Ear Envy

Cardigan breeders prize large ears. This of course is not a Cardi, but rather, my daughter Lexie's new little Papillon, Sparky. Everyone human and canine in this household has fallen in love with this spunky little guy. His number one furry fan is Karma who loved him from the start.
As I said before I'm not big into toy breeds, but I'm definitely impressed with his intelligence and demeanor. He's a good fit and I think we'll have lots of fun training and showing him.

pretty babies

Thank you, Chloë, for taking photos for your momma.

beauties of the day

I planted these about 3 years ago. This year they have been so inspiring I'd like to fill the entire 2 acres with them, in as many colors as they come! If only I could!!
From the Wikipedia:
"Daylilies are perennial plants. The name Hemerocallis comes from the Greek words ἡμέρα (hēmera) "day" and καλός (kalos) "beautiful". The flowers of most species open at sunrise and wither at sunset, possibly replaced by another one on the same stem the next day."
I suppose most everyone knows that about daylilies. But the lesson I take from them is nothing stays the same, to appreciate the beauty while it is, and tomorrow there will be more to savor so I should keep my eyes open to the possibilities.
And keep planting... Who knows? Bit by bit amazing things can happen.

Lacey

What a great dog show weekend!
Took two of my human kids who helped me tremendously.
Spent the weekend with my friends Mark and Kim and they threw a great dinner party. Met Mark's boy - another awesome kid eager to be helpful! Dogs, kids and grownups all got along great.
See how wonderful the dog show went for them here.
And also today Rogue went Reserve so I was thrilled all the way around. It was equally awesome today to see Nancy's young boy Nugget go Reserve Winner's Dog. Very promising black boy.

Yay!!

The Rio Report

"The count went from 8 total in Great Falls entry, to 16 in Missoula. He showed off some, I let him sit on top of the crate while waiting for show time. He sat there for a little bit, then threw those big brown eyes to the other competitors. Tried to eat the straw flower off the hat of someone just sitting waiting for the Cardis to go in. By doing so, he was considered a clown and it went from there for getting more attention. Alvin also sits on top of the crate while waiting at ringside, will be interesting if I take both to a show on how well things will go for both of them sitting on top of the crates.
His head was screwed on a bit better also. He put it together and was Winner's dog for the the first day. He enjoyed the Kamping Kabins at KOA, especially when he was getting to see so many other dogs. Several campers while walking around stopped to say hello to him, naturally liked being the center of attention."
-as reported by Belinda, Rio & Alvin


Go team Rio!! Woot! Woot! Hoping some of the luck will go his sister's way this weekend in Lacey.

It's not always about the Cardis...

Honestly, I'm not entirely insane...

I have Cardigans. I love all dogs, but the Cardigan Welsh Corgi is the breed that fits the bill in my opinion. Husband had a childhood dream of having a Bulldog and so a few years ago we brought Gus home. Gus loves Celie who was a puppy when he moved in and they grew up together. He's tolerant, most of the time, of the others.

My daughter, Lexie, loves all creatures great and small. She plans on being a veterinarian and is always the first to help her mother with the animals or just hang with them because she enjoys their company. Loves dogs. But I noticed how she lit up like a Christmas tree whenever she saw a toy breed.

There is this family I know who have Cardigans and Papillons (and not to mention Border Collies) who you may have seen had a litter of, well, actually two litters of Paps and a litter of Cardigans recently. Well, Kathy and Emily went out of town for a Border Collie Specialty and they needed a sitter. I knew I'd have plenty of help from Lexie and her sisters. Little did I realize Gus would fall in love too...

And good for him as it seems we're keeping the fellow above. He once was known as Two-Step but Lexie likes to call him Sparky. I think his registered name will be Joyvnture Sparks Are Flyin'. For now all I can say is the name suits him.

Huck says Happy 4th!!

Deb writes:
Hi Le'o-
Huck's ears have been a work in progress! The right one has been up for several weeks but the left couldn't quite get there. After much internet investigation I decided to give him more time - up to 16 weeks. The first photo below was two days ago - I have titled it "On the Wing(s) of Love". The other two are from this morning, so it looks like our boy got the job done. He is doing great and I don't know what Sophie did without him. We call it the "Huck and Sophie Show" and it goes on all day. My 75 pound German Shepherd loves being chased around the yard by a 15 pound Corgi!
Hope all is well with your brood.
Deb

Zelda (FKA Sara) update

"What a pup! Quite feisty! Lots of energy to chase balls and have running fits. Adapting well to new house and yard. Not a huge chowhound but eating well with Royal Canin kibble, chicken, cottage cheese mix-ins. Loves to dig and chew everything in sight (wood, rocks, leaves, really everything at least once) but to be expected. Someone gave her a Gumby toy which she carries around everywhere. Has learned to sit and come pretty reliably. Must work on jumping and barking though. In short, she's a great girl and we love her a lot! She's now AKC registered (as Toreth's Zelda Mae Buffalo Gal)!" - Lee and Lynn.

The babies are almost 16 weeks. She's teething and needs to chew. Rawhide "bones" are awesome. Kongs w/treats too.

The barking? Some are talkers. Zelda is definitely one of them. De-barking a dog can help you cope and dogs don't mind. They still get to chat away but it's less intense to our ears.

Jumping. Enlist a trainer if you haven't already. They can help you teach her that it's not appropriate. I have been taught that if you don't want a behavior ignore it. As soon as it stops treat. When she jumps up again ignore her again, and so on. Reward the behavior you want, ignore what you don't want. Be consistant. Hope that helps.
Personally I encourage the jumping up. I don't have to bend over so much to pet them. LOL
But she's really smart and I bet you can teach her to sit up instead of jumping up.

Dog!! I love her ears! Love her name!!!!!

Little Bea(r) update

Note from Bea's new mommy:

"Léo,

i need to send you pictures. what a sweetheart. she loves her little
girl - what a great squeeky toy! the little girl needs to learn not
to squeek quite so much if she doesn't want the puppy all excited.
she will. I wanted to let you know that we got the akc papers back
for toreth's luck be a lady. little bear is definitely fitting right
in on the ranch. we love her to pieces. and her eye is still blue.

thanks so much for a great dog.

mary"

And yes we'd all like some pictures. Of course I need to post some of my own. Their almost 16 weeks!!!