Nursery Update

Okay... so here's what's been going on the last few weeks. 

1. We've "finished" our basement.  (And I use that term loosely...)
2. Moved all of our office furniture and supplies TO the basement, a.k.a our new office
3. Moved all of our nursery goodies TO the old office, a.k.a. the new nursery

Whew!  Our so called "finished" basement got that way by tearing out some old gross flooring and putting in some bright new paint.  We've also unloaded a few boxes of IKEA furniture down there but don't have it assembled yet.  Winnie, rightly so, as been focusing our attention on the nursery.

This daughter of ours is already one VERY loved little girl.  Our family, friends, and community have gifted her more than she could possibly need.  So we started by taking things out of the lovely gift wrapping and putting it in like categories around the parameter of the room... Winnie had her eye on a very cute stuffed duck.  I wonder how long we'll be able to keep her from it after our little one starts playing with it. 


Herders also make great sorters... look at what I did!

Next was assembling the furniture so we actually had some place to PUT everything.


I'm not at all convinced these guys know what their doing.
  I'm going to supervise from the hall way so I don't get assembled up into the dresser... *sigh. 

When all was said and done we ended up with this...

I still need to find a themed lamp and window dressing but in all pratical ways we're ready!

... a close up of the crib.

 After painting the basement we decided that wall decals were a much easier way to go for the nursery and being that cute corgi decals are hard to find we settled for woodland creatures.  :-) 

Our official due date is September 3rd so we're only a few weeks out!  Everything has been going great - other than the usual, uncomfortable tiredness that seems to be my life now.  I'll keep you posted as our household grows by one!  :-)

Blogaversary Give-a-way!

Hey, we missed it by a few days but we JUST passed our one year blog-aversary!  It's been a really fun year getting to know some of you out there in the corgi-loving community.  We've had paw-it-forwards, donated to good causes, and made some friends. 

Happy Blogaversary!

To say thanks for your readership we're having a Blogaversary Give-a-way!  Winnie and I would like to send you one of our two favorite books PLUS one of our favorite toys.  You can pick from:

  or  

Both of these are reviewed on the "books" page so you can see what you might like better.  We'll also include one of our favorite toys, although Winnie hasn't picked it out yet.  What do you have to do?  Simply respond in the comments section to this blog post and tell us why your like to cruse the dog-blogs.  Be sure to include what book you would like and your email address so we can contact you!  Have fun!  And Thanks for reading Herding the Corgi!

'Dangerous dogs' Ordinance

How often do you guys keep up with what your city or county says about dog ownership?  If you're like me it's not exactly a pressing issue.  There's a lot of other things on the'ol "to-do" list before poking around dog related city ordinances.  There is one in my community, however, that has been getting a lot of attention lately.  The 'Dangerous Dogs' Ordinance. 

Here's a link to the full article if you want to give it a read... it'll only take 5 minutes, promise. 
http://mobile.mlive.com/advsag/pm_29311/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=lNWh1kZt

Okay,  weather you read the whole thing or not there's my synopsis... see if I missed anything.  First, the ordinance is specific to "dangerous dogs" including: pit bulls, presa canario, bull mastiffs, rotweilers and german shepherds.  Now the owners of these breeds must:

1. register their dogs and pay an additional $20 fee to regular dog licensing
2. post a sign in the front of their homes that say "dog on premises"
3. keep their animals on leash or in a 4-foot pen. 

I can't help but feel this was a really poor use of our city councilman's time and energy.  Of all the news reported, none of them identified specific issues that the city has (or hasn't) been having with these dogs so I'm left to assume that usual suspects apply but in my mind it boils down to this... poor dog ownership leads to poorly trained and frustrated dogs that THEN become dangerous. 

You guys are are informed dog owners... am I wrong about this??? WE are the people that try to provide healthy and fulfilling lives for our pooch-partners and even sometimes WE don't get our fur-balls licensed on time (if at all) is an additional $20 free really going to help this problem?  Yes, a sign warns neighbors and visitors, fine, they can have that one... no issue there.  But what about that 4-foot pen?  That's the size of a baby's play-pen.  How much more frustrated and dangerous is a 80lb dog going to be in a pen they can hardly turn around in???  

I don't like this one bit... I think a dog-education class for these dog owners would be a much better way to go.  A class that talks about healthy diets, lots of exercise, proper training... and someone to teach the class that can convince some of these people that only PROFESSIONAL dog trainers should ever be responsible for "attack dogs."  Now, instead of establishing a program that promotes responsible dog ownership all that has happened is that when a dog does cause an issue... it's that much more likely to be put-down.  Sad. 

Hum... maybe that's an idea?  Can we lobby an amendment for education classes?  I wonder... anyway... that's my rant.  Where do you guys weigh in?  Oh and here... a photo of my not-so-dangerous corgi.  :-)  This girl makes me smile. 

I don't know what you're talking about... I just DESTROYED that rawhide.  Pish, I'm dangerous. 

How Much is Too Much? Kids and Dogs.

Blogs are fun.  They are timely, relevant, and help build a since of community.  What's not to love, right?  Well, they are also very public and most of the time that's what we want!  More readers!  :-)  However, I think it's also safe to say that there are certain things we don't want published for the world to see. 

So here's my issue... family.  How many pictures of people do you post?  Do you use their names?  Will they like what they read?  Naturally, Herding the Corgi is not a controversial blog but nevertheless I think these questions are worth asking. 

Why the sudden boundary of personal space you ask?  Well, much like Corgi Butts, Herding the Corgi will be getting a new addition!  My husband and I are expecting our first child in September.  We're pretty excited and we know that Winnie will love having something wiggly down at her level. (I think a "Get Low" onesy from the Corgi Butts store is definitely in order.)  And you KNOW that babies and dogs make for great entertainment. 

So here's what I need from you guys:

1. Your thoughts on blog privacy
2. Your thoughts on living with kids and dogs

Fire away!

As a side note, we've already instituted a "baby gate" to keep Winnie away from construction we're doing to get ready for Baby.  She doesn't love it.  Poor pup.  :-)

Seriously?  But how will I be sure you're doing it right?

The Dog License Dilemma.

Do you license your dog?  I know this sounds like a silly question since we're all SUPPOSED to license our dogs but my thought is that maybe not all of us do.  Apparently the cut off in Michigan to get the cheap rate ($12) for a dog license is February 28th.  Obviously we missed it.  I could have sworn it was in March but, no.  Instead the price doubled ($24) because I waited to get my license at our annual vet check up on March 16th.  I have two thoughts on this:

1. Yes, I think we all SHOULD get the license.  It helps our local government keep track of the needs and trends of its citizens which SHOULD lead to more dog-friendly cities that include parks, trails, clean-up bags, animal control, and other dog accommodations.  It also insures that licensed dogs are up-to-date on vaccinations... which is good. 
2. Doesn't this seem like old technology?  Why don't these things automatically renew or at least send a notice each year? 

We got a new ID tag just for good measure, too.

I feel like I got a little ripped off.  I'm a good dog owner.  Winnie is clean, vaccinated, well fed, well exercised, well trained, well socialized, AND neutered so she won't be adding any unwanted critters to the mix.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm good for the $24 bucks but why do I feel like the good-guys just got taken?  There are a TON of un-licensed dogs out there that are NOT so well taken care of and no one has the time or energy to police this anyway.  My point?  It would have been really easy to say at the vet "Oh, the price just went up?  Uhh... I don't have my checkbook today so I'll just take care of it later."  and skip out on my civic dog duty.  (Yup, I said dog duty and I'm sticking to it)  I wish someone in a municipal office out there would have said "Hey, let's give these otherwise proactive people a break and remind them they need to register their pooch... you know, the pooch that doesn't make any trouble for us anyway."  Instead they punish the people that are at the vet - doing the right thing - with a higher price. 

That's my rant.  Here's your $24 bucks Michigan.  Please put it to good use.

Dog Friends

Does your pup have a best-dog-friend?  Winnie did.  A Golden Retriever named Miguel.  Last Fall he moved to Texas and boy are we missing him.  (And his family, of course.  :-)  Field trips to the dog park and hikes just aren't as fun without this boy.  But here's the thing... I found that not only did having a steady dog-date for outings make me more consistent with taking Winnie out and about but Winnie picked up a lot of good behaviour from Miguel.  For instance, Winnie can be shy about getting in and out of cars... if Miguel were still here I'm sure she would just follow him right into the back seat without a problem. 

Have your dogs picked up anything from their dog friends?  Good, Bad, Ugly?  :-)  Anyway, here are some Winter Romp shots of Winnie and Miguel before he left... Don't these two look like their having a blast?

We're coming!  We're coming!

Wait!  What was THAT?  Shhhh... Oh, it's just a cross-country skier. 

There's nothing like a good run with your pal. 

Winnie & The Daily Corgi

Winnie's on The Daily Corgi!  Boy... a while ago when I first started cruising the dog blogs I submitted a few photos of Winnie to The Daily Corgi and her number came up!  Here's the link... Winnie on The Daily Corgi.  I hope you enjoy it and welcome to all of you who are visiting Herding the Corgi for the first time today!

I can't believe it!  The Daily Corgi!  I'm a star! 
(And a welcome in Boston, too.  Thanks Laurie!)

All Dogs Go to Heaven

A few weeks ago our church celebrated the Feast of St. Francis with a special evening service that included an animal blessing.  Boy!  Which one of our little fluff balls couldn't use one of those!  I know it's a little late but here are the photos.  Surprisingly we had ALL DOGS at the service.  As you can see in the photo below, some of us were more excited to be here than others.  This could have been Winnie last year.  She jumped and barked the entire time.


OMG!  (Literally)  Bless me!

This year Winnie was a good girl.  I think just being older made her more relaxed.  Or maybe it was because she found a friend with turkey legs just like her!

What ARE you?  You sprawl like a Corgi but you are FAR too hairy!

In the spirit of being a little wiggly Winnie didn't really want to hold still for her blessing.  I think the priest actually made the cross upside down.  Do you think that's bad?  :-)

What's going on here?  Hey, wait a second...

All and all it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.  There was also a pet friendly reception that had some milk bones, puppy chow, kitty litter cake, gold fish crackers, and more.  Pretty cool.

Paw It Forward

Winnie and I received our Paw It Forward package full of great things from our fellow dog blogger Jenny and her pup Stanley over at Corgi On My Mind.

The package came on Monday but we've been so busy this week that poor Winnie had to wait till today to open it.  I know, how do you deny a dog a package that smells of treats?  I was a mean dog mom.  But it was worth the wait!

Listen Ma, it's addressed to ME!  I'll decide when we open it!

The first thing I saw was a card featuring a very cool illustrated rendering of Stanley on the cover and a wonderful personalized book mark with Winnie's picture! 

Finally, someone that knows what I'm talking about here!

Of course, Winnie went right for the treats. 

This one!  Open this one!

About one second after I took this picture Winnie pushed her nose in the bag and helped herself.  These were some pretty fancy treats.  Real chicken jerky wrapped around a real dried apple slice.  Gourmet! 

I don't know French, but I know delicious.

All in all we received a portable water bowl, two bags of gourmet treats, the Kong stick toy, a Natural Balance food roll, and a festive Halloween bat squeaky toy. 

Wait, is it my birthday?

Here's a close up of some of the other treats.  The squirrel cracks me up.  And the cookie looks like it should have been for me!  Ha!

The smallest bone is what Winnie normally gets... there's some perspective for you. 

Natural Balance is actually what I feed Winnie all the time.  Well, the kibble version not the food roll version but this stuff makes the BEST training food.  You can cut it up small and it's irresistible.  Try it. 

Get some. 

The other hot favorite was the squeaky bat toy.  What fun getting it so close to Halloween!  I think it sort of even looked like Winnie.  (It's the ears)

This doesn't seriously look like me, does it?

Thanks Jenny and Stanley!  We've really enjoyed our Paw it Forward package and we got to try a few things we don't have around here in our own pet stores.  What a treat!

In the Paw It Forward tradition Winnie and I will take our turn assembling a goodie box full of our favorite things to pass along to someone new.  If you haven't been the recipient of a Paw It Forward box yet and have a dog blog be the first to leave a comment on this blog with your email address and you'll be the next in line!  (Tip:  type "at" instead of using the @ symbol to avoid getting spammed.  Like this: name(at)email.com)

Here's a clip of Winnie playing with her Bat Toy.  She's a happy dog. 

Feast of St. Francis

The feast of St. Francis, for some of the Christian persuasion, is celebrated on October 4th this year.  The nutshell bio of St. Francis is that he's the patron saint of animals.  If you think about it, you've likely seen statues of him in gardens around your neighborhood before.  Anyhow, being raised  protestant I'm not the type that gets overly excited about celebrating saints but this particular observation is pretty fun for us pet owners. 


Blessing of the Animals

Many churches will hold a special service that celebrates St. Francis and also has a Blessing of the Animals.  Some are huge and some are modest.  (I heard the Catholic church in Minneapolis had an elephant from the zoo show up last year!)  But it's pretty common to have several services like this in a city.  Let's be honest here... regardless of your background in religion I think it's safe to say that we've all at one point felt a little disconnected from it.  Like the ritual and our lives sometimes don't line up.  For me, at least, this is one time when my life and my church line up.  I plan on taking Winnie to the Blessing of the Animals where I live and I thought if this was something you might like to do with your pup, I'd give you enough heads up to find a service wherever you are. 


A priceless picture of a cat hissing while being blessed.



I guess he needed the holy water, too.  The rest of us didn't get that.  :-)

Here are some more photos from 2009.  Winnie was barking so much that the priest actually ad libbed her into his sermon!  What a good sport.  I'll be sure to blog an update for 2010.  :-)

The little stinker wouldn't hold still either. 

She looked great in her Episcopal Shield leash though!

The Bark Park

Winnie and I are lucky enough to live next to some pretty cool parks.  Most of them offer some pretty cool walking trails that when you get back far enough you don't feel too bad about letting your pup off leash.  (shhhh!)

Winne on the trails this summer.

We do have one specific dog park though and I'm always a little conflicted when we go.  On one hand I want Winnie to be exposed to other dogs, learn to behave nicely around strange animals and people, and really open up for a good old fashion game of chase or fetch!  On the other however, I'm confronted with dog owners that have different standards for what "behaving nicely" means.  They don't keep a very close eye on their dogs and I sometimes feel like the trip just wasn't worth it that day. 

Being a dog parent can be tricky!  You see people punish their dogs for the owners mistake, people that just don't pay attention, and then those of us in the middle... that want to share the time with their dog and like minded dog people.  We bring toys and have conversations.  It can be a really lovely time.

Winnie at the Bark Park

Winnie with her best buddy Miguel.  Miguel moved to Texas this summer and we miss him!

My question for you guys is this:  How do you get the most out of outings with you dogs?  Do you stick to the dog parks?  Go on the lesser used trails?  Participate in organized events like obedience training?  Or take on the really risky business just taking your dog to people places and seeing how many folks complain? 

My world would be much happier if well behaved dogs were welcomed to more places and I think more dogs would be well behaved if they weren't stuck in the house all day!  But until then, this is what we've got. 

Okay... what do you do?  Be specific.  :-)

Pet Rescuers

First, let me say that Winnie does not need rescuers.  But if she did, I would seriously rally the troops.

I'm talking about the "Pet Rescuers" from Home Again Recovery, the company that microchips your pet. 

We got Winnie micro chipped the same time we got her spayed.  What really convinced me it was a good idea was that the service isn't just reactive - it's proactive.  Sure, I would seriously hope that if anyone found a lost cat or dog that they would take them to the vet, humane society, or at the very least keep them around for a few weeks and put up FOUND PET posters.  But let's be honest, not everyone even has a eye out for that sort of thing. 

What this micro chipping company does in addition to making your pet identifiable (even if she loses her collar) is that it alerts the "Pet Rescuers" in the area you are from and the area that your pet went missing.  It's great! 

Every so often (thankfully, not more often) I receive an email with a PDF attachment.  The PDF is a ready made LOST DOG (or cat) poster complete with all the necessary information:  pet photo, pet name, medical information, distinguishing marks, size, etc.  If a dog is lost in my zip code I know to keep my eye out and I print the posters and put them up in my local pet stores and dog parks.  I don't know these dogs but if Winnie ever did run off I would really want someone to do it for me. 

Why write a blog post about it?  Because you don't have to subscribe to this service to be a Pet Rescuer.  You can sign up to read the pet rescue tips and receive the emails for free.  Why not?  You'd be doing a good thing.

Corgi Calendar Contest

My fellow corgi blogger Kelly from Corgi Butts is putting her graphic design skills to good use.  She is assembling a "Dogs with Blogs" corgi calendar full of submissions from corgi bloggers like us.  It's free to submit photos (and you can send her as many as you like) as long (as you have a dog with a blog) but the deadline is coming up soon.  Follow the Corgi Calendar Dogs with Blogs 2011 link for all the details. 

http://www.corgibutts.blogspot.com/

Look at that good looking fellow on the cover.  Way to be a handsome devil, Gibson!