Merlin, my little boy of thw two corgi twins is mr.personlity. He is always the FIRST to give kisses, make friends with strangers, jump in your lap, etc. His favorite toy is currently a two way rope toy, that is well on its way to being defrayed. Merlin has changed a lot since we initially took him home.

The first day merlin was home, he was under the impression that nipping faces for attention was an acceptable behavior. WRONG! the first week was seriously like puppy boot camp. We following NILIF-nothing in life is free. As a general rule, all of our dogs have a default 'sit' after they are called to us. It goes a long way in preventing ripped pant legs- which guests typically appreciate. Merlin was much quicker than his sister to pick up on training- in the first week, he clearly understood sit and reponded 100% of the time. by the first month, he had learned sit, stay, come, down, quiet, bed time, dinner time, speak (bark), talk (whining that sounds like talking).

However, fetch simply illudes him. If you toss something, he will chase it. then he will bark at it, circle it, and herd it into submission. he then comes running back at you- without every actually fetching anything. This is especially comical at the dog park. One person will toss a ball, and the ENTIRE pack goes running- following by merlin, barking at their heels and attempting to herd everyone at once. Occasionally he tries to herd small children as well. Parents simply don't seem to understand that if your 3 year old runs across the dog park, EVERY herding dog will be at their heels. thankfully Merlin is still young, and not particularly heavy.

Today, Merlin is much more behaved- he waits patiently for belly rubs, ear scritches, etc. About the only time Merlin is naughty is when it is food time. Merlin is actually a pot belly pig stuffed into a corgi suit. He loves food. Seriously- he doesn't hump dogs, furniture or people- but if there is a full food bowl....game on. He eats and humps at the same time. It's hilarious! While most of our other dogs eat a mouthful at a time, he would rather go ahead and just eat the entire meal at once.

This led to what we now refer to as the 'Corgi Food Experiment'. We devised a plan that seemed corgi proof. We were going to get a bowl, and attach some plastic cups to the inside, preventing him from grabbing an entire mouth full at once in hopes it would slow him down. WRONG! Merlin actually FLIPPED the entire bowl over, and ate his kibble off our our kitchen floor. We never tried to stop him again.

Eventually, we would like to train merlin to become a Certified therapy dog. He is so well mannered (when food is not involved), and is such a silly ham bone! We plan on having him neutered next month, and will start training at that point.