Needed: Treat Upgrade

So today I set out to trim Winnie's nails and to make up for my absolute incompetence for the task at hand... I made my way to the treat tub.

We keep our puppy treats on top of the frig in a would-be (if it were not broken) air tight latch-type canister. Now trimming Winnie's nails takes a bucket of treats so that she will both hold still and to make me feel better about the excellent likelihood I will screw this job up. But today, on my way from the frig to the well lit living room, the latch broke and basically two boxes worth of mini-milk bones went sailing onto the floor.

Now the amazing part of this story is that Winnie didn't immediately hit the floor to "clean up." What was my first reaction? I thought, "Wow, I have a great dog who will wait for the 'okay' before diving in." But what was the truth? Apparently, they were just not worth the effort. Obviously, I need a treat upgrade... and a new canister. :-)

Home Again Pet Rescuers

In 2010 I posted the basics of how the Home Again Pet Rescuer program works.  [ View Pet Rescuers Post ]  The subject is fresh on my mind again because:

1. I recently renewed Winnie's subscription for extra perks
2. I recently got an email about a micro-chipped lost dog in my area

I wanted to just toss out there that the Home Again service, even though good before, has gotten even better in the last several years!  They've made it really easy to help your fellow pet owners recover a lost furry-family member.  Check this out...

Facebook Lost Dog Status Update

I got an email from Home Again that a micro-chipped dog went missing in my area.  I was able to click a link in the email that automatically generated a status update in my Facebook account and I did it all from my phone! 

Does anyone else participate in this?  Is there another program that you like better?  As I said in my previous post, you don't need to subscribe to participate.  Anyone can become a "Pet Rescurer" and receive emails about missing pets it their area and help bring them home.  Here's the link:   Home Again Website 

Go Team!

Claire & Winnie Play Fetch (9mo.)

Okay so one of my summer objectives is to teach Claire how to play fetch with Winnie.  I consider the job half done because Winnie, being a sweet and attentive dog, already brings the ball to Claire!  Winnie will even drop it on Claire's lap or nudge the ball over to her from time to time.  Perfect!

Now, to get the baby to toss the ball...  As it turns out... tossing things is a motor skill not commonly possessed by nine-month-olds.  :-)  But passing things is!  I took this short video just yesterday.  Enjoy!

(Admittedly, Winnie is a little more assertive here than I would like her to be... honestly this is unusual.  I think it's because she and I just finished a pretty revved up round of fetch ourselves.  Perhaps I shouldn't expect her to down shift so quickly.)

Back in Action!

Wow, Hi!

I think I've officially been MIA long enough... and Winnie and I are returning to Herding the Corgi with a renewed determination to join the corgi community!  Man, I've missed you guys!  With the exception of following Corgi Butts on Facebook I've been really out of the loop but we're back on track now! 

Here's my mind:

1. I love my kid... she's an amazing sport and game for most things.  
2. I love my dog... ditto.
3. It's going to be awesome figuring out how to have fun with the two of them.  :-)

The Summer Goals:

1. Manage a polite stroll with both baby and dog  (Key word here being polite.  We can do it but we look like a mess, lol.)
2. Teach Claire how to throw a ball for the Winn-Monster
3. Some intentional developmental games for the babe each week (duh)
4. Some intentional developmental games for the pup (easy to back burner)
5. Mandatory 20min of speed blogging each week.  
6. Lots of general silliness

I think we can do it.  :-)  Okay... gotta run but here's some super cute pics to bring you up to speed.

Spot the Difference

This morning my living room floor looked like one of those Spot the Difference drawings in a Highlights magazine.

What's missing? Ah yes. That's better. :-)

Early Morning

We were all up pretty early at our house today. Babies needed bottles and dogs needed a scoop of kibble but what settled us all down again? Something to chew on, of course! Now why didn't I think of this before? :-)

Corgi Blog Gift Exchange

Some of the Corgi Bloggers among us decided to organize a Christmas gift exchange and it was a good idea.  Personally, I love it when we can come together in a way that is tangible like this... the "paw it forward" game is another good example.  Don't get me wrong.  I love that we support one another through discussion and charitable giving but gift exchanges are just good old fashion fun!

Winnie and I received our package just a few days before Christmas...

Our gifts were beautifully wrapped but we were so excited to open them that I forgot to take the picture!

One of our gift requests was a puzzle toy.  An ongoing personal guilty nag of mine is that I haven't given Winnie enough exercise since baby Claire arrived on the scene.  I feel a little better though at least giving her something to keep her mind busy...

"ZZZzzzzzzzz ZZZzzzzzzzzzz..."



Winnie loved her new toy.  We didn't have anything like it and she worked at it so long that she actually fell asleep with her paw still on it.  :-)

The treats are a big hit, too.  They are a super smelly (in a good way) soft snack that are perfect for breaking apart and tossing so Winnie can catch them in her mouth... yet, another little game that's quick and fun to play. 

Thank you SO much, Secret Santa for our terrific surprises!