I just wanted to post an introduction to myself and quickly explain that I don't have Corgis but DO have a lot of dogs.

I joined because my son's housemate is a member here, and they have a pair of Corgis that I like to see in photos, and read about in posts. I have posted some pics of our gang already, and will be posting a few more in the coming days. I hope you don't mind non-Corgi pictures on the site!

I live in Maryland, on 35 acres with a S.O. named Jacques. We currently have 15 dogs. We have 5 Newfoundlands, 7 Golden Retrievers, One Chocolate Lab, One Toller, and One American Bulldog .... oh, and 5 cats! And yes...they ALL live in the house! Fortunately it's a very large house, with lots of HUGE rooms, many of which have been "remodeled" for easy cleaning and maintenance, just so the dogs CAN be in the house with us :-)

They also have a back yard, 3 acres, fenced with a pond in the middle. And we have fields to play in with them in the front of the property. The rest is woods, which we do explore...but only in the winter. Ticks are heavy here, and the woods are not the place to be once it gets warm. Too many of our dogs, as well as both of us, have had Lyme and/or Ehrlichiosis. They're all on preventative, but in very heavily tick infested areas, it's not 100%. Plus there are the snakes .... ack!

We've had two bitten by copperheads (both are fine - good thing they're large dogs), and numerous black snakes (non-poisonous). The Newfs despise snakes and all reptiles, so they make an effort to kill every one they see/smell and therefore, get bitten, usually in the face. We, of course, try to save the snakes because they're important to keep the rodent population down, but sometimes we don't quite get there fast enough! The Goldens are smart enough to NOT attack a snake. They will, but they're naturally very cautious around snakes so they work in a team to distract and divert the snake's attention. The Newfs just jump right in and grab!

All of them are very happy, mostly WET dogs. You'll notice that many of my pictures are of swimming, or diving dogs. Not all love the water....but all do enjoy it some of the time. Even the American Bulldog, Ellie...although she can't, and doesn't swim...she wades and plays on the edge of the pond, while the others are diving and swimming like maniacs!

Some of our dogs are rescues, one is a rehome to us, two are puppies that were born here and were returned to us (the breeders) when their family circumstances changed. We are no longer breeding (Golden Retrievers) but we do keep in touch with our puppy buyers and will always take back one of our dogs ... for any reason, at any time. Our cats are all feral rescues...from off of our local roadways, or they just walked up to the house, starving. They were all small kittens between 4-6 weeks of age when we got them.

Our Goldens were bred primarily as hunting dogs, and family pets. So most that you see in my pics aren't the "type" you'll see in the show rings. Lucy (the one you can see in my photos, with the horrid Yak spay coat now) was to be our show Golden, but she has some structural problems, causing her gait to be off. So she was spayed.

We decided, as we were getting older, that we wanted some "calmer" dogs. The Sporting breeds that we had always loved, have a great deal of energy and need a lot of exercise and work to keep them in good condition and happy. So, after a lot of research, we decided on Newfoundlands. They are MUCH calmer...but the work load has shifted from 4 hrs of exercise a day, to 4 hrs of grooming!! To groom a Newf, meaning bathing, drying, trimming, combing, etc. takes a full eight hours, so it's usually split into two days. It's easier on the dog, and on me that way!

Two of our Newfoundlands are Conformation Show Dogs. One is a Landseer (white and black) female named Molly, and one is a solid black male named Cole. The female competed in a few shows, did well, and then decided she HATED it. Trying to move a Newf around a ring, when she doesn't want to is like trying to pull a parked Mack truck. It was not fun for her, and therefore, not fun for me. I definitely didn't want to continue forcing her to do something she disliked so intently, so we retired her from the ring last year. She's a happy Newf nowdays! No more dog shows for her! Her Daddy is disappointed, because she's so very beautiful, but I'd rather have a happy dog than a titled dog any day.

Cole hasn't been shown yet. He's 21 months old, is 29" at the withers, and weighs about 150 lbs. He's maturing extremely nicely. He's not there yet though. Newfs mature very slowly, and he'll need more bulk (not necessarily a lot more weight, just a more mature build), before trying to compete against adult males in the ring. Most are between 3-5 years old that he would have to compete against. However, we do have his handler lined up, and hope to have him in the ring by the Fall of 2009 or Spring of 2010. He LOVES the show environment, has a great outgoing personality, and conforms beautifully to the standard, so we have high hopes for him.

Well, that about sums things up in a nutshell. I'll come back often to look at the lovely pictures of all of your "furkids"!