"Please, Mom, may I have s'more?"

One of the things that has amazed me about Darwin is his ability to figure things out on his own. I did not teach him to bring me the frisbee back when we play, he came to understand very quickly that if he wanted it to be thrown again, he'd have to bring it back.

The other behavior he has demonstrated that both amuses and impresses me is the fact that when his water dish is empty, he will pick it up and bring it to wherever I am currently sitting. He first offered this behavior at 4 months and has been doing it periodically since then.

On a recent Darwin photoshoot with my mother-in-law, we managed to capture this behavior on camera.

So, without further ado, I give you, "The Water Bowl Saga: A Story In Pictures."

"Hm, there doesn't seem to be anything in here."


"However, seeing as Mom has the magical ability to fill this dish, I will bring it to her."


"Watch as I daintily set this down, making my intentions clear."



"See Mom, it's empty. Hear the hollow metal clangy noise it makes when I drop it."


"But I do wish for it not to be empty. I cannot drink the air."


"I will stare at it with my Epic Corgi Stare until you fill it."


"Here's lookin' at you, Mom."


-Mel, Corgi-keeper

**Photos by Diane Hargreaves

(A random note: We are starting intermediate obedience Friday night and I could not be more excited!)

Seven months

Well, Darwin is seven months old today, which means we have had him for exactly half his life. The past three and a half months with him have been wonderful and I am looking forward to the next three and a half. I am so happy that this dog arrived in my life, with his bright personality, desire to work his little heart out for me, and occasional silliness.

I don't know where I'd be without my frisbee buddy.



So, here's to my little frisbee champion and a continued partnership between human and canine, that wonderful relationship that so resonates with my soul and makes me a complete person.

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Kinetics of Cute

I dare you to look at that face and not say, "Awww...."



I do believe that you will find resistance quite impossible.

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Hiding in plain sight

Darwin does his best to be inconspicuous. Unfortunately, that long body of his gives him away.



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Boing!

Little known fact about corgis. Their legs may be short, but they are spring-action loaded, and thus are good at launching themselves in the air.



Jarod's apprehension is appropriate. He is about to have a face full of writhing corgi.

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Jarod for the win?

"Not to alarm you or anything, but I think I broke the puppy. Oops."



It's funny that the old dog has more energy than the young one. However, the young one posesses much shorter legs and therefore must work twice as hard, so it evens out, overall.

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

OM NOM NOM NOM

"And now, my young puppy, I will eat your head."



Jarod really does play nice. Most of the time.

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Boundless

This is what joy looks like.



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Communication Error

"That last command made no sense, Mom. Try again."



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Darwin v. Deer

Herding... Target... Acquired....



Switching to Obsessive Stare Mode... ("I can herd you with my mind. I don't even need to get up to do it. That is the magic of the corgi.")



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

The Etymology of a Breed

A quote from my husband, yesterday: "Corgi. Is that Welsh for fuzzy noodle?"

In Darwin's case, I think it is.



He certainly is a long thing. In fact, we joke that his front end and back end occupy different zip codes (or focal planes, as is the case in this photo). And some days this is true, as he seems to forget that his back end is there and is surprised when it doesn't quite go where he had planned it to go - but what can you do when you're built like a tube?

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

** And for the uninformed, corgi is actually welsh for 'dwarf dog.' But I think 'fuzzy noodle' is an apt descriptor as well.

Epic frisbee fumble

This is what you sometimes get when the frisbee is as big as you are!



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

He really should stick to his day job....

Stealth ninja corgi not-so-quietly sneaks in to ruin the picture.



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

I Can Haz A Sekrit...

*Wink* (Darwin wants you to know that he has a secret).



While the fuzzy bone appears to be bigger than his head...



...he can, in fact, fit his whole mouth around it.



Though rolling on it is just as fun...



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Evil Cat Queen Strikes Again...

We return to our tail (er, tale) of the valiant struggle of our hero vs. the Evil Cat Queen in the midst of a terrible famine...

Evil Cat Queen has stolen the Sphere of Wonderous Nourishment from the good people of the land of Inside, and is hoarding it at one of her various strongholds, the nefarious Tower of Table.



Unfortunately our hero has not figured how to breach the nefarious Tower of Table to retrieve the Sphere of Wonderous Nourishment, that delightful object with its kibble dispensing power, and is force to admit defeat until he can come up with a better plan to retrieve it from the clutches of Evil Queen Cat and her Claws O'Certain Doom.



To Be Continued...

Join us next time as the pup attempts to breach the Tower and reclaim the good people's only source of food...

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Feetz (x2)

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Dog in a bucket

"Wait, why am I in here? This is where my toys live."



"Aw, well. Guess there are worse places I could be. Perhaps I could make this my new hiding place."



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

A very unprofessional 'stack'

During a dog show, a dog must stand 'squarely and still' for the judge to show his physical conformation. This is called 'stacking.' I feel that Darwin is starting to show a nice conformation and wanted to show it off. While he will never be a show dog (i.e. he's neutered, he is the recessive color, I have no real interest in showing dogs at this time), he is still nice to look at and I am proud of his pedigree.

So, here is a very unprofessional stack, by a very unprofessional handler.



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

**Photo by Diane Hargreaves

Triple Dog Dare You.

What do you get when you combine three dogs of varying sizes and ages together?

Chaos. Pure unadulterated, delightful Chaos.

Except when treats are involved.



Then they turn into perfect angels, each one trying to outperfect the other.

(And for those unaware, the black dog is Jarod, Darwin's 'half brother' and the brown and white one is Darwin's crazy uncle Max).

"Together, as one, we follow the treat." (Well, except Jarod, who is doing a stay exaclty as he is supposed to - in fact, he has not moved a micron from the previous photo).



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

**Photos by Diane Hargreaves

Katamari Darwin-cy

"In a freak accident, the King of All Cosmos inadvertently annihilated all the stars. The task of fixing the King's mistake has fallen upon a puppy known as Darwin. In order to restore the glorious starry sky, the puppy must roll around a heap of objects on Earth, gathering more and more things from the item-rich planet and sending them off into the night sky. Does the puppy have what it takes to succeed?"*

You tell me.







-Mel, Corgi-keeper

*Text borrowed and slightly edited from the Katamari Damacy video game manual. For those of you that are unaware of what this game is, the descriptor above pretty much gives you the gist of it. You are tasked with rolling everyday objects, animals, people, etc. onto a sticky ball, creating ever massive spheres that eventually get put up as stars in the sky. Twisted, neh? You better believe it. For more information, refer to this page.

Darwin's first "swim"

Okay, so he wasn't actually swimming. But he did get his feet wet in the river.



It's a start.

(And his belly is close enough to the water, he could almost be swimming, right?)

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

The Long Road Home

Darwin believes that, no matter where we go on an adventure, returning home is Serious Business that is not to be taken lightly. Notice the backwards cast of his ears belying the determined fall of his steps.



And Darwin has had many adventures of late taking him to various corners of the state. Though we have always managed to find our way home (and with determination).

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Seeing double...

Beware the power of the dual herding stare.



That is, until a treat is offered as an incentive to 'smile' (though I think Jarod is going more for 'noble').



These two have become such good buddies, it's wonderful - the old dog gets to show the new dog new tricks, heh heh. We had a nice visit with Jarod just over a week ago, and intense playing ensued (the subject of another post at some point). What is great is that Darwin is going away to visit both Jarod and his Uncle Max over the next few days, so more puppy playtime will be in the cards... which is good because all that six-month old puppy energy has to go somewhere...

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

There is nothing in life...

...quite like a good scratch.





-Mel, Corgi-keeper

My Happy Boy

Darwin is just one of those dogs that is happy 99% of the time. Even when very ill or very tired, he still manages to put a big ol' smile on his face, seeming to ask, "What's next, Mom? I'm ready for another adventure if you are!"

Every morning, he wakes up with that smile and a bounce in his step. He just is a happy guy, and it makes me smile even if I'm not so gung-ho about the day myself.



And when a frisbee is involved, that smile is even larger (with an increased tail wag rate to match).



-Mel, Corgi-keeper