Goodbye, Denzil.

Denzil

C-Myste N'Corigible CGC CD RE NA NAP

May 26, 2002 - July 15, 2014

Today was a very sad day, as those who loved Denzil the most had to say our final goodbyes.

Denzil was the most joyful, joy-giving dog we've ever known.

He gave The Husband and I the joy of raising our first puppy.  

He gave me the joy of handling a dog who loved to bark with enthusiasm in the rally ring and frap instead of work during brace obedience.

He gave The Small Human the joy of canine friendship, and empathetic howling whenever The Small Human would cry.

And for the last 4+ years of his life, he lived with, loved, and spread joy to my parents and grandparents.

We'll miss you, Denz.

Wagmore Daily: Ziggy Goes Forth

Ziggy continues to enjoy Wagmore.  Last night we went for a family walk through the trees we planted this winter (I'm trying to figure out a drip irrigation plan for them), and all humans + dogs joined.

Here are some pictures showing Ziggy's happiness.

Into the field.

Stop to gaze.

 

Stop to sniff.

Sniff.

Sniff deeply.

Gaze.

Crash.



Wagmore Daily: Uncle Denzil Spends the Day!

My parents had to go out of town for the day and didn't want to leave their boy home alone, so we had a special guest - Denzil!  Those who've been following the blog since its inception will remember that Denzil was an original member of the Trio of Trouble (along with Maggie and Ziggy).  You can learn more about Denzil on his page.

The Humans and Ziggy love to have Denzil around.  Blossom the c*t spent the day upstairs (that's where the food, cat tree, and litter are, so don't feel bad for her).  I wasn't sure how Rip would do - but he was very accommodating.

Here's how the day went:

We started the day with coffee on the porch.  

Denzil hung out with me.

Then Denz joined the boys in some wandering and sniffing.

When we came inside, Ziggy & Rip thought some bitey play was in order.

Denzil sat in front of me, keeping a close eye on things.

Then Denz remembered he was the Party Police.

So he moved in to break things up.

I love Rip's expression here - very contrite.

He had this expression each time Denz reprimanded him.

Good boy.

The Party Policeman succeeded in his goal.

And later in the afternoon, Zzzz all around:

Another great day at Wagmore.

Wagmore Daily: Settling in to Country Life

A nice morning at Wagmore, then rain in the afternoon (which the baby trees needed!).

The canines are enjoying walks in the country.

Wheel corgis get to go off leash!

While naughty corgis get the flexi.

Oh, and the cats are enjoying being cats - just in a new house.

Like co-opting the new dog bed.  No dogs allowed.

Wagmore Daily: Rip Tastes Freedom

Yesterday Rip had an exciting day in the country.  Too exciting for our liking.

It all began here:

You may remember this picture from a couple days ago.  

Rip gazing out down the drive.

Combine this with Rip's LOVE of sniffing.  

And the fact that our neighbors have chickens, turkeys, sheep, and cows….

And what do you get?  

A missing dog!

Yes, Rip escaped under the gates yesterday.  He found a low spot near the drive, and shoved his way under the gates.  Thankfully we were outside, and noticed quickly that the only dog in the yard was Ziggy.  Then I noticed the neighbor's cows running around their pasture bucking.  I have no proof that this was Rip, as it would take some squeezing to get into the field with the cows, but the crazy cow frolicking punctuated to us that Rip was indeed missing.

So we walked around using the dog whistle and calling Rip.

The Husband was panicked.  The Small Human was VERY UPSET (who knew he liked Rip so much).  I was hoping that Rip wasn't getting himself into something he couldn't get out of.

After about 20 minutes that seemed like 3 hours, we finally found Rip.  The Small Human and I drove around our area, calling his name and blowing the dog whistle.  On the way back down a dead-end road, about 500 yards from our house, we saw him.  He was gleefully trotting along the road, peeing on mailboxes and recycling bins.

Thank doG we found our boy.

After his great escape, Rip was only taken out on a flexi.  The rest of the time he spent inside, by our front door, barking and pawing at the side light.  Freedom was calling and we were in the way!

So today The Husband Rip-proofed the gate area.  It doesn't look fantastic, but it works.  And let me assure you that Rip has put it to the test. :)

Stakes and chicken wire to fill in the swale under the gate.

Chicken wire all the way up the fence on the side of the gate.

Mesh hanging down on the other gate 

to cover up a very small (but perhaps corg-possible) gap.

And the finished  product.

Sorry, Rip.  Wait, no, I'm not really sorry.  Too bad, Rip.

Wagmore Summer days 1-3: Happy dogs!

To say that the Cardi boys like it here at Wagmore is an understatement.  Ziggy in particular seems a much happier dog here than he is Iowa.  He seems to have more energy.  He's playing more, he's more active, and as a result he's lost some weight.

The C*ts love it here, too.  More places to explore, more projects to hamper.

Here are some happy pack pictures.

Gloria finds the afternoon sun

Blossom "helps" to build The Small Human's new bed

 A yard with no plantings is great for frapping!

Basking in the sun is nice, too

Then a corgi needs to come in and rest using a human pillow

Summer at Wagmore!

I realize that I haven't posted anything to the blog for a while.  We've been busy, but I was feeling a little less than inspired, resulting in a dearth of blog posts.

Inspiration has returned, though, as The Pack has decamped to Wagmore for the summer!

The Small Human, The Husband, and all the pets traveled out early this week (I'll post more about that when I get some good pics from The Husband).  Meanwhile I worked in my company office.  Later tonight, I head west to join the rest of The Pack.

I'm so looking forward to spending some quality time at Wagmore. We're making this work by me taking some vacation time, working remotely for a few weeks, and traveling back to my company office a couple times.

Our big projects for the summer include installing an irrigation system for the trees we planted this winter, and replacing the fence on the west side of our property.  There's a lot of other work to do as well, and we'll certainly be taking some time to enjoy Wagmore.

My goal is to post something every day.  Not long posts, just daily updates & pics. So until tomorrow, here's Rip guarding his domain.

The Cardi Boys Product Review: Iams Digestive Care Cat Food

The Cardi Boys (aka Ziggy and Rip) have asked if they can do a product review.  I, of course, said yes.   

Here it is:

We would like to take this time to review Iams Digestive Care Cat Food.

Our Humans brought this food home for the cats 2 weeks ago.  

We DO NOT APPROVE of this cat food.

Before they brought this cat food home, the Stripey Cat used to puke a lot.  And many times, she puked in our area.

Since this cat food, that puking has stopped.  Meaning we do not get our usual between-meal snacks.  

Of course, The Humans have not increased our food and we may soon starve.

GRRR to Iams.  We do not recommend your cat food to homes with Cardigans.

Sincerely,

Ziggy and Rip

Ziggy, Therapy Dog

If you'd asked me a year ago which of our dogs would accomplish something in 2013, I would have been wrong.

Rip had a great year rolling, running, licking, wagging, and learning new tricks, and Ziggy was busy doing great things.

The Husband worked with Ziggy to become a certified therapy dog with Therapy Dogs, Inc.  Ziggy passed his requirements late last year, and today he and The Husband had their first official outing as part of the Trinity Hospital Caring Canines program.

Ziggy is proud of his officially embroidered vest.

On his way to work.

I'm so proud that Ziggy is able to get out and make people smile, and I look forward to many great stories from hospital visits.

The Team on their first day of work.

Oh, and The Husband has set up a fan page for Ziggy on Facebook.  If you'd like to hear about the visit from Ziggy's point of view, here's the link:  Ziggy, Therapy Dog  Just "like" the page to keep track of their visits!

When The Cat Ruins Months of Training

Question of the Day:

What does THIS

Sweet, sweet Blossom in a dog crate

And THIS

Sweet, sweet Rip eating his dinner in a tunnel

Have in common?

Let me explain using badly drawn pictures, and a photo or two.

For Christmas, I was lucky enough to get something that had been on my wish list for a long time:

A heavy-duty chute!  From my favorite dog training store J and J Dog.

What more could a girl want?

Rip has already worked on the chute during agility class, but I wanted one at home so I could get a more solid, quick performance on this obstacle.  

I had the chute upstairs to practice in the living room on a daily basis.  The first days went really well - Rip liked the chute and I was able to send him to the obstacle from many different angles and distances.  He seemed happy.

Then, one day, Blossom saw us practicing.  

Rip was happy.

Tail up and wagging.

Ears and head up.

Looking forward to the obstacle.

Blossom watched.

Rip entered the chute, thinking happy thoughts.

Then, like a cat on a mission, Blossom ran to the chute, too.

And then…

Just when Rip was pushing his way through the closed part of the chute…

Blossom pounced on him from behind.

He ran through the rest of the chute,

but would go near it no more.

Head down, ears back, and tail tucked,

 Rip wanted nothing to do with the chute.

Blossom seemed pleased.

I was not pleased.  I now have a dog who, after months of training, REFUSES to go near the chute.  Not just go INTO the chute.  He won't enter the room if the chute is set up.  

I tried clicker training him to get close.  This worked to get him in the room, but didn't work to get him near the chute.  And he still looked unhappy.

So I removed the closed/fabric part of the chute, and started feeding Rip in the open tunnel portion of the obstacle. At first he was even wary of that, but his comfort level is growing. Once he's comfortable with this, I'll add the fabric back and continue to feed him until he's comfortable again.  Then we'll try re-training the obstacle from scratch the very beginning.

Meanwhile, whenever I train Rip now, I put Blossom in the dog crate.  Why?  Not just because of the chute, but because she started to ambush Rip on dumbbell retrieves, and taunt him while we were working on stays.  Don't feel bad for Blossom, though, I only train for 10-15 minutes at a time, and she can watch most of our work from the crate.

So that's what this...

…and this have in common.

Happy Westminster Best In Show Day!

Since we missed the Christmas cookie baking season entirely, The Small Human and I decided to make Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show cookies instead.

When I colored all the frosting purple, The Small Human asked me why.  I told him it's because that's the Westminster Kennel Club color.  To which he replied, "Then don't we need yellow, too?  Their colors are purple and yellow."

Maybe I am raising him right :)

I'll work on my purple for next year (I think I need a dash more red to really hit the color), and add some yellow cookies too, of course.

So today my co-workers, our veterinary clinic's staff, and The Husband's co-workers will all enjoy some purple Cardigan sugar cookies in honor of Westminster Best In Show Day.

The Small Human and I are extra-excited now that a Cardi won the herding group.  Ok, maybe it's just me that's extra-excited.  I can't wait to watch Best In Show.  And that's not just the sugar talking.

Go Coco!

Ziggy the Cardigan Corgi IVDD: Cart Dog in the Snow

Since it seems that Snowmageddon is taking over much of the country, I thought I'd share what happens to a cart dog in the snow.

The cart wheels will most assuredly get snowy.

When standing outside and gazing around the yard,

the cart dog gets snowy.

When the snow isn't too deep, the cart dog can run around the whole yard,

making tracks in the snow. 

In this case, running to the tree that contains the vexatious squirrel.

When the snow gets deeper, the cart dog can follow the 

paths the humans have carved through the snow.

If the cart dog deviates from this path,

 and tries to follow the path made by the other dog, 

the going can get a bit slow.

Especially when the other dog's path gets really narrow.

Rendering a cart dog unable to move.

So then the cart dog must bark for the humans.

And give them this look when they come to rescue him.

To me this says, "It's about time!"

And in case you'd like a little live action feature (taken today!), click below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrEzLWC0qQs&list=UUNnAITYiTywLRfrdbpmwIAQ&feature=share