Seven

Wilson turned seven while we were away. He spent the day running the beach and swimming. Not much makes him happier than that. We returned home to share a b-day cake with our boy.

And a belated Happy Birthday goes out to brother Spencer!

Here's the birthday boy on the beach....

Happy Memorial Day

I've been away for the past week or so, down to Myrtle Beach. Here's a sand sculpture they had done to celebrate/honor this weekend. I have lots of catching up to do, but thought this was a good one to start with. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Imitation

As the expression goes: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Here is my attempt at a photo like Shep's prize-winning shot from the Nat'l . Wilson is standing on a root-cluster that was washed up on the river's edge. The roots are not quite as pretty as the logs in her photo, but Wilson was still willing to strike a pose when I asked him to stand on it. I couldn't quite get the same angle because it would have meant kneeling or squatting down in the water, and it was WAY too cold for that. All in all, I like this picture, but it does lack the pizzazz of Shep's!

I attempted a similar shot with Jimmy, without much success. He must have hopped on and off about a half dozen times, thinking I was crazy to ask for a stay on such a ridiculous object. He ended up looking all hunched up due to his foot placement and a messy, wet coat.

YES! YES! YES!

AKC finally voted on all the agility recommendations and there is one I am happy, happy , HAPPY about! The table has a new performance criteria effective September 1, 2010:

Performance: The dog shall pause on the table for five cumulative seconds. The
judge’s count shall start once all four paws have touched the table (and the dog
remains on the table top). Neither a sit or a down position shall be required.

Having such a miserable time with Jimmy's table, this seems too good to be true. Now all I have to do is get him to stay on the darn thing for five seconds, no begging for a down or a sit, only to have him sass me and run off....nanner, nanner, nanner, you can't make me! He might still blow me off, but if I can keep the argument going (on the table) for 5 seconds, we'll be good! I think I will continue to train for an automatic down, but at least I might still have a prayer for a Q now. Oh, that, and keeping the bars up, of course :-)

I think the real reason this was instituted was 1) to save time, and 2) to someday have electronically timed tables to make the counts more fair.

Lots of other changes can be found in the May minutes:

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/about/board_minutes/0510.pdf

I'm starting to repeat myself !

Well, I've been blogging nearly a year now, and I can see I am starting to repeat myself! Today we took the boys for their first jetski ride of the season out to their favorite swimming beach on the Potomac River....


I liked this one of Wilson for all the textures and monochromatic color scheme....


A big splash as he dives in after a stick.....


Jimmy is in hot pursuit (well, cold pursuit, as the water was quite chilly!)..... They really throw back a pretty respectable wake, don't they?

You go your way, I'll go mine........

Mine!

A view up river....Wilson looking mighty serious because this is an unwanted break from fetching the stick!

Ever a struggle to see who will get to keep the stick.

The Ying and the Yang .................

Happy News on Corgi-L!!!!

The Cardi I posted about below, Raisin, has been found, safe and sound! Thank goodness, thank goodness, thank goodness! I suffer through each and every lost Cardi, so it is always such a relief when they make it home!

LOST CARDIGAN in Gainesville, Florida

I saw this posted on the Performance Corgi Yahoo group this morning. I thought I would post it here in hopes of spreading the word. If you know anyone down there, please let them know.

This is what Stephanie wrote:


Please help me find a lost Cardigan Corgi in the Gainesville, Florida, area. This is a one year old brindle and white male. He was at the German Shorthaired Pointer National Specialty. He escaped his crate two days ago, from what I understand. He has never been away from home, and is probably scared to death!!. If you know anyone that is in that area, PLEASE, PLEASE, let them know he is missing, and to be on the lookout for him.

PLEASE call me day or night if you see him, or have any information about him! His call name is Raisin.

Three

Jimmy is three today! So, of course, this meant he had to endure photo torture! Here he is all decked out for the day. Now that he is three, does it mean we are all done with his "Terrible Two's"?

Jimmy wants to send a birthday bark out to his brother Bobby in DC.........

Just Jimmy!

It's back to the season of playing in streams. (Although my guys would just as happily do it in January, icicles clinging to their fur!) I liked this shot because of how the water relects the green of the trees.....


This next picture doesn't even look like Jimmy. This dog is too calm and composed!

Are Our Cardis Really So Fragile???

It was with great sadness that I read of yet another Cardigan that has gone down in the back. This comes not so very long after Kip's troubles. Having spent plenty of time on the internet cruising through various Cardigan blogs and websites, reading Corgi-L posts, etc., these two examples are certainly not the only ones I have found. Some of the dogs make wonderful recoveries, some don't. It also seems these dogs were not engaged in some strenuous activity. Often it is as simple as hopping down a couple of stairs or jumping off the sofa. When I read about them, it makes the "mother hen" in me want lock my boys away in a crate. No wrestling, no ball retrieving, certainly no agility, sheep?Heck,no!.....But of course that's not fair to them. They deserve to live an active dog's life. How do you balance the fear of traumatic injury with just letting a dog be a dog? My first Cardi lived until almost 17. He played frisbee until nearly 14, and kept going until well past 16. He went down in the back for his last 6 months due to accumulated IVDD damage. I'd say that's a pretty fair life. But when young and healthy Cardis go down in their prime, how does one deal with it?

My first experiences with long-backed dogs were Dachshunds. I heard frequent stories of back troubles leading to paralysis. I wondered why anyone would even risk getting a Doxie if that's what you were in store for. Are Cardigans pretty much the same risk?

I know this isn't the usual happy-go-lucky post about having fun with my dogs, or a pretty picture on a beautiful day. I am sure this is not a pleasant topic for any of us. But I get deeply saddened and disturbed when I read about a Cardigan whose back just gave out.

Are our Cardigans really so fragile???

It was SO fun!!!

Well, another National is over. This was my third one, but the first where I was able to see the grand finale of Best of Breed and the Annual Banquet. Living only an hour from the show site was quite a perk, since it let me go home after the performance days and then come back on Saturday.

I truly enjoyed getting to meet the people and faces behind so many of the blogs I enjoy!

I don't think I will be making the long haul to Houston next year, so I'll see you all again in Ohio in 2012!