.) We set the bar at 6 inches just to get comfortable with it. I put on her leash and showed her a treat then while moving the treat over the bar (and preventing her from going around the bar by holding her leash) said "over" while she jumped.

I did a good job!

She did a good job although I could tell she wondered why she just couldn't go around the obstacle. We repeated the jump about 10 times then I let her off the leash for a victory lap. Who doesn't love a victory lap? :-)

I amended this last part after Kelly left her comment asking "Was the Agility Kit worth the money?" My long answer is in my responding comment but the short answer is this. If you want to get started right away, get the kit. If you are a creative person that likes to build stuff then get the book I reference in my blog post Dog Agility Step 1: Read The Book and build your own kit. The book, however, is worth every penny.

Take Your Dog to Work Day (Unofficial)

2010-09-21T18:08:00.000-04:00

I'm one of those people who are lucky enough to be able to come home for lunch. This is nice for several reasons.

It's a short commute to the office.
I actually get to eat the leftovers we always say we're going to but never do.
I don't actually need to decide what I'm going to eat until I open the frig door and look inside.
I get to see my pretty pup.

Today, I came home for lunch and after I had eaten it was time to head back to the office. I put on my shoes and grabbed my bag and Winnie looked so sad that I was leaving I couldn't stand myself. So, I took her to work for the afternoon. When she saw me get her leash she was all smiles!

So am I an intern now?

She gets to take this dogie field trip about once a month. I make sure it's a slow day without too much foot traffic or hard deadlines so if there's a problem I can manage it but so far so good.

What do you mean I'm not getting paid?

Her favorite place to plop was in the hall between my office and my co-workers. She keeps an eye out this way so she doesn't miss anything.

Hey! Don't you have work to do?

And no one could help getting/giving a good scratch.

What can I say? They love me!

All in all, I love days like today. :-)

Last Days of Summer

2010-09-19T17:13:00.000-04:00

These are just a few shots of Winnie in the backyard. It's a warm evening so we're taking advantage of it before Fall and Winter arrive.

As much as I would like to make a "Stop and Smell the Flowers" comment here Winnie was actually just investigating some bees.

The bees

Peek-a-boo Corgi.

Feast of St. Francis

2010-09-16T17:40:00.001-04:00

The feast of St. Francis, for some of the Christian persuasion, is celebrated on October 4th this year. The nutshell bio of St. Francis is that he's the patron saint of animals. If you think about it, you've likely seen statues of him in gardens around your neighborhood before. Anyhow, being raised protestant I'm not the type that gets overly excited about celebrating saints but this particular observation is pretty fun for us pet owners.

Blessing of the Animals

Many churches will hold a special service that celebrates St. Francis and also has a Blessing of the Animals. Some are huge and some are modest. (I heard the Catholic church in Minneapolis had an elephant from the zoo show up last year!) But it's pretty common to have several services like this in a city. Let's be honest here... regardless of your background in religion I think it's safe to say that we've all at one point felt a little disconnected from it. Like the ritual and our lives sometimes don't line up. For me, at least, this is one time when my life and my church line up. I plan on taking Winnie to the Blessing of the Animals where I live and I thought if this was something you might like to do with your pup, I'd give you enough heads up to find a service wherever you are.

A priceless picture of a cat hissing while being blessed.

I guess he needed the holy water, too. The rest of us didn't get that. :-)

Here are some more photos from 2009. Winnie was barking so much that the priest actually ad libbed her into his sermon! What a good sport. I'll be sure to blog an update for 2010. :-)

The little stinker wouldn't hold still either.

She looked great in her Episcopal Shield leash though!

Smells Like a Bath. Yuck!

2010-09-14T18:54:00.000-04:00

For all that dogs and humans have in common, an opinion about what smells good is not one of them.

There is something about trash, poop, and rotten vegetation that dogs (and Winnie in particular) just love. Well to make a long story not as long, my darling little bundle of fur took a nose dive into a big pile of stinky you-know-what on our walk today. By the time it occurred to me what she was doing I was far too late to stop her. She had started at her nose and worked her way down her entire long, low, body rolling joyfully in poo. Gross.

Of course, I crashed her party of one and killed her joy with a single word. "Bath." After the chills made their way down Winnie's spine she reluctantly made her way downstairs to the laundry tub and let me go to work.

But what did I do to deserve this!?

I wet her down and lathered her up with a "powder fresh" scented puppy shampoo and wondered... Dogs likely roll in this stuff because it smells great to them. And if poo smells great does "powder fresh" sell gross? Maybe a dogs reluctance to get a bath has less to do with the bath and more to do with the smell? Who knows? It's just a thought.

Powder Fresh... more like Powder Nasty!

About time! Towel me off and get me out of here!

A side note... if you don't have one of these rinse aids (the white hose attached to my laundry tub) to help squirt down your pup you are working WAY to hard.

The Bark Park

2010-09-10T11:04:00.001-04:00

Winnie and I are lucky enough to live next to some pretty cool parks. Most of them offer some pretty cool walking trails that when you get back far enough you don't feel too bad about letting your pup off leash. (shhhh!)

Winne on the trails this summer.

We do have one specific dog park though and I'm always a little conflicted when we go. On one hand I want Winnie to be exposed to other dogs, learn to behave nicely around strange animals and people, and really open up for a good old fashion game of chase or fetch! On the other however, I'm confronted with dog owners that have different standards for what "behaving nicely" means. They don't keep a very close eye on their dogs and I sometimes feel like the trip just wasn't worth it that day.

Being a dog parent can be tricky! You see people punish their dogs for the owners mistake, people that just don't pay attention, and then those of us in the middle... that want to share the time with their dog and like minded dog people. We bring toys and have conversations. It can be a really lovely time.

Winnie at the Bark Park

Winnie with her best buddy Miguel. Miguel moved to Texas this summer and we miss him!

My question for you guys is this: How do you get the most out of outings with you dogs? Do you stick to the dog parks? Go on the lesser used trails? Participate in organized events like obedience training? Or take on the really risky business just taking your dog to people places and seeing how many folks complain?

My world would be much happier if well behaved dogs were welcomed to more places and I think more dogs would be well behaved if they weren't stuck in the house all day! But until then, this is what we've got.

Okay... what do you do? Be specific. :-)

Partly Dog

2010-09-02T15:11:00.001-04:00

I read this quote the other day and it really stayed with me.

In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog. ~Edward Hoagland

I find getting on the floor helps.

Sharing Toys

2010-08-31T11:09:00.000-04:00

Guilty. I didn't find some golden nugget of information about how to teach our dogs to share their toys with other dogs. But I did just add a gadget that will help Winnie and I share our favorite toys with you! I've finally collected some of the books and dog stuff I've talked about for months in one place... Sharing Toys. Just under the blog archive to your right.

It has my name on it! How great is THAT?

Speaking of new toys... here is a photo of a new dog bed my mom made for Winnie. She was so happy to get it but thought it was a huge chew toy instead of a bed. Needless to say it didn't last long and has thus become a big push for the famous stuffing less Skinneeez!

Bed? What do you mean bed? I sleep on the couch. This must be a chew toy/canopy.

The Corgi Flop

2010-08-25T11:30:00.003-04:00

A friend showed me this video of a "Corgi Flop" on youTube this week. It cracked me up because Winnie has what we call the "Corgi Leap." I couldn't get a good clip of the Corgi Leap but this is good enough to stand alone. Enjoy!

The truth is... those stumpy little legs are just funny no matter what their doing!

Winnie Come!

2010-08-23T10:51:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I posted a heads-up about the Patricia McConnell DVD sale. I didn't really know what I was getting into but I knew I loved her book The Other End of the Leash so I took a chance on a DVD. I ordered "Lassie Come! How to get your dog to come every time you call" because although Winnie comes most of the time she dosen't come all of the time and let's be honest... chasing a dog around the back yard because they won't come inside when you're late is only fun for the dog.

In a nut shell... I loved it. McConnell was thoughtful and encouraging and easily understood. It was also great to see her model what she was talking about.

Here's a clip of Winnie and I in a short "come" training session. Today we're in the house but we've been doing it in the back yard and on walks and I think we'll soon move to the dog park for a bigger challange but for now we're having lots of fun!

One of the points I took from the video was this: The more control you have over your dog, the more freedom your dog has. It sounds silly but makes a lot of sence. If you know your dog will come, you don't stress about letting it run outside to greet people... and so on. I found a YouTube video of McConnell doing an interview and talking about a different DVD. They don't talk about training "come" but I thought it would be nice for you to see some of what I'm talking about from the horses mouth. Enjoy!

Smart Dogs Need Smart Toys

2010-08-19T10:04:00.000-04:00

So one of the down sides to having a smart pup is convincing them to use their smarts for good rather than evil all day. Chewing bones is good. Chewing trash is evil. Chasing balls is good. Chasing cats is evil... and so on. Needless to say I'm always looking for new ways to help Winnie use her brain for good. We get lots of exercise, go new places, see new people, learn new tricks, and best of all play with new (or rotated) toys!

About a month ago our fellow corgi blogger Kelly from Corgi Butts reviewed a new toy called the Kong Wobbler. I liked the look of it because it's bigger than most toys we have for the win-monster and dispenses food in a completely different way than her other toys. (I like to be tricky and put a little less food in her dish so she can work at getting the rest of it out of a toy... it keeps her problem solving for good, not evil.)

I decided to try it and here are the results:

Like, Gibson, Winnie at first was a little scared of the wobbler. She guessed it was going to be fun but wasn't sure how it worked. After I swatted at it myself for a minute she got the idea.

(Sorry for the shaky camera and kinda long video... this was my first time doing all of this. I'll get better, promise.)

It's easy to use (the top and the bottom unscrew so it's easy to fill and clean) and both Winnie and I like it. We've been playing with it for a few days now and I'll likely put it away for a week so she doesn't get bored but at the end of the day it gets two paws up. :-)

And as far a "food" toys go we also like the Premier Pet Busy Buddy Twist-N-Trea and the Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball. For a plain-jane puzzle toy the Kyjen I-Qube Puzzle Plush Interactive Dog Toy was a big hit!

Pet Rescuers

2010-08-12T11:24:00.001-04:00

First, let me say that Winnie does not need rescuers. But if she did, I would seriously rally the troops.

I'm talking about the "Pet Rescuers" from Home Again Recovery, the company that microchips your pet.

We got Winnie micro chipped the same time we got her spayed. What really convinced me it was a good idea was that the service isn't just reactive - it's proactive. Sure, I would seriously hope that if anyone found a lost cat or dog that they would take them to the vet, humane society, or at the very least keep them around for a few weeks and put up FOUND PET posters. But let's be honest, not everyone even has a eye out for that sort of thing.

What this micro chipping company does in addition to making your pet identifiable (even if she loses her collar) is that it alerts the "Pet Rescuers" in the area you are from and the area that your pet went missing. It's great!

Every so often (thankfully, not more often) I receive an email with a PDF attachment. The PDF is a ready made LOST DOG (or cat) poster complete with all the necessary information: pet photo, pet name, medical information, distinguishing marks, size, etc. If a dog is lost in my zip code I know to keep my eye out and I print the posters and put them up in my local pet stores and dog parks. I don't know these dogs but if Winnie ever did run off I would really want someone to do it for me.

Why write a blog post about it? Because you don't have to subscribe to this service to be a Pet Rescuer. You can sign up to read the pet rescue tips and receive the emails for free. Why not? You'd be doing a good thing.

Unlikely Toys

2010-08-10T15:15:00.002-04:00

Isn't it funny that we can take special trips to the pet store... lavish car rides and new toys on our furry friends... and while that's all fine and dandy their favorite toys are still things like ice cubes and near-empty peanut butter jars??? It cracks me up. And keeps me guessing.

"It's not Halloween? Then what am I doing with this clown nose?"

A few months ago I picked up this big red ball on a whim at the local home improvement store. It's the sort of ball you played kickball or foursquare with in elementary school. I knew it was way too big for Winnie but since it was a whopping investment of $3 I brought it home anyway.

"It wasn't me, promise. The chipmunk popped it."

She has since spent hours pushing it around the yard (as fast as she can keep control of the darn thing) and popped it so she could carry it around. What do you think? Maybe next time a basketball? What are some of your pups "ad-lib" toys?

"Ok, it was me."

"But now we can do THIS!"

Corgi Calendar Contest

2010-08-08T16:41:00.001-04:00

My fellow corgi blogger Kelly from Corgi Butts is putting her graphic design skills to good use. She is assembling a "Dogs with Blogs" corgi calendar full of submissions from corgi bloggers like us. It's free to submit photos (and you can send her as many as you like) as long (as you have a dog with a blog) but the deadline is coming up soon. Follow the Corgi Calendar Dogs with Blogs 2011 link for all the details.

http://www.corgibutts.blogspot.com/

Look at that good looking fellow on the cover. Way to be a handsome devil, Gibson!

Ruffel Your Feathers...

2010-08-06T11:32:00.001-04:00

...down feathers to be specific.

"Down Feathers"

It suddenly occurred to me this week that maybe Winnie was struggling with the heat because she hasn't had a proper brushing in a few weeks. Boy did she need it!

"Shedding Blade"

I use this great brush called a Shedding Blade that totally does the trick. The photos here were actually taken the day after I really brushed her out (because I forgot to grab the camera the first time). And still, look that that fuzz!

"Yard-O-Fuzz"

I'd like to think it's helping this pup beat the heat a little now that she's free of some undercoat. And look how happy she is! Not only is she cooler but I'm less hairy, too. And her coat is dust free and shiny even without a bath! Everyone wins today. :-)

"All Smiles"

McConnell DVD Sale

2010-08-01T10:28:00.002-04:00

Okay, you heard me say it over and over again. Patricia B. McConnell, dog behaviorist and author of The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs (among a bazillion other things) is great. I'm slowing realizing that I just need to let go on my own lazy ways and become her dog disciple. At any rate, there is a 50% off sale on any of the DVD's via her website http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/.

I've ordered, "Lassie Come! How to get your dog to come every time you call!" because, as previously stated, I have an issue with this. And it was the cheapest DVD available at $15.00. There are others like: Dog Play, Dog Aggression, and how to deal with a multi-dog household. They're not cheap but I love her books so how bad can the DVD be? I'm hoping it will be even more helpful because you don't have to try and translate actions into words like in a book... I can just watch her DO the stuff she's been talking about.

I'll make an update when it arrives but for now, if you are as in love with this author, as I apparently am, I wanted you to know about the sale.

The Lucky Spot

2010-07-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

Do any of you remember Troll Dolls? In truth they were a little before my time. From what I'm told they were super popular in the 60's with a few short lived revivals in each subsequent decade. I do however, remember playing with them in elementary school. These weird little plastic leprechauns with tall colorful hair and a jewel on their belly were all the rage among 5th graders for about 3 months. I don't know what the jewel was officially for but at school we concluded that you could rub it for good luck.

Winnie has a spot on the back of her neck that I've come to the same conclusion about. It was the way we identified her from her litter mates... I guess to say it properly would be to say she has a "splash" of white but whatever. To me, it's the good luck jewel. I love it. I want to touch it all the time. I think it's funny to see a "splash" of white dashing down the dog park and know it's my pup pressing on ahead without me. (Although seeing the Corgi Smile on the return trip isn't bad either ;-)

So, since Corgis are such an old breed with pretty standard markings (pems particularly) what physical characteristics do you find irresistible about your dog? Of course, huge ears and stumpy legs are a given.

Corgi Agility...Step One, Read The Book

2010-07-28T12:06:00.001-04:00

I celebrated my 28th birthday not so long ago and my mom gifted me The Beginner's Guide to Dog Agility and the Kyjen Dog-Agility Starter Kit. I'm pretty excited about it and wish I wasn't traveling these next few weeks so Winnie and I could start playing with it. Personally, I think it's pretty cool I still get toys for my birthday. My brother, thinks it's a sign that I'll never get something for myself again. That this year my birthday gift was really a gift for mom's 'grand-puppy' and without a doubt future birthday gifts will be for "the two of you", the family", "the house", or whatever applies at the moment. He may be right but for now I don't mind.

Neither Winnie or I have tried Dog Agility before. To be completely honest, I'd be thrilled if she just came every time I called her but perhaps something more stimulating to focus on will bring her around. (It's not that she doesn't come because she doesn't understand... she doesn't come because I'm not offering anything better than what she has at the moment... jerk)

The book outlines traits that could indicate a dog would be successful in the sport such as:

High Energy Level (check)
Willingness to Run (check)
Interested in Working with You (hum... checkish)
Pray Drive (check)
Confidence (check)
Trust of People (check)
Positive with other Dogs (check)
Good Health (double check)

Some might see this list and think "Great, let's rock and roll!" I see this list and think... "Crap, if this doesn't work it's pretty much my fault. (If we were to evaluate this list based on my own characteristics I would rank... well, below average. I'm a home-body, I run because it's less frustrating that putting on weight, I DO like working with my pup but have no prey drive to speak of, so there.)

One of the book reviews on Amazon when something like "My 12 year-old loves it" so my confidence is restored. It is full of pictures and bulleted lists for easy/fun reading. Wish me luck. I'll be sure to post frequent updates. :-)

Dog Sitter

2010-07-19T11:55:00.000-04:00

Summer seems to be a good time for travel of all sorts. And as we all know sometimes our fur-kids just can't come with us. (Which one of you guys used the term fur-kids? I know I read it on one of your blogs and I've now taken it as my own.) However, I'm pretty lucky to have a hand-full of people that are ready and willing to watch the win-monster when needed. My brother took a shift this month and we got this photo of him scratching Winnie's head. PURE BLISS! She loves my bro and I know they had a good time. I can't thank you dog-sitters enough!

I love your ankles!

2010-07-13T12:43:00.002-04:00

I'm sure I can't be the only corgi owner out there that needs to remind their pup NOT to nip at their heels. Normally one stern reminder and Winnie will break her focus but it never stops amazing me just how strong her herding instinct really is. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise really. What do you think? We've been trying to breed that intuition into our dogs for hundreds of years! Taking a few pups off the farm and into the house won't make that drive go away. And as if my ankles weren't enough evidence, check out these pictures of Win at the dog park. She could care less about that tennis ball... she's trailing the other dogs!

I'd really like to learn more about the heritage of herding dogs so I can learn to better communicate/understand the state of mind in our furry buddies... if anyone can share books, blogs, instructors, experience, or whatever for me to look into that would be great. Go Corgi's!

Merle's Door

2010-07-09T13:42:00.003-04:00

Winnie and I like to read. It's not unusual to find us sitting around with a Sitepoint publication (or in Winnie's case a copy of The Doctors Foster & Smith catalog) and a snack. But summer seems to be a good time to catch up on the books you want to read.

One of my favorites (of all time, not just on dogs) is one called Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote. I would absolutely put this on a must read list for dog owners. The author is an outdoor journalist by trade and Merle's Door seems to be a natural extension for him. Equal parts research, autobiography, and adventure story Merle's Door let's you have an intimate look at a life long relationship between a man and his dog.

In the book Merle's Door, Ted has been researching different breeds and trying to find the right pup to match his active lifestyle he finds his perfect match in a stray yellow mutt along the side of a river while on a kayaking trip. Being a bit of an academic, he finds himself working through eons of dog research and life experience on a 15 year quest to build a life where both man and beast meet their own needs and those of each other.

Merle's Door is a fast read. (I'm a terribly slow reader and I burned through it in about 2 weeks) The story is compelling because we find ourselves both in the emotion and the questions that are asked. We love Merle because Merle is our dog. We bond with Ted because Ted deals with the same struggles and victories as we do. I promise you'll love the story but the bibliography is priceless. This is the book that made me go buy others like The New Work of Dogs: Tending to Life, Love, and Family and The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs. Whenever Ted is at a turning point on how to handle an issue you'll see a footnote that leads to the richest resources you could ask for. This book will help you articulate why you do what you do with your dog and give you the tools to carry it out with confidence. Get it today, you won't be sorry!

Hot Dog

2010-07-08T16:05:00.001-04:00

Let me start by saying that I know there are a lot of people living out there in the 120 degree DRY Arizona heat but I am not cut out of it. Michigan has been hit with several days in the 90's with a terribly high humidity and it's starting to take its toll on everyone. There was actually a heat advisory that included tips such as: stay inside, don't keep pets in the yard all day, drink lots of water, and check on your ill or elderly neighbors. Winnie has taken this advice to heart. She planted herself in our recliner and has held her post without much exception. I snapped this photo last night (sorry for the poor quality, the only thing handy was my phone) when it occurred to me that this was almost exactly the position I found her in that morning.

So... Winnie and I wish you and yours a summer of fun... as long as it's not too hot. :-)

Weekend Travel

2010-07-05T20:57:00.002-04:00

Independence Day weekend is a big one for travel in Michigan. Many people head to their cabins up north or to family get-togethers at state parks. It's a great idea really because if you ask me Summer is the BEST time to be in Michigan. Travel somewhere warm when its cold, I say. Stick around when is beautiful. We live in the center of the state while most of our family lives south. This is great news when the interstate looks like a parking lot crawling North but you're heading down the map.

This weekend we spent a lot of time with family and friends who offered dog-friendly hospitality. I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to you and all of you who are sensitive to pets that travel. Don't get me wrong. I knew before I got a dog that some decisions would have to be made. The big decision being "to go or not to go" if your pup can not come along. Sometimes you can get a house/pet sitter, board at a kennel, drop the pooch off with a relative, or decide to host the event yourself. But I am always grateful when another host says "Bring her along!" It takes a little prep but I think its a lot of fun.

I should have taken more photos but here's the list of Independence Day dog adventures: go for car rides, play with cats, milk table scraps from people that don't know better, run around the FANTASTIC back yard at the in-laws, play with another dog, go for more car rides. I'd like to think Winnie had a good time. The heat and excitement defiantly pooped her out. It was in the 90's! (Here she is falling asleep with her ears in the full upright position. She's tired but she doesn't want to miss anything.)

I find it helpful to keep a travel bag packed for her that's just ready to go. It includes:

Food
Plastic Food & Water Dishes
Yard Leash
Poop Bags
Shampoo & Towel
Ball
Raw Hide Chew

It gives us everything we can predictably need to be good house guests. We also take her travel crate into whoever's house we're staying in so we can be sure she doesn't get into anything when we're out. I'd feel terrible if great-grandma's special something was turned into a toy while we were out to lunch.

At any rate, the sleepy pup (now in front of the AC vent) and I had a relaxing weekend with family and friends and I'm very appreciative of those who supported the idea of my furry buddy tagging along. Thanks!

Corgi Obedience

2010-06-30T10:29:00.003-04:00

Corgi Obedience... funny, right? In the 18 months Winnie has been in this world and the 16 months she's been in our home I sometimes wonder if I'm really cut out for a smart independent dog.

Maybe independent is putting it too nicely. This girl is flat out stubborn! You can give her an instruction like "come" and she'll look at you, evaluate if what your offering is more fun than what she's doing now and if it is... great. Come, indeed. But if it's not it's as if she replies "Eh, I'm good, thanks."

I am sometimes amazed at how the intuitive herder comes out of this little creature. For instance, I took her to my office yesterday afternoon after I came home for lunch and she was great. She walked with me (no leash) from the house to the car, car to the building, building entrance to my office, and so on. She visited with my coworkers and then settled down under my desk and took a nap while I worked. She learned in a flash that she didn't much care for the noise the copy machine made and it only took twice for her to know which way I was heading. If I was going to the machine, she'd stay by my desk... if I was going to Jan's office... I should count her in. That is the sort of day I LOVE being a corgi owner.

But there are also the days (such as in the obedience class graduation photo shown above) that I get so frustrated I can hardly stand myself. Training with distractions, for instance, any of us that have read a training book or taken a class has heard of it. You teach our dog a skill such as "sit" then gradually increase the amount of time you ask them to do it and the amount of distractions to then teach "sit with impulse control." We do this but after Winnie figured out that she couldn't break her sit to get the ball I was bouncing she did, in fact, stop focusing on the ball like I had asked but then proceeded a full-out barking tantrum while looking right at me in protest. What do you do about that??? The next time I started bouncing the ball she forgot about it instantly (good) while in the next instant started her barking fit again (bad). Ugh, what did I really train this dog to do?

I know I referenced this book in my last blog post (and I likely will again) but it is a really good read. For anyone else who needs to trick their corgi into being obedient rather than just asking them too there are some handy tricks about body language that have been fairly effective for us. I wager a guess that this is particularly true for corgis since it appeals to their nature of recognizing the body language of a flock. If there's anyone else out there with a few tricks or tips I'm happy to hear it. Now that I think of it... why don't I just link you to her blog, too? Here it is: The Other End of the Leash Blog

Bringing Home Winnie

2010-06-27T17:36:00.001-04:00

Look at the cute little bugger. Yup, I took the liberty of adding a big red arrow to the photo so no one would miss which one was mine.

Winnie looked like a little Rottweiler when she was born. All black, two little brown eyebrows, a brown lower jaw, and a white splash on the back of her neck. It was pretty striking compared to all of her brothers and sisters that more of less looked like perfect panda bears.

After my husband and I decided that a second dog was going to come home. Deciding which kind and from where was a bit of a hurdle. I wanted a corgi and a puppy. Our previous pup was a rescue dog with a slew of behavior issues that in the end no amount of exercise or training we did would overcome. The truth is, Winnie is the first dog I've ever taken full responsibility for and I'm glad we decided to check out some breeders and get a puppy.

I read some good advice in a book called The Other End of the Leash. I actually didn't read this book until just a few months ago but it is wonderful and my number 2 pick for anyone thinking about getting a dog. The good advice was to visit breeders before they expect a litter so you can see the parents. It reduces the temptation to walk out of there leaving a deposit on a dog you've never met. Now, again, each dog is different but if both of their parents display the qualities you like... the odds are much more in your favor that the pup will, too.

Winnie is a very excited animal. She loves people, walks, toys, dogs, people, walks, car rides, people, and so on... whatever she's doing at precisely this moment is her favorite thing in the world. She lives life full of enthusiasm and completely in the moment. I can truthfully say, her parents did as well.

Pictured to the right is a photo of Winnie after having been home a few weeks with our dog Chester. Flipped on her back wanting nothing other and acceptance and play is exactly the type of pup we were after and exactly the type of pup we got.

The New Work of Dogs

2010-06-23T14:56:00.007-04:00

In the interest of full disclosure I stole the title for this blog entry from a book I read called The New Work of Dogs by Jon Katz. (linked to the side)

Jon - Please don't be upset. The truth is I do hope that I can piggy back off your clever title and gain a few more readers via search engines but I've also provided a link (click the book) so maybe they'll buy your book. Even?

Let me set the scene for what my life was like a few years ago. I am in my late twenty's. I recently changed jobs, got married, and moved to a different city. It would seem like the last thing on my mind should be getting a dog. And to be honest... it was. My husband already had a dog and a house. I loved all three of them (the husband, dog, and house) and life happily moved along for over a year. But after settling into a happy routine I felt like there was something missing. My husband, being much more intuitive than I am, tried to coach me through the trouble shooting process. "Should we redecorate a room or two?" "Maybe remodel one completely?" He was right to an extent. I did move into a ready-made life style and he was on track while trying to help me put my stamp on things. But at the end of the day I didn't really feel a need to change the view. The view is quite nice, actually. What I wanted was an ongoing house project that was my creation and not something I was just maintaining. Bingo! A dog.

This can lead to all sorts of spin off topics such as: "Dogs or Kids?", "Two Dogs vs. One Dog - Pros & Cons", "Puppy or Adult", "Rescue or Purebred", the list can go on and on. Some of these I've answered and some of these I have not.

It is my opinion as a dog owner that issues like what kind of dog and where to get it are really easy. We all have an idea of what we like and only takes minutes to go online and take a quiz to see if a particular breed fits your life style. The questions get slightly harder as you start to honestly evaluate if you really have time to go for a walk every day and do your obedience class homework. It's tough to give up trying that new Mexican restaurant with your co-workers because you need to run home and let the puppy out on your lunch break. And how is your family going to deal with chewed up things? However, the hardest thing of all is to ask yourself why you're really getting a dog. I guess it's easy for some... they want a running buddy. Okay. I'll buy that. But for me it was obviously more complicated.

For anyone that knows it's more complicated for them The New Work of Dogs is a must read. Jon Katz makes a study of all the complicated reasons people have dogs. He presents it in stories that are easy to read. You find yourself drawn to the subjects and starting to understand that even though you got a Corgi. Her job isn't to herd cattle anymore. It's to take care of you. The New Work of Dogs helped me understand that there were some of my needs that a Corgi could meet beautifully all on her own without even trying, others that I could train her to do, and for the rest I was just going to have to understand that she was a dog... part of the family, but not a person. And it's unfair to her dog-ness to try and make her human.

The New Work of Dogs. Pick number 3 on my top 4 books every dog owner should read.

Looking for a Partner

2010-06-22T16:56:00.001-04:00

If you looked at this picture and said "Awe" you wouldn't be the first. On Winnie's first day home there was little else you could focus on but that adorable gerbil-like creature that would one day grow up to be a Corgi.

Dogs have intrigued me from the very beginning. Even as a child I found something fundamentally civilized about dogs and people living and working together. I remember studying my Child Craft Encyclopedia of Dogs from cover to cover several times over. I could name dozens of breeds on sight or by description, tell you what they were used for, and where they came from. I knew what made a dog different from a wolf. I could retell the countless stories I read of heroic dogs through the ages. Perhaps children feel this more keenly than adults but there was something about having a partner tailored for a united purpose that was immensely satisfying. Boy, did I ever want a dog.

We had a few growing up. Our first dog, Prince (named after Prince Charming from Sleeping Beauty), was really my father's dog. Now, as an adult, I understand that an 8 year old cannot possibly be fully responsible for training and caring for an animal as needy as a dog but at the time I felt a disconnect with Prince because of my lack of involvement. He was a hyper Springer Spaniel that spent most of his life outside and not very engaged with the family. Springer's are also in the sporting group.

Now, I know every dog is different but let's be honest, we all identify more acutely with some over others be it for looks or personality and the sporting group is just one I've never been able to get excited about. I'm not a hunter (I don't object to it... it's just not where I get my kicks). The idea of chasing something through the woods is just not my idea of a good time so how can I expect a creature that has been developed over centuries to think hunting is the only way to spend their day to be on the same page as me? I think it's a bit unrealistic. The herding group however, is something I can get on board with. This is a rounded, all-purpose, group of farm dogs that think independently as well as work closely with their humans, do a little light guarding, and pride themselves on a job well done. Sign me up for one of those. Of course, this group isn't without it's downsides but that's another blog.

How did I choose a Corgi? Largely it was due to some friends of mine that always had a pair around the house. And even as a house-dog (rather than a farm-dog) these little herders found some chores to do and had a good time doing it. Those long and low bodies, huge perked ears, and smart happy faces make me melt. Every well adjusted Corgi I've ever met has at some point looked over their shoulder and up at you with a grin that reeks of an inside joke. I was hooked. And so at the beginning of my adult life - my childhood partner answered her call to duty when Winnie came home.

Herding The Corgi

2010-06-21T19:06:00.000-04:00

Hello. My Name is Amy and this is my dog Winnie, a Pembrook Welsh Corgi.

This blog, Herding The Corgi, came into being for several reasons. First, I'm in the business of electronic communications and I want a pet project (no pun intended) that is open to experimentation and creativity without any lasting consequence. Second, Winnie (my actual pet project), is a subject I never tire of and will always provide a topic for conversation. I often find myself reflecting on our shared lives together and do hope that, over time, this blog will not only help me organize my thoughts but provide a vehicle for community and feedback for some of the other dog/corgi owners that have ever wondered "Who is herding whom?"