Above is some video snippets of Gromit after a few days practice, 5 - 10 minutes twice a day in Gromit-Land. He seems to enjoy the obstacles but at 6 months of age his attention span is still pretty short. He was a bit put off by the teeter totter for a day or so but finally decided it was no big deal, especially if there was a treat to be had on the other side. He pretty much does the obstacles as expected (ragged but does them) but the… Continue

Last week I rounded up a bit more lumber both new and old, more paint, a box of deck screws and set about building the remaining agility obstacles for Gromit. We've decided to name the final result "Gromit-Land". When children come to visit they will be able to buy souvenir Gromit-teer hats with giant Corgi ears on them.



The dog walk and teeter totter were completed and like the A-frame are about 1/2 size from real… Continue

Gromit, Holly the wiener dog, and Debbie and I made the long drive up to N. Phoenix today for the fund raiser picnic for Arizona Cactus Corgi Rescue. The count on the number of Corgwyn in attendance varies with some people, those probably more alert than me, counting over thirty Corgis including some Cardies.… Continue

We don't give our dogs people food other than the occasional raw veggie, a small bit of hot dog during training, or perhaps something that got dropped on the floor and got snarfed up before we could blink. A special treat we do allow is to for the dogs to lick a newly emptied ice cream (or frozen yogurt) container. Debbie finished the last of some frozen yogurt tonight and gave Gromit his first taste of forbidden pleasure.…

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Coalbyn's Patriot's Dream - AKA "Dreamer" AKA "Mom"

Our little family went off to the big dog show in Scottsdale today. We went mostly to see Gromit's breeder, Jean York (above) who had come from California for the show. We also wanted to show Jean and her husband Ed how Gromit is doing. Jean and Ed are wonderful people and utterly devoted to Corgis.…



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Here's Gromit's first piece of backyard agility equipment, a new pause table. I built it out of some lumber salvaged from another project. A bit of sawing, some sanding, a couple of dozen deck screws, a bit of blue "parking lot zone paint" with some sand in it to make it non-skid and we're good to go. The REAL carpenters and woodworkers reading this are requested to please muffle…

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I sort of semi-fiddled around with agility stuff back about 2000 with my first Corgi and had some basic, homemade agility equipment in the backyard. Tossed it all out last year due to age and condition. Holly, our min-Dachshund, loves to play "squeaky chase" and "I'm hiding and I'm not coming out." Agility never seemed to interest her, however.



Agility training, even in a casual way is good stuff for dogs and dog owners. I think it gives direction to training and makes it seem less… Continue

Writing the previous posts, which were more about the Corgis I had than the one I now have, brought to mind a quote I picked up somewhere. I have no idea who it may have been but some wise fellow once said "A new dog can never take the place of an old dog but in time will make a place for itself." So it is with my new Corgi pal… Continue

Watson & Tinsel, 1998 - 2009

 

Long about 1998 I was looking for a dog for myself. I'm a guy so I wanted a big, manly dog. >harrumph, spit<.

I went to a dog agility meet because I thought it…

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Ten years back now (ten years?? Where did the time go?) my family and I thought it would be grand fun to organize a Corgi picnic. A year previously we'd brought home our PWC, "Watson", and thought it would be fun to try and get together with as many Corgi as we could locate here in Arizona. The event was a resounding success with about 50 Corgis and 80… Continue