Dedicated Dog-Mom or Complete Lunatic?

Your call... Wait! Don't answer that!

I was just motivated to get back to tracking with Uncle Gizzer. He's 12 years old, and he really likes to track. He's a natural, and with the Cardigan National Specialty in the area in April 2009, I am going to try and get him ready for his TD. So, I had a few minutes today, and we've just had rain, rain, and more rain. It was a mere drizzle this evening, and I thought I'd better get the dog out for some tracking.

It didn't take long for me to realize I left my hat on the kitchen counter, and that my windbreaker was not quite as "water-resistant" as I thought it was. hmmm. I can report that my $10 marked down to $5 polka-dot rubber boots from Target worked like a charm, and my feet were dry the entire time. Hey, if you lived with Sydney, chewer of all shoes, you would think twice about spending more than $5 on a pair of boots, too...

Thanks to a couple of people walking by who couldn't resist talking to Gizmo and asking what on earth we were doing, I have a few photos to prove that I have officially lost my mind now! Is it just me, or is Gizmo trying to tell the people approaching that he's not with me, he's never seen me before, and has no idea who I am?

OH, and a note on "tracking improvisation" for you: if you are low on tracking flags, just poke around in the garage until you find a jack-o-lantern lawn ornament, it just adds ambience to the overall look you are going for!

Wussup?

One of my favorite photos from a trip to San Fransisco a few years ago. Combined with my addiction to Photoshop. ;-P

I know, some people would love their photos of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Trollies, or any number of photos of the city built on the hills. Me? Well, I made Cyndi (I flew to San Fransisco to deliver Pembroke rescue Annie to her new mom Cyndi) stop several time so I could photograph the signs of any number of hot dog stands in the city!

We're proud of our friend Cooper!

Cooper's New Champion photo on Laura's blog:

My Favorite People are Dogs: Introducing CH Yardican Cardiridge Weto Woima RA

HomeChicken

There IS another red dog in the Hurrikane crew... She just doesn't make many public appearances. :-)

This is Breezy. She and Syd are littermates. I was drawn to Bree the day the pups were born, and she's the funniest, silliest girl when she wants to be. If I can't find Bree, she's probably zonked out behind the chair in the corner of the living room. But that's *only* if all possibilities for fun and zoomies are exhausted!

Breezy is very helpful with kitchen chores, like helping with the dishes, and organizing the refrigerator.

Breezy comes in very handy when one of the other dogs needs a special buddy. She and Uncle Gizzer are very close. She and Hawk are worthy adversaries when it comes to frapping.

Breezy is an odd little duck. She loves to go for walks, and for car rides, but she is not exactly thrilled about going new places. I call her the HomeChicken because she's a dog who just loves being at home with her buddies.

Breezy is "part Cardigan, part Mountain Goat" according to our friend Norma, who kept Breezy at 'daycare' when she was a younger puppy. I wanted the two girls to spend time apart and have separate lives. So Norma agreed to have Bree come visit her girls a couple of days while I was at work.


Anyway, Bree can be on one piece of furniture, and in the blink of the eye, she's across the room, and she might have gotten there without touching the floor! So, it was no surprise when she was a puppy that her jumps from the back of the sofa (hey, I tried, but she's lightning fast, and impossible to catch) resulted in a growth plate injury. :-( Poor Bree, she had to have surgery to fix her broken leg, and she was homebound for many, many weeks of her puppyhood.

Because she was homebound and not really out much, I think Breezy missed out on discovering the fun in going new places. She LOVES Aunt Julie's house, and the resident Collie is her best bud. She and Jackson can play, and play, and play some more. But in general, Breezy takes a while to warm up to new dogs. When I adopted Savannah, the old-decrepit Weimaraner in November, I thought Breezy would *never* warm up to the old girl. Breezy darted quickly around Savannah, barked at her when the old girl went by the corgi crates, and mostly Bree avoided Vannah at all cost. Um, it's not like she's never seen a Weimaraner before! Graycie was here before the puppies arrived, and definitely let them know to keep clear of her personal space right up until the day she crossed the Rainbow Bridge.


Once Savannah arrived, it took a few months, but now Breezy thinks Savannah is just the best-est friend EVER! She's just a nut. A few months ago, I took Bree to our agility building, and tried to lure her through a tiny tunnel. The look on her face explained it all. I'm pretty sure Breezy was telling me that this was, without a doubt, the stupidest thing she'd ever seen. And I think she was looking at her watch to see exactly when we'd be going home!


So, I don't expect that my little HomeChicken will be out and about travelling the country with me, but we love her just the same, and she DOES exist! :-)

Just Chillin' with the Crew

It's been an interesting week. Basically stuck at home, working from home, and not able to do much of anything, I've seen a different side of my dogs and our usual routine. I think my everyday life is so busy, I rarely even sit down during the time I'm at home. With so many paws to keep track of, it's a non-stop "I want in, I want out, Feed me, Fill the water bowl, She stole my toy" type activities. Bark, bark, wrestle, wrestle.

But this week, it's like a time out. The dogs are calm, and they spend most of the day laying around like speed bumps in various places around the house. When they are awake and moving around, there is no frenzy, no worry that someone might miss out on something fun.

It really makes me realize that things really need to change around here. It's time to re-prioritize and direct our time and energy to things that really matter. Perhaps the last couple of weeks are a blessing in disguise?

Happy Birthday, Senor Sassy Pants!

It doesn't seem possible that my little red puppy, heart of my heart, can be seven years old today. I've come to love the little sprinkling of grey hair creeping in around the corner of his great smile.
My first Cardigan, my Novice A obedience dog, my first conformation Champion, Kane pulled me through the doorway from my lifetime in Sporting dogs to the world of Herding Dogs. I remember how I worried that people would laugh at me for moving from my comfort zone of the larger sleek-coated, floppy-eared pointing dogs. The Cardigans were so funny-looking, was I crazy? I really was looking for a companion dog for Big Nick.

Nick was about two years old at the time, and full of energy. I credit Nick for leading me to the Cardigans. I had Graycie the Weimaraner, almost four years old, and Nick the Shorthair/Lab mix. Graycie was far too sophisticated to play and wrestle too much with Nick in our new fenced back yard. Nick needed a companion, but I did not want a third BIG dog. So, I started looking for a dog that might be sturdy enough to play with Nick, and a dog who might be a good dog for agility. Nick loves agility, but well, Nick is a wild man on the agility course.

So, long story a bit less long, I researched and narrowed down the possibilities, and eventually after meeting Simon, a sweet brindle cardigan, I decided that a Cardigan might be just the perfect dog for me.

As I started my search for a Cardigan, I only had two requirements.... I wanted a girl, and I wanted either brindle or black, but definitely NOT red. No problem, right? Shortly after joining the Corgi-L email list, I was contacted by someone who knew of a performance prospect brindle puppy girl, and she was with a breeder only a`couple of hours away from me. Yay! I loaded up Graycie and Nick in the new blue minivan (Off-topic: What 28 year old, single, childless gal is totally psyched to buy a minivan? A DogMom, that's who!), and off we go to meet this little brindle girl-puppy.

When we arrived, there were two puppies available. The cute little brindle girl, and well, a red boy. The girl puppy was all over the place, ME! ME! ME! At one point, I looked for the boy puppy, and he was walking under the futon in the living room, heading to the dog bed in the kitchen. In the middle of all the activity, he just plopped himself down and went to sleep. Hmmm, my new Cardigan was going to be the third dog in the house, and with the Princess Graycie demanding most of my undivided attention, perhaps I should consider a dog who is a bit more independent. After all was said and done, the RED, BOY Cardigan puppy made the trip back to Kansas City with us, and we've never looked back!

Below, some of the photos that make me smile.

A Family Blog!

I realized today that Hawk has a Vallhund-specific blog to chronicle his activities (and more recently his new baby boy!), and Syd has a blog where I journal her progress and activities. But we don't really have a "family blog" where life in general is up for discussion. So, here it is, the general family blog for Hurrikane Cardigans (and Swedish Vallhund, Weimaraner, GSP/Lab mix, Tabby, and Cockatoo). Enjoy!