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Comment by Tauna and Kota on January 1, 2013 at 8:36am

I love the way Jennifer Markley put things. LOVE it.

Comment by Helen on December 31, 2012 at 4:03pm

Ouiji is doing great. She is totally house broken and came to us from a loving home. Though she is skittish we know that as she acclimates to her new city surroundings she will calm down. We are blessed to have her in our lives as we just lost our precious fluffy, Sophie, a month ago. She was only 8 and had tumor rupture on her spleen. Thank you for all of your advice and warm wishes. Helen

Comment by Jill M on December 30, 2012 at 2:46pm

Congratulations!!!  And welcome to the corgi nation and particularly fluffy corgis!!!  Once you have one, you become very partial to them and they are had to come by as a result since they are not as common.  My first corgi, Lexus, was a true fluffy. We got her at 6 months as the breeder held onto her hoping she would out grown her fluff as otherwise she was considered a perfect corgi for showing. Obviuosly, she did not- so we we truly blessed to become her family. We lost her two weeks shy of her 15th birthday in Oct 2011.  ...We also had/have "normal" corgis.  Zinfindel  and Cassidy we got at 10 weeks old, but sadly Cassidy had an extremely bad reaction to his first distemper shot and we lost him at 11 weeks.  Zinfindel is still with us and will be 14 yr old in May. :)  Payton- our special needs boy- we got at 11 weeks but sadly lost him at age 8 yrs in Aug 2011. ...We recused Alfie in Nov 2011 at age 9 yrs. He our newest fluffy.  It is a very different fluffy than Lexus and he came with a whole slew of issues that we have working on but he is home  and loved.   As a result of Alfie, i joined a group on yahoo called Fluffycult- they have been great. you might want to consider joining too.

Comment by Jennifer Markley on December 30, 2012 at 12:50pm

Congratulations!!  I am so happy you adopted an older dog!!

The main thing to remember with an older dog when you adopt, is that they are traumatized in some way.  Patience and understanding will be key in developing your relationship.  Don't push....let Ouiji give you signs that she's ready for things.  If she seems uncomfortable with a situation, be calm and reassuring, and back off--then reintroduce a little later.  Just like humans, sometimes it is hard to love again when you've been let down....but when she gives you her heart, it is such a WONDERFUL and life altering event.  All of the older dogs I've adopted have kept some issues from their abandonment, but my philosophy is that we are all damaged in some way.  In my experience, at about the two week mark, they do something really bad.  Chew the trim off the wall, destroy the blinds, etc....something that makes you wonder what you got yourself into.  It seems to be the "do they really love me" stage.  Like if you can accept them for the really bad behavior then they really are in their final home.  It can be worked through!

The main thing she needs is just time to get acclimated, and realize that you are her furever home, and that you love her and accept her..

Comment by Tauna and Kota on December 30, 2012 at 9:54am

Are you looking for any advice in particular? Has she been going pee/poo alright? I'm so glad she is doing well so far! I'm glad she likes to go on walks. The skitish-ness will probably subside after about a month or so, although some dogs are that way by nature. I hope things continue to go well with you and Ouiji!

Comment by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on December 29, 2012 at 11:59pm

Congrats!!!  I would say 3 is a great age to adopt as well, we adopted Tucker at 3 as well, and was an easy transistion for us.  I wouldn't walk Oujii off leash though because if she gets spooked and decides to run, I would hate for you to loose her.  New Years is coming up and people like to use fireworks, which spook alot of dogs.  In fact, there is a corgi named Andy (from Connecicut) that is missing from last New Years Eve still :(  I like to be cautious. 

Again, congrats, and hope things continue to go well for you.  :)  Welcome to mycorgi as well!!

Comment by Ingrid & Ein on December 29, 2012 at 4:58pm

Hopefully you'll have as good of an experience with Ouiji as I've had with Ein. We got Ein 6 months ago, at three years old. It's been great---instant pet dog! None of the training or housebreaking you have with puppies. 

Ein was skittish and clingy for about 2-3 weeks. You'll probably see a decline in that behavior as she aclimates more. It's good Ouiji likes to walk. I found that to be a very good destressor for both of us right after I got Ein. 

If you've already had her for 2 weeks and say everything is going fine, you probably don't need much advice! Do you crate or confine her when you leave the house? Ein is fine to be left loose in the house now, but we crated her when we left her at home for the first month or so. We tried leaving her out alone during the first week and she scratched up the floor near the front door. 

Ein wouldn't pee in the yard for the first 4 months we had her and wouldn't poop in the yard until after 5 months. (She was completely housebroken, but wouldn't only go in the park on her walks) You don't mention having a problem with that, but I've learned that it can be an issue with rehoming adult dogs, especially females. 

Congrats on your new girl! I didn't have experience with corgis before Ein, but so far I think 3 is a great age :)