Dog Park!

(You meet all kinds of dogs at the dog park.  I think this guy is part wolf!)

When we decided to move (again) 7 months ago, I was a bit upset.  Our yard in west Texas was very nice and I had a boyfriend next door, Dexter, of whom I was quite fond.  But I go where my humans go, so I left those things behind and moved to Arkansas.  Our yard here isn't as nice, but it does have a lot of trees and almost as many squirrels as we had before.  And here we get to see our cousins, human and canine, much more often, so I guess I can't complain.

One thing I must say is quite wonderful here--the dog park.  We had a small park when we lived in northeast Oklahoma, but in Texas there wasn't one.  So when we came here, I was interested to see what kind of dog park this new place had to offer.  WOW!  There is some land at the end of the airport property in Fort Smith (of which our little town is a suburb) and the city decided to use that as a dog park.  This place is HUGE!  There are trees and hills and a large pond and a doggy drinking station.  The humans have benches to sit on so they can visit while we dogs do our visiting.  No leashes needed--we get to run free!  All in all, I have to say that it is a fantastic dog park!  My sisters, Claude, and I like to go as often as our parents will take us.

Besides the lovely area, the best thing about the dog park is having the opportunity to meet new friends. Dogs of all shapes and sizes show up at the park--I've met fellow corgis, bulldogs, pit bulls, schnauzers, all kinds of dogs.  Today there was even a Great Dane; that guy was TALL!  And the dogs all bring their humans along, and all humans love me.  I am able to visit with the people and get a lot of petting and scratching and attention.  Life at the dog park is good.

If you've never been to the dog park, you should ask your humans to take you to one as soon as possible. You should remember to be on your best behavior at the park and not do any fighting; fighting is frowned upon at the dog park.  (A little growling and yipping is to be expected, though.)

Most dog parks will have posted rules which your humans will need to read.  Dogs at the dog park must have their vaccinations so no one gets sick.  And please remember to take a bag along to clean up after any dog that has toilet needs during his/her visit.

To wrap this up:  The dog park is a wonderful place for exercise and socialization.  If you're ever in Fort Smith, look me up and I'll meet you at the dog park!  I'm leaving you with some pictures of today's adventures.

Til next time!

Love ya,

Lily the Corgi

Time Change; Season Change

(Time change and seasonal change makes me tired!)

Hi, friends.  Lily the Corgi here.  There is really nothing pressing happening in my world, so I thought I'd just let my thoughts flow and talk a little about change.  Now, as you know, I'm a corgi, which means I am a happy, flexible little being.  I can deal with changes; with my parents, that's a requirement.  I love my human parents, but they are not the most stable people--we owned 3 different houses in 3 different states in less than a year, for example.  But I digress...

According to the calendar, two major changes have recently occurred--we have changed from Central Standard Time to Central Daylight Time and we have moved from winter to spring.  I'll tell you the truth, I'm not sure how I feel about either of these changes.

My mama likes it when it is Standard time and when it is winter.  She likes that it gets dark earlier in the evenings and she enjoys snowy, cold weather.  I also enjoy the long evenings when I can curl up on the couch or in a lap.  I am not a lover of snow, like Claude the grouchy husky mix, but I don't mind it so much either like my cold-natured beagle mix sister Lucy.  On the other hand, my daddy likes Daylight savings time and enjoys the warmer seasons.  I agree with daddy that there's a lot to be said for having longer daylight hours in the evening time and more clement weather--more opportunities for walks, trips to the dog park, and squirrel chasing.  Also, my favorite spot in the house is on the hearth tiles and it's too hot there when a fire is lit, so milder weather means I'll get my spot back!  So, really, I could go either way on these changes, personally.

What really gets up my snout, though, is just the change itself.  At our house we have a schedule. We eat at the same time every day and this is very reassuring to us dogs.  We know that when the time comes around, we'll get our bowls filled.  But, when this Daylight savings time thing comes around, our schedule is messed up; then again in the fall, reverting back to Standard time causes another upheaval.  It's enough to make my stomach upset (though not as upset as Lucy's was when she stole a pork chop bone last week.)

Getting up in the morning and going to bed at night also gets moved around with these time changes.  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be in bed or not when the sun rises.  And what about bed time?  I just don't know.   It's enough to wear me out!

One truly disturbing thing about the seasonal change is that no one seems to be able to decide which season should prevail.  One day it will be warm and breezy and wonderful; the next day, it will sleet; and the next day there will be rain.  I am so lucky to have my nice double coat; single coated, short furred dogs like Lucy are just very uncomfortable right now.  I'm pretty sure the guys on tv that talk about weather are the ones who decide what the temperature and humidity should be; I just wish they'd make up their minds!

Now mama tells me that we are going in to tornado season.  It actually rained and we had a little lightning last night.  We've been in the middle of something called a drought for quite some time and so we almost forget what the rain and storms are all about.  In fact, Lucy was quite worried about the lightning last night--she even growled at it a little.  We've not lived here in our new home during tornado season, so I guess we'll have to brush up on our storm protocol very soon.  My daddy was a tornado spotter for the city of Pampa when we lived in west Texas, but I never got to ride along.  I bet I can spot anything better than humans can!

Anyhow, I just had to do a little rambling about the time and the weather.  I'll write more about storm season...when I'm able to hold my eyes open long enough to do a little research, that is!  I'll leave you today with a few snapshots of my fur siblings and me enjoying the weather!

Til next time!
Love ya,
Lily the Corgi

(Lucy enjoying a warm blanket on a winter's night)

(And soaking up the sun on a bright winter day)

(Here I am last fall, checking out stuff at the dog park.)

(And here we were during a snow storm.)

(And checking out the squirrels after a spring ice storm.)

Stuff About Corgis

My mama has been sick and busy and hasn't been able to type my blog for me (stubby legs, no opposible thumbs, you see my problems with a keyboard.)  Anyway, since today is St. Patrick's Day, I remembered an article I previously wrote for Corgi Cuteness and thought it might be appropriate to roll it out again today.
I'm a fan of Irish things--the Irish are closely related to my Welsh self, you know.  I even have a lovely Irish middle name, Roisin  (that's pronounced Ro-sheen and means Rose).  We're having family and friends over tonight for Irish Stew!  I bet I get to slurp up some of that goodness, one way or the other.  Happy St. Patrick's Day to all and please celebrate safely.  Here's that recycled article:

Love Ya,
Lily the Corgi

About Corgis

Every year, my mama and daddy go to something called an Irish festival. Dogs aren't allowed at this thing, so I had to ask what it was all about. My mama says it is a chance for people of her breed (Irish) to get together and celebrate their culture. She says they do this by eating food, listening to music, dressing a certain way, speaking their native language, storytelling their legends and just having a good time. All that sounded pretty good to me, so it got me thinking, “Is there a corgi culture?” Let's think about that, shall we?

First off, mama says this culture business is about eating food. Well, no doubt, corgis are all over that since corgis are about the most food motivated dogs you'll ever find. Corgis can hear the fridge open from out in the yard. A corgi will eat his own meal, then steal his sibling's meal, then finish off by staring at his human until the human shares her meal. People who adopt a corgi sometimes think they'll be getting by economically because they're getting a “little” dog. Make no mistake, humans, corgis are NOT little dogs. We are just average sized dogs with little stubby legs. And big appetites. The biggest challenge involved in loving a corgi is limiting the food, because fat corgis are in danger of terrible orthopedic problems in our long spines.

Mama says celebrating culture is about listening to music. Corgis can get into that, too. Your typical corgi doesn't bark a lot, but we do vocalize, and quite beautifully if I do say so myself. An excited corgi will yip and we do bark sometimes (I personally bark to discipline my boyfriend, Dexter, next door. He'd never make it on his own if I didn't bark out some guidance to him each day.) One thing a lot of corgi humans seem to enjoy is our deep-throated little growl/howl/song that sounds like, “Barrrrooooooo.” Yes, let me sing you the song of my breed.

Not only are corgis great musicians, we also love to dance. Corgis were bred to herd livestock and that background makes us the ultimate doggy dancers. We like to dance close—my mama says we are trying to herd everyone and everything. It is true that we will get up close and personal with livestock, other dogs, and small children. Our dances are quite playful, but sometimes a corgi will get so caught up in the dance that he will even nip...this doesn't make the corgi vicious, just exuberant, but you need to be sure your corgi keeps himself under control with that nipping stuff.

When mama's people have their festivals, they wear strange clothes (the men wear skirts!) Some dogs also wear clothes, but usually a corgi doesn't need anything except our own God-given fur. Corgis have a double coat, with a longer, coarser outer layer and a short, dense layer of fur near our skin. This fur pattern allows us to deal with the elements without having to wear store bought clothes.

Most corgis are generous little beings who are happy to share their fur with everyone. Corgis are shedding machines—if you can't stand dog hair, don't adopt a corgi into your home! Corgis need to be brushed a lot; using a “Furminator” type device is also highly recommended to keep that coat under control. I, myself, thoroughly enjoy going to the groomer for a spa day from time to time; my parents are just excited to have someone else deal with the shedding for a few hours.

(I like to have a nice spa day!)

When with people of their own culture, humans sometimes speak a different native language. Guess what? There is a special language for those who love corgis. If you adopt a corgi, you'll have to learn some totally new words and meanings. Here are just a few examples:

FRAP—Frap is an acronym for either Frantic Random Acts of Play or, alternatively, Frantic Running and Playing. Let me tell you, you'll know frapping when you see it. Corgis will sometimes just get so filled with life and excitement that we just must run and romp and wrestle and jump—sometimes all of those things at the same time. That, my friends, is frapping.

Derp—Ever see a corgi with a goofy look on his face, tongue lolling out to one

side? Just basically looking a little demented? Yeah, that is derp.

Drummies—Corgis really enjoy lying on our bellies with our short, stubby little

legs stretched out behind us. Some people think this reminds them of chicken legs

and, thus, affectionately call our little extended legs “drummies.”

Blowing—This is something our coat does twice a year. It means that instead of

just shedding wildly like we always do, our coats actually just turn loose and fall

off in great hunks and piles. Most corgis will blow coat fall and spring. Just an

aside: While I appreciate the ability of corgis to blow coat, we are still amatures

compared to my brother Claude, the grouchy husky mix. That boy can blow coat!

During their festivals, my mama and her people like to tell stories and legends about themselves. My mama's people tell stories about leprechauns and other such imaginary folk. Corgis also have legends. Do you know a corgi with a white band across her shoulders? That's called a fairy saddle or fairy harness. Legend has it that corgis are the favored ride of fairies. Noble Steeds of the Fairy People, the story has it. I don't believe I've ever been ridden by a fairy, but I have been wallowed and served as a pillow or lap desk for little children...I think it's sort of the same thing.

(Here I am, serving as a prop for my human-cousin Izzy's iPod.)

After looking at all the facts, I have decided that there is certainly a corgi culture and I believe we corgis should celebrate that culture. Many localities have “meet-ups” where their corgis can get together to frap, sing, talk, tell stories and just have a great time. Hey, a corgi festival—just like my mama's!

A Corgi's Work Is Never Done

Watching that pesky squirrel

My mama is obsessed with rescuing critters.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love this trait in her; after all, this is what brought me to my happy home and family.  But sometimes, her rescuing can get a bit annoying to us fur-kids.

One day, we were out for a nice leisurely drive when mama stopped the vehicle so suddenly I almost slid off my seat.  Mama hopped out, ran down the street, and came back carrying a tortoise!  She put this thing in the front passenger seat--a seat of honor I'd love to sit in, but I'm not allowed!!  When my sister Sadie growled at the thing, mama actually scolded her.  Thank goodness, mama drove out to the country and set the thing free, but I was offended.

Last year, mama met a dog from the local animal shelter and fell in love with her.  In a fit of insanity, daddy went to the shelter one day while mama was at work and brought this dog home to be our 5th fur-kid.  She was a nice enough dog, I'm sure, but the attention here is stretched quite far enough already, in my opinion.  Obviously, my neurotic sister Sadie thought so too, because she just went bat crap crazy.  With barking, growling, and even a show of violence, Sadie made it known she was not ready to welcome another sibling to the family and daddy took this dog back to the shelter.  (I'm pleased to say that the dog, named Snoopy, was able to find her own forever home at an adoption event a few weeks later.)

Now that we've moved to Arkansas, mama has decided she should take care of the back yard wildlife.  When we had our first ice storm several months ago, mama and daddy started feeding birds...they even bought a bird feeder to hang in the yard.  I'm all for birds; they are kind of interesting to watch and they don't tend to bother me much, so why not let them hang out?

Earlier this week, we had another ice storm and the birds swooped down in full force to catch a free meal at the bird feeder.  Yesterday morning, we looked out the window and saw this:

Lovely cardinal ladies waiting their turn at the feeder.  But wait!  The cardinal ladies are usually the alpha birds of our yard--so why would they be standing on a solid sheet of ice, waiting?  Well, here's the reason:

Intruder Alert!!  This interloper was trying to steal the food out of the bird feeder.  Now, I was mad!!  No ridiculous squirrel is going to come in and take over MY yard!!!  

Mama had to take the time to snap a zillion pictures, then she opened the door and let me out to do my job.

Yep, it was Lily vs. the squirrel.  And guess who prevailed?  Oh, this little rodent didn't go quietly...I had to chase and bark at him several times before he got the message that I was serious.  I continued to patrol the yard throughout the day and I'm proud to say that squirrel didn't terrorize the bird feeder anymore!  

Today, I'm keeping an eye out to be sure only authorized users are at the feeder.  So far, so good, but I remain ever vigilant and on duty.  That's the corgi way.

Til next time.

Love ya,

Lily the Corgi

(Squirrel Remover)