LOL just now read your comment! haha! I was actually thinking of getting Riley a lifejacket! hehehehe! :D Our babies can never be over the top! They'll just be overly cute! :D

Your Corgi;s are gorgeous! Such vibrant coloured coats!

Yes, Dart is one big cat! Of course he never gets enough food. Dart & Max are the best of friends, I think my cat thinks he's a dog sometimes and even plays with our golden retreiver as well.

they're so adorable ....so cute wearing their lifejackets..i wish Cisco can do that also he never tried swimming..

Your corgis are so adorable! Love the life jackets, we'll have to look into getting that for Roxie! You have great pics of them!

LOL, Mendy. No that's not Tod on the VISA card, but he's telling everyone that it's him:)

I hope you're not missing San Angelo. It's over 100 every day this week until Friday.

I've tried to get Sonoma to enjoy water like your babies. I even filled a sandbox with water for a playdate and she just wouldn't have it. She doesn't like bath time either, but she'll put up with it.

I love your photos, especially with the daffodils!

Haha yeah i bet Shockoe will go through his fair share of trees eaten this year. Mostly in mulch form, i dunno why but he so attracted to the stuff lolz

Thanks, I will keep plugging away at it!

Thanks for your comments. Wish Petie and Elliott would have been there. We had a Blast. My Boots is quiet the party animal as well.

Well... That is the plan. I just started a dog photography business. My goal is to eventually do all advertising photography with the dogs. Check out my web site. www.brennaorozcophoto.com

your babies are soooooo cute!

Read your blog and had to come and look at the rest of your photos. Petie and Elliott and VERY handsome corgis indeed! I love the ones where they are posed in the daffodils and tulips and also their 'glamour shots'. So clean cute and all american! They definitely look like two happy corgis!!

Hey Mendy!
Love your boys :-).
I should have been more specific in our profile. DM in our case stands for Degenerative Myelopathy, a debilitating and fatal disease that is prevalent in the corgi breed. It causes a progressive paralysis in older corgis. If you are interested in learning more about it, just let me know.

Hi Mendy! I read your blogs and am sending healing thoughts your way for Petie. Hope he feels better. Your Corgis are beautiful! You are so right...it's hard to stop at just one! I see you have two, too! I would fill my house to the rafters with Corgis if hubby would let me! =)

You are so right! The problem is he goes through them soooo fast. Its not unusual for me to come home from work to piles of cotton fluff. Even the Kong stuffed animals

Thanks for the comments on the pix! The Boys are my favorite victims/subjects! =)

Thank you kindly! I have a bunch of cute photos. I will get them posted soon! Your little one is a doll!

Your two boys are so cute! Hope Petie's feeling better.

Sophie thanks you for all your nice comments! Your two are ADORABLE! the pic of the corgi butt on the couch - too funny! My Sophie loves to swim too, I am wondering what brand/size of life vest you have there. It looks like it makes them more bouyant(sp?). Sophie does OK but starts to roll after a while.

For hiking, make sure you have a reliable recall. Mine are always off-leash, but we seldom meet people. Donb't know how that works on the A.T. I have a quick-draw leash clipped to my pack strap with a small carabiner and held coiled with a stout rubber band. You want to be careful of encounters with horses -- a dog can spook a horse. Dog food is a problem, 'cause it's essentially prime bear-bait. I do whatever I can to contain smells. I actually have odor-proof O-ring-seal plastic cans (park from work) and bring their regular raw meat (frozen) on weekends, but for longer treks there are actually freeze-dried meat packages, outrageous $$$ (I don't spend that much on my own food) but can really cut down the weight. I carry Pawz booties for foot emergencies; seldom used them except for loose sand and snow. I do NOT make the dogs carry anything

Have a porcupine kit. I always leach the dogs at night. Coyotes sometimes try to lure a dog off.
I'd suggest finding local books -- I have "Best Hikes with Dogs in Western Washington", Dan Nelson; it has a lot of good general info but I'm sure there are similar titles for the east coast.
He cites LaBelle, Charlene; Mullally, Linda; Smith, Cheryl S.


I just got back from 2 weeks in Canyonlands -- not corgi-friendly (or corgi-legal) terrain. Some stuff, not even a corgi can handle! I missed my dogs. A healthy, fit corgi should be able to hike as far as any loaded human in a long day (G has done 23 mi in 14 hr with 8000' gain)(I so love to brag about my dog:-).

I feed their regular diet plus kibble. 2x or even 3x their regular rations. Our dogs stay quite close, and once they figure out that this is going to go on a long time, they fall into "Energy Conservation Mode" at my heel; but after dark, I want them in FRONT of me, not behind, and I'm working on training them to stay no more than 8-12 feet in front.
Important to remember to water them regularly if it's dry. I try to give them regular small snacks (since I'm eating constantly myself), but again, containing food odors is difficult. I always try to keep food stuff double-bagged in twistie-tied plastic bags.
I grew up in Minnesota and my uncle taught me to be paranoid about bears.


For overnights, I have a decent bear hang system requiring two 100' clotheslines and a small carabiner. You string Line 1 between two trees, high up (often involves some tree climbing) with a figure-8 knot equidistant from the trunks holding the biner with Line 2. Line 2 is now the "halyard" used to raise & lower the (tough, preferably raven-proof) food bag. Functional as opposed to cosmetic bear-hanging takes quite a bit of practice to do efficiently, and I always do this setup first, 'cause it's very difficult to do in the dark. Hint: I keep the bear hang kit in a small stuff sack which is used to hold the throwing rock, else I waste lots of time trying to tie the cord to a rock; also I can use a bagful of small rocks.

collar FAQ
This shows my leash rig with the chest harness (for dangerous river crossings etc.). The black chest harness wears a sore on their collarbone if they wear it all day. I also flag the collar with lots of bright survey ribbon, preferably day-glo hunter orange or hot-pink magenta. A corgi could be mistaken for a fox.

Outward Hound sells these little plastic fold-up dog bowls that weigh nothing.
Sometimes water is scarce even in the Cascades, so I carry a 1/2 pint water bottle to save the water the dog leaves in its bowl.

Good thing Elliott has so much white fur -- the more white fur, the dirtier they can get.
The dog gets its own little foam sleeping pad with a small square of polar fleece for a blanket at night.

Thanks for the compliments. I am, in fact, planning to collect some of the photos and send them in to one of those outfits that make little hardcover photo books.
I do like the way the Martingales slide on and off easily. I just leave them clipped onto the leashes, and the dogs don't wear collars in the house, and not always when they're loose int he fenced yard -- although this IS a risk in the event that they get loose unexpectedly -- they're chipped, but a collar tag with a phone # can be important.

Love the photos! I have a party and worry, too. Fun to watch them react to the same situation! Thanks for the welcome.

LOL!!! I LOVE the Christmas pix! Made my day a little brighter! =)

You have some very cute little reindeers!!!

I love your profile pic all decked out for Christmas!! Merry Christmas to you too, Petie and Elliott!!

What a handsome fellow! You were right my two did NOT like their Christmas Pics.HAHAHAHA Happy New Year.

lol snoopy the weenie dog was very cold but teddy just loved playing in the snow. he didnt wanna come inside

What happened with your Petie? He looks happy and like he is recovering well though.....

He looks very healthy and happy. Hope that he continues to improve. Prehaps once the inflamation goes down he will improve even more. I am not big on steroids but there is no doubt that they work! Hang in there and give Petie a hug and kiss from AJ and JR! ^-^

I remember that Petie was having some problems not too long ago. Is this related to his previous not feeling well? I am sorry to hear that he's been having issues. I hope he continues to get stronger and that he stays chipper and happy. He's so beautiful. I just want to hug him and kiss him and rub that soft Petie fur...

I agree with you on the dog spoiling my husband says I have spent more on the dog then I ever did on the boys. HA HA

re. denial.
if you've got a corgi in such good shape, at 14yo, enjoy every minute. more power to y'all. you're been a great owner!

Re. You spin me: my kids are humiliated that I posted that video. My non-Corgi friends say it makes them dizzy. I think I'm going to pull it. But, thank you so much for enjoying Lucy's energy. She has all these herding trails in the backyard that she alternates running. She also has similar trails and hurdles inside the house when it's rainy and she gets bored. I used to always have 2 corgis who would chase each other inside and out through the doggy door until they were knocked out. Then my male would plop down and his sister (litter mate) would lick his ears 'til they both fell asleep. Don't ya just love the Corgi spirit and FUN?!!

LOL. OK. I won't pull the video. xoxo w & l

I've been looking at your photos--some hilarious--some so beautiful, and all of them made me smile and warmed my heart. What a glorious crew you've got! And ohhh what fun!

Elliott is so funny. I think Corgis are the silliest dogs on earth, put here to constantly entertain us. Corgi owners are probably pretty silly, too, don't you think. My middle dgt is home and Lucy was sitting by her, tilting her head this way and that while Whitney crunched her food. Whitney snidely says, why don't you take a video and post that? Another video of Lucy doing nothing. What do kids know?! Even when a Corgi is just sitting, it's adorable. Thanks for the pix.

PS Though the one not funny picture was Petie in the bathtub. Poor Petie Pie and thunder. Lucy is afraid of earthquakes and our screen door. Go figure the fear of a screen door. The earthquake I understand. Calming Lucy calms me in an earthquake. We've had a few recently. None too bad. Petie does not look 14. Your dogs are so clearly loved. And I love looking at them.

I'm so glad that Petie's was transient! His shaved back brings back memories of Lucky's, only his was shaved up the entire way!! Our first corgi, Odie was a red and white, and your 2 remind me of him. I enjoyed all your pictures, frisbee in the house...such fun, and oh how we love the snow!

Hi Petie and Elliott! Just checking in to see what you two are getting yourselves into, and that you are enjoying the summer!!

So glad to hear that Petie is doing well! I often think about the old guy. And of course, Elliott. :) Calvin the cardi is a bit of an ADHD case. He was a rescue and likes other animals, but is leery of people. He always wants to play. Rainy the pemmy is a little older than Calvin and is quiet and mellow, but loves to play the 'official greeter' to people walking down the street. I think Calvin annoys her with his puppy ways. I hope to see more personality from him as time goes by - we have only had him for a month. *Hugs* to Petie and Elliott!!

Happy 15th birthday, Petie! You're looking fine, old man!

Your babies are beautiful. All three of them. Georgeous. Geourgeous. Georgeous. Nice photography too! PS...Happy Birthday.

Lol, yeah they've been a handful! Trust me =P

Thanks for your comments! Looks like Petie had a good time shopping! I love the picture in the "hot tub"!! Too bad you live so far, you could come and sit on my porch and we could compare corgie back stories - don't worry, the hair does grow back! Lucky is 4+ years out and you can only tell if you really know and look really hard. (besides, it's a badge of courage)

Thank you!!!

Gosh, they don't look like old dogs.