So Ruby-Doo the Corgi Pup has been with us for a whole year now. It's been quite a year, in which the best-laid plans went seriously awry. As a result, I haven't been able to do all the wonderful puppy obedience and agility training I envisioned, or even take Ruby and her boss, Cassie the Queen of the Universe, for the usual daily walks. Oh well.

In spite of all the chaos, though, Ruby and Cassie the Queen of the Universe have adjusted well. Ruby has been (thank the heavens!) a lot less trouble than expected -- or, shall we say, than one would expect based on prior puppy experience.

If a friend were to ask me about getting a corgi pup, I'd probably warn that they can be pretty stubborn about house-training. Ruby is no longer defiling the floor, and Cassie's lengthy relapse, which occurred when she noticed that Ruby could pee with alacrity all over the family room, has also ended. But there was a period there when I was very, very happy to have all tile floors! I'd also tell a prospective corgi puppy purchaser to be aware that these dogs are prone to certain ailments. Among them are urinary tract infections, which don't do your flooring any good...to say nothing of not doing the dog any good.

Ruby appears to have almost reached her full growth. At 13.5 months of age, she's taking on the grown dog physique. She could grow a little more, I think, but she's still significantly smaller than Cassie. Cassie weighs about 23 pounds, and Ruby weighs in at 17 pounds. I kind of doubt that at this age she'll put on much more height, but she could fill out a little more.

However, I think she doesn't need much more filling out. At this point I'm watching carefully to be sure she doesn't start to get overweight.

Cassie consumes 1/4 pound of food per serving, twice a day, and Ruby inhales twice that much: 1/2 pound, twice a day. So the older dog gets a half-pound of food each day, and the pup is still getting a full pound. Cassie is maintaining pretty well at that ration; I think as the puppy reaches her full adult size, she will need less food, although Cassie will, too, now being about 8 years old. Adjustments, I guess, will be a matter of trial and error.

I suspect that the UTIs, which occurred when Ruby was very little, may have stunted her growth. In the first place, the special UTI food looked darned unimpressive in the nutrition department, and in the second, the amount the vet said to give her was apparently about half as much food as a growing pup needed. The combined facts that she went a week or ten days without enough to eat and that she had to eat a questionable, canned "prescription" diet may explain why she's smaller than Cassie.

However, in the meantime, Ruby is about the tamest puppy I've ever had. Except for the morning and afternoon Yard Romps, she hardly acts like a puppy at all.

• The gardens have not been excavated.
• There are no caverns in the middle of the yard.
• There are no holes in the furniture.
• A tunnel has not been dug under the backyard fence.
• No sandals have been mulched.
• No sunglasses have been carried off and chewed apart.
• No trees have been girdled, as by a beaver.
• No clothing has been buried in any secret garden caches.
• No pillows have been yanked apart and their kapok strewn all over the house (yet).
• No bathroom mats have been shredded.
• No deliverymen have been chased, terrified, off the premises.
• No small children on bicycles have been pursued down the street.
• No golfers in electric golf carts have been pursued across a golf course (not a joke!!).           
• No food has been stolen off the countertop (only because Ruby can't reach the countertop)
• The irrigation system has not been deconstructed.
• The vacuum cleaner has never been the focus of a stealth attack.
• No [fill in the blank: yellow oleander pods, chocolates, sewing needles, onions, etc.] have been consumed (yet).
• Not ONE visit to the doggy emergency room has been required.

Other than flooding the family room floor with puppy pee, Ruby's only crime has been to pick up mummified oranges, sneak them in through the dog door, chew them into pieces, and scatter them all over the bathroom floor. Oh, and twice chewing the cord off a living-room lamp, which, thankfully, was not plugged into a live outlet.

I've given up on the lamp, mostly because I couldn't afford a second $50 bill to rewire the thing and because, with the ongoing chaos, I haven't found time or money to go to the darned Petsmart and buy the ultra-stinky dog repellent that needs to be sprayed on the cord to keep her away from it.

Oddly, she's never tried to chew up any other wires. Well...except for the cord to the MacBook's recharger, which was a hefty bill. Fortunately the company paid for that. :-/

Ruby and Cassie reached a detente after I decided that a feeding and general attention-giving pecking order should be established. At first Cassie was annoyed but downtrodden and Ruby was exuberant and frightfully dominant. They now share power in the pack about 50-50, though it is agreed that overall Cassie rules the roost. Or else.

Enough of THAT, you little pest!

These days, every morning we have a steeplechase. Cassie and Ruby fly around the yard, chasing and arfing, until they run out of steam. Then after a brief rest they come inside and lobby for breakfast. This routine is repeated late in the afternoon or early evening. They've worn a trail around one of the orange trees, doing this. Yard Dude and I have both, on different occasions, tried to fill this in and smooth it out -- to no avail.

Ruby has learned to use the dog door, though she doesn't seem to associate it with the opportunity to pee outdoors. When she's gotta go, she squirrels around the Human until it gets off its duff and lets her out the back door. Don't ask. I have NO idea.

So far, then, so good. I'm exceptionally thankful that Ruby-Doo turned out to be quite a tame little pup. Otherwise, when all the disruption of my life arose, I might have had to return her to the breeder or find a new home for her myself. Neither of those were desired, but they certainly were on the table.  Ruby, being such an artful little dog, saw to it that neither of those things happened.

:-)