Well, it's been a little over two months since I got my first corgi, Avery. My intention was to find the perfect little companion, who would go with me wherever I went - especially to the barn.

   I'd have to say I ended up with everything I wanted, and then some! I'm finding it increasingly entertaining that, slowly but surely, I've noticed all of those distinct corgi traits...some of which are just coming out as Avery gets more comfortable with his new life. Most of my friends have been a bit surprised at some of the things he does, but I just laugh and say, "I was wondering if he would do that!". For instance:

• Talking - Avery barely said a word when I first brought him home. He was quiet little guy, maybe a short growl here and there. Eventually, he worked up to a low, mumbling bark. Now, he doesn't bark incessantly (thank God!!), but he will bark whenever my roommates come home, or if he's sees one of our neighbors walk by the window, or if something moves outside :) I let him bark once or twice and then tell him to stop - at which point he sits and grumbles to himself while he looks at me as if to say, "You just don't understand, Mom."
• Sleeping in odd positions - He is so weird. But, looking at pictures of everyone else's corgis, I guess he's actually quite normal. Right now as I'm typing, he has buried himself under a pillow to sleep.
• Frapping - I gotta admit that this is something I don't think I've seen him do too often. However, whenever I'm at the barn and am about to ride one of the horses, he gets really excited and starts running in circles. So I'm guessing that's it!
• Fun police - One of my roommates nicknamed Avery the "Fun Police". We have a siamese cat, and our neighbor has a pitbull. We got our cat as a tiny kitten (she had been abandoned on the side of the road), and her only friends have been people and dogs. So, naturally, she plays with the dogs when they visit. She has actually chased the pitbull up the stairs before - it's hysterical. Anyway, sometimes the two of them get a bit too wild, and Avery marches over to growl and bark (if necessary) and let them know that they should be careful, because, you know, they might break something.

   As far as being my companion, Avery and I are pretty close to being inseparable. He follows me around and always keeps an eye on me, even when he's getting love and attention from somebody else. He is super cuddly and ridiculously smart. When I rescued him, he already knew "sit", "stay", "down", "come", and how to stand on his hind legs. Now, he also knows how to shake, high-five, "sit pretty", army crawl, and roll over.

   I barely had to teach him anything about being a barn dog - he took to it really well. At first, he thought the horses were big and scary, but after he saw that I led them around by a "leash" (haha), I guess he figured they were like big dogs. He is now convinced that it's his job to show me were I need to put all of the horses when I'm moving them. He never herds us (but he does get very concerned and try to help if one of the horses is being naughty) and always leads the way. I taught him to stay out of the fields, so he waits at the gate until I come back. Sometimes, if he can't see me in the field, he'll come just inside the fence about 3 feet and then lay down there. Once he sees me, he gets up and crawls back under the fence to wait :)

   His current "work in progress" is learning what to do when I'm riding. If I'm in the arena or any sort of fenced area, he'll stay out and just run back and forth with me. If I'm riding in an open area, that's more of a challenge. Fortunately, the horses are very good about having a little corgi running around by their feet. However, if any of you horse people have tips for teaching him to stay further away, I'd appreciate it! Needless to say, he's incredibly active, and has already built a lot of muscle, because I usually ride between 2 and 5 horses a day for up to an hour each, and he runs with all of them!

   When I first got Avery, he was recovering from heartworm treatment, neutering, and was underweight at about 21 lbs. Now, he weighs in at about 25.8 lbs, with a muscular hind end from all that running, and a cute little waist :) He's on the smaller side anyway, and his vet really likes the way he looks!

   So there ya go - a two-month anniversary update!