Teggie Loves Sunshine!

Teggie is 5 months old...

(Compared to the photo on May 22nd...Wow...)

As busy as we are, we had to share how much we miss everyone, and how happy Teggie is that we are moving beyond the rainy season and into sunny days! After a morning frap, she is wild-eyed and sitting still just long enough to pose for this photo. She knows "Up!" and can jump up on anything... and into the tub! When visitors come over, she is the best puppy ever... Sure, she wants attention, but settles down and makes for pleasant company.

Our petite Tegwen is running with her boy almost a mile several times a week now, which keeps him in shape. Although incredibly active, Teggie loves to just sit on the bank of our pond and stare out at the water sometimes... :) She is a splat at my feet at the moment... but we are about to go out again...

Teg and I will drop in on our friends later. Meanwhile, enjoy a Teggie smile and have a wonderful weekend!

Teggie Says, "Yo No Quiero Taco Bell!"

Life is full of lessons. A boy looks at a quesadilla filled with chicken and cheese and sees an excellent opportunity to reward his begging Corgi... Then a mother cleans up after the poor puppy for two days. She's feeling well enough to go to the Corgi meetup tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for photos...

Teggie turned 5 months old this week! She is getting to that fun age in which she sounds and acts like an adult one minute and a puppy the next. So I guess I have TWO young teenagers in the house now...

They look out for one another. But camps have been keeping my son very busy.

Teg stayed for a few days at the local pet hotel while we were out of town on vacation. At Teg's camp, she is never alone, but plays with dogs her size--including an adult Corgi who was not impressed by her greeting, "yap, yap, another Corgi like me!". Teg slept with the onsite family's daughter in the girl's bed. To our surprise, when the Tegster came home, she was very skilled at being still and quiet on the sofa. So now while we catch up on our DVR watching on certain evenings, Teg can stay up a little later with us before retiring to her crate. Teggie learned a lot in Corgi Couch Potato Camp.



In my son's latest musical theatre camp, he wrote a play that combines "Wicked" and "The Phantom of the Opera" characters and songs. Above are three photos from the production. Teg's favorite boy's singing voice is deepening...

These postings during the summer may be sporatic, so feel free to friend me on Facebook, where I upload Teggie photos via iPhone on the go...

Happy 4th!

Teggie Wishes You a Frappy Saturday!

Watch as The Teenager ruins our sweet little Tegwen,
turns her into the ornery gnome, Tomboy Teggie!



After a good romp with her boy,
Teggie is subjected to frustrating sit-stay training...
When does clicker training start?!?



Have a Happy Puppy!
I poached this link, a great one to support those Corgi mom raw foodies like me:
I Eat Raw Meat: Raw Food Diet, Day 495- Chasing the Melatonin Mystery

Teggie: Spoiled to Foiled! & Our Acceptance Speech

Teggie, who takes rain personally, has set about finding new ways to play inside these past few days. As a result, the old toilet brush has had it! Our lewd, chewed tool was just brushed aside in lieu of a new, Teggie-proofed version: Voila! The IKEA Lillholmen Toilet Brush!









And now, thank you to ClassyChassy of Expressly Corgi and ocmist of Country Corgi for two Top Ten Blogs That Make My Heart Smile Awards! As you may have discovered, Expressly Corgi and Country Corgi are among the best blogs in the universe, and we would give this award right back to them if we could!

...but the rules for this award are...

1) The winner may put the logo on their blog
2) Put a link to the person who sent you the award

3) Nominate 10 blogs

4) Leave a message for your nominees for: Top Ten Blogs that Makes Me Smile

And Teggie would like to give barks to her Top Ten Blogs that Make Her Smile:

The envelope please... oh, naturally Teg ate it...

OK, en français...

Un..........Corgi Butts
Deux.......Frankenstein
Trois.......Chantels Fave Things
Quatre....Colorado Lady
Cinq.......The Senakames | Corgi + 2.5
Six.........The Corgi Lounge
Sept.......My Boo Bear
Huit.......My Favorite People Are Dogs
Neuf.......Three Commies and a Corgi
Dix.........Stitchado

:::bouncing, bouncing, bouncing::: Love you all! :::Corgi Licks:::

Teggie!


Find more videos like this on MyCorgi.com

Corgi Noseholder & Teg's Trip to Grandma's House

Teggie fell asleep in the grocery store parking lot waiting with her boy...

She found that the drink holder in the car's console made an excellent Corgi noseholder...

Then she went to Grandma's house to see her cat cousins...who have the best toys!

Playing ball while the kitty boys look on in shock...

Cats have better hiding places, too!

Teg greets her new friend, "Hiss 'n' Spit"

Grandma shows Teggie the windchime...
which she works with her nose

Now Read This
Allele "f" Stands for "faeries": How Do Fluffies Occur?

Mom, Teggie Keeps Tabbing!

Teg hits the tab key on her boy's laptop,
which is taking up all of her lap!

"Well, don't do your homework on the way to school (Mom says this is not even safe!) and pay attention to me, your adorable Corgi girl..."

:) Teggie is all better, but will have to spend all day at the vet for observation on her next booster vaccination trip. She had a really yucky digestive reaction all week after the incident. Thank goodness for the doggie yard service. Love entrepreneurs who will do this for almost nothing, what a great idea!

:( Teg ripped her toenail on something in my bedroom and it really bled. Poor girl. After I cleaned her up, we sat down for a nail sanding, and I have to recommend the grinder versus the clipper. I didn't have the batteries for our PediPaws yet, so I used my heel callus remover with the sandpaper attachment and it worked great.


***Please note, Teg usually has her seatbelt from Outbound Hound, and we were still in the neighborhood when this was taken. She helps take Shayne to school every morning... and this is finals week! Yay for summer! Posting Teg vid very soon...

Keep Off the Grass!

Teggie has really gotten the hang of walking with us, and she must be a south paw like her human brother, because she prefers to heel on the wrong side. After her first trip to the holistic DVM, we have confirmed that Teg needs to walk on the sidewalk and stay out of the "poopy" communal grass used by other dogs who have already had all their vaccinations (hopefully)... until she gets all of hers. Incidentally, the vet is wonderful and Teg loves her!

At home, however, grass is the greatest stuff! Potty time, play time, all the time--Teggie could play in the grass all day. She has even learned to ring the bells on the back door to go out for a potty (or play) break.

But we heard a lot of noise in the yard this morning and went to check it out, only to find that little white fertilizer sign that appears about once a month or so, telling us to keep children and pets off the grass "until it is dry." Well, we've just had rain, so when is that? We decided, not today.

So Teggie was forced to use the emergency potty pads. She doesn't like them very much, and usually only takes advantage of one when she is being ignored by the distracted humans who should be letting her out...

By this evening, she was fit to be tied! Every thirty minutes, she furiously pawed at the bells and whined to be let out. She nosed around the lanai, but it just wasn't the same as that soft St. Augustine grass...

We took an extra stroll around the neighborhood before she went to sleep in her crate tonight. As I watch her now, I'm certain she's dreaming about romping through the dewy morning grass. Tomorrow will come soon enough, Tegwen, sweet dreams...



Here is Teggie with her cards and gifts from Cathy and Monica, welcoming her home. There are no friends like Corgi friends! Thank you both so much for the doggie bling and playthings. Teggie loves them!

Teggie plays with her boy. She jumps constantly--her poor back! Good thing she's small and lean...

Teggie Takes a Walk--?

We have been playing a fun new game with Teggie...

Teggie has taught us to work on our weight training during our walks. She is planning to gradually increase her weight day by day until we are able to walk 3 miles carrying about 20 pounds. Very clever!


On her plan, my arms should be more toned in a few months. Of course, I may be wearing braces on my wrists...


Little does she know, my personal training plan for Teggie involves gradually increasing her walking time to 1 mile by the time she is 6 months old.

We shall see who wins! Perhaps all of us...

Teggie Sits, Seeks, and Speaks in 3 Minutes

After a bath, a party, and barking good time, Teg naps with her binky chew toy

Teg is napping before her big evening walk, so I thought you may want to see the Corgi girl in action earlier today when she entertained the birthday party with her acts of obedience prowess.

She watched how yummy the treats her mom sent Gibson of Corgi Butts are, and will try some soon (check out his adorable video in which he plays with his food!).

Meanwhile, Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Dog Food Rolls in Turkey Formula used as training treats inspired Miss Tegwen's utmost in obedience. Watch her learning "come" and "sit" before a live studio (kitchen) audience.



Later, the Tegster found her voice just in time to greet Ricco the Lovebird. It's fun having two giant personalities in two very tiny packages around here... This video marks the first time heard her gnome-like woof.



If you have another minute, check out our tiny genius working to get the squirrel out of the hole... the hard way.

Teggie Trains Her Family

Teggie's Log
In less than 24 hours with her new family, Teg has trained them--using only precious squeaks and broad smiles--to do the following:

1) Throw her toys for a game of fetch (she figured out how to operate the squeakers and does not need help with that anymore)

2) Tear a bit of the humans' chicken dinner into tiny, bite-sized pieces and mix with her Innova

3) Go with her to get a drink from the fountain

4) Rescue her at night once the crate door is closed, and place her on the leather sofa with the down-filled throw, soft pillows, and cuddly humans

5) Walk her around the preserve where she may meet the neighbors, then carry her when she gets tired of walking

6) Take her with them wherever they go

7) Take her outside to potty, even at 1:30am (much easier to convince humans once they've fallen alseep with her on the sofa and she only has to wiggle and lick to get attention)

Only one thing remains to train, and it may be a huge challenge (ideas welcome):

* Get those humans to take off that silly leash and let her run into the alligator-infested preserve to explore!

(Before you judge this an impossible task, let us remember that this is the only Corgi baby in the breeder's 15 years who scaled the stall gate and escaped into the yard...)

For the record, the humans remain quite convinced that Miss Tegwen will never succeed at the escape. They say that they love her too much to ever let her explore the wilderness alone. Instead, she will be treated to daily walks and occasional camping trips.

Tegwen enjoyed playing with her new grandparents, too, who are cat people... but she has already started converting them to Corgi people.

Overall, Day One has been a big success!

In other news, one of the humans has just won 2nd Place in Junior Chemistry at the State Science and Engineering Fair. Hooray!

All Teggie cares is that her boy is skilled at puppy games.
Which, of course, he is.

Say This Three Times Fast: I Heart Cathy's Corgi Art & Classy Chassy's Sassy Corgi Cards

After framing and hanging lots of paintings and prints that were piling up for months, it's time to expand our Corgi art collection again. It's fun to search for Corgi art online--please let me know if you make any!

I (finally) found Cathy Santarsiero's The Christmas Corgi. She is an amazing artist, and paints adorable Corgis. Check out the "Mad Scientists", where Corgis in lab coats appear busy creating Tesla's lightning and performing curious lab experiments. My science-loving son truly appreciates this piece (it activates his funny bone) so it has found a place in our collection.

Her agility pieces are my next target--there are several in the nub-loving agility series. In "Agility Corgis Gone Wild", Cathy explains that "performance Corgis took over the course while their owners were reportedly distracted by Cosmopolitans and Chocolate Martinis, although this can not be confirmed. A Conga line was started by 2 non-qualifiers. Jump bars were intentionally knocked down to serve as impromptu limbo poles." --See why I love her?

As I have mentioned before, ClassyChassy has excellent Corgi cards. In my experience, even quick and simple correspondence brings big grins when sent with Corgi smiles like these. I use place card holders to display my favorites on my bookshelf.

I found comical cards, including a Corgi splat in which the little furkid is so far into the kibble bag, only the famous Corgi butt is visible. You can bet that butt's going on the bookshelf display! Plus, ClassyChassy donates 10% of her sales to the Lakeshore Welsh Corgi Rescue. How cool is that?!?

As famous among Corgi lovers as these talented women are, they don't necessarily need my promotion here, but I could not help gushing just a little...

Just thought I would toss up a photo of Teggie's nursery. Turns out reading the directions saves a lot of cursing the engineers of that Pet Gear crate. But it has a neat handle on the right with a comfort grip so that it can be rolled around with ease, it has the garage door feature which just "snaps into place" during assembly...if you let your son do it for you...and it comes with a lovely plush liner.

The garage door slides all the way in, but I wanted to show off that feature. You can open the top, too, to drop the Corgi in if she's not too keen on the crate at first, I guess. But leaving one side open and offering it as a Corgi bed appeals to me, and there is no crate door sticking out to bang my shins on... Perfect!

If you have not already seen it, go watch Gibson the Corgi win Tug-O-War against the Lab. Priceless!

Corgi Toys! I'm Happy Just Imagining All the Fun We'll Be Having...

Tegwen, You Lucky Dog!

When my son was just a sparkle in my eye, he had a basket full of handmade toys. I waited until he had been on the way for almost a month before I bought the crib. And so it is with Tegwen. She turned three weeks old, so I bought out the toy store.

In the Waldorf tradition, simple silk scarves and wooden stick gnomes created an ideal learning environment for our human baby; but for our furkid, it's Einstein all the way! Stimulating toys suitable for a Corgi now include an array of seek-activating squeakers, tuggers and tennis ball launchers from fabulous companies such as Hyper and Kyjen. I supported a locally-owned business, only to find the toys a bit cheaper online, so you may want to start there if you like what you see here.

The Essentials of Play and Seeking
According to Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson, authors of Animals in Translation, who recently wrote Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals, dogs, who are descended from the nomadic wolves, which is perhaps why they have "high SEEKING needs," never really grow up, so need to PLAY a lot. "If you can afford it," says Grandin, " you should buy plenty of toys for your dog, and you should rotate the toys...Old toys are boring; new toys are fun. That's the rule. You should also play with your dog every day."


Love to be told to shop, and play with my puppy! Here is the short list of our first choices:
:: Kyjen
Egg and Babies Hedgehog (puppies can dig out the squeaky eggs)
Hide A Squirrel (watch a Schnauzer put them back in the tree stump)
Hard Boiled Softies Hedgehog (Great grunting removable rubber core, Batman!)
Fleecy Cleans Fling 'N Floss (wipes those teeth and gums clean)
:: Hyper
Doggie Driver (FORE the golfer to launch those tennis balls)
Dent-A-Tug (another "better breath, cleaner teeth" training toy)



Finally, Tegwen needs a ball like Gibson's. Watch Gibson herd his ball at Corgi Butts.

And don't forget Sunday is the last day to register to win a free dog toy from Expressly Corgi!

First Draft

Like most moms, I brag about my kids, both human and feathered. My 13-year-old son's drafting table where he is currently working on a new character, Steam Ricky, serves as a great intro for my photography. This spot contains my son's essence. The air just smells creative there... I had to document the scene, complete with well-worn steampunk goggles, manga lessons, and sleeping Pleo.