First "swim"

Well, Darwin is reasonably comfortable with wading now. However, he is not quite sure about the mechanics of swimming just yet. We are still just playing in the river, so haven't actually had a chance to take him somewhere where we can go out and have a true swimming experience.

Here's some photos of Darwin 'getting his feet (and belly) wet:'

"This giant water dish feels quite good on my belly. And the water seems to taste better. Can we get one at home?"



"Wait a minute. Something has caught my attention. Now if I can just pinpoint the source."



"Gotta go! The frisbee beckons!"



Nothing more alluring to this corgi than a Frisbee in the Wild....



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Agility Debut!

Well, it has been awhile since I have updated this blog. This has mainly been because my semester sort of got away from me and I was not on the computer as much as I expected to be. Suffice it to say, Darwin had plenty of adventures during my absence, the most recent one being learning his first agility obstacle! (And don't worry, there are pictures of his adventures this past month, and they will be posted shortly.... though probably not until this weekend, as this is the final week of my semester).

A week ago, the in-laws were in town and we all decided to go check out PVC pipe at Home Depot. We did, of course, purchase some with the intention of making two jumps to start Darwin's agility training on. (We also bought some stick-in-the-ground posts that will serves as rudimentary weave poles- but we haven't started working with these yet so they will be a topic of a later post). My father-in-law helped me create the jump you see below in the picture, though so far Darwin and I have only worked with one (we made two). I started him on 8", but believe that he will eventually need to be at 12" (thus the two height marks on the jump) - those with agility corgis feel free to validate this or correct me if I am wrong (Darwin is 13" at the withers). (My last agility dog was lab-sized).

But you probably don't visit this blog to hear me blather on, so, without further ado, Darwin's agility debut!

"Okay, Mom. I see this thing before me. What am I supposed to do with it?" (Note the lip-bitey expression on his face)



Getting ready to jump.... Just look at the concentration on his face.



And a very blurry leap over! Yay Darwin!



"You want me to jump over it again?"



Before his first leap over the jump, Darwin first tried to go under it. When he recieved an "uh uh" from me, he tried to go around it. When that also failed to please me, he decided that maybe he should go over it! A click and a treat later and he understood.

Darwin can now be called over the jump, be directed over the jump, and we are working on getting him comfortable going over the jump as I run beside him (he still thinks that he should go around it at that point every few times). Overall, I'm very happy with our progress and he seems to be enjoying himself. I'm excited to introduce two jumps, but know I need to take my time and make sure things are correct before going any further. (We have practiced jumping in two different locations so far - my deck and an empty parking lot near my residence).

*I also taught Darwin to close a door with his nose this weekend. He really is my little superstar!

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Salty Dog

...without the salt, as this is a fresh water river. Darwin has yet to have his first chance at swimming. Currently, the river is just one big drinking bowl to him. Someday, though. Someday we will see if he will be a swimmer. (Of course, we will do this in an area where we won't have to worry about him getting sucked downstream or anything like that).

On the bank of the Clark Fork river.



Such a goofy boy.



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Corgi in the tall grass

"Hi. I'm hiding. See how well I blend in? My Mom will never find me."



"Uh, oh. She spotted me."



"Getting closer, Mom."



"Well, now that you're here, watch as I enjoy the sunshine in all my corgi glory."



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

The Tao of Corgi

In Taoism (ancient Chinese philosophy) there is a theme similar to acting as a 'stick in the river,' i.e. there are some things you cannot change, so rather than fighting them, you need to let go and float on like a stick in the river, letting the current take you where it will.

For Darwin, we call this philosophy 'frisbee in the wind' and he embraces it rather well. He may not know where we will be going on our next adenture, or what will happen, but whatever comes, he will be there to face it with a wagging tail and all his bright enthusiasm, embracing the change so long as his mom (or dad) is at his side.



-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Dog on a Log

Darwin's Dad took him back to the state park yesterday while I was at work and thoroughly tuckered the little guy out. When I arrived home this evening, we decided to take him on a quick jaunt there again. What amazed me was that he recognized the place the third time pulling into the road that would lead us to the parking area and was making Cardi grunts of anticipation. It was rather adorable :).

In between thowing the frisbee and enjoying the nice day outside, I managed to snap a few pictures of Darwin in a new location for him: on top of a log. He wasn't quite sure about all this at first, but since he'd been asked to alternatively to sit or lay there, he did it.





The other thing that has amazed me in the last two days is that Darwin has been resorting to napping in his crate. He apparently sees this as his haven for finding deep sleep (as he sleeps in there at night and has since before he even came to us). He'd never really showed interest in sleeping in there on his own during the day until yesterday when he was tired enough it apparently seemed like the best place to nap. Tonight he has been switching back and forth between sleeping in the crate and under my chair, depending on my location. I really love this dog.

More pictures from this evening's walk coming throughout the course of the week.

-Mel, Corgi-keeper

Darwin is Official!

A few weeks ago, I finally decided what I wanted to have as Darwin's AKC registered name, so I sent in the papers. They finally arrived back.

He is: Shadowalk (the name of his kennel) Dog of a Different Color

I'm rather excited about this, as he is my first registered purebred dog! (The other was the golden retriever I had as a kid, and though I wanted to have him registered, we never did...).

-Mel, Corgi-keeper