Adventures of Sammy & Norman

Breakfast Playtime

2011-02-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

This is from about a week ago. This is a typical morningwhen I can be home to have a casual breakfast, just me and the boys.

And...just in case you didn't know. We have videos up on our own little channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCorgiMomma?feature=mhum

If you haven't seen it, you should see our helicopter fun videos. It's a hoot and a holler!

Snowy Walks

2011-02-12T10:14:00.005-06:00

This winter we have not been hit with snow nearly as hard as last year. The South and East Coast got it this year! We have still had some snow, and as expected Norman loves it just as much, if not more than Sammy. You would think they are snow dogs! We have more had just constant super cold temperatures. Hence, no snow; too cold. Surprisingly, Norman is like a super dog, and handles the zero/subzero temps infinately better than Sammy. Sammy gets just outside the door, wind hits him, and he turns back to inside without pottying. Norman, well he...he just bounds out like it's 70 and beautiful. He still bounces around outside and tries to tackle Sammy (Sammy does NOT appreciate!). In particular, I enjoy Sammy's leg hobble to the snow.
Sammy demands his privacy when pottying. He is weird. Sammy can't just potty anywhere (less I remind you of our last apartment, getting a ground level to make it easy; then he wouldn't potty anywhere on that side of the building) but only has a couple locations acceptable. And these locations are fairly off the beaten path, and really kinda suck since they are where the wind blows strong and piles up the snow, currently half way up my shin. Norman, just goes when he gets out the door, then plays the rest of the time outside.
Although the cold doesn't phase them much, it does me. I am much more of a chicken. Their walks have decreased so much, that for a few weeks we didn't have any but around the complex! It was cold. We had a couple days with the windchill -35. I thought my nose would fall off. So once the temp was above freezing, I braved taking them for a couple walks.
The first was very short, but they had a fantastic time. And even met another dog. I talked my mom into a short walk around the pond 5 or 6 blocks down the road. Sammy started with my mom, and Sammy loved it. Rather than Erik and I just stopping til he calms down and walks nicely, she tries to keep up and let him have fun. Later, we switched and Norman got to have that fun adventure. It was a beautiful evening (looks, temperature was only nice relative to the previous days) and I was able to snap a couple photos.

This walk only made me want to take them on another. Sammy loves his walks. He loves sniffing and meeting other dogs and people. He comes home with the biggest smile on his face, you would think he got a bowl of peanut butter, bacon and cheese. Norman had gone on a couple walks in November, but he was less than 3 months old, so the walks wore him out fast. Now, barely slows him down, but he was able to enjoy the smells, sights, sounds, probably tastes, and everything else dogs love about their walks. So that weekend, we took the boys to one of our favorite walks, Memorial and Elmwood Parks. We went into the creek a little and got some fun photos.

Momma!!! Momma!!! Mommm... ....oops....

2011-02-11T09:01:00.003-06:00

Norman is just more than 5 months. He is overall potty trained. However, sometimes it sneaks up on him. And it is such a surprise, it's really cute. For example he was so excited for his dinner he waas bouncing around. Once the bowl hit the floor his mouth was smashed the bottom. Not too many bites in, I look over and he has a yellow puddle growing around him. Sammy notices, and he doesn't want anything to do with something that would disappoint us, so he swivels around his food bowl to position his body as far away from Norman as he could, while still chowing down. I jump up to grab towels, and suddenly Norman notices and he stops, looks at me and goes to town on his food. He keeps his body on the opposite side of the bowl as me as he continued to eat faster than I have seen any dog eat before. Once he finished, he bolted to the bedroom and hid under the bed. Sammy finished his bowl and went to the couch.
Norman doesn't have too many problems like this. Maybe one every week to two weeks depending upon what kind of commotion is going on. Earlier this week was another one of these instances. I came home from work. Erik was home and studying at the dining room table. The boys appeared to have been sleeping. Sammy jumped off the couch to say hi while yawning. And Norman bounded over with semi drowsy eyes.
I took off my coat and threw down my purse and gave them hugs. Took them to the couch so I could have one boy on each side. As I am petting them and asking Erik about his day, my leg starts to feel some warmth. I look down and I see a yellow river going down the couch into my leg. I yell, "Norman, Norman, Norman!!" and jump up to get towels. Norman looks down, looks up and runs to the bedroom to hid under the bed. Sammy looks over, and he gets down and goes to the corner of the living room and watches with his ears down.
We take rags to the excess urine and then strip the material off the couch cusion and immediately put in into the washer. Then we both laughed. And, I was happy that Norman was so happy to see me that he pottied! I told Sammy he was a good boy, then tried to coax Norman out from under the bed. After a couple minutes, he came out. He got his belly wiped off and both we outside to potty. We came back in and immediatley those two stinker butts curled up on the missing cushion.

The material had to be air fluff dry to keep from shrinking, so it took like a day of drying, and all is good! Until then, the boys enjoyed napping there. Almost seemed sad they would have a cushion back. And there is no trace of urine.

Long Hiatus

2011-02-10T12:15:00.006-06:00

We have been on a long hiatus for a while. For a wide range of reasons. December was a crazy month of holidays, family, potty training, travelling and me having less and less of the computer while Erik was getting ready for finals.

I had great plans of capturing Norman's first Christmas, as well as our first Christmas as a family of four and having this wonderful comback story to our page. However our Christmas was not anything worth cataloging. In fact it was the reason I have not blogged since.
Our Christmas plans were easy. Erik finished his finals on the Friday a week before Christmas. That weekend I helped my grandparents wrap their 20 something presents for the family, finish wrapping our presesnts (Norman opened many presents, which ended with them being in a box in the closet until last minute), getting enough doggie supplies (food, treats, thing for norman to chew on, bags, etc) to last til after Christmas, and everything else we needed to do to spend 5 days on the road. We both worked quite a bit since we both took 6 days off for the holidays. Monday night we got the car ready, so after Erik finished with work on Tuesday, we would hit the road his parents' in Axtell, NE. We planned on being there until Christmas day morning when we would hit the road in the very early AM to go to my family lunch/dinner in Arlington, NE. And finish the night at my other grandparents in North Omaha before getting home for me to start work at 4 am on the 26th. This meant we had to pack EVERYTHING for EVERY Christmas. All the holdiay clothes, all the holiday shoes, all the presents...everything.

Sammy started to get anxiety when we began packing that much stuff, and even more when we went to bed without all of it! Norman was oblivious. Sammy and Norman have very different personalities. In many, ...most ways, they compliment each other with their personalities. Sammy is extremely people orientated. He still has some pet shop dog in him. His main objective is to please us and get every person he can come in contact with to love him. He takes treats at petstores, and set them on my feet so he can have his cookie, and get some petting, too. This made potty training and learning sit and don't chew that and all those puppy things really easy. Basically no work. (Which is a big part of why we got Norman while Sammy was still only a year and a half old.) However this keeps Sammy's awareness intensly heightened when we are not home. Leaving home is an open opportunity to meet people, get love and participate in the great big world. He is like a kid that can't miss anything. He will avoid napping, eating...and anything else he precieves to distract him from the big, fun world. Which can make travelling and extended time away from home difficult. Sammy is also quite protective. He has also become protective over his little brother. At this point, Norman also appreciated it. Norman would walk behind Sammy. Sammy took this timid sign to the next level. No one or nothing could get to Norman before Sammy sniffed it and gave his ok. Also leading into his mediating nature. Sammy almost can't handle conflict. Even at the dogpark, if he sensed two dogs unhappy with each other, he runs over and stands in the middle and tries to fix it. Sammy also applies this with people and even between Norman and us. If Norman is getting in trouble for pottying or scratching at the carpet or biting, Sammy comes over and tries to stand between us and whines (since his need for love from us dominates his protecting his brother). He senses tension between people, whether it's at the petstore, just us disagreeing or playfighting, it doesn't matter, it's just upsetting for him.
Norman on the other hand, is more of a true puppy. Although he loves both Erik & I, and everyone else he has met, Sammy is his world. He wants to please Sammy more than us. When he is being disciplined, he looks in Sammy's direction, especially when we first brought him home. It is something we have been working on, and have done fairly well at, just to 100%. I call Sammy our peoples' dog and Norman a dog's dog. Norman was lucky enough to be with lots of dogs and other animals (even if not directly) before coming to our home. Then when coming here, he has come into a family that had a dog in the house, as well as in families with many dogs. Our apartment complex has many dogs of many sizes which keeps him in contact with other dogs. Sammy more often goes to the owner, while Norman goes to the dog. Norman always feels comfortable. While Sammy becomes relaxed and himself at home, Norman's home is the whole world. What you see is what you get with him. He is not any more hyper or jumpy or lovey on walks, in the car, at the dogpark, at pet stores, or at other people's homes than at our home. Norman can take a nap whenever, where ever. He doesn't lower his eating, if anything, he eats more. Norman manages to find extra treats almost anywhere he goes. At the vet, he found the treat jar right away and managed to get into it while the vet was explaining his shots to us without anyone noticing. Then remembered where it was at for every vet visit after. Norman is inquisitive. He is very curious, and finds all sorts of fun when no one is watching his every move. One thing never changes, though. Norman always looks to Sammy for guidance, or finds some kind of solitude or enjoyment away from all the action.
These two became best buddies, brothers and equal mischevious playmates very quickly. They were inseperable by the time Christmas came. We were pleased with this since they were going to have alot on their plate. More than that though, I was worried they were going to need it to survive Axtell. Which I was right.
For Axtell, there were going to be 8 people (Erik's parents, Erik's older brother and his wife, Erik's younger sister and her finacee, and us), 5 dogs (Erik's parents' dog, Shithead, an older Shar Pei, a BF of Sammy's; Erik's brother's dog, Bella, an older big black lab; Erik's sister's dog, Max, an Australian cattle dog 4 months younger than Sammy/just over a year older than Norman; Sammy and Norman) and 1 cat (Sneezy, a farm cat). They had all met before, but never been together, all 5 of them. Max is a very smart and energetic dog that is extremely good at getting others to play. Something that makes interactions between him and Sammy interesting. Sammy is slowing down. He is getting lazier and lazier by the day. Max is about the opposite. Norman at this point still took many naps and was very small so could hide for his puppy naps. Sammy, would not hide. He doesn't want to miss anything. Sammy and Max are two teenage doggies, 4 months apart, both ready to be alpha male at this neutral enviornment. Well, fairly neutral. Sammy has been there many, many time. Max, not til just a couple weeks before. Sammy has laid down his scent and made his mark there many times, and I think felt it was more his than Max's. Sammy knows all the cool places to go, where to chase rabbits, where to find food and Sneezy, he knows the lay of the land. He also had a little brother to protect now. Max plays extremely rough. He jumps on Sammy, stands on top of him so Sammy can't stand up, snaps towards him to instigate play, and will throw his arms around like a boxer. If that isn't enough to drive Sammy crazy, Max also jumps on both Erik and I (more me than Erik) constantly. Max is a good dog, just a little much for our lifestyle as Sammy gets older and his hip displacia becomes more apparent. Max is also very smart and knows how Sammy can't stand to say "NO" to playing. Sammy can't stand to miss a thing. In previous experiences, Sammy and Max have been pulled apart a few times. Sammy pulls Max down by the excess skin around his face and hold him down. Max has snapped at Sammy a few times and Sammy has gotten a cut near his eye with some blood before. Needless to say, this was a very nervewracking trip for me. I was extremly anxious and hesitant for Christmas for months. All of which heightened when we got Norman.
When we first got there, Norman was awestrucken by Shithead and Bella. Norman still had some fear of big dogs when he first saw them. Until this trip, everytime we saw a big dog, Norman just stopped, pottied on the ground, and hid behind Sammy til he felt safe. Then he was fine, but not til after Sammy started to play with his buddies. Sammy never had this fear, he always jumped in, so Norman's reaction always made me giggle. The four of them had fun running around outside, well mostly Sammy and Norman. The girls were not as playful but could be baited into a little playing here and there. We were all sitting together watching a movie when Max arrived, which instantly changed the feeling in the air. I'm sure I was not helpful since my concern had to have been evident to Sammy.
They played some that night and overall it was ok. Norman mostly just stayed away from Max at first, and Sammy and Max played for a little while. The next morning, Sammy woke up limping. Their intensity was instant. This was the 23rd. It was a very long day. The morning was rough and by noon I was trying to separate Sammy and Norman from Max with almost no success. Us girls left for a shopping trip for a couple hours in the early afternoon, and when I came back everything had been a disaster.
Family dynamics left people in tense situations with a cloud above the air sucking out the oxygen. And Sammy came running to me like he did when we first brought him home. He hadn't looked at me that needy in longer than I could really care to remember. He ran to me and jumped up and did a light scratch on my leg to tell me he wanted me to hold him. At that exact moment Max jumped on me and Sammy and left a scratch on me while Sammy snarled as much as he could. I held him for a couple minutes then showed my purchases to Erik with Sammy constantly asking me to hold him. Norman was no where to be found. I asked Erik, and he had no idea. Norman was hiding under a table curled up in a ball sleeping. I tried to pull him out, and he made it quite clear he wasn't coming out. Sammy and I sat in a chair and he buried his head into my armpit while Max sat at my feet sparatically whining and wagging his tail not leaving. Sammy was completely limp, like a 1 year old after a long day of playing. While I was sitting there, Erik's dad told me that he was an aggressive dog. I said something along the lines that he tends to hold his own when he needs to. He told me no, that he was an aggressive dog which would be too bad and Norman, who appeared to be a good dog, would probably pick that up and be aggressive, too.
With emotions I am unable to describe, I fought Max to stand up and carried Sammy up to our room with Max on my heels. I shoo-ed Max out of our room and laid on the bed with Sammy and began crying instantly. Knowing that Erik was having his own stuff going on I texted my mom and got lots of venting out. Sammy passed out on the bed and didn't move. It didn't occur to me to check him out, which I probably should have. A while later, Erik came to find me to tell me it was getting close to dinner time, in which case he heard the whole story. We went downstairs to take Sammy out, but Sammy was having a hard time standing. We realized his front paw was swollen and his hip/back leg on the same side was extremely stiff and he was limping heavily on. Instandly bringing me back to tears. We carried Sammy outside and found Norman in a hiding spot and took the two out by themselves. Sammy was barely able to walk and made it a few steps into the grass to go to the bathroom and that was it. Erik's dad had apologized for upsetting me and we ate dinner.
The rest of the night we had both the boys on our laps. Both tensing and jumping up everytime they heard the jingle of Max's collar. Both unable to completely calm down until we took them into the bedroom. Sammy got some of Shithead's arthritis medicine which helped the swelling go down by the next morning, which came way too soon. Erik & I had a hard time sleeping, so we both were exhausted for Christmas Eve. Family dynamics led to an interesting breakfast, where afterward everyone split up and almost went to their own corners. Erik, Sammy, Norman & I went to our room. Erik & I took turns sitting with them while the other took the shower. However, neither Sammy & Norman could sleep. Every noise made them jump awake. But resting was still better than the alternative. Erik wanted to leave after dinner, like his sister, so he had us get ready just in case. Eventually, I convinced him to stay so we could get a good start on the next day. But the day definately fought back.
In vain, I tried to keep my boys separeted from Max. Since Norman had the ability to hide when he was intimidated or to separate from Max, I kept a closer eye on Sammy. This led to new problems I was not equipped to hand myself. Over the course of these two days, Norman had been pinned twice, both of which seemed to be his fault. Once when he was playing with Max. Norman was around 13 or 14 lbs at this time. Sammy and Norman play wrestle and tug of war often, and Sammy is extremely gentle with Norman. Norman was playing tug of war with Max, and Max pulled hard enough Norman fell into Max, near Max's private area, so Max went for him and pinned him. Norman should have known not to do that at shy of 4 months, I guess. The other time, while the turkey was being cut, Norman was given a teeny little taste. As Norman put his nose to the ground to eat it, he was pinned again by Max. Which should have been expected and ok, since it was over food. Norman became more and more dependant on Sammy, and Sammy will never back down for Norman, so every little noise or anything both Sammy and Norman were involved together. Erik & I had to become a team to, in my mind, keep our boys safe. All day I felt like one of the parents you see or hear about on TV or at the park constantly counting their kids to make sure they are there and safe. Literally if one of us went to the bathroom, the other was notified.
Family dynamics were much greater that day, to the point I thought it was a good day. But everytime something about dogs came up, our dogs who together didn't total the weight of any one other dog, were the scapegoats. They were the trouble makers, they were aggressive, they were the bad dogs. An instant end to fun and happy feelings the rest of Christmas. Something Sammy really seemed to pick up on and watch people interactions.
Christmas morning, we got up early and left. We got the boys into the car and they were home. They passed out before we even got the car started. They were together and could relax without missing anything or worried about how they would awaken.

Unfortnately we still had 2 more Christmas' that day. They were good. The boys got stockings from my mom and presents at my grandparent's. At my grandparent's they were teamed with 2 basset hounds, Ralphie and Lola, and a poodle, Merry (she was a Christmas dog, and my twin cousins named her). Ralphie and Lola are two awesome bassets that Sammy had met before. They are two rescues. Ralphie has anxiety around lots of people, noise and commotion and has some medicine from the vet to help him in such situations as giant family get togethers. Ralphie and Norman were instantly bonded. They were out scouting for food around the house and yard. They stuck together and did their own thing away from everyone else. Lola has not been arond dogs much before being adopted by my aunt and is uninviting at first meeting. Sammy however, can see the possibility. It took alot of Sammy quielty following, but the previous time had Lola sad when Sammy wasn't right by her and she sought him out a couple times. Lola had to re-warm up to Sammy, but it didn't take long, then those two were buddies. Both of which Merry followed and somewhat annoyed both of them. But both Sammy and Norman had a fantastic time and got lots of yummy yummy treats given to them. Which was the best way to end Christmas.

To the boys, however, Christmas wasn't over. Sammy still got baby asprin to help him get up and move around after sleeping all night. Both were obviously relaxed to be home, but after the first couple days and they were re-rested, they we unable to sleep through any noise. They were jumpy, constantly, for a few weeks. When the boys got their bath (they were smell-lly!) I found their sides and neck and even one of Sammy's paws had many scabs on them. Something that just put me back into tears that they had endured even more than I had thought. Norman hid behind Sammy at the sight of any dog for the next week. Sammy has yet for any dog to meet Norman before meeting him. My cousins came to town right at New Year's for a late Christmas with my grandparents and us, and they brought Eva, their dog. Sammy and Eva hit it off instantly when they met. They were sad without each other, so we were excited to get them back together. All three ran and ran, and played and played for a couple hours. It hit a dramatic end, however.
Norman became very tired and laid down to take a nap. Eva was going to try just once more to get him to play. As all dogs do, she put her forearms down and wagged her tail. Norman didn't budge. Eva then picked up a front paw and went to nudge Norman. Instantly, before I even could comprehend what was happening, Norman got up and squealed as though he had been hurt, barked back and whimpered, like a puppy does to his mom, while running to Sammy, and climbed over Sammy's back to get behind him, the most honest display of fear I think I have ever seen. Sammy, without a single thought, was up and snarled. Eva came closer, not understanding, just wanting to play, and Sammy ended up snapping at her. He didn't pin her, but probably would have if I hadn't been close enough to pull him off, while Norman jumped on me.
This was a real awakening that Christmas was going to have some lasting effects. I was considering putting them into doggie classes just to have them meet new dogs in a controlled enviornment to see reactions and work on them. No classes were starting for a few weeks, so I considered the "bring home doggie trainers" the humane society has. But they are extremely expensive. For the time being, we were going to try to work with them on our own. Try to make sure they didn't have any interactions that were too bold. I was very nervous about anything with them, and really had no idea what to do, but knew they couldn't even get comfortable at home yet. It was definatley going to be a slow baby step process, which is how we ended up on our long hiatus.
They are doing much better. We have not been in too much contact with dogs though. Only while on their leashes. But they are happy to meet other dogs, Norman doesn't even potty anymore. He even tried to play with a giant black lab at the vet, while he was there by himself. Sammy has seemed to change from a puppy to an adult over this trip. He doesn't seem as free spirited, and seems to smile a lot less. He is sleeping more, slowing chasing Norman and overall much more lax. Norman is still able to bring out the puppy in him, and Sammy gets more and more smiley every week. Norman seems mostly over the experience, but I haven't taken the dogs to the dogpark because you never know who you will meet, I don't know what will spark them to be scared again, and it's too big to be unsure.
Over the last couple of months, they are just amazing dogs. I don't see aggressiveness at all. Sammy is assertive and likes to be apart of it all, still. They are still the best of friends. They lay down together, they share bones and toys, they wrestle and chase each other, they are great together. It seems as thought they would have no idea how to be apart now. Exactly what we wanted. However, Erik & I are not over Christmas, yet. This blog is may be (big maybe) the third or fourth time I have even laid out our Christmas experience. At this point, I never want them to go through this again. I want them there. I haven't spent any day without seeing them. They travel with us, everything and I can't imagine spending a holiday without them. But after this past Christmas, I feel like I have been selfish. Sure, they want to be there, but they would be healthier, safer, and probably happier staying with my mom while we make these holiday trips. And such, I don't see them ever being in this situation again. At this point, I am going to try to keep them separated from Max and family get-togethers, but I don't know how long that will last. I also know that I still have hurt feeling about it all, and will still need to go day by day and holdiay by holiday.
But I am pleased to say that they do play nicely, sleep through all the little noises (and some big ones) and have healed, mostly. I also hope to get more blogs out, when I can snag the computer, to be more updated in their fun. It should be somewhat easier since I got a promotion at the beginning of the year and have a normal Monday thru Friday job, starting at 7 am, and make my schedule from there. The boys are very happy with this change, too!

Posers

2010-11-22T07:33:00.006-06:00

Sammy is quite the little poser. And I don't mean this in that mean insult way. In fact it's a good way, mostly. Sammy has learned, over his fourteen months with us (almost), that the camera is a necessary evil. Maybe not even evil. I'm not entirely sure how he feels about it, just that it is necessary. And once he hears the noise of the camera, all things hault and he becames, Sammy, picture perfect dog. He is still gorgeous and sweet and an all around amazing dog when the camera is off, but once that sound is made, he may as well jump into a phone booth (if there were any left) and show off his "S."
Sammy sits with the smile on his face looking at (usually me) whoever has that camera. Often right at my feet, he knows that's his slimming angle:

And this is immediate. He just gets right into poser mode. This makes my job really easy alot of times. Except when I'm trying to caputre a more free spirited Sammy. I can't get him and Norman FRAPPING on the video cam, since he hears the noise and comes right to me. I also have a terrible time getting any pictures of the two boys curled up together, or near each other since that noise goes and Sammy goes right to attention, often between Norman and me. Not entirely sure if this is because he wants the attention, or is protecting Norman.

The great thing about having two dogs, is the older dog is so much more efficent in training the little guy than any human could ever be. Sorry Ceaser, It's Me or the Dog lady, and the rest of the career dog trainers. And lets face it, Sammy was a freak accident for the almighty dog maker. He never chewed on anything he wasn't supposed to (except the occassional platic bottle if it was left out), only once got into Erik's backpack and made himself sick from trail mix, was a sinch to potty train, slept through the night starting night one, liked to sleep in during the day, likes baths, eats to his own hunger (doesn't gobble down everything, skips meals if he isn't hungry), intuitively knew to never beg from the table, plays with all dogs at the dogpark (& super sweet and protecting with puppies), loves carrides, let me dress him up for holidays, lets me hold him on his back like a baby, dance with him, & give little kids high fives with his paw as well as hugs, never snipped at ankles, ...just an all around amazing dog. Our battles are cats, barking and not letting us get too high (stand on chairs) or work out! Seriously, we were so lucky. Sammy didn't have to rely on being the world's cutest and sweetest dog to cover up chewing the couch or coffee table (NORMAN!) or make us put our shoes away everytime. Nope, just got to be a bonus for him! And now that is Norman's teacher!
If Sammy hadn't been such an easy puppy, and wonderful, we probably wouldn't be on number two yet. But since he was, we felt confident in bringing home Norman. Which has been just amazing. Norman, however, is that silly puppy. He has had a number of accidents. We have our good days and our bad days. Mostly good though. He is learning how to tell us he has to potty right now. Norman sleeps through the night for the most part, but has gotten up twice in the middle of the night. Norman, unlike Sammy, is a morning dog. Mostly because his normal day routine is to eat no later than 630am. I have to work at 600am most days, so I am up 445-515am. He gets to potty and run around with me while Sammy stays in bed with Erik (still not a morning dog). Erik usually gets up between 6 and 7 depending on his classes for the day. First thing he does, feed the pups. This is a wonderful system until we have a day to sleep in (Saturday) in which case Norman can hardly make it til 700am. If we are lucky. Sammy always took this opportunity to catch up on his z's ('cause he was missing so many day to day, lol) and just eat whenever he got up. No biggie. Breakfast was becoming more and more of a lunch or late lunch meal for him anyway. Norman wasn't an instant people dog either. Well, he was, just not like Sammy. We were Sammy's whole world. He waited in that pet shop 3 months for a family, and he wasn't gonna let it go. He loved us, and wanted to be with us and please us from the moment we got in that little room to meet him. Instant family. Norman was blessed to be in a happy home with lots of dogs and other animals not at all sad or alone. Norman loved us, and would give us our proper attention, but took more of an affection to Sammy. He wanted Sammy to love him. He wanted to have Sammy take care of him. Which is only natural for any puppy. Norman has grown to understand how the family works in the last three weeks, and becomes more and more loving toward us. Wanting to please us more and more, and still Sammy, too.
Sammy has been able to help us train Norman in so many ways. Sammy herds Norman to what he is supposed to do. Norman sees Sammy's reaction to a word or phrase and tries to do the same thing. Norman now understands "potty," "dinner," "hungry?" "sit," "dance" and is learning what car ride entails. Right now he knows to be excited. More to the point of this blog, Norman is learning to be a little poser. Norman would NOT stay still for photos. He was making photographing him quite difficult. Norman is learning how to sit for them, and looks toward Sammy to then look at the camera like Sammy is. Norman is also catching on to go right to attention when Sammy does, when the camera makes it's start up click and tone. Soon he will be doing it on his own, I bet.

Two little posers!

But we were able to get a couple photos out of this new revelation of Norman's.

Brothers:

The boys with my mom

Family Shots:

I'm excited for when Sammy can teach Norman how to smile!! Those will be beautiful pictures!

Momma Does Love Us!

2010-11-21T12:03:00.003-06:00

Friday night, after we both got off of work, Erik and I went out to a semi-nice dinner. Just the two of us. It was really fun and we had a great time. But there is very little that can upset two corgis more than their people leaving 15 minutes after getting home from being gone ALL day. Especially when 10 of those minutes are wasted on a potty walk!
After being gone for a whole hour and a half, we finally came back to the neglected doggies. Sammy tried to give us the cold shoulder. Not only is he too much of a people dog, too much of a lover to succeed at this, but Norman was way too estatic to see us. Sammy quickly got jealous of all the attention Norman was giving us and got in return. Norman gave my whole face a fresh licking. Just to say, "I love you! Oh, and you're mine!"
All that affection works up quite the appetite for two neglected pups, too! So while Erik took them out, I got their dinner ready. A quite delightful dinner. With an extra special candy cane cookie from Just Dogs gourmet shop! They even smelled good to us!

And by the end, I think they forgot we left them for a whole hour and a half!

We're Back...Again!

2010-11-18T17:04:00.012-06:00

Thank you all for still being our readers! We are very sorry we have not checked in for some time. This week I got sick, with what we assume to be some kind of flu. Not the typical, can barely get out of bed, wake up three days later flu; but enough that I really didn't feel like doing anything but cuddling with my boys for four days til the fever would break! Not that they wanted to lay around for 4 days. Sammy was great, as usual. He has always had that super sense of know when anything was off-center. He tends to go to cling mode at the first sign of tilting. He was ok curling up with me. Norman wasn't quite sure what was up. All else fails, play. Sammy gets annoyed with this. So...Sammy tries to herd him into what Sammy believes to be the proper procedure when Mom is down. Norman of course sees this as, "yay, Sammy play!" This irritates Sammy so Sammy hasta run him down. Norman wins. Plus, Sammy really enjoys this...so Norman gets the double win and Sammy wins, too. The two run laps and circles, tug of war, who can keep the bone the longest...and other corgi games. Norman tires out and ends up on my belly. Sammy just couldn't handle the heat (I couldn't get warm and had the heater blarring!) Poor Sammy, that's where he wanted in the first place. But we end up in bed, and Sammy is definately king of that realm, though Norman is beginning to raise a coup!

Life with Norman has been fantastic. We are nearing the three week mark. But really, that doesn't seem like long enough. Almost seems like we have always had both of these boys. Plus, to see how big he has gotten...wow, has to be more than a measly 21 days, right! I really don't think one would know what to do without the other now. They are definately bonded. They are, for sure, brothers!

Norman has hit alot of firsts already. Kind of sad to think that most of them are over. We have done the first stairs:

our first walk:

our first brother cuddle:

our first perfect photo:

our first team up, using each other's strengths, for the common goal of food!

our first roadtrip (excluding coming home):

and I saved the best (photo op first) for last....
our first bath!

Norman freaked out! Did NOT like! I put both in the bath together, assuming that would help. Sammy is a weird dog. He is just fine with baths. In fact, seems to enjoys them. Doesn't really enjoy the water pouring on him, or getting his face or ears clean, and hates getting his teeth brushed, but takes it like a champ. Always turns his head asking when asking if it's bath time. And once he's done....he goes for the strut around the apartment, gotta show everyone how handsome he is all clean! I had this huge hope that his calmness would help Norman through his first bath. I knew there was no way I would have two in a row ok with baths! Although we did get two in a row that slept through through the night on night one! (*Big giant YES! motion*) Norman was so distraught, there is a chance he forgot that Sammy was there!
Norman was instantly in a panic when the first paw hit the water. He went for getting out. No matter what it took. Sammy seemed confused by all this. He watched, in what looked like a state of confusion! If Sammy could raise his brow, he would have. He backed up, and after a couple minutes of Norman's constant panic and trying to climb up my arms (without any forward progress, but scratches none the less) Sammy just sat down in the back of the tub. Seriously, what dog does that? Norman calmed enough for me to get the bath done. Or good enough. It was a good first bath, not perfect.
He did find Sammy's very favorite part of the bath experience to also be worthwhile! The yummy, good bath treat! We were lucky to have had Erik's sister and mom over just before, and they brought awesome treats from the Three Dog Bakery.

And if I'm not mistaken, it really helped! Bath number two, after road trip number one, went a million times easier. Not quite great, but so much better. I also had a heart to heart with him, telling him he had to get over it, it's a big part of his new little world! I love my babies clean! ...maybe that's what did the trick!

We're Back!!!!!

2010-11-08T14:30:00.000-06:00

Well with our crazy lives we haven't really been able to keep everyone up to date. Sorry about that. Can't say we are gonna get too much better. Tonight should be my last overnight til January. I also don't see anymore 6 day weeks of work for a while! Yay. Erik, however, has a crazier school schedule than ever. My computer, that has all the photos and videos, is the computer with the more up to date versions of office, etc so Erik often takes it to do all his stuff for school. But I will definately try to make more of an effort to at least post a picture or even something short!
We are now a family of four. We got Norman a little over a week ago, late Friday, October 29, 2010.

We made it home very late that night, about 130am. But was soo worth it. Norman was about 8 lbs and exactly 2 months on that day. His ears were up, head turning more and more red, and humongus paws. Norman was far from scared of Sammy. Sammy was more interested in the cats there, but in the car quickly turned his attention to Norman. Sammy became very tired and grumpy, which didn't bother Norman one bit, and they eventually found a way for both of them to sleep...on our laps. Norman made it the WHOLE way back to Omaha (5.5 hour drive back) without a single accident!!
We got the boys home and hit the bed. Norman and Sammy slept the whole night through. We had a big day ready for the boys (and ourselves), so it was a good thing. My mom and Aunt, who was in town for the weekend, were over at 7am. Let me tell you, 630am came very early! Haha. Got up, got the boys to potty, got them some food and instant play!

Erik & I went to breakfast with them. Yummy Ihop. Then a good 40 minutes later, came back to pick the boys up to go see my grandparents!
My grandparents ere quite excited to meet the new little one, and to see the big one. I hadn't told them we for sure got a puppy, so this was a BIG surprise. Put Norman in the bag, and pulled him out! It was quite exciting!
My grandparents are in an assisted living center where their meals are scheduled in the dining room, so we weren't there too long so they could go to lunch. Plus....we had to go get ready for the Husker game! Norman's first!
We had my mom, aunt and uncle over to our apartment to watch the Nebraska-Mizzou game (which we won! heck yes!). Sammy is not a good football dog. We usually go up to my grandparents for the game, in which Sammy can run around outside in a giant yard and in the woods (which is the bottom half of the back yard), then goes upstairs to the family room when he is tired for a nap. He does NOT like the yelling (he can't handle it in any form!) or all the tense emotions he can feel in the room. Our apartment doesn't have an escape, which is quite difficult for him. He gets stressed when it was just the 3 of us watching a game not involving Nebraska (thus less emotion!) let alone a new puppy, 3 guests and a closer game than we would have liked (our starting quarterback was hurt in the first quarter! ahh!)
Sammy did well though. It seemed as though he was fairly distracted by Norman. He still had anxiety, which was hard, but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. Finally the boys were both tired and Sammy gave us the signal he wanted on the bed.

First Norman crashed underneath the table.

...but eventually found the corner behind the couch along the bookshelf! I would say he found comfort, but I don't know that I can call this comfort!

Norman also got some cuddle time with us!

It was quite a warm Saturday for November. So the boys got Frosty Paws! Sammy was pretty stoked 'cause he got one and a half cups, because I was nervous about giving Norman too much!

Our guests left, and it was just the four of us. They finished the night by lots and lots of playing! Even started some tug of war!

Day 2 started about the same. Lots of playing!

Seriously...Norman has no fear of Sammy. And they are both fairly lazy little guys, and Sammy loves just sitting and letting Norman attack him. Then wrestle away!

After a nap, I got this wild idea to try to get a Halloween photo. Sammy got a new Halloween sweater because he obviously grew out of the other one. Norman got Sammy's from last year. Last year Sammy was 6 months, though smaller for his age, still a few months difference. It worked good enough! Although they were not ready for a picture. Especially since Norman didn't know his name.

At least Norman loved the pumpkins!
They were well bonded by this point. Doing well on the potty training. The two don't enjoy being too far apart. Every day they are getting closer and closer. Right now they are pretty amazing, of which I will break up our update into a couple blogs rather than bombard you in one. We have tons of photos and videos, which are fairly well updated on facebook. They are so great together, when we hit our one week mark, both Erik and I were shocked at how it had only been a week. Seems like they have been here together forever! Norman just fits right in. And they have either had someone over or we went to see someone everyday, and everyone agrees that they are a fantastic duo. Definately good for each other! Sammy isn't quite ready to cuddle up with Norman yet. Norman is more of a doggie dog, and Sammy is still more of a people dog. Norman is coming around to the people more and more, and Sammy is tolerating Norman trying to cuddle more and more. Last night in bed, they laid alongside each other for a solid 20 minutes! And not like the other times, more back end, but face along face! Super sweet!
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that it is amazing! Norman is a true puppy. Sammy was super intuitive. Never chewed on anything he wasn't supposed to. Always super happy to see us! Potty trained super easily. Learned sit and kisses and all that right away. He was just super easy. So happy to have a family. Norman has always had a family so is so much more comfortable and ready to do anything. Not scared of the stairs, the bones, the whole apartment, other dogs, anything. They compliment each other well in that way. Sammy works really hard to keep Norman in line. "Norman, no!" or "Norman Brimley!!" is a que for Sammy. Not meant to be, but he takes it that way! It has made bringing him home so much easier than it would have been. In reality, if we had had Norman first, we probably wouldn't be at our second dog. Sammy was an amazing dog (minus cats and barking) that allowed us to get a second baby so soon! Lots more fun adventures to share with you, and I am gonna work on trying to change our banner and stuff. Complicated for me, so we shall see.
Welcome to the Adventures of Sammy and Norman! The greatest boys!

G' Mornin'

2010-10-23T19:14:00.002-05:00

Sammy isn't much of a morning dog. This is after I had been up gotten myself some cereal and brought out the camcorder.

Hope he catches up on his sleep before Normy comes home. Less than a week! :)

State Attack!

2010-10-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

Sammy more than doubled the amount of states he has been to this past weekend. Not that it was hard. Sammy had been to South Dakota and Nebraska. Now he can say that he has been to South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Quite the little traveller, eh! We have had this trip planned for a while. I have family that lives in Illinois. My cousin, her husband and three kids come to Omaha quite often to visit all the family here. Erik and I are quite close to them and love to see them at any possible chance! Sammy looooves them, especially the kiddos. Origianally we were going to go back this past spring break, but my grandpa's health was in a quick decline, and we never quite made it. So instead, we pushed it back to this fall. Neither Erik or Sammy had been there before, so I was super excited to show it off! "Where's we goin Momma?" Our detour through Missouri was already explained two blogs ago. Next we continued our journey to Illinois! Sammy was exhausted after seeing Normy and the kitties, so he esentially awakened in Illinois. We were staying with my cousins, and they have a puppy themselves. Eva. She often is called Eva the Diva. Eva is a doberman mix who will be a year old this Halloween. She has been extremely timid. We were hoping for the best with Sammy and Eva, and we got it! Immediately Sammy picked up on her timid nature and exploited it. Immediately Eva was very interested in the Sammy pants. She kept coming up to him, and he kept showing his teeth. We think that this is a reaction from Max, Erik's sister's dog. Max is around the same age and has a very lean, taller than Sammy body as well as energy to spare. Max is more agressive with Sammy than most dogs and really doesn't ever slow down or take it easy on Sammy, so Sammy usually needs me to intervene. Eva however, would not be of the same nature, but Sammy didn't know that. Over our weekend, Sammy continued to show his teeth, but would often have his ears down or kiss her with his teeth snarled. It really didn't make any sense to have the aggressive teeth mixed with the passive ears and licking, so we were really confused by it. Both Eva and Sammy would wag their tails (or nubs) so we just let it go since neither seemed to have a problem with it. Eva figured out how to get Sammy to chase her. Sammy being such a little good herder could never resist. Those two wore themselves out doing this. I tried and tried and tried to get a video of them, but Sammy being a little poser when the cameras come out, I never got a good one. I did get one of them kinda chasing each other and one of them wrestling, but that was it. They mainly enjoyed running around the kitchen table. They just kept going and going and going. It was hard for them to go around, but they kept at it. Then would divert into the family room, and back into the kitchen and around the table. Silly pups.

Sammy loved being around the kids, too. He loved all the attention he got from everyone. Sammy loved all the action in the kitchen. He was ready for anything to fall! He doesn't remember the Nebraska game too much. And remembers some of the game night. We played the Wii Fit Plus. Mostly it was Erik and my oldest cousin that night. Here is our home video of some of that evening. It's not up on our YouTube page, but I will put it up here because it shows how much Sammy is loved and just how tired he was to sleep through all the fun! PS...the Wii fit is awesome! It's now on our Christmas list!Sammy loved naptime. And although he love, love, loved it there, he really loved coming back home where all is his, there are no children, and plenty of naps.

More Flea Woes

2010-10-19T18:29:00.002-05:00

Sammy had the fleas not too long ago. We gave him a flea bath and they were gone. Or so we thought.
The flea bath really seemed to dry out his skin. We washed it out, and waited the suggested amount of days until giving him another bath with normal shampoo. He was very itchy until then, and the new bath really seemed to help him out. We thought we were doing really well. Gave him his weekly bath right before leaving for Illinois. Just wanted to make sure it was all out. He didn't seem too itchy while we were there, and neither of the other animals were itchy either.
We got back and yesterday I did all the laundry from the trip, unpacked and gave the Sammy pants a bath. He had become increasingly itchy from our return, combined with the slobbers from the trip, I really thought it would help him out.
While in the bath, I stumbled upon a really yucky wound looking scarish thingy. Hard to describe. It was right above his nub where he had been trying to chew. His bath only made him more itchy. It was time to call in the professional.
It was time to do his yearly shots. We were supposed to get his rabies during September, but our last vet never sent anything or called us like they usually do. With all the moving and everything, we didn't really think about it til after we should have gotten him in. We lumped it all into one. We called up a new vet place advertising half price vaccinations. sounded like a good deal considering we didn't know how much his current condition wuold cost us.
The earliest we could get in was the next day (today) at 1 pm. Sammy was just miserable. His skin was red and you could tell through his white fur. He just wanted to lay on my lap and get my attention. He was so itchy he couldn't stop itching and licking and biting himself. Oh I just felt awful. i couldn't wait to get him to the vet. I got so wrapped up I never got to blogging our Illinois adventure!
He couldn't sleep during the night. I didn't want him to itch it and make it worse or rub it so raw it bled, so I ended up waking so frequently to hold his paws I didn't feel like I got ANY sleep.
We got up for the day and he just attached to me some more. I just couldn't wait to get him there. The vet and vet tech were so nice. Sammy was on his best behavior for them, too. I was worried he would be a little grouchy from the little sleep and itchies, but he wasn't! He got tons of compliments. Everyone loved him and said he was just so handsome and such a great dog! Which he is, by the way.
Right away, they knew he still had fleas. Which was an awful thing to hear after all I have tried thus far. However, our vet searched and searched him. She found 1. She found almost no "flea dirt." She explained that he was basically hyper-sensitive or hyper-allergic to fleas. She didn't phrase it quite that way, but basically what she was saying.
Omaha is having some trouble with fleas right now. She said they have seen tons more fleas than usual. We are just going to have to be extra careful with him. Aside from his yearly shots, Sammy got an extra shot to help get rid of fleas faster and also got a shot to help his skin from the itching. It will last 5 to 7 days, so hopefully everything will be out of his skin by then. He also is now going to be on Sentinel, which is for fleas as well as heart worm, along with his frontline. At least until the flea count in Omaha is this high. He will be uber covered! Which I am just fine with considering how awful he has felt with these fleas that we can barely find!!
Sammy's shots took immediate effect. He has been able to stop itching and nap the rest of the day. Something MUCH needed after his big trip and all this darn itching. I'm so happy for him. And I'm pretty happy that this happened while we were supposed to be gone, so I had the day off to help take care of him. Even more excited we can sleep in tomorrow and enjoy one more day off together tomorrow!! Yay! Then I can get out Illinois trip blogged!!

Oh and PS...I'm figuring out the whole YouTube thing. I am now up to getting 2 videos up! Woo hoo! I am TheCorgiMomma on YouTube, and I have 2 videos that are from our visit to the breeders to meet the puppies. I took 3 total, and I'm going to try to get the third up there eventually. But they are my "home videos" of our expiernce with Norman. Sammy was totally distracted by the cat and didn't care about Norman unless Norman was trying to feed from his belly!! Haha. Oh, and since we were planning on getting a girl, we didn't have a name picked out for Normy, so he is still reffered to as Brimley, the name given to him by the breeder, and his middle name. My camcorder is a HD camcorder, and I haven't been able to figure out how to get it HD on YouTube. It looks a lot better on the computer or tv or camcorder than on the YouTube. But I will get there. Come check us out:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCorgiMomma?feature=mhum

These are also from the breeder's page. These are the videos uploaded from the past week with Norman and his brothers. His litter was 7 boys and no girls.

and her YouTube page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/carolscorgis#p/u/2/B54XWj615CQ

Normy

2010-10-17T21:36:00.004-05:00

Sammy is now a big brother! Well, kinda.
After lots and lots of consideration, and an almost dog before, Erik set up a little stop along our trip to Illinois. As disappointed as I was about our almost puppy, he was even more. He was a little more puppy gun-ho than I. I was still quite concerned Sammy wasn't ready. Nor us.
Even if we didn't end up with a puppy, I wanted to stop and see how Sammy did to determine whether or not it was an even idea to ponder. Erik found this website online, and there were 2 liters available. One of 7 males, and one of 4 females. We had it all planned. Little girl to go with the big bro Sammy.
It was mostly highway, something Sammy isn't used to. Sammy knows car trips. He is well aware of turn signals and stopping means....we're there! But not on highways. We slow down for towns and actually turn. He was quite unsure of our trip. But we got there, and Sammy got to meet some corgis!
Sammy stayed upstairs while we went down to meet the puppies, so the mom's wouldn't feel the need to protect their babies. The girls were just soooo cute. Then, out of no where, Erik looked over at the boys. Bent down and suddenly had a little boy on his arm. He picked that little puppy up, and what do you know....he was ATTACHED!! He handed that little puppy over to me. I recieved a kiss, and Erik asked if we could take him upstairs to see Sammy.
Sammy was distracted by the cats, so after just a couple of seconds, we were outside with the puppy and Sammy. This little guy's name is Brimley. Brimley instantly began following Sammy. Sammy found another cat and couldn't care less about puppy. That gave Erik and I plenty of bonding time with Brimley. Erik and Brimley had a moment just as Sammy and I had a little over 14 months ago!
Without looking at another puppy, there we were, ready for puppy number two! I was still somewhat nervous. Even though Sammy was not jealous of our attention given to a new puppy, he was not excited about this puppy. I was concerned about this. Erik had NO concerns.
We got back in the car and Sammy passed out. We got to our destination in Illinois, and unloaded into my cousin's house. They had a, almost one year old, doberman mix named Eva. She hasn't done well with dogs before. Not bad, just really, really timid, so little interaction. I knew Sammy would take care of this. Sammy first was quite assertive and took advantage of the timid behavior to show his dominance. Sammy also took to his herding abilities. This did not make me feel much easier about the future puppy coming home.
Loooong story short (I will share our trip fun next blog entry), Sammy and Eva became the bestest of bestest of best friends. Sammy just loved running after her and Eva just loved being chased. Perfect world for them. Eva really came out of her shell and was egging him on, trying to get him to play. They became pretty much attached. He misses her, and we got a text pic of Eva sad without Sammy. This has made me so sure, and so excited to bring home our puppy.
In fact, while we were there we were coming up with names, looking for the right one. Brimley is his current name, and we are fond of it, and knew it would remain his middle name. We needed to come up with a name for his lazy, "whatever" attitude. Brimely is very laid back, not scared of a thing. Was great at running up to Sammy as he was spazzing over the kitties. Happy to run to person to person and check out the yard. Not getting too far, but definately exploring. But he was certainly BIG! He is going to be bigger than Sammy. The lady calls him, "the st. bernard of the corgi pack!" That should help sum up his size and 'tude! Haha.
So.....alas, Sammy's little brother is.....Norman Brimley!
Norman Brimley was born August 29, 2010. He will come home in a couple weeks. We still need to look at the calendar and determine the day. Normy will be a tri color, with a red head, ears and tushy and black back. He is our blackshirt! (You might hafta be a Husker fan for that!) Hopefully Sammy will be excited! And hopefully we will be wonderful with the mid-night potties! We got lucky with Sammy and didn't have any mid-night potties. He was too lazy to get up to potty! Haha.
I also finally got my camcorder I have been saving for, for 3 months! We got some video of Norman, Sammy and our whole trip. I will be trying to figure out the uploading and all that to share our Norman meeting. Until then, here are our photos. The first three are from the webpage of the breeder we are getting Norman from.

And these are Sammy, Norman and I for the first time!

Finally, to our readers. Once we get our newest addition, we are going to be needing a new name for our blog. Anyone have a suggestion? I'm really only at the obvious...."Adventures of Sammy and Norman." Any other ideas?

18 Months

2010-10-11T15:19:00.010-05:00

Yesterday was Sammy's half birthday. He was one year and a half old, exactly. Now offically closer to two than one. What does 18 months mean to most people? Not much. As a kid, I remember it being really fun. Extra special to say, "I'm 8, and a half!" What does 18 months mean to a corgi? Not much. What does it mean to Sammy? A super yummy cookie from The Gourmet Dog Shoppe. Unfortunately the store is at the mall and he can't go with me. But it's so fun. It's like the cases at a bakery, or deli, where their cookies are displayed. Then there are some things packaged up for presents or just to take more to go. And it's all made for dogs. They avoid oils, bleached flour, sugar, chocolate, salt, ....all that stuff. And it really isn't too expensive, which means I could easily go a little crazy.
Last year, for Sammy's half birthday, Sammy got a peanut butter bone cookie double dipped into doggie chocolate (that carob powder stuff). We took it to my grandparents' and he enjoyed it unlike most dogs. He licked and licked and licked. Licked all the chocolate off before chomping a bite of the cookie!
This year, I got him the exact same cookie and he did the same thing, except much faster with his giant tounge! He also got the same kind of cookie (dipped once) in a football shape with a Nebraksa N on it as well as Puppy Popcorn. The Puppy Popcorn was popcorn made without any of the oils or salt, then drizzled with the carob powder sauce and some kind of peanut butter sauce concoction.

He got his half birthday cookie yesterday, got his Nebraska cookie today, and will have to wait for his Puppy Popcorn.

"Mine?!"

"Still my's half birthday?? Ok's!!!!"

"Go Huskers!!"

***Just for a look back to a year ago!

I can't believe it's only been a year! He has gotten so big...he grew into those ears of his!!! And now he's really filling out...my little chunky monkey!

Greetings

2010-10-10T22:53:00.002-05:00

"Greetings from my I rug. I'm enjoying a nice fall evening nap on my rug.
....then my eyes get flashed."

Ugh...Finally

2010-10-09T20:41:00.003-05:00

After moving in, Sammy took to our new deck. He loves it. Just loves to watch the neighbors and come in and out all on his own terms. Seeing him take to the deck, I promised him we would get him a rug or something to have out there for him. Today I finally made good on that promise.
Sammy was very happy.

Spent most of the day frog doggin on his new rug. However, everytime I tried to take a picture, he heard the beep of the camera and went to his poser mode. Jumped up and got a more "standard pose."

Sorry to not be updating very well this past week. I had a crazy work schedule doing 12-14 hour overnights. Then switched back to my normal 6 am shifts. Trying to get as many hours in as I can before our trip next weekend. The Nebraska game was also on Thursday this week, so we spent today getting our new tv stand and setting up the living room. This next week won't be much better, but we will update the best we can! We are excited to take him on his first big trip (something other than the 3 hour ride to Erik's parents' or camping).

Big Bro?

2010-10-01T21:08:00.002-05:00

Well, if that title didn't kinda tell you this blog entry, I don't what teaser to use! Over the last week Erik and I have looked into a corgi puppy more. I really wanted, kinda still want, to save a corgi or corgi mix. I love the whole puppy expierence, but the idea of saving a dog really makes me feel better. The idea of skipping teething and housebreaking is also quite alluring. However, there really are few and far between corgis to rescue here in the Omaha area. I really have my heart set on another corgi or corgi mix just because Sammy fits so well into our lifestyle and apartment. Not to mention we both have smaller cars, and then we wouldn't hafta worry about bigger or smaller being a problem. Plus his breed personalities really do work with us. And gosh darn it, they are just adorable! However, bringing in a grown corgi could be difficult in many ways for Sammy, the new dog, as well as for our place. All the articles I have read say when bringing in a second dog, the best results come from a younger dog of opposite gender than the existing dog. So in many ways a puppy would be easier on all of us.
There are very few breeders anywhere near us. Haven't found one within 5 hours of us. Because they are so few and far between, the supply and demand can make the price go up as well. I did find a breeder that is 5 and a half hours from us, about an hour and a half away from Erik's parents, that has an affordable price tag. They breed once a year, most years, as well as horses on a ranch. They have a few pictures online and they have tri colors. The male that would be the future dad is only 20 lbs! Sammy is more than 50% more weighing in at 32 lbs! He doesn't seem like a chunky monkey either! So a pup would most likely be smaller and fit in our cars and bed easily. (Hopefully.) They are looking to have puppies in March, bringing home the puppies in late May/early June.
But it's so hard to decide. It would be nice to have a little one for Sammy to wrestle with, play with, and have while we are at work. Plus, maybe he would learn to share better. On the other hand, potty training again, puppy food again, would this little one be a chewer (Sammy never once got the knack to chew and really never got into anything, ....ok so he ripped a present last Christmas, got trail mix out of Erik's backpack and has chewed up 3 or 4 plastic bottles, but nothing serious), walking and picking up the potty of two pups simulateously, fitting them in the car, would they want the same spot in bed? If we had a house, I would probably not hesitate a bit, but with our 900 sq ft apartment....little bit. My biggest concern, if Sammy could, would he choose to be a big brother or want to be an only dog?
When we go to the dogpark, Sammy picks puppies and little dogs and protects them. He doesn't allow others to rough house with them. Sammy loves just walking with the youngins. Sammy even lets me pet them at will. He does not allow this with older dogs. Sammy is a very social dog. He loves other dogs wherever they may be. Even driving by them on the road, he somewhat bounds toward them. But Sammy doesn't have to share me with any of these puppies. He can curl up with me whenever he wants, and often when I want him to. He can have all his toys whenever he wants them. He can have his bones whenever he wants them. He can sleep on the bed where ever he wants to. But often when we just get home, Sammy wants to play right away, and we want to sit for a half hour first. Would a puppy help him with this?
Ugh. So hard to decide what to do. The breeder already have 4 and a maybe on the waitlist. We have to decide fast. She invited us to her ranch to meet the future parents, which I want to do. She keeps all puppies as house pets until they go to their homes. Crate trained, and at least partially house broken as well as all the vaccinations and such to be expected from a breeder. All sounds great on that end, just deciding what we should do. Anyone have an opinion?

Also a couple reminders. I posted a post about the Paws it Forward package we got. We still are looking for dogs to Paw it Forward to. So if you are interested, please, please, PLEASE let me know! \
Secondly, in case you don't already know, the calendar is available.
http://www.corgibutts.com/calendar.html
Sammy is Mr. July and wants everyone to get it! Kelly did a fantastic job where they are many options. The Corgis with Blogs calendar (where Sammy is Mr. July), a digital calendar for your computer (also with Sammy as Mr. July) and a More Corgis with Blogs mini calendar with even more corgis!!

Bigger is Better

2010-09-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bigger apartment means more places to relax!

Me on my new couch. It's comfy.

Me drowsy after relaxing in the sun.

Me in the middle of the living room.

The living room is quite comfy.

Haven't finished our bedroom, yet. Only got the new quilt, not the sheets or comforter, but Sammy seems to approve so far!!

"On my dad's coat. New home doesn't mean he will remember to pick up his coat!"

"This table isn't as good as the other. They don't spill as much. I get less yummies. Sigh. But I do have more room underneath. Sure wish my parents would get their storage unit so they could put the card table, chairs, fishing and camping stuff there and out of my way!!! And the darn bikes and toolbox off of MY deck!!"

Charlie & Me

2010-09-29T10:35:00.003-05:00

The other night, I had another overnight at work. Sammy does not handle my overnights well, and the poor puppy will not like next week when i have 3 in a row! Apparently he wouldn't go to bed on his own and once there wouldn't go to sleep. I got home earlier than expected (330am) and Sammy curled up right on me. We got up about 930am and I felt fine, but the change in routine did not set well with Sammy. He constantly tried to go back to bed. While doing the dishes Sammy snuck into the bedroom, grabbed Charlie and was trying to figure out how to get on top of the bed.
Charlie is such a great security blanket for Sammy!

(Bedroom is a work in progress. Next paycheck is going towards new sheets and comforter. Luckily Sammy doesn't understand this and just loves to lay in bed!)

Itchy Little Buggers

2010-09-27T11:30:00.007-05:00

Around the time we began our move, we noticed Sammy was a little more itchy than usual. The weather was a roller coaster, and his winter coat was coming in, but then shedding ALOT on the warm days. We both attributed alot of it to that, but it was still ALOT of itching. Took a closer look and found nasty little black things in his fur.

Yep....fleas.

Not a fun feeling. Not at all. Erik got to give Sammy a flea bath while I started cleaning and washing the bedding. Sammy doesn't usually get baths from Erik, this might be the second time, and this was a more serious bath. He was a little bit uneasy about this bath.

I felt so bad for my itchy little puppy. There weren't too many fleas, so we definately caught it fast! Sammy slept so well last night, the itching might have stopped his sound sleeping, as well as it must have taken all his energy to make it through this, oh so traumatic situation. Haha. Today though, he is a bit tender where the fleas were. They were contained in his tushy fur, and around his back legs. It was well washed, then brushed post bath. Now even just petting him there, he seems uneasy about. For his sake, and ours, I sure hope this is the only flea bath he needs. And we NEVER see these little buggers:

'Sker Stylin'

2010-09-26T09:56:00.000-05:00

Last night Nebraksa played South Dakota State. It was Nebraska's homecoming. The game did not go well. Yes they won, but really they shouldn't have. It was a very long game for those watching.
Luckily for Sammy, who doesn't understand the whole football thing, they was not any less yummy handouts just because the Husker's forgot to show up. Unfortunately for Sammy, his Momma gets all supersticious in such events and made him wear his jersey until she felt it was ok for him to be without. Actually, this may have given him more pity treats, so maybe he should be thankful.
Nonetheless, Sammy had a wonderful time up at my grandma's to watch another football game. And he looked just adorable in Husker Red!

(I really should have pulled his jersey down for this one, it would have been just perfect, but I worry he might accidentally potty on it!)

Boy, does he just love having a great big yard! So big he doesn't know where it ends!I think he has found the fence once.

"Go 'Skers! You can do it! ....pweease. It would make my Momma and Dad happy!"

"It's not getting any better is it, Mom?"

"Wake me when the team decides to show up and play..."

Sammy got to enjoy his own bowl of homemade apple crisp! Isn't he a lucky puppy!!

Corgis really do sleep in such interesting ways. I mean, really, does his tushy need a pillow more than his head?

"My dear Huskers. I am still your biggest canine fan. My pawrents still are amongst your large Nebraska fan base. But please, get it back to where you were and get ready for the rest of the season. Soon please, I wouldn't mind not wearing the jersey, like my Momma will make me do in her nervousness when you don't play as well as you have shown you can! Thank you, Sammy!"

My Room

2010-09-25T13:30:00.001-05:00

When moving, we thought having a second bedroom for guests was among the features we were hoping for. We were able to find it within our price limitations. What we didn't expect was Sammy to believe that it would be HIS room.
Last Friday we were able to move in furniture from my mom's. I had a full size bed, and that would fit in my mom's van, but our queen size bed would not. So Friday was a big moving day. Immediately, Sammy loved the bed, as well as the second bedroom in general. He was right in the mix every step of the way, something I really don't advise for small animals, unless their presence is as large as the Samster's!

That evening we decided to sleep in our new apartment. Something Erik might have regretted later, since it was a full not a queen. However, we had no food so we splurged on some chinese food. We also had no table, this mean Sammy was on cloud 9, we were eating on the floor just like Sammy! Except I had yummy orange chicken, and Erik had pork something chinese pancakes while Sammy had kibbles with canned beef mixed in.

"Drops some, drops some!!"

His toybox, pillow and Charlie got moved, and that pretty much made our new home for him. I don't think he has really looked back. Now Sammy has two drawers all to himself in HIS room. We frequently find him in HIS room, and if ANYONE dares to enter, he must follow and jump on the bed. And after all his moving in and decorating, he wants to show off his new room! It's not quite done. We still need to get the curtains (I've almost finished making) up and two more pillows first and foremost, then little touches, but Sammy feels quite at home now.

He is ready for company!
And he wants to make sure everyone sees how he has really put himself into his artwork for the wall!! Soon he hopes to have a fantastic illustration of himself to put up on the wall! It's on his Christmas list!! :)

Paws it Forward

2010-09-24T20:39:00.014-05:00

Sammy was lucky enough to recieve a Paws it Forward Package from Bailey (from http://baileythecorgi.blogspot.com/). It was a bright light in Sammy's moving experience!

"Wants to OPEN!!"

"Hurry, hurry....hurry! hurry! hurry!....."
"HUUUUUUUUURRY!"

"MINE!!!"

"I's loves it. It's mys!"

"More? For moi?!"

"Lookie...that says Sammy! That's me!"

"That's mys stuff from Bailey! I's a happy corgi!"

"Me's with my stuff. Looks, it's more than me!"

"No Momma, that's mine. I know you likes it, but it's mines. READ the package. 'To Sammy!'"

"Hey....that's not me! How could they make a corgi card and NOT feature me! My Momma says I's the cutest! ....I guess that corgi is kinda cute, too. But not as cute."
Thanks Bailey & Karen!!!

Ok, you know this part. Now Sammy gets to Paw it Forward to the first two who comment below. I think most of our readers have already participated, so if you know someone, send it along please. We would love to send it on!! Post a comment with your name and email, and I will get back to you as soon as I can to get your address to send it along!

Settling In

2010-09-22T14:46:00.003-05:00

Sammy is loving his new place. He wasn't enjoying all the commotion to get to it, but he is loving it now. Erik & I have had a lot on our plate and didn't realize til this past weekend when we moved the last of our stuff (bed, etc) over that neither of us transferred our internet. Soo....we are livin in the dark ages until Friday. Currently I am using a computer at the apartment community building, which is a great amenity, but I don't have access to my pictures, or my muse. Hopefully Saturday I can begin to give a more proper update on the happenings.
Until then, I will have to give a quick summary.
Last Wednesday we got our new keys. Erik moved some stuff over that night, borrowing his sister's SUV. I was at work unloading a truck. Our truck was an abnormally large truck, and running late. They usually arrive around 2 or 3pm and the ETA was 5. 5 came and went. 6 came and went. as well as 7 and 8. 8:30 the truck finally was rolling in. As unloading the truck, our 30% chance of rain came to town in the form of a storm with 60 mph winds! Knocked out the power at my work. Erik was in Bellevue (practically a suburb of Omaha to the South) switching cars back. I normally get off at 8:30 but was there til 10 trying to unbox everything I was in charge of. I left at 10, called Erik, asked how Sammy handled it and if he remembered to close the windows to our new digs. Answer...can you guess it? It was a NO! Long, long night ahead. Sammy was unphased. Just FRAPPED along! We are on the second level, so he enjoyed being able to run around inside, dodge out on the deck and never need the darn leash or rope!
Thursday, Sammy and I went to my mom's to load up some of my old furniture. In our new place we are able to have a full second bedroom. It's great for us because so many of our friends are not in Omaha and we will be able to give them more than an ugly, broken, uncomfortable couch. My mom and I got it loaded while Sammy chased the kitty cats. Erik met us at the new place after he got out of class and helped me move the stuff into the apartment while my mom helped Sammy explore the outdoors! Then we had lunch on the floor, another of Sammy's highlights. Erik and I made a few more trips, and I unpacked alot of stuff while he and Sammy got comfortable in the new place.
Friday, I had work for 7 hours, and he had school for 5. Sammy stayed at the old apartment with the remaining stuff. When we got off, we had some lunch and got to moving one more load to make Saturday easier. Sammy was already much more comfortable with his new place. He wasn't a hundred percent, but getting much much closer! I had finished alot of the second bedroom, and we were able to sleep there that night. That seemed to help Sammy quite a bit.
Saturday, Erik's parents were coming to allow us to use their big SUV before they went over to Erik's sister's to help them with some home remodeling. We just had a few things left, and they were big, but would hopefully be quick. My mom watched Sammy for us. After we got the couple things in, we had a nice healthy (ha) meal at Culver's then went to Nebraska Furniture Mart. Nebraska Furniture Mart is fantastic. Unfortunately most of the country doesn't know of it, but really it's just a great fun store for anything home. Erik & I were able to purchase our new couch and were gonna get to pick it up with his parents car on Saturday. They also were nice enough to get us a dining room table, since the other was unable to be fixed. We got the couch over and Sammy jumped right up. He knew it was his! Then we got the table in just in time for the Husker game. So, we got to watch the Husker game from our brand new couch in our brand new apartment. It was a great Saturday, and Sammy was feeling quite at home.
Sammy wasn't eating much, however. He also was on edge with every noise. He doesn't know all the sounds of the new place. It will take a while for him to get used to, but I know he will. He is getting more and more used to it everyday, and he is back to his normal food routine. He has met a couple of other dogs, as well as people, and loves them all! Today was finally my first real day off that didn't include moving, and we were being lazy. Sammy was very offended by the lawn mowers (much bigger and louder than before) and spent all morning protecting us from them, as well as the hedge clippers, weed wacker and all other yard equipment. He even enlisted the help of the black lab below us. Sammy also has grown an attachment to the second bedroom. Almost like he thinks it is his. When he gets sleepy or just doesn't want to be apart of what we are doing in the living room or bathroom or bedroom, he goes to his room. When we come home from work or school, he is in his bedroom. Which is nice, but unexpected. I put his pillow in our room, thinking it would be the same as the other place. Who knows, he is still working all the kinks out!

Friday, Sammy was also priveledged enough to recieve a Paws it Forward package from Bailey (& Karen). It was so great to get, and he opened it in his new apartment. I think it helped to make it his home, some more. Hopefully I will be able to get the pictures up and able to make a proper post of his package this weekend with internet!! So, if you haven't received a Paws it Forward package yet, and would like one, look this weekend to respond to ours and you could get one from Sammy!!
Hope all is well with everyone else, we haven't kept up to date with everyone else's posts either. I see that the calendar is available, so don't forget to get them. They will make a wonderful Christmas present, and pay close attention to July. It really is like a Christmas in July with the Sammy!!

New Digs

2010-09-15T10:55:00.006-05:00

Sammy went with us to get our keys to our new digs. Then we took him in and let him run around like a crazy dog. Which he did! He immediately figured out the circle and did a few laps. He FRAPPED in and out and around every room. He loved our "dressing room" of our bedroom because the closets are connectd and he can run through in a circle (until I fill it up with shoes!). And got to run in and out from our deck to inside the apartment! He must have known this was our new place!!

"This is a nice spot to puts my toys and bones."

"What's gonna goes here, Momma? This mights me a good place for mys pillow."

"Don't's put anysthing here, this is where I run mys circle. Except treats. Treats go everyswhere!"

"And here's a view! I likes this much better. I would likes anothers pillow right here so I can look over mys new territory!"

Obviously this is Sammy's apartment, and he's gracious enough to be letting us live there and feed him. Nonetheless, he seems thrilled!! As are we!

Sister...Almost

2010-09-13T13:54:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I inadvertantly found an amazaing sister for Sammy. I don't even remember how I ended up on the page, now, but I found myself drawn to her. Ina a way that reminded me of Sammy. Her eyes gave me the same feeling as Sammy did when we inadvertantly ran into him. I'm good at this inadvertant stuff...
Anyway, her name is Sadie. A lady in Kansas City found her as a stray looking all ragged and unhealthy. She already had a Pembroke, and rather than getting the humane society or another shelter in on it, she took care of the sick little corgi herself. Sadie recovered as best as she could. She has congestive heart failure, arthritis, and poor vision and hearing. Yet, Sadie still has a love for life. She is still playful and doesn't let it slow her down. The lady estimates her to be around 6 or 7.
The lady is having to give her up for job reasons. She will be living mainly out of hotels, and that is not going to work with Sadie. The Corgi Connection of Kansas posted her on petfinder.com to hope to find a good home for her.
Both Erik and I were taken by her. We both wanted to grab her up and we even figuring out how to get down there Tuesday. I emailed her and felt good about it all. Sadie sounded like a great match with Sammy. Sammy would have alot to get used to, sharing attention, toys and such, but we both felt confident that he would, and gain a buddy for his time alone at home. Sadie's medications are about $25 a month, which didn't seem too much to handle either. We were on board.
Over the next couple hours we thought and seeked out advice. During this time, we both we concerned what would happen if her health declined? We might be able to handle the $25 a month now, but if something got worse, we don't know that we would be able to do what she needed. As you all know, we are in the process of moving, which is also not a fantastic time to merge the lives of two corgis, let alone one in to us, and all of us into a new home.
We slept on it, and after all has been said, we are not going to be bring home Sadie. In many ways, I really wish we were, and I would love to help her. I think we could be a good fit for her, even stubborn Sammy who might not like it right away. I'm very sad about it today. Sammy seems to understand. He was very snuggly in bed last night, and today since I have been home from work, he has been right at my lap. Letting me know he is still my only boy! And he most definately is!! He is still the best pup in the world!! :)
If anyone else reading this, say in the midwest, say Kansas area, finds Sadie to be of intrest, please check her out: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17365305

Also, if you could let me know, so I know she got a good home, that would be appreciated!

Nope.

2010-09-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a big packing day. Sammy is started to get uncomfortable and unsure. He got very upset when Charlie (our stuffed corgi we got from my mom for Easter) went into a box. Sammy will no longer allow me to be out of eyesight from him. Even still being with Erik, he still gets a little whiney. Charlie is again on the couch. Sammy took a nap with him.
Hopefully he will do ok today while Erik & I are both gone at work. There is an overlap where Sammy will be alone for 5 hours. We are crossing our fingers. We get the keys on Wednesday and I work every day until Thursday, and Erik has class Monday and Tuesday, and has to be at work for 2 hours on Wednesday. I am really crossing my fingers Sammy doesn't get to worried about the situation. Last year when he got concerned, he had some accidents, and I am really hoping to skip that whole step and get him settled into our new home by next Saturday!!

"I'm com-fit-table here. No needs to move."

"Ahhhhhh Ahhhhhhh Ahhhhhhh"

2010-09-11T08:00:00.004-05:00

We are getting the keys to our new apartment in just a few short days. It is quite complicated. We aren't moving everything all in one day like we did moving into this place. And, we are making it about as complicated as possible. What I mean by that is, our current living room tv and tv stand is being sold and money going towards a nice tv stand for our nice tv that is in the bedroom currently. We are getting rid of the broken couch we have now and getting a new one with the money we are saving with our months free rent for October. We are getting hand me down bookshelves from Erik's parents as well as a dining room table (we've been using a card table for years). We are getting my bed stuff (matresses, frame, headboard and nightstand) from my home and putting it into our new second bedroom with our current bedding and getting new bedding for our bed. Erik is deciding on his aquariums, but the way it looks now, the giant one might be getting sold and getting a new tall (still giant, but less space) one to fit better into our living room. I broke another dish, so we just ordered the dishes from my Christmas list! Our ever growing book and dvd/blu ray (& cd, but less noticable) collection is taking a re-vamp. I made us go through EVERYTHING and we gave away what people wanted, and taking the rest to a used bookstore to sell (for those we want more!), and still we need more dvd shelves and bookshelves! Sammy is overall, unphased by this. I thought this would be awful for him. When we moved into our current residence, he didn't like it at all, and we had some potty accidents. I have kept the packing til absolutely the last minute so we wouldn't stress him too much. Or my OCD. But now we live in an apartment of stacks. Giveaways, sell, and goodwill with boxes in the background. Drives me nuts! But Sammy is a-ok. It's as though it's just new obstacles to FRAP around. I'm quite proud of him. And crossing my fingers it will stay throughout the move. We have 2 major days for moving. That is, two days we are both off, so one day we are gonna move lots of boxes and such, and the other Erik's parents are bringing their big truck with trailer to move the big stuff. Hopefully everything will just work those two days. Anyway, my mom is getting the Sammy duty for that day. She had him last year, too. She said he would really calm down when it was just the two of them, but when people were in and out with heavy things, he was just unsure and very restless. That is why we have her booked! We took Sammy to Petsmart (next to JCPenny, where I ordered my beautiful dishes!) so Erik could look at fish stuff, and more importantly I could find some stuff to keep Sammy calm and entertained easily for my mom. There were bones on sale, so Sammy has 2 Busy Bones. He loves them, however they won't keep him busy for long. Since they are more than our normal rawhides, he doesn't get them but for special treats, so he will be really excited and actually chomp on it those days. They also had Kong stuff on sale, so Sammy got a package of 3 squeaky tennis balls, because he can just squeak away for hours! But....to get to these cheap and happy solutions, I had to walk past the Halloween stuff!! Holiday stuff is like crack to me. I looooove decorating for the holidays, just hate how much it costs and space it takes up in storage the rest of the year. Sammy gets to share in my holiday delight. They had such a cool toy right on the endcap. It was a Martha Stweart toy, and I had no idea she made them! It's a little skeletone that has a wobbly head, but when it's slammed into the ground or hit, it screams! Not just a simple squeaker for this toy! Sammy carried it through the whole store (til he saw me grab the Kong balls) and spent the whole night playing with it til it broke (uh..hmmm....he broke it!). **pardon our packing mess! :(
My entire night was filled by the screams.... here is a short glimpse into our 4 hours before bed.
He just loved it. And I would recommend it to anyone. I don't know how he got it to the point where he could make it scream as though it was a squeaker, just chomping on it. But eventually he had it to the point where I picked it up and turned it over and it started screaming!! I knew he was Mr. Muscle Jaw, but I had no idea his jaw was this strong! Crazy doggie! No need to worry though, Mr. Skeleton didn't last long. Came home from work to find him passed out in the bedroom and the skeleton all sad in the living room. Of which he promptly acted as though nothing was weird. "What? This heres, the way it came. You boughts it, don't ya remember, Ma?" When I tried to pick it up, he grabbed it right out of my hand and protected it from me. I think to say, "I'm not done with that yet!" And since our apartment is already such a mess, why not! So now the question is, how long will our stuffing-less skeleton be with us?? Check it out: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4270840&ab=hp_r3a082410Hween

July!

2010-09-10T08:12:00.001-05:00

Kelly, Gibson's Mom, from Corgi Butts (corgibutts.com or corgibutts.blogspot.com) makes lots of really cool things. Including a Corgi's with Blogs Calendar. She takes, what I can only imagine to be tons and tons of entries and gets it down to just 12. This year she picked 30 finalists and left it to the public to vote it down to 12 (smart move)! I sumbitted waaaaay too many into her contest and we were lucky enough to be one of the finalists. We got the good news that Sammy will be Mr. July 2011! Sammy got a nice Frosty Paws for his success, but he didn't seem to understand, just enjoyed his yum-yums!
We are just so proud! Ok, so I'm super proud, Sammy is looking at me like I'm crazier than usual and is wondering if that means food or adventures for him, and Erik is just happy that I'm happy! All the other people that get to hear from me on at least a weekly basis have all heard as well!
The rest of the calendar is FANTASTIC! 2011 is going to be a hard year to beat! You can see the future calendar at: http://corgibutts.blogspot.com/2010/09/corgis-with-blogs-2011-calendar-winners.html
Some of our "close bloggy buddies" include:
Mr. February: Dozer from "Our Life: Dozer and Coop" http://dozerandcoop.blogspot.com/
Mr. May: Bailey from "Bailey the Corgi" http://baileythecorgi.blogspot.com/
Mr. August: Gibson from "Corgi Butts" http://corgibutts.blogspot.com
Miss. November: Finley from "The Corgi Chronicles" http://thecorgichronicles.blogspot.com/

So everyone should get a copy!! And pay special close attention to July!!

And thanks Kelly for making these neat calendars!

I'm a Little Husker Puppy, Short and Stout

2010-09-08T12:24:00.008-05:00

Sammy got to go to his first Husker Football party of the season! He might have been distracted by his new doggie friends!
Labor Day brought family into town at my grandparents house. They have a great big house and a great big yard. The big yard extends down into a wooded, kinda forest-y type area, and behind their yard is more of that type of setting. My grandparents built in some walkways and a firepit in their portion of that wooded area. Sammy had more space than he was able to deal with. He never found the fence!
My dad was there giving Sammy lots of yummy treats. My aunt and uncle from Minnesota were there with their two basset hounds, Lola and Ralphie. My other uncle was there with his friend and mom, also with his and my aunt's retriever, Sabre. More than enough dogs to entertain Sammy to his heart's content!
From the moment we walked in the door, Sammy was right at home. Ralphie had a rough beginning to his life, and becomes very nervous when travelling or around new people or places. He was given some medicine from the vet for this, so after meeting Sammy, he just chilled by himself where he could zone out. Lola is a fairly new addition to the family, and was given up by a family who kept her in the house a LOT! She was unsocialized and even didn't go on many walks. She found Sammy irritating because he just kept coming around trying to get her to play. She was full of energy, just didn't want to play with Sammy. So everytime he would come around, she would growl and show her teeth. That only stopped him the first couple times, but eventually, she had to bark and jump towards him to get him to back off. Of which would only last a couple minutes. We tried to keep him away from Lola since she seemed annoyed, but what do ya know, she followed him to see where he was going. From then on we just let them do their thing. Mostly Sammy followed her and she seemed to enjoy seeing him run when she lunged at him. She tried to do that to him while he was on my lap getting attention from me, and that was the one time he wouldn't take it. He snarled back at her and she ran for her parents!! Too bad they couldn't spend more time together.
Sammy also got mad at Ralphie for getting attention from me. While Sammy was off playing with Lola, Ralphie came over to get some petting from me, I used to just sit for longs periods of time with him on my lap and I would pet him and pet him trying to keep him calm, and maybe he remembered. Sammy saw this interaction, left Lola and came behind me, through my legs and snarled at Ralphie! What a stinker.
Ralphie and Sammy got along just swimmingly when it was pregame, dinner time! They used each other's strengths in begging to win themselves some treats! Sammy's little puppy-ness, and great big smile, Ralphie's big droopy basset eyes...they were a power team! They both got too much. Sammy does get people treats alot, probably more than he should, but this was probably hitting his limit. He was able to try a little bit of BBQ ribs, I let him try my grilled pineapple, which he loved (weirdo!!) and who knows what else was given to him! He was quite lathargic the next day, but that also could have been from all the activity while we were there.
Preparing for gametime, Sammy had to put on his husker jersey!!

(older picture, day we got it...sammy was not cooperative with getting pictures taken)
About gametime, my other uncle came with his entourage, including pup, Sabre. Sabre has done many competions with my aunt who is very active in that kind of stuff. Sabre is getting older, now about 12, so he was happy to meet Sammy, but not run around like a crazy puppy (like Sammy!). Sammy took an instant liking to Sabre. Sabre got a scratch on his face, which became infected and the vet had to shave his face and clean it out, and Sammy kept trying to lick it and take care of it, just as he does everytime I scratch or cut myself (or my recent spider bite!!). Sabre did, however, just want some attention from people. And food. Sammy learned to follow Sabre, and Sabre's nose, to find extra treats. Then Sammy would snarl and grab the snacks out of Sabre's mouth. It was not a fun thing to try to correct and stop! Nearing the end of the game, all dogs ended up inside all seeking comfy cozy spots, with lots of petting! First, Sammy and Ralphie found a common goal, taking most of the couch, just the two of them!

"Overs here, Ralphs!"

Ralphie got uncomfortable with all the commotion (Nebraska fans aren't quite or calm!) and took his leave. Sammy followed, then tried to intice Lola.

"Sammy, I'm with MY momma now."

Since he was running out of options, his exhaustion was catching up with him. So he came over and put his body on my lap and his head on Erik's lap. Getting pet by both of us!! Until....Sabre saw this and wanted to get some attention, too! Sammy had to be a stinker face, again! As Sabre came closer to get petting, Sammy snarled and showed his teeth. Sammy became quite dissatisfied when I pulled him over to one leg and held him by the collar and smacked him on the nose (not hard, just to get his attention and put away his teeth) every time he started up when one of us gave Sabre attention. He calmed down, but didn't become comfortable with it. Darn stinkerpants!
Eventually they both got tired of it and Sammy jumped down and gave Sabre lots of kisses and was very sweet to him to say, "no hard feelings. I really like you, it's just that those are MY parents. And I don't wanna share them, ok? Are we cool again?"

"Hmmm....are you hungry Sabs? Let's go ands find some mores foodies!"

All in all, Sammy had a fantastic time. He loved playing in the woods and with other dogs. Sammy loved getting treats and lots of people attention, too! Nebraska won, and the new quarterback definately has lots of potential, so that was exciting! Sammy will make a great husker puppy this season! I'm just waiting for the call from Coach Pelini or Osbourne that he is needed at Memorial Stadium to pump up the crowd!
Like I said, the next day, he was very lathargic. Pretty much out like a light. He found comfort in crazy positions.

Dino Dog (& Mom)

2010-08-25T08:00:00.008-05:00

Sammy is a very happy dog. Very.
Yesterday he got to go for the dog equivalent of a doggie shopping spree. It has been a long, long time since he has really gotten any new toys. He was also almost out of food, so Sammy got a fun trip to Petco. He was even more excited than usual.
Once he got inside the door, he got the attention of three people right away. Once the cloud of attention faded, the football display appeared as if out of no where! There are fun football toys, ....and jerseys! I wanted to get Sammy a Nebraska jersey last year, but concerned that he might grow out of it, I waited. Yesterday they were on sale since football season is about to begin!
The jersey might be more for me than Sammy, but he got lots of attention while trying it on, so it was a win-win! We got a coupon in the mail for a free toy with the purchase of his food bag, so on to the toy aisle. Sammy gets very excited because I pull down toys that are different or that I think he will like, and set them on the ground and see which he reacts to the most. Crazy, probably, but he always loves the toy he comes home with. They had this cute little sock monkey toy, that he loved right away. Probably the texture. But at the end of the aisle, they had new dinosaur toys!! This brought out the geologist in me. My puppy MUST have a dinosaur!!
Once picking out the triceratops, we rounded the corner to find another kind of dinosaur toys!! Sammy got to choose from the two triceratops, and I was happy he picked my favorite. It's really neat because it has weird bumps with the material that I bet Sammy (or any dog) would find interesting to play with. It is void of stuffing, except in the head. It has a squeaker in the main body. Also, it has something like tissue paper or something that makes crinkly noises in it's main body as well as in the tail. Sammy is facinated by this new noise. He was happy to carry it, until we got to the food aisle!
On our way out, we stopped at the treat buffet. Sammy got a bag including his favorite treats: pretzel, alphabet, chocolate chip cookies, cream filled cookies, fruity and doggie dots. Ok, so I dunno what they taste like, but that is what they look like. Finally, they had a new treat in the treat buffet, and it smelled like what it looked, oatmeal cookies!! He got to try one when he got home, and he loved it! I wonder if it tastes similar to oatmeal cookies without the sugary side. Anyone know how they do this?
We picked up some Chinese food on our way home (we were celebrating, also most of the reason Sammy got a spree!) for carry-out. When we got home, Sammy didn't even care about our food. He just sat next to the table where the Petco bag was and stare at it, wishing it to fall on the ground and release his new toys and treats! When I walked by not noticing, he did his cute little whiney bark telling me I forgot something. So I gave him his toys:

"Momma..Momma....toys.."

"Yeps...those ones!"

"And I shall call hims, Sack Monkey."

"Dinos-saur!! Dinos-saur!!!!"

Sammy didn't care about our food. I gave him a little edge of my crab rangoon, but he was unconcerned. He's a weirdo. He just carried on playing with his toys.
I was so proud of him, he may have punctured his dinosaur squeaker, but both toys survived the night! No tears, no rips, so insides on the outside! All still easy to play with, although they could use some washing since they are kinda gross from the slobber, but that's ok. This is the first time in a LONG time his toys survived the night. And, they are even still interesting this morning!
Hmmm....maybe he will hafta get the teradactyl next. ....
Then the t-rex? There was a brachiosaurus, too.
I'm so glad my little puppy loves his dinosaur. Wonder if he got it from me?

(Haha...wish he knew it was a dinosaur ..and what a dinosaur was. For now, I will just pretend. Lol.)

Guinea Dog

2010-08-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Erik has now started nursing school. Which is very exciting to everyone except Sammy. Sammy already has evil intentions on Erik's backpack and Erik is only on his second day in school (to Sammy, 5 because of 3 days of orientation). Erik has a very long day on Mondays, so at most I will work til noon on Mondays to help this new transition.
Erik is very excited though, as he should be. Last week when we went to dinner following his ceremony, his parents got him a present. A nice stethascope with his name engraved into it. His mom is also a nurse, and got him the same one she has. He was very excited, and was very excited to use it.
Insert our Guinea Dog here.
Sammy got to be the first recipent of care from the stethascope. Sammy, of course, thought it was an awesome game. Erik, of course, thought it was an awesome chance to listen to Sammy's interior. I, of course, thought it was a great photo-op!

"You gotsta catch me first Dad!!"

"Look Ma's, Dad is checking me up!"

"Heart's good."

"Hmm...some activity in the mischevious part of the brain."

"Yup, yup. Just as I suspected. This corgi is hungry. Better get him a treat."

We're Feeling Hot, Hot, HOT!!

2010-08-23T12:40:00.005-05:00

Last night after both Erik & I got off work, we had some dinner then went to invade my mom's. Mad Men was on last night (PS...wow Mr. Shinnanigan Don!) and we are without cable. But my mom has cable, and Sammy loves to get his energy out chasing those darn kitty cats. In the heat spell we are amidst of, there really isn't much else to do. Last night leaving my mom's at 9:20pm, Erik's car read 91 degrees, STILL!! So any chance Sammy can find something inside with air conditioning is more than welcome. Plus for him, he runs out of energy on the way!!

(I call this his prarie dog! He goes nutso everytime we get there! Everytime I still get surprised how strong he is!)

Think Sammy wants to see the kitty cats??

Sammy had a good time. And we got to watch Mad Men. So all was wonderful. We drove home, came in our door and there was no power! In fact, our entire building was out of power! Not the building across the lot, not the building next to us, not any other building, just ours. Luckily we are on the North side of the building, ground level where we can make the best of it. But it doesn't take much for that awful heat to come through.
Sammy had a hard time getting comfortable in bed. And he was quite the panter! Our power did come back late in the night, or should I say morning time! But Sammy still did not have a wonderful night's rest apparently. He is quite content to be lazy today! We got up around 8:30 had breakfast and played a bit. But then he was quite content to go into the bedroom and watch crappy tv with me (what is there better to do before 10am?). Our bedroom tv (which will be our living room tv when we move) is the only tv that is hooked up to a digital reciever to recieve ANY channels, including now 3 spanish channels (don't get me started!).
We made our way back to the living room about 11:30. We have played some, like 20 minutes before he was done. And now this is how he helps me clean!

In his clubhouse, behind the chair along the interior wall, on his back!
Stinkerpants!
In his younger days he wouldn't let me out of his sight, even while I was cleaning. If I was doing laundry he would show me he wanted up on the bed to watch. If I was cleaning the living room, kitchen, or dining room, he would lay right in the middle of the 3 rooms and watch every move. He is still in the same room with me, I guess, so not completely independant! Still....what a stinker!

New Love

2010-08-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

The other day, Sammy, Erik & I met our friends and their basset hound, Molly at the dogpark. It was the first time Sammy & Molly were finally able to meet! They have been our friends for quite some time, but with all of our schedules, meeting up has been rather difficult over the last few months. But alas, that has changed! Sammy, in true Sammy fashion, could not contain his excitement!

Luckily the dogpark is less than a 10 minute drive!
When we got there, Molly was already waiting inside. It was her first time at the dogpark, and she was sniffing the exterior, not making it too far into the park. When we got there, Sammy went right for Molly's parents who yelled his name. He totally must have thought he was the coolest dog on campus! He had a posse, followers, admirers awaiting him at the dogpark! Molly wasn't too far away, and then then the heavenly gates were opened and there was a special sunshine shining just on Sammy & Molly, compliments of doggie Cupid. Sammy was so smitten.
Sammy followed her around. He licked her face. When they walked together, they would walk shoulder into shoulder. It was very cute. If she sat down, he would sit right next to her. If we wanted to go play, he would nudge her! Seriously, love at first sight!

Unfortunately, Sammy also took on the less positive side of puppy love. He began getting upset at any dog who showed intrest in Molly. He was just as unhappy with an Austrailian Cattledog as German Shepard as another Basset as Black Lab. He would show his teeth and snarl. He kept getting in trouble for it, so he started to get sneaky. If a dog showed intrest, he would walk over and snarl, as he was going for the water.

And....Sammy allowed me to pet Molly without him getting jelous of my attention! It was amazing how he just stuck with her, he didn't venture off too far. They both stayed in a little bubble around us. It was just as cute as can be.

I think she also shared some affection. Not only did she not appear to get annoyed by him. When he got in trouble for taking another dog's tennis ball, Erik went to pick him up and give it back. Then Erik carried Sammy back to our area away from temptation, Molly stayed right by Erik's leg and looked up at Sammy as they walked back to our area. Then they were again, inseparable!

Needless to say, we will most definately be seeing them again! Maybe take them on a walk, just the two of them, get rid of Mr. Snippy!

Nappy Nap Day

2010-08-21T13:15:00.002-05:00

Sammy & I just woke from taking an hour nap together on the couch. Something I wish we could do more often. He is such a cuddle bug, but with the heat of the summer and our chaotic schedules, long impromptu naps together have not been terribly commonplace.
Sammy & I made time today because we are both somewhat drowsy from last night. Well, probably the whole week. It has been a bit of a crazy week around here, again. Erik had his surgery Tuesday, which led into a few days of stress and taking care of him. Also meant that my day off was not with Sammy, but with the waiting room at the VA. Not fun for him. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Erik had orientation for his new school, making longer and different schedules for Sammy. Also brought out the backpack, something Sammy knows well, and dislikes. Add some storms, and it's the usual culprits for Sammy to get stir crazy being stuck inside. If that wasn't enough, yesterday (Friday), Erik has his white coat, induction ceremony. Afterwards, we went to dinner with his parents, sister and sister's fiancee. More of Sammy seeing us come and go. All of which he is handling quite well. With a yummy chicken flavored beef rawhide bone, handles it with a great big Sammy sized smile!
Once we finally made it home last night, from our long week, Sammy was quite happy to see us, and even happier to see our boxes of leftovers! He went right to cuddle bug mode, happy to be right here with both of us. We went into the bedroom to watch a movie on our good tv and relax. Sammy got to take his bone, so he was content. We all fell asleep while watching the movie.
1:30 am. Sammy woke up and started moving around. Ended up taking him outside to potty, thinking it was the only thing he could be awake for. Came back in, took him a while to get comfy.
3:00 am. Sammy was up moving around again. After a few minutes we decided to put him on the ground. He made it to the door, looked back and saw no one was coming with him. He turned around, came back to the bed, jumped on his back legs and whined up to us. He got back on the bed, and kept walking around.
3:30 am. Grabbed his rawhide, to see if it would help give him something to do. He took the rawhide, hid it under the blanket and came back up to lay on my tummy.
3:50 am. Running out of an ideas, take him back outside to potty. Sammy tried to "potty" twice with nothing coming out. We walked around the building. Once back to the side of our building, he pulled with all his might back to our apartment. Once in the door, went right for the bed, and jumped up on his hind legs. After taking off the leash I put him back on bed and he was still quite unsatisfied. He could not get comfortable. I felt so bad for him. Erik was annoyed, Sammy got scared and put his ears back and ended up laying on my other side on his back with his head on my chest. Licking my arm quite a bit. I ended up rubbing his tummy for as long as I can remember. Finally he was able to get comfy in his normal spot above the pillow.
It was quite the long night. We got up around 8, and did a couple of errands. Sammy was happy to get to ride to the bank and gas station, and totally thrilled it was so nice he got to have his head out the window as much as he wanted! After coming back, we had a little snack and still Sammy had not "pottied." He still hadn't eaten his breakfast. But now he seems to be in a happy mood again. Sammy and I curled up on the couch to watch a movie and ended up taking a nice long nap. I have since waken up, but he just moved to his blanket in front of the window for a continuation of his nap! Crossing our fingers and toes that once he wakes up we will be able to take him potty successfully.
Followed by many more cuddly nappies!

Someone Stuffed My Dad!

2010-08-17T19:45:00.002-05:00

Sammy is a little unavailable right now. He is in a sort of distress that comes to very loving dogs! Well here's the story.
Erik has had chronic problems with his sinuses. When he was a teenager, they did a little operation which helped him breath much easier. Since then, young adulthood has come. In case all the dots have not connected from previous blogs, Erik started college like most 18 year old high school graduates do. Like most of us, first major was not what he expected it to be. Living on your own, also very expensive. Long story short, he joined the Navy. He served active duty for 6 years. He came back to Nebraska and was going back to college, GI Bill in hand as well as a better idea of what to major in. Nursing. Here in Omaha we have a top ten nursing school, UNMC. In fact, UNMC (University of Nebraska Medical Center) is fantastic in a bunch of things, and there are multiple locations in Nebraska, just Omaha is the best one! In order to even apply, it takes 2 years of pre-nursing pre-reqs. For that time, we were both at UNO (University of Nebraska-Omaha). When applying, it is applying for a term in the future, so he has had quite a bit of time off from pre-nursing and will begin his actual nursing school next week. During much of this time, life becomes expensive and neither of us have had the extra cash for health insurance. We were lucky enough to come about some information that Erik would still be covered by the VA (veterns affairs) to a degree determined by income. After time, the sinus problem has come up. Lucky enough, we were able to get him set up for an appointment where they were going to do a small outpatient procedure to try to help clear up the passages for him to breathe easier since it has now become a problem with sleeping.
That procedure was set for today.
Erik's mom came into town, and boy did Sammy think that meant fun times for him. She arrived this morning around 8. She came smelling like their family puppers (Sammy's all time favorite doggie friend) and Sneezy, the cat. His whole butt was wiggling he was so excited. He was so displeased that we had to leave basically right away that for the first time in a LONG time he barked as we left.
We were at the hospital for a while. Erik's procedure was about 2 hours, and revovery time was about an hour. After which we were able to help him out the door and home. We got home and Sammy was excited to have us home. He didn't notice anything at first. Erik was quite loopy and unsteady from the meds, so he went right to the chair. I think that was Sammy's first idea something was off.
See, Sammy welcomes us with so much over joyed enthusiasm because we greet him with alot as well! I know, I know, all the books say that's not what you are supposed to do, and it causes separation anxiety, but when you come home to a little corgi whose world seems to go sunshiny because you came home, you just can't help it. And yes, this was more my doing than Erik's, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! So there! Honestly, in all the dogs I've had a priviledge of knowing, not one gives a welcome quite like little Sammy-pants!
Sammy became quite interested in Erik, and that quickly turned into intrest with his face. Erik has a little strap thingy around the head to hold the guaze and stuffing to his nose. Sammy wants to know what the heck it is, but is unable to for multiple reasons. Number one being his nose is a very sensitive place right now. Number 2, it was still somewhat fresh and there was still some excess discharge that Sammy does NOT need to be curious in. Number three, Erik's response to medicine is not great, and this time has expressed itself in lots of dizziness, light headedness, and vomiting. And unfortunately, Sammy is unable to help any of that in a positive mannar.
But what is a corgi to do? He must know what happed to his Dad. He wants to check and make sure he is ok. If I get sick or hurt (I'm clumsy, what can I say) I am always very accepting and appreciative of any attention or love Sammy has to offer. Erik is much more independant in his pain/sickness which I think is confusing the crap out of Sammy. Sammy tried from every angle to get to him. Even climbed up to the arm of the couch a foot and half away from the chair and leaned as far as he could while whining ever so slightly.
After finally making headway in the battle, it was time to get Erik some new guaze. If you were our neighbor you would have thought that someone was attacking us. Sammy was hysterical! He was barking and barking and trying to get in between us. He did laps around the chair when I was finished until he believed all to be ok, again. What a sweet, loud, but sweet boy!
Sammy has overall been very good. He has been napping on and off all day. Short, quiet bursts of energy, as though he knows that he needs to be quiet. However, once Erik was ready for a little bit of Sammy attention, Sammy was too nervous to go over that he ended up jumping on the couch and onto my lap! I carried him over and he sniffed Erik's nose ever so slightly. Making both of them more content with the day. Not happy, just more assured. I have been giving Erik meds ever 2 hours, and every time Sammy thinks it's a little treat for him. So now he has been getting a treat with each med time for Erik. Sammy is now coming around to this!
After several times in the bathroom, many medications, nasal sprays, lots of water, lots of 7up, jello, chicken noodle soup, and other little things, Sammy is beginning to settle to this little routine. It's amazing how dogs who love their humans are able to adjust to keep the status quo and be apart of the family life. Today was nothing like his normal days, nothing like the normal routine but he was able to go with the flow, and probably because he sensed the need for it.
However, the day is not over. And the true question of Sammy's ability to understand our weird human ways will come at bedtime. Erik is going to sleep in the recliner tonight to keep from rolling. He has stints placed in his nose for the next week to train the membranes to be shaped in a different way, making it easier for air to pass. We don't want anything to happy to it, especially with the the incision so tender. He also still has some drainage that he doesn't really want to seep into his mouth (ewww...yuck!). Thus sleeping in the recliner will force him to stay on his back. We shall see how this affects Sammy.
I usually work at 6 am, meaning getting up at 5 (if not before). Sammy, Mr. Morning Grouch, doesn't like it when I leave bed and insists upon leaving, too. All my school and work overnighters, Sammy wouldn't go to bed til I went to bed. If I took him in, he whined or barked until he was able to come out and sleep on my lap. Or while I was gone all night, laid on the corner of the bed and whined barely sleeping. Then slept with me most of the day! He sleeps in the same spot every night. He has the same weird routine. So tonight shall be interesting. And if we have the same sleeping arrangements tomorrow, tomorrow should be interesting as well! In which case, I don't know how much actual sleeping will be happening!
In any case, I can't help but get the warm fuzzy feeling with all this. Sammy is so young, been with us for just a year, through all our crazy schedules and extremes in weather and here he is being the sweetest darn thing! Again! We are so lucky to have him! And it's nice to see just how much he cares for us, and has intuition concerning us. I have had dogs act in this manner before, but not to this extreme. Not with the same genuine look in his eyes! Corgi eyes are so full of emotion! So expressive. More than most people!
If there is more to update with, I certainly will. I hope there will not be anything to update, but you never know. Until then, I am quite ready for a nap, or bed. I feel old. It's not even 9pm. I usually don't go to bed til almost midnight! Luckily I don't work til 2pm tomorrow!

Pupper-versary

2010-08-10T07:19:00.001-05:00

As stated in, two blogs ago, Sammy's anniversary of his homecoming was this past Saturday! It was super exciting. We had a whole big fun day planned. Unfortunately, we didn't quite get it.
Friday in my last hour of work, I got a call from Erik telling me that he had gotten hurt at his work. He was on his way to emergi-care for them to see what happened to his back. All of which sounds a million times worse than it actually was. He hurt his back moving a vanity top, and had a spasm in the lower back. He was in a lot of pain that day, and has a brace for a little while. Sammy was very concerned about it. It was quite cute!
Once home, I was taking care of the two babies. Helping Erik get up and sit down, walk, get everything, for the first evening until the muscle relaxers began helping. Sammy, being the sweetest dog in the world, tried to help. However, his helping, well, isn't helping.
I went to the store real fast, since we both really needed some food. Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry that I didn't remember the recipe, or anything in the recipe, for Sammy's special meatballs. I did however get the best meal for under $20 for a stationary, hurt boy in his 20's.

Hot boneless wings, bourbon boneless wings, triple pepporoni party pizza, mini tacos, onion rings, oreos, chips and salsa, butterfinger, almond joy...AND a lamb flavored rawhide for the Sammy! Sammy was just fine with this. That night we watched Disturbia and Rear Window. Then compared and contrasted the two til the drugs kicked in.
Originally, Friday night was gonna be a night in preparation for Saturday. Saturday we were going to go to the beach or take a hike. Possibly go to the dogpark, all dependant on just how hot it was. We were going to watch doggie movies, eat ice cream, and have a spaghetti night!
Sammy and I got up nice and early, Erik was a bit slower. Sammy must have known it was a special day. My mom came over, brought bagels, cream cheese, orange juice and a special toy for the Samster! He was happy to perform the squeaker-ectomy.
My mom stuck around and watched Bolt with us. One of Sammy's favorite movies! I don't know about other dogs, but he really likes to watch tv when there are animals on it. I think he really likes Bolt because there is a cartoon dog on almost the whole time. I think that the cartoon allows the contrast to be stronger, so he can watch it easier. Plus there is a cat, and Sammy is all about the cats still.
After finishing the movie, we all got in the car and took a trip to Petland, just for nostalgia. The two workers we saw there didn't look familiar, which was too bad. But they did have a corgi, a tri color, and Sammy kept nosing him through the window! The corgi there definately looked like a trouble maker. He was trying to figure out how to get around the glass. Enjoyed gnawing on his crate-mate's ear. Also enjoyed barking. We could hear his bark above all other pups! He definately needs a family, and with a yard!

"Mom, we look silly taking a picture out here in the parking lot!"
Next up was a Dairy Queen run. Since we ended up making another stop after going to Dairy Queen, we ate ours there (I shared with Sammy. I know it's bad, but it's his pupper-versary!) and Sammy had his Peanut Butter Frosty Paws once we got home.

"Momma. May I puh-wease havey some ows-cream? I's loved to share witch you."

"Thanks you! Don't tell Dad, but yous my favorites!"

Ice cream made him very sleepy and drowsy for our one more stop on the way home!

"Must. Have. Nappy. ....now."

"Don't move Dad. Right there is perfect!"

After getting back home and eating his yummy ice cream. He took a nap while watching Beethoven. Then he woke up to go play at the dogpark for a while. I don't have any pictures of that. He made friends with a nine month old beagle. He didn't want any other dog playing with him. Although it was ok for Sammy to play with other dogs. He's such a weirdo. I can't imagine him as a big brother. We weren't there for long, but he ran and ran and ran non-stop, so he wore out fast.
We came back home, we had dinner. He got some speghetti sauce in his dinner. And a little bit of hamburger (very, very, very little). Then he and I curled up on the floor and we all watched Beethoven's 2nd. Sammy of course going crazy every time he heard puppy wimpers!

Dip is Not Just for Chips

2010-08-09T09:22:00.008-05:00

Last night was Sammy's first experience at a pool! He has had a great time at the lake. He is usually the only dog, can walk in and out of the water (til I carry him into the deep water!), and we usually go when there are only a couple other people. Last night, the only thing the same was him, me, and water.
It was the Doggie Dip hosted by the Nebraska Humane Society in conjunction with the Parks & Games Commission, allowing pups into a public pool for two hours! A once in a summer thing. (Kinda, they are doing it at 2 different pools, 2 different days, so twice total this year.)
When walking up to the gate, Sammy was totally stoked. He saw all the dogs, and he was ready! Unfortunately, the poor guy had to meet a hose first. Since we are in an apartment, he has never seen a hose. Every dog needed to get hosed off, and rubbed with special gloves to try to remove any excess fur (to help not clog the filter). At first, Sammy was patiently waiting in line, the best any excited corgi could. He was trying to sniff the dog ahead of him. See if was willing to play with him, probably. Sammy's turn was next. He waddled up, unknowing of what was to come. At first, it seemed great. Two additional people came over saying, "What a cute little corgi." Something Sammy is quite fond of. He knows that means lots of pets. But then, everyone, including me, held on to him, holding him in place. Then this long hose came from behind the very nice lady and the cold water was being splashed all over him! And if it wasn't enough, a glove was pulling at his fur! Worst Pet Ever! He struggled. Once it was over, he was not slow to leave. But then he turned back around to look at his betrayers, as to say, it's ok. I know you still think I'm cute! It was as if he forgave them in less than an instant, if it's possible, once he was free!
Next we went inside the pool area! It was packed! I couldn't believe how many dogs there were. Sammy of course, Mr. Greeter, didn't know what to do, but had to make contact with each and every dog. Quite dissatisfied that we made him go past the majority of them, and into the baby pool, so he could just wade, ....and so we could see the other corgis! He wasn't too weirded out by anything. We went to the edge of the pool. I nudged him in, and he just walked through, like, "What mom?!" Everywhere was packed. He didn't really seem to enjoy that aspect. He kept trying to get to a more open place, in the water and out.
We were able to see other corgis. There were 5 total. Two that Sammy already knew, and was quite happy to reunite with. He really seemed to remember them, and enjoy not being alone. He was also quite happy to meet the other two corgis. We stuck around them most of the time.
We were able to to make it into the baby pool, with a little room, and Sammy was just fine and dandy, but they have a fountain-like thing in the center, and as soon as he met the falling water, he was ready to get back out. At which point I decided we were just going to be brave and try to find a way into the big pool. Erik hurt his back at work last week, and is wearing a brace for his spasm, so he was unable to join us. He was very helpful in holding Sammy while I got in and making him come close enough that I could grab him. There was NO way I was going to get him to jump into water taller that him. Once we got in, he immediately started swimming, even if I was holding him above water. At first, he would only swim back to the edge where he came in at. Then I held him and we walked around the pool, in no particular way, just wading pretty much. Then he got to the point where, we I put him in the water to swim, he swam out to the middle and did a circle and would swim back to an edge, not necessarily the place we entered. I think he was having fun, and testing his swimming limits a little bit. When he would get out, he seemed to be smiling alot! He also grew and grew in trusting me in the water. He tried to swim less in my arms as the night progressed.
The part that was really to bad was getting out. He was having a hard time. He was able to get his paws to the edge, and a lot of times up on the edge, but not able to climb out. And when he became stuck, he had a look of panic on his face. Most of the time I was able to put my hand under his tushy and help him climb out, but one time I was trying to swim with him, and I wasn't there at the exact moment he needed and could only grab his sides, and it freaked him out and he slid under the water up to his nose. Scared him quite a bit. I had my hand on his sides, so he was under the water for less than a second, but it was enough that he really didn't enjoy the sides of the pool anymore.
Over all, he had a great time! We really think he did. And we had fun, too. I feel bad for Erik who couldn't get in the water, because it was a very hot day. Once in the pool, it was comfortable outside. But other than that it was just great. Sammy came home and ate his dinner, then curled up on the couch next to me where we watched Batman Begins. Not one noise on the tv made him even flinch! He was out!
This upcoming Sunday is the second Doggie Dip, and we heard that last year there was three times as many dogs (over 600!) so we haven't decided if we are going or not. We might drive by, and if it's too busy go to my mom's who lives less than a mile away from the pool.
Here's some pics of the fun! (Before the camera got a little wet. It's ok, it just was time to put it away when it got wet!)

"I don't like that falling water, Momma."

"Still NO!!"

"Please, Mom, no mores falling waters!"

"Times to gos! I needy to rolls in that grass, rights there!"

Happy Homecoming Anniversary!

2010-08-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

One year; 365.25 days; 8,765.813 hours; 525,948.766 minutes; 31,556,926 seconds. That's how long Sammy has been home (approximately).
One year ago, August 7, 2009, Sammy was taken out of his little crate, put on my lap in the car (where he still rides) with his foxy, and came home (to a different apartment, sure...but home is where the heart is, and he is our home) with US!
Sometimes, it seems like the year has just flown by, that it couldn't possibly have been that long. But on the other hand, it's hard to even remember what it was like to not have had him. Not have him stealing my pillow every night. Not have a schedule built around taking him potty. Not thinking of how we will travel with him. Not waiting to put work clothes on last, to not get his fur on my clotes. Not considering which couch will be too tall for him to jump on/off. Not grabbing his water bowl when leaving. Not having Sammy shelves and compartments. Not finding a dog sitter, for the day (still can't leave him). Not sending each other texts about how he's doing, and how he misses who isn't there. What did I do before him? Lol. Seems like he has always been here.
He just fit instantly. No transition time. Just instant family. Even before hitting the car to go home. It's just amazing how he was really just meant for us. How much a little dog can impact a family. Or, make a family, a family. He is our home! And we are so lucky to have him with us.

When we brought him home a year ago, he was just under 4 months old as well as just under 10 lbs. Today he is just under 16 months and just over 30 lbs. This time, not the bulk being his ears and tounge, but his muscular corgi tushy! He has graduated from cute to handsome (although he has always been both). He looks more adult, although he still looks puppy!
When we brought him home, he could barely walk around the building he was ready for a nap. He built up energy, and now he is on the way back down the energy roller coaster! He is getting lazier and lazier by the week!
When we first brought him home, he was super cuddly. Didn't want us out of his sight, and not too far out of reach. He gained independence over time. Explored on his own. Now, he is again very cuddly. Wants to be on our laps, on our feet, along our legs, while getting a nice, gentle pet.

Sammy, one year ago!

Sammy, today!

Sammy is also very grateful to all of you who take intrest in his life. He is very happy to entertain as many people as he can. He says, he may be getting old, less shinanigans, but he will still have many adventures.

Water Wars!

2010-08-03T09:08:00.000-05:00

I love IHazAHotdog.com (as if you couldn't tell from all the previous blog posts!). I don't check it everyday, or even routinly. Every once in a while, I get on and check all the new ones until I find the last one that I remember. Yesterday, I was super duper excited to see multiple corgi ones since the last time I was on. (Like the one we blogged with yesterday. Lol.)

I really enjoyed this one:

http://ihasahotdog.com/2010/08/01/funny-dog-pictures-do-not-want/

Not gonna lie, made me laugh aloud. Makes me feel even more blessed with how wonderful Sammy's reaction was with the lake. He was a little leary about the water, but he walks in on his own accord. No dragging, no pulling, and sometimes, he goes in first!
This upcoming Sunday, we are hoping to take him to a pool and see how he does there. We learned about it on MyCorgi.com. We are part of the Nebraska Corgis group, and one person saw where our local Humane Society in Omaha teamed up with two pools to allow a Doggie Dip, since it's the end of the pool season. One pool hosting it is literally across the parking lot. I'm super excited. Storms are in the forecast for the next week and a half, and we don't have Erik's work schedule yet, so we are crossing all of our toes-ies. And we will definately be blogging about it if we get to go!

Must Resist

2010-08-02T13:45:00.003-05:00

We have been in our current apartment about 10 months now. Long enough we got the notice about changes in rent and if we want to stay longer than a year. We lucked out with our apartment. We have a 1 bed plus den, 1 bath, with washer/dryer, and all newly remodeled with new appliances. Ground level even. It was very lucky for us to have captured it. Now, apparently, the company wants to advertise our apartment as a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, with washer/dryer, remodeled. This is making our rent go up about $50 a month (or so). More than we want to pay, more than we have in our intended budget, and not for anything too special. We began searching the ads, and long story short, we ran into an even better deal. Cheaper for more square footage! Yippee! We won't be ground level, and that's the real downside (except from the prospect of physically moving.)
On our search, we utilized internet, for rent pamphlets, friends, driving, and the newspaper. We were looking for anything, townhome, apartment, house for rent, ...anything within our specific budget, and in Omaha! So the reason I'm telling you all about this, was not only did Sammy enjoy all the car rides but when looking in the newspaper we found a very, very, very tempting ad.

Have you guessed it? There was an ad for Pembroke Welsh Corgis for just $250, and came with AKC papers and shots! Oh man. I even took it home with us. As much as I want a little corgi puppy, and want to know more about this ad (how legit it is, all the details) not only can we not afford it in our undertaking, but I really believe that Sammy is not ready to share our attention. I really think he is quite happy to be an only dog, and if he could voice his opinion, he would tell us, "No Ma, not right now."
Still, I can't help but think about what it would be like. How Sammy would protect him/her (Oscar/Holly). How the pup would wrestly on Sammy. How the pup and Sammy would struggle with sleeping arrangements in bed. How they would learn to gang up on me and give me 4 puppy eyes for yum yums. Trying to drive in the car with both, and only one window to stick their head out of. Taking them both to Christmas in Axtell. Both frolicking in the snow, or autumn leaves. Them FRAPing together. And the list goes on and on. All of which settle in this little image:

http://ihasahotdog.com/2010/08/02/funny-puppy-pictures-give-me-cooki/

However, I do think that I will be calling them and telling them, although we are not interested at this time, if they could please contact us with future litters. And maybe catching a couple details about this one to make sure everything is on the up and up (for future purposes!).

Sammy's World

2010-07-31T21:46:00.003-05:00

Sammy got a package today! Can you believe it? Sammy...Package?! Ok...it was my doing. Surprise, surprise.

Actually it's really cool. We were lucky enough to be part of the first 10,000 voters of Wag World's Dog Park Make-over contest. One of the finalists is from Omaha (we live in Omaha, for those of you who don't know that) and we would totally love a new and improved dogpark. I love our dogpark now, but having a little make over would be really great. The finalist suggests easier walking paths for people who have a hard time walking. My grandparents have told me several times that they would like to go and watch Sammy run wild. With the crappy heat now, it's inconcivable, but maybe in late fall weather-wise it would be ok. It would still be a big hurdle, but that just rang very close to me!!! Our dogpark has some flooding issues with rain, and it's the midwest...we get lots of rainy days. It would be nice not to hafta pack a towel to go to the dogpark 4 days after rain. The fianlist submission has great ideas, and I really hope she wins.

I was all excited at the chance for Omaha to get a dogpark makeover, but when I was filling it out, it asked for our address to send a free toy. Actually, the first couple times we entered it asked for our address (we were good, we only submitted for one free toy). But after filling it out, it said it could be up to 10 weeks until we recieved our toy. To my surprise...it came today!!!

Sammy loves to get the mail, and was bounding when there was a box. And somehow was able to realize it was all about him and waited patiently at my feet. For a few moments. Then, he became impatient and whined at my feet. We got a squeaky earth that says, "Wag World."
To Sammy's dismay, he had to wait for me to snap a picture of it. (Honestly now, Sammy, like any true corgi, will kill any squeaker quickly! I needed a nice picture for the blog before he could kill it!)

We have continued to vote, and hope that if anyone else feels inclined to vote...vote for Omaha's here: http://www.dreamdogpark.wagworld.com/ViewIndividualEntry.aspx?contestantid=1068
Voting ends August 11th, and there is 1 vote a day per person!!! Winner announced in September.

We are very grateful for our new toy. Sammy needed one after, Operation Destruction: One Toy at a Time! His toy box was slimming down. A new fun one rejuvinates his playing needs! Haha. For the first two hours, this is how it went. Then he ate dinner, went potty, and now he is passed out on the floor, head on pillow.

Thanks Wag World for our new toy!!! Please pick Omaha!! You will make this corgi a vv- vv- vv-veeery happy!!

Girls Are Dumb

2010-07-30T16:30:00.007-05:00

Sammy here. First, I wanna say I love my Momma. I do. AND, I love my cousins (ok, it's my mom's cousin and her cousin's kids. what does that make them to me? ...Cousins!), all of them. They are all so fun, and they all love me, too.
But there is something about girls that make me do this:

See that...that is my mom and my littlest cousin (pretend) feeding me with a bottle! The bottle that came with the BABY she just got as a darn present!

They aren't at all like Dad who just holds me up so I can see better. (I'm short, ok!)

Dumb girls!

....But then again, Momma and my girl cousins like to cuddle with me more than Dad and my boy cousins. Maybe it's an ok trade off. Just don't tell them, they don't need to know that!

In other news, my Momma got a hair cut. I was quite confused by it at first. I sniffed and sniffed her head to see if it was a trick. Who knows where she could stuff it. Girls are tricky. I like it now, especially since it takes her less time to deal with and wash, so more time for ME!

She looks different, but she is still the same. Still loves to give me kisses. Yet another girl thing. But it's ok, 'cause I love to give her kissies, too.

Oh, can you not tell her about that either! Thanks.

Beat the Heat

2010-07-28T07:57:00.000-05:00

Sammy HATES the heat. Ok, proabably more of the humidity than the heat. It's kinda funny, in a way. He gets soo excited to go outside, then once the wall of heat and humidity hits, his head hangs a little lower. A little bitter disappointment each and every time. Poor pup. Doing our fun hikes, dogpark trips, big walks, even the lake isn't too feasible when you have multiple days in a row of heat advisories, and heat indicies around 110. Just not good for doggers.
Moreover, Sammy has yet to learn from the turtle...he is still the rabbit. He has NO idea how to pace himself. He goes right to fun, and goes and goes as fast and hard as he can, til he can't go anymore. Another reason, we're camping it indoors. Just not worth it with that mentality.
I try my darndest to stay a step ahead of him. We have a schedule, usually 2 days in advance of his activities centered around our work schedules and temperatures. IE: when we take walks, when we plan to go somewhere, what yummy things may lie in the freezer...etc. We only walk him at the ends of the day...early morning, late evening. With our schedules, it's not perfect. We plan bigger trips when we know our work schedules align and he will be alone alot. Then we try to entertain him while we are here.
His toys and bones are getting boring to him. Sammy pulls out each and every toy out, one by one, then looks at me like, "uh...more? These suck." Unfortunately I don't think anything will really be too much fun for him right now. He just seems so miserable being trapped indoors more. (I tell myself he understands, but I'm not sure. lol)
Anyway, I came home to find that Sammy had found a super fun game to beat the heat!

"Hi Momma...I had fun today!!"

And another video just for all the Sammy fans. He is such a good listener!! :)

Toughest Job

2010-07-27T12:09:00.003-05:00

Sammy has many jobs. Many tough demanding jobs. Seriously. For beginners, he has to be cute ALL the time! He has to put up with everyone telling him he is adorable, and do it with a smile on his face. He has to watch for pesky ground squirrels getting too comfortable on our patio, as well as anything blowing in the wind. Terrorism comes in all shapes in Sammy's point of view. But, by far Sammy's toughest, most excruciating, worst job in the whole entire world.....waiting. Sammy's life is a corgi dream (I think). He has tons of expierences. Sammy is a very intergral part of our life. He gets to go on lots of car rides (everywhere! bank, grocery store, pet stores, gas station, fast food), basically whenever possible. He is always part of any family gathering (lots of visits to my grandparents assisted living home even!). He gets car trips for the sake of a car ride if he hasn't had one in a while. We also get guests. The kids around our complex love Sammy, and stop to say hi to him. He gets walked once a week by our neighbor girl. As well as people we invite over. Sammy has built up an intuition of knowing when something fun is coming up. Don't know how he built the whole thing, but I'm pretty sure a big part of it is my cell phone. He knows Erik's cell phone ringer for sure. But it seems like now he listens more to the other voice, and if it's my mom, he thinks she is on her way over and we are (all 3) gonna do something really fun. And he loves her van because the windows are way easier to stick out of than our dumb cars! Well, all this anticipation builds up in the little pup, and he is NOT good at controling it. This week my cousin, her husband and 3 kids are in town. Her middle child's birthday is the beginning of next month, so we had a birthday party for him last night at our grandparents. Sammy, of course, is among the attendants. (Last summer we brought Sammy home on the 7th, and my cousin's bday party was the 8th, so it was fun to have Sammy go again knowing everyone and more sure of himself!) Sammy, of course, figured out that something super cool, involving him was going on. He was on high alert. I took him out to potty, and my mom called to say she was on her way to pick the 2 of us up. Sammy was probably nodding to himself, "Just as I suspected!" When we got back to our door, I left Sammy's leash on him, helping out his excitement thinking the moment I take it off, my mom will get here. So Sammy chilled by the door watching every little motion and listening to every sound awaiting a visual of my mom, or a sound of her squeaky brakes (yes, Sammy knows that distint squeak!) After a few minutes of it, he was driving me nutso and I thought if I hafta put up with his whines, nose slobbers, pacing, etc. I might as well take a darn video of it to share with everyone. So without further ado, here it is: **note**we (the fam) calls my mom, Nanny-poo, and that is how Sammy knows her!**
PS..Sammy had a blast with the kids. He loves them, and now he is beyond exhausted today! Although he is putting up a grouchy front!

Get Your Smiley Cup

2010-07-23T20:44:00.007-05:00

Does your dog suffer from bumps under the chin? Are you worried that it is itchy or ouchy for your pup?
If you said yes, we have your answer....A Smiley Cup!!

Take it from Sammy, just look at his his before picture:

That was before Sammy got his Smiley Cup! Sammy's chin was being irriated by his plastic food bowl. With proper cleaning and this special Smiley Cup, you can help relieve bumps from your pup's chin!
Look at Sammy's chin after just 8 days:

The best part, is your dog will love his new food dish as it's sure to put a smile on everyone's face! Smiles should be contagious...not bumps!

****Note. This is not an actual advertisment. This was just meant to be funny!! We aren't promoting the smiley cup, just trying to express our story as a pretend advertisment.*****

Ok, so we don't know for sure what is helping his bumps the most, the medicated wipes, the warm water washclothes twice a day, or the bowl but we are just happy to see a difference. We had been feeding him on a plate from our cupboard, as you may have seen on the previous blog, which was making a big mess. My mom had this smiley cup we used for soup when I was little and asked if I wanted to try it with Sammy before getting him a "real," non-plastic food bowl to see if it would work before purchasing it. We are thinking that it's a combination of all three factors, so we are going to keep him away from plastic dogbowls now. But we have really grown to like our Smiley Cup and we are keeping it. A Smiley Corgi needs a Smiley Cup!!

Me Misses the Snows

2010-07-22T11:43:00.003-05:00

Apparently Sammy isn't the only corgi missing the colder days.

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8592598159168102338

Wonder if he remembers how fewer and shorter walks, dogpark trips, swimming fun, and car rides there were when the snow was falling??

Swimmy Swimmy With My Jacket

2010-07-20T19:24:00.015-05:00

This past Saturday we were able to go to the lake just as we had hoped, allowing Sammy to wear his life jacket in the water for the first time. It was a perfect time since it was our fifth day straight in the 90's, with the humidity it was pretty ridiculous outside! We got up early, made Sammy eat his breakfast and tried to keep him from playing too much, to allow him to digest but not waste too much energy! That was the toughest part of the day, let me tell you!
"Look mom, cleaned mys plate, ready for swimmies!"
**We are trying a plate to get him away from his plastic bowl to see if that helps his chin bumps, before buying a new one.**

We got to the lake about 10:30 in the morning, at which point it was 89 degrees already! There are a few beaches to the big, main lake and the first was pretty busy already, so we drove down and found, what we thought was a secret beach. Actually, it was an awesome beach! It was very shallow for a long time, so Sammy could walk out into the water a good 20 feet before needing to swim. He got to play with his tennis ball alot there, since he could just splash through the water for the ball. There was a pretty steep drop off after that, so we could also get into the water, as well. Not too long into our beach fun, a dead, bloated fish came floating by!!! I freaked out and made us go to a different beach!
We went to the next beach down, which was alot less busy that the first, so it was still a positive. There were a couple families, so Sammy was somewhat distracted by the kids. We were able to get him over that with long swims! The water got deeper much faster, which was too bad, but the bouys were way further out, so each swim was much longer than the other beach, which was more fun for us. We put Sammy in his life jacket, and he was just so darn cute. We took him out of it, and we noticed a difference in his swimming attitude. Less messing around, and more swimming back to the beach. That made us feel pretty good about the life jacket. In fact, we are vocally pro life jacket for short dogs now. Haha.

The best part, is taking him out to deep water, he hasta paddle in the air, just to prepare!

Our big objective was to see how he would do, since my cousins will be coming into town next week, and we wanted to invite them to go swimming at the lake, but not before we tested Sammy in the water. Growing up I had a dog who loved to swim, but would attach to people in the water, and I didn't want Sammy to do that to any kids. Sammy is all business in the water, not clingy at all. But also doesn't mind being picked up in the water, although he still paddles! Haha. So we are even more excited now, that before.

After a while, we gave Sammy a little breather, and took him back up the beach to lay out for a little while with us. He wanted to lay down, and we brought him his own towel for it, but...he just couldn't get settled. When two brothers were wrestling in water, he barked at them! It was funny! And, he had to get drinks from his water bowl every couple of minutes! He kept rearranging his towel to get comfortable, then he decided he needed to get underneath my legs, probably to get in the shade!

We didn't lay out long, just enough to get some sun. We went back in the water for a cool down, then we carried him over the sand back to the car. Almost made it. He had to get back in the sand once more to roll around! It's so weird that he loves to roll in the sand. He accidentally (I hope accidentally) eats sand when he rolls around, which worries me, so I'm the mean Mommy who won't let him just enjoy his day at the beach!

After coming home, he immediately got his bath. (Which clogged the drain a little...fun fun), then he got to go see the kitty-cats at my mom's! He even got to stay with them while we went to dinner! But once we came home to stay, he was passed out! Completely done for! And now he knows the word, "swimmies." He is totally excited to go "swimmies" again! And so are we!!

Spaghetti Night!

2010-07-16T18:40:00.002-05:00

So yesterday, I passed my day off time during our heat advisory by watching Rachael Ray on TV with Sammy in front of the fan! Haha. Rachael made, what I can only imagine is, the best fish tacos! They looked so good. I think Sammy & I drooled in unison! Today I HAD to get online and try to find the recipe, so when we do our next shopping spree, I can load a couple of these items up and make them! While on Rachael Ray's website (rachaelray.com) I was beyond over joyed to find a link to recipes for...you might have guessed it, DOGS! Oh man was I excited.
For other people who enjoy making a little something special for their puppers, I thought I would share these cool recipes! My most inticing is the "K-9 Ingredient Meatballs" (http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=2688). Sammy's 1 year anniversary of his homecoming is coming up in less than a month, and we are now planning on having Spaghetti Night to celebrate!!! We are gonna double check a couple of the ingredients I'm surprised are used, but then we are off to celebrate!!!

Anyway...in case anyone is interested, her complete listing is:
http://www.rachaelray.com/food_results.php?kID=72

Teenage Years

2010-07-13T16:51:00.003-05:00

According to the dog age chart we got our first vet visit, Sammy, now 15 months is 16 years old in human years. Boy is that easy to tell! I mean, Sammy isn't driving or needing a tux for prom, but he is getting yucky pimples and wooing girl dogs!

Sammy has been plagued with dog acne. I didn't know they had it either! Apparently it is most common in big dogs, but Sammy is just lucky enough to be an exception. They are disgusting! From what I understand, it can be a phase for younger dogs while their hormones settle between puppy and adult dogs. I'm hoping it will be a short phase. There isn't much we can do. We need to keep it clean and if it proves to start to be irritating (itchy or sore) we can get him an aloe vera skin lotion/gel to soothe it. I have pictures on here, they look awful, so BEWARE!! He doesn't seem bothered by it too much. When we first noticed it, there were quite a few little ones, and now there are just 3 big ones. The one popped, which concerned us quite a bit, so now we are using medicated wipes to clean it.

Has anyone else's dog had acne? I've never had a dog with acne, at least that we knew of.

On a much cuter, happier note, today Sammy seemed to like a girl dog at the dogpark today! Omaha has been lucky enough to have some mild temperatures lately. Starting today we are starting a warm, above 90 degree, high humidity streak for the forseeable weather. I had today off, so since we were unable to go swimming (rainy) yesterday, I made it up to him by going to the dogpark this morning before if got too warm. When we got there, there were only two dogs in the all dog side. So we gave it a shot. Sammy had fun running with them, but once they wanted to play, they were a little too much for him. We were going to go for a nice long walk instead, when on our way out, we saw two dogs in the small dog side. Both Italian Greyhounds. Sammy loves all greyhounds. They love to run, and Sammy loves to chase and herd. They are gentle and can calm down easily. Perfect combo. Immediately he ran right for them. He chased them a bit, then all three ran back to the picnic table where we were sitting with the greyhounds' owner. Two other dogs entered and we thought it was strange as can be that Sammy didn't feel the urge to go and introduce himself and greet them. He usually MUST greet every dog and person to come through the gate. As well as when he first comes in, he must make the rounds to each dog and person and introduce himself then, too. He's so silly.
After a couple minutes, we noticed Sammy wasn't so much infatuated by the greyhounds as much as by the one, girl greyhound! He licked her face and stood right next to her. If she went to see her owner, Sammy sat right next to her while she got attention. If she came to get lots of petting from me, he was not jealous, totally fine sharing attention with her. If she took off to get water, or run with her "brother," or see a different dog, he ran with her. When they would stand, he stood right next to her. We have never seen him act this attached to another dog in this way. He has followed older dogs in his puppy days, as well and stand guard to puppies and dogs way smaller than him, but this was more of an equal partnership between them. AND, she didn't seem to mind at all! When talking to the owner, we were very sad to learn that they don't live here in Omaha. Apparently she is preparing to move to Omaha, and was up seeking job opportunities. Hopefully they will be able to meet again someday, because it was just so darn cute! When it came time to leave, he was absolutely exhausted, but he was unhappy at the prospect of leaving! As we walked out, he looked back every few steps. I think my baby is lovesick! :(
We shared ice cream this afternoon! He is just getting so grown up!!

Life Saving

2010-07-10T11:56:00.004-05:00

Does this make my butt look big?

"I's readies to go boating or canoeing now!!"

Sammy even got squeaky little tennis balls to take to the lake!! He carried them all around the store, even to the car. He was sooo happy!

Yummies!

2010-07-08T09:32:00.000-05:00

With Sammy and the fish, we are at the petstores, alot! We just stopped by for more fish food and we always stop by the dog section just to see what kind of sales are going on, and if there is something we are close to needing on sale. To my happy surprise, there is a new exciting dog food!!
We have Sammy on ScienceDiet Small Bites. When we got Sammy we had a free bag of ScienceDiet Small Bites Puppy from our vet, so of course we started him on it. He really seemed to like it. I decided to look up some information on it, as well as other brands of dogfood. I was really inclined to stick with it because it seemed great for him. Lots of the small dog dog foods just don't seem to have as much ingredients that seem important for active dogs. And Sammy may be in the small dog category but he is active. I think the difference is, there isn't just small dog, under 35 lbs or whatever it is. But there is a small dog, and then there is a toy dog dog food as well. So it seems much more specialized for his actual size. In the first month, we got Sammy set up at Doggie Daycare at the humane society here in Omaha. When we were talking to them, they explained that they used ScienceDiet and wanted to tell us about the pros of ScienceDiet.
That was pretty much all we needed! It's a bit more expensive, but it seemed like a good move for him. One month we ended up trying another food for a few reasons, but anyway it didn't work out well. He never seemed full. He was always looking for more food and began begging at the dinner table. We quickly got him back on ScienceDiet and within a week, he began another growth spurt! Since then we haven't even considered changing his food.
The reason I'm telling you all of this is we got soo excited when we saw that ScienceDiet has a new food!!! Healthy Mobility Small Bites! http://www.hillspet.com/products/sd-canine-adult-healthy-mobility-small-bites-dry.html
This is very important to us because he still limps alot after too much activity. We are running out of ideas of how to help him, so I was super excited. Unfortunately we have a nearly full bag of his regular food. So for now we grabbed a couple of cans of the wet food as a supplement to this dinner. We have done the dinner can supplement, just so he gets a treat and a little extra nutrition. It has come in a chicken or liver flavor, and this Healthy Mobility canned food comes in beef flavor!
We gave it to him for the first time last night, oh man he was excited! He pushed his little dinner bowl around the whole kitchen, dining room and living room making sure he got every last bite! We only give him about a tablespoon of canned food in his dry kibble, but apparently it made quite a tasty dish!
We just wanted to share our find in case anyone else uses ScienceDiet. We are hoping that it helps with his joints. We are disappointed there isn't a corgi on the Healthy Mobility Small Bites like there is on the regular Small Bites, but that is ok. We can get over it. Sammy is cuter anyway! haha.

Paddle, Paddle, Paddle

2010-07-06T18:37:00.013-05:00

I don't think Sammy expected to have to have another full day of excitement and new things. I think he was quite happy with the weekend, and could have just napped the next couple days away. That isn't what happened, and I think in the end he is ok with it!
First, he was waaaay less than pleased about my 5am alarm for me to be to work at 6. If he had opposable thumbs, he would have grabbed my cell phone and thrown it. Apparently he was quite the stinker pants this morning, grouchy and lathargic. It didn't help that by noon, the temperature had risen above 90 degrees already. Well, I got off work a little after noon and came up with, what I thought was a brilliant idea. It's hot, Erik's off, I'm off, it's a weekday, and it's not showing any signs of raining (like it said in the forecast!)...lets take Sammy to the lake today and not wait til next weekend!
I hurried home, got in my swimsuit (tried to convince Erik to wear a swimsuit, but failed), got beach towels, bug spray, water and the camera and we were off to Fremont Lakes. Sammy was, of course, very excited, and for once, didn't fall asleep on the car ride. He usually passes out when we hit interstates or highways, and we had mostly highway driving. I think he was just too excited for what may be coming to stay still!!
Oh and we got soooo excited because as we were driving by, we saw a family of dogs, and one was a CORGI!! But by the time we got our day pass, car parked and got over there, the corgi was nowhere to be found. We were sad. Well Sammy had no clue about any of it, just excited about the smells, sounds, and new sights! We took a little walk around the park so he could truley enjoy the water. He was plum tuckered out by the time we hit the beach, but that was probably for the best. We had to keep him on a leash for a couple reasons. One: we saw a sign saying to keep your dog on 6' ropes and there were lots of state park people there doing flood monitoring, landscaping, and clean up from the holiday weekend. And more importantly, two: we didn't know how he was gonna react and chasing him down did not sound like fun in mid 90 degree temperatures.
He waddled right up to the water without any problems. The last time we were at a lake fishing, I kept him away from the water because the flooding was really nasty, so he was probably unsure if he was allowed to. Plus, there were jetskis making waves, he was concerned about them coming towards him! Lol. Once I went in, he kinda staggered in. After getting in, he seemed ok. We slowly went forward and finally I just got tugging him a little so he would have to be afloat and see how he did before he had the chance to get scared, meaning too stubborn! He did great. It was a little surprising to him, but he doggie paddled like he had been doing it for years!!
He swam right back to where he could stand and looked at us both. I persuaded (tugged) him back to swimming and to my (and Erik's) amazement, he just swam right past me and around me, back to the shallow water! He looked like a pro!
He was distracted by other people and stuff, but seemed to be having a good time with it! I had to kick it up a notch, of course. He had been great with the little short bursts of swimming, but I really wanted to know how he would do in a longer swim (see if life jackets are in our boating future, so I picked him up and took him out to water about 6" below my shoulder. He didn't struggle getting out there, swam right out of my arms back to the beach. Looked up at Erik mostly and looked proud when he got back. The next time we went a little deeper. He was so funny, when I picked him up out of the water, he kept his little paws paddling in the air! He paddled the whole way out to water up to my shoulder!
He swam back, and that was just about enough for him. He was all out of energy. He rolled in the sand, then came out a couple of inches into the water where I was laying down (well on my elbows in the water). He definately had fun. Erik wished he had brought his swimsuit (duh) and I can't wait to do it again! I really want to bring a squeaker tennis ball and see if he would play with it or not. Probably not, but you never know!
Today was most definatley a success, couldn't have gone better. And we will be finishing with a very thorough bath!! He smells very fishy! As do I.

"Can we come back soon, Momma? This is sooo fun!"

Happy Fifth of July!

2010-07-05T11:19:00.004-05:00

We had a very fun Fourth of July Weekend! Sammy was able to play with kids and dogs! He got to see and play with his doggie cousins; see one of his bff's, grant as well as 2 kids at the bbq; he got to hang out with my mom and chase kitty cats; he got lots of tasty treats snuck to him; he got lots of attention; AND he got to see fireworks for the first (real) time! What does this mean for a nearly 15 month old corgi?

Happy Fifth of July! Enjoy your naps!

Happy Fourth of July

2010-07-04T13:14:00.007-05:00

So far our Fourth of July weekend has been really fun! Although Sammy was alive for Fourth of July '09, he was in the petstore, so he was unable to expierence it. So, I'm calling this his first Fourth, even though it is not. Surprisingly, he is less than concerned about most fireworks! Shocking since he hated thunder at first, and for a long time after. As well as say our neighbors being loud. But as long as we are with him, no biggee.
In Omaha, we like our fireworks. We have a big concert and fireworks on the Friday before the Fourth at our big park, Memorial Park. It is practically across the street from main campus, so we had planned on going to campus and watching from there. However, parking was opened to the public rather than just permits (ugh) and we ended up at the golf course/park between main campus and South campus. It was Sammy's first time on a golf course, he really enjoyed the green for some reason. There were other dogs and tons of kids so Sammy was pretty much in his element, except for that darn leash that drove him crazy. Once the fireworks began, he sat right in between Erik and I, and that silly dog, it seemed like he watched part of it! Can you believe it? He was taken off guard by the echoing of the booms, which was kinda cute. But no barking, no whining, no upset-edness (did I make that word up?), just calm and sweet.
Yesterday (Saturday, July 3) was Rosenblatt Fireworks. Usually on a Saturday, but can fall midweek if the Fourth is Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, the Omaha Royals take on another minor league team and afterwards we have a humongus firework show! I've heard before, although I have not researched it myself to be certain, that it was "The largest firework show this side of the Mississippi." Seriously, about the only reason to care about baseball sometimes. Erik's parents got everyone tickets to the game (AKA fireworks) since this is the last year of Rosenblatt Stadium. (Rosenblatt is also where the College World Series is, but Omaha is building a larger stadium to keep the CWS. The Royals don't get enough people for the Rosenblatt, so the Henry Doorly Zoo (also amazing, seriously top 10 in the world) will be taking the land to expand. It's a whole big thing.)
First, however, we went to Erik's sister's house to help with their outdoor renovations (Erik's brother and sister-in-law have a business doing this) to improve the house and they came in town for it). Sammy got to play with both his cousins, Bella and Max. Sammy was about over his limit after about an hour, but was able to hang in there for about 2. He just doesn't have the energy for all that! I ended up separating them so Sammy could lie down for a while. We came home to take showers and Sammy passed out to the point he didn't even wake for the hair dryer! We left for the game, so Sammy got picked up by my mom to spend the evening with her. I wanted him to have someone around for the brunt of the fireworks, but moreover I wanted to have him covered otherwise I would NEVER have any fun worrying about him with fireworks and long time...etc.
We had a great time at the Blatt, amazing fireworks (we have it recorded I just don't know how to upload that big of a file :( ), but I don't think Sammy was quite as excited. He apparently was unable to sleep soundly. Kept jumping. We got to my mom's to pick him up around midnight, and home around 12:30. Then the poor baby had to wake up at 5 this morning since I had to work at 6! He has lots of plans for this evening still, and I think he is concerned about it because when it came time for his photoshoot, well, he was WAAAAAAAY too tired to help!

"This Fourth of July business is hard work, Momma."

"Ok, Mommma, I'll do it. .....Happy Fourth of July Everyone!!!"

"When I grows up, I wants to be a sailor, jus like my Dad!"

"'Specially the nappy part!"

"Have a Happy Fourth of July! Sammy out."

Lesson One: Be Cute

2010-07-02T16:42:00.002-05:00

Sammy & I are very sorry we have not been able to chronicle our life lately. But frankly, between my new job, holiday, and the darn weather, we aren't that interesting. Sammy dispises the heat! He just looks pathetic and whines to us all the time. Seriously, if he wasn't so darn cute... Anyway, when we are home together, we are really boring. We just cuddle up and watch some quality TV (we just had a Netflix-ed Weeds marathon!) while he chomps on his bone. He is just so cute, too. He really wants to be cuddly, so he moseys over and throws himself on me, or yesterday came alongside my side and did a quick circle (I think to make sure he would fit) next to my arm and laid down with his head sharing my pillow! It was so cute I teared up! He just wants all the attention that he always gets, but then...after a few minutes he starts panting and he can't handle it anymore. He hasta get up and lay by himself, which only irritates him even more so he lays down, pulls out his cutest face and whines. Or uses his "..bbb..bbuuu...bbbuuuutt I'm cute" bark which is almost as high pitched as birds! He really knows how to pull at my little strings connected to my heart because I feel just awful for the poor baby!
That's pretty much Sammy's life nowadays. An awful war between heat and comfort. He gets comfortable, then hasta move because he gets too warm! I think he wants us to move to Alaska!

Since we have not much to share, I thought I would post one of my favorite Corgi videos I have seen on YouTube. Enjoy! And Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

Walking the Humans

2010-06-29T14:33:00.002-05:00

It seems as though Sammy thinks, more and more, that he is in charge of the walks. Seriously, it's as if he is trying to make sure we get our exercise in. My arms have become well toned trying to fight him and teach him that NO, we tall two legged people are the walking directors. How can a little 31 lb, less than a foot tall dog be so hard to control? Apparently quite easily. ...And this is how I know I won't be making any headway (try as I might):

http://ihasahotdog.com/2010/06/24/funny-dog-pictures-pullin-humanz/

Remind anyone of their corgi excursions?

MIA

2010-06-26T20:17:00.002-05:00

Sammy and I have been a little MIA around the internet, and frankly the world, this past week. I work retail, and every now and again they get the hankerin to change up the store and give it a face lift. This past week was my store's turn. In order to do this without scaring away customers and efficently as possible, this means everything happens while the store is closed. .....duh duuuh, daaaaahhh.....OVERNIGHTS! It was quite an exciting experience, all in all. I started with a four hour shift, 6-10am, last Sunday morning, then started the overnight Project Team that Sunday night. We started at 9 pm and worked til we finished what was allocated to us that night. Every night toggled right around 12 hours. It was a pretty crazy experience. It included moving lots of huge, greatly heavy things, reorganizing stuff that was there, hooking up electronics I've never heard of, and all of it when I'm used to sleeping. We all took our 15 minute breaks together, and our lunch breaks together which meant I was able to watch boy cartoons at awkward hours in the middle of the night, since I was one of two girls. But it was fun. If it wasn't night shifts, and could some how happen during daytime, I would be all over that job! The paycheck will be fantastic, I ended up clocking 67 hours last week.
The downside was not really being able to hang out with Sammy (and Erik). The first night, Sammy seemed all sorts of confused. It didn't get too much better the rest of the week either. I don't think he slept all that fantastically because when I would come home, first we would be all jazzed to see each other, but then we would make it into the bedroom and we would both pass out. The first couple of days were ok, I really couldn't sleep too much during the day. But after the last night, that's all I could do was sleep ALL day long. At that point it seemed like I wasn't ever seeing my Sammy doodle! Today, I had a morning meeting, then the rest of the day I have just been spending with him! He has been very cuddly (especially during my frustrated time watching the USA-Ghana game) and never getting too far away. And if I do, or I'm not paying enough attention, I get lots of whines and whimpers to tell me so!
This week we will hafta do some super fun stuff to make up for all of our time lost! Hope everyone else had a super week! :)

Wormy....Wormy Mine!!

2010-06-17T17:08:00.010-05:00

Just the other day we were able to take Sammy on his second fishing trip. To him, it might have really been his first since his first was probably overshadowed by all the camping. I have been so excited to get Sammy all ready for fishing, camping and hopefully swimming! I remember doing all this with all the dogs my dad has had (all hunting dogs, more natural for them) and hoped that Sammy would love it as much as I have thought they have.
It was more or less a spur of the moment thing. We drove down to Bellevue

View Larger Map
(we live around the area Northeast of Boys Town, but West of I-680) and went to Hayworth Park which has a little marina on the Missouri River. The Keystone Trail runs right along the side, and actually it runs from fairly North in Omaha, winds through, through LaVista, Papillion, Bellevue and into Council Bluffs I've heard.
When we got to the parking lot at Hayworth we saw two cars we knew! First we saw Erik's sister's car then my mom's van! Quickly after we saw Erik's sister and their dog, Max! Her fiancee was the one who found the fishing hole from their walks with Max.
Both Sammy and Max were way to wound up, so we had to separate because there was way too many other people and things going on to deal with it all. So we got going on the trail, which is somewhat acts as a dike for the farmland around the park. It sits well above the local terrain, which is great because it has been flooded with all of our rain and rain North of Omaha.
Hayworth Park offers some camping spots as well as lots of picnic areas, playground equipment and a marina. In our pictures you can see the water almost to the roof of picnic stuctures, picnic tables floating (the green things), porta pottys floating and overturned (and dumpsters!) and the road flooding over.

After walking past the park area, the farmers field has been completely flooded over on the East side, with large puddles on the West side of the trail.

Sammy immediately went into his little ADD mode. He had to smell all the smells, try to get to the water, follow bugs, want to see every person that walked by, and watch those coming up behind. It is probably no surprise Max and Erik's sister were able to easily catch up to us! We were able to walk alongside them until we made it to our fishing hole. Along the way, Sammy used all his energy up fast, and then tried to trick us into laying down and stopping. At one point we thought we were gonna end up carrying him back! It was about a 20 minute walk, in total, to our destination. Our destination was a normal channel that came through, however it was much higher than usual. Next to our location, there was this dumpster that got washed up!

There was a family there when we got there, all of who were very excited to see a corgi. Sammy was happy to let them. He was doted on until they left about a half hour later. Once we got there, we put Sammy's stake and rope into the ground so he was able to have some room to roam. Only restricting him from going up to the trail. We also brought him a water bowl and water, and we got that set up for him in the shade. Then we started getting our poles set up. This was quite difficult with Sammy and the family all interacting, but we were able to get it done!
Once it came time to cast, Sammy got very interested. He tried to jump up to get the worm and bobber. Unfortunately the worm is attached to a hook, and made me very nervous everytime he found casting and reeling in interesting. As it would cast out, he went so far as to run to the water front chasing it! Silly puppy!
After a little while, I wanted to move in closer to the channel, and that silly puppy nearly lost it! I was out of his area and he couldn't get to me. However, this gave me the most hope, because he took to the water. He walked right in, and stood in the water up to his neck and barked at me! Yay....he might just be a swimming dog afterall!!! And he will be a fisherdog, too! Overall he did just fantastic, he just had too much intrest in the worm!
After being there for about 10 minutes, all of a sudden Sammy had a new visitor he was quite excited about. It was my Mom! She just happened to be walking at the same place we were going fishing! Talk about coincidences! She stayed with us, and that made Sammy quite happy. In fact we have a fishing day set up with her this Saturday, now! Sammy isn't gonna know what hit him, he'll be so excited! We are going to go to a lake rather than a flooded river channel. And I am hoping for a beach I can take him to, and maybe we can go swimming!! :) Keep your toeses crossed!
My mom stayed with us, and she walked Sammy back which allowed me to free up a hand to take all the pictures you have seen thus far, and was able to take this group shot of us:

(see his intrest in the worm and bobber!)

Here they are getting ahead of us.

And also here is Sammy always needing to make sure I am still coming. He can't get very far away, even with family! Isn't he the sweetest!

Since he had to keep stopping for me, we were able to walk together most of the time, and I could answer questions to his demanding public! We were stopped a couple times so kids (or adults) could pet him, or ask what kind of dog he is, to tell us how cute he is, OR the best question ever: "Is that a corgi? It is! He is so cute! Here, buddy..." Yep, we enjoy that. We happened to be having that connection with a couple as a toad came jumping out on the trail! Sammy was all about the toad...when it hopped. But when it stood still, it almost seemed as if he lost it, like he couldn't see it anymore! I got down and picked it up to see if he would have anymore intrest in it, and he didn't. I was surprised myself.

The couple said something about, "he's gonna step on it," or "he's gonna try to bite it." I wish I had a good way of telling her that it's more likely the toad would win in any kind of a confrontation....he didn't get that name Samantha for nothing!
And in true Sammy style, he came back home, passed out and slept the next 11 hours! I sure hope Saturday goes just as well! Tomorrow is the first time that Erik and I will both be gone to work at the same time (for more than 3 hours overlap) in a grand many months. He will definately need something special to help make his transtion into this situation more acceptable!

Honey Bunches of Corgi

2010-06-15T11:04:00.007-05:00

First, Sammy and I would like to say thank you to all the nice comments we recieved regarding Sammy's Day on The Daily Corgi. I must admit, I did not really read them til this morning. Sammy and I took a bit of a sabatical from it all starting that evening. I have a separate email set up for all the blog stuff and I just didn't use it or look at our page. This morning I did, and was very happy to see it all. I had intended upon a longer sabatical, but all the kind words made me reconsider! Again, thank you guys! :)

From Sammy's day on The Daily Corgi, Sammy and I were able to find out about a little corgi get together here in Omaha this past Sunday. Needless to say, we were quite excited about it!! We have met a couple corgis here and there at our dogpark, but it has only been on occasion....luck of the draw with no further connection. We were quite lucky that this corgi mini-meetup was going to be located at our dogpark of choice, and we were all the more excited!
Sammy, being Sammy, made sure to greet each and every dog, corgi or not. I hadn't realized, until this meet-up, how extreme of a social butterfly he is. Most other corgis stayed pretty attached to their pawrents. Sammy did his usual, meet and greet throughout the whole dogpark, look back to his pawrents every 10 minutes or come back and check in. He gets to see us all the time, he doesn't want to waste his time with us when their are other dogs who will wrestle with him. Yet, he doesn't want us to have any other dogs linger too much by us OR us to do anything without him! He is such a stinker pants. It's a one way street in Sammyland.
Sammy loves big dogs. Well, he loves all dogs, but he has something in him that is drawn to the biggest dogs in the park. He MUST make friends. And typically, the biggest dogs have a little curiousity for the little dogs. So again, Sammy wins. It appears as though Sammy might be in a corgi minority there. Once another corgi barked at the biggest dog, Sammy ran right over and stood right in between. If only he could talk, he would probably express "how we are all dogs. Be it big or small, we are all dogs and for that we should just get along!" He is such a little mediator. He always gets in the business of disagreeing (barking) dogs! Sometimes this is not a wonderful quality when dogs are past disagreeing, and nearing the edge of physically disagreeing (fighting). But somehow that little stinkerpants does have a way with getting dogs to agree and play or leave each other alone more times than not. I don't know how he does it!
Sammy also loves the little dogs. The littler the better! Especially with puppys. He will just stand guard as a big brother and protect them! He will walk along the side of them and make sure they are ok, and if other dogs come over that have yet to pass Sammy inpection, he will go over and sniff them. There was a baby corgi there as well, and Sammy took to her very fast. However, there were corgi lovers there, and Sammy was not needed because the baby went from lap to lap alot!!

After the big dogs arrived, we walked over to the small dog area. We had gone to the all dog side first because there was a dauchsand meet up going on at the small dog side, and no one at the all dog side. Seemed perfect at the time. Sammy was quite unhappy at the move first, but probably because he thought he was getting the leash put on him to leave. He quickly livened right back up once he realized we were just switching parks.
Sammy had quite a bit more energy than almost all the corgis. He was less than satisfied to just hang out with us. He did make one good friend, a tri color named Loki. They were able to wrestle and run around quite a bit. And in their running around he quite a glimpse of the dauchsands. I don't know if he thinks they are all puppies or if he remembers herding with his corgi friend we have seen there twice, but off he went. He went right in the middle of the dauchsand meetup. We watched him chase them and greet each and every one (as well as their pawrents) AND even play fetch with one guy. At one point we saw him jump on the lap of the guy throwing the ball for him. Sammy was less than concerned about all the corgi action or us! Haha. Typical.
As for all the new corgis we met, it was one of the first times Sammy looked small!! I often call him a chunky monkey corgi, but I don't think I can anymore! He was shorter, less long and thinner than most. As well as less agile. Two corgis, Charlie and Ladybug were able to jump on top of the benches. These benches are very tall, as in when I sit on them my feet are a good 4-6" off the ground! Sammy standing on his hind legs has only his shoulders and head above it! They were quite sweet when they jumped up, just there for some attention! But never too far away from their mom. Another corgi, Cody, must have decided it was too warm for him and found mud puddles to wash walk through! He would keep trying to sneak away! He even got bathophobic Loki to follow into the water. At one point Sammy went over to see what was going on, and I felt my anxiety coming on as he was nearing the puddle!! It's funny with the other dogs, but I have this weird thing about Sammy being very clean and not smelly!! When he was a puppy and we went for walks I would make sure that he would walk around puddles. Now he does it naturally! Yay!! He gets a bath a week (or this week, 2), gets his ears cleaned at least once a week, and his teeth brushed once a week. Thank goodness Sammy did not feel like going into the mud with the others. I don't know why he chose not to, but I am grateful. He still got a bath that night anyway. (He was totally slobbered!)
After a while with the dauchsands, Sammy was nearing his end of energy. He did what he always does, finds his pawrents. He came over to us and jumped on his hind legs to sit on my lap. He watched the other corgis putzing around from my lap. After 10 minutes, he gained enough energy for one more wind of energy, that lasted just a few short minutes. Then he was back. He looked very jealous of Charlie that could jump all the way up to the bench and didn't need to ask for help! About this time all the corgis were looking a little latharigic, especially Sammy and the baby! We all gathered for a picture to remember the day. Hopefully we will be able to do it again! Sammy had a great time!

****I learned that I am not a good photographer for lots of corgis grouped together all doing their own thing. Hopefully I will get better, but here are a couple that I was able to take!****

"Loki, we's gotsta go this ah-way. Them dauchsands, they fun. You's see!"

Charlie, doesn't he kinda look like Sammy, just more refined!! Haha:

Cody gettin a mud bath!

My Day, My Day!!!

2010-06-10T16:35:00.003-05:00

It's Sammy's day at The Daily Corgi!!!

"It's my's day! Yeps, read all's 'bouts ME at thedailycorgi.blogspot.com ya knows you wants to! My Momma says I's jus too irristable to say no to!"

http://thedailycorgi.blogspot.com/2010/06/sammy.html

Road Trips: Cats, Bees and Sprinklers!

2010-06-10T12:58:00.013-05:00

We made a quick 24 hour trip back to Erik's parents house when we both had the day off, and the day before they left town for a trip themselves. Sammy LOVES going. He especially loves that once we get there, he is free. No leash and collar! He gets to run around the property, chase rabbits (if he sees them), play with his parent's pup, get lots of extra food and treats, investigate trees, flowers, bushes, open grassy areas, AND all on his on terms. Noone holding him back on his leash, he doesn't even have to have anyone outside with him! He loves it! And it was perfect weather, which only added to the fun!
We got there in the evening, and Sammy had about an hour of sunlight to run around. He used every minute of it! After eating dinner, dessert and talking for a bit, we went to bed early. Sammy apparently didn't like that because he got up 5 times during the night! He didn't even get up that much when we first brought him home! He was just way too excited to sleep I guess. So we ended up sleeping in a little, and got up aroun 10:15. Of course he went right for the door to play outside while his boring parents had breakfast. He ran and ran.
I came out and played with him a bit. Mostly, I got to watch the cat chase him. I do believe that he and Sneezy like each other, but it doesn't sound or seem like it. But Sammy always comes back for more, and Sneezy always follows him.
Erik's mom has a pretty good sized garden, and lets us take some yummy stuff from it. Her strawberries were good and ripe, and there were tons of them. So we took buckets over to gather some to bring home. Sammy of course followed. Where Sammy goes, the other two like to follow and see what's going on! Sammy and Sneezy followed us right into the strawberry patch! Apparently this is as good of a place to play as any!

Here comes Sneezy:

And Sammy sees:

"You are not sly enough for me, Sneezy! I can see you!"

Sammy keeping guard of kitty-cats!

After collecting our garden goodies (strawberries, cilantro, rhubarb, spinich) we moved to cleaning everything and hulling the strawberries. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it, but Sneezy and Sammy took this time to stare each other down. Sneezy on top of the glass table, and Sammy looking at him up through the glass table! Haha.
Next, Sammy and I went walking around. Erik's mom has this cool little old barrel bucket that she has with an old water pump looking thing and she has some fish in there. It's pretty cool, and they keeping getting bigger so I like to check them out. It's right in the middle of her giant garden (she has tons, loves flowers) and Sammy loves to sniff all the flowers with all their different scents. However, there were bumble bees!!! Sammy hasn't really seen bumble bees. Just one before at my mom's house. But here there were a few. He started with curiousity, and when it looked like he had too much and the bees were disturbed, I had to pull him away!

Erik & I then decided to relax some. I laid out in the sun, and he read his book. Sammy continued with his business. He went back and forth between us (yep, the whole 7 feet!), chased flys, and tried to figure out how to get up where Sneezy was, unsucessfully. Actually, Sneezy got mad and blocked Sammy from the water bowl.
The whining and whimpering combined with the hissing got rather annoying, so I planned Sammy's next adventure. One that he was less than pleased about.

"Mom, whatcha doing??"

"Hey, what is this??"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!! No, no, NOOOO!!!"

"Dad, Dad!!! Momma is trying to put me in the falling water! Don't let her!!! Save me, save me Dad!!"

"Ugh..not you again. This is MY DAD! NOT YOURS!!!"

To everyone's surprise, I'm sure, Sammy was quite exhausted at the end of our trip. First, he was totally against getting in the car. He knew what that meant. But once in the car, we didn't even make it to the end of the block before he found his comfortable spot and fell asleep! He slept the whole way home. Slept as we unpacked and I dealt with our goodies. Freezer bagging the excess strawberries and peaches, packaging the rest, that sort of thing. After a 20 minutes he went to the bedroom and begged to get on the bed. Didn't even care we weren't there with him. Didn't even try to hold himself up, just fell into sleep postion as I plopped him down. Slept there through the thunderstorms until 10am! Got up, chomped on his bone for about an hour, and went back to sleep, next to his bone!

UPDATE!

2010-06-09T09:37:00.001-05:00

This is an update for Sammy and his bone!
Even with all the dogpark trips, walks, and other fun stuff, he has managed to do this to his bone in the last week!

**As a reminder, this is in continuation from the post, "Sammy-Sized"**

ME, only ME!

2010-06-08T12:27:00.002-05:00

Senor Stinker Pants, AKA Sammy was being a little trouble maker yesterday. All 10 months we have had him, he has these jealousy and possessive issues. He overall is better than he was 6 months ago, but...for some reason, he has taken a leap back the last week or so.
Sammy has made it very clear, HE is the ONLY one allowed to get hugs from me. I'll start by the dogpark fun. Sometimes there are dogs that are just happy to have people pet them, and I love doggies, so I enjoy petting them. Sammy keeps an eye on this. If a dog over stays his welcome, or comes to me too often, he will make his presence known. If just a friendly reminder, "Hey, that's MY mom! Just remember, she belongs to ME!" isn't enough, he might come over and push his way to my hands. If the dog continues to wear out Sammy's generosity, he will come by teeth showing with a light little snarl. Seriously. Then he will sit to show his realm it's his throne!
Also, no dog is allowed to jump to say hi to me until he has throughly sniffed them. This was causing some probelms, so he has been disciplined to the point where it is a rare instance now. Mostly, he just runs from dog to dog real fast before they can get to me, I think. But this even happened with family dogs. When Erik's sister and her fiancee got a dog, that dog came to say hello to us right away. Sammy jumped up and put him in his place. Yep. Little corgi to Austrialian shepard. Now they are A-Ok, because Sammy now knows him.
All of the other dog stuff even makes some sense. And at the end of the day I can see the the silver lining without having to look too hard. But his issues don't end there. Sammy has a couple wild hairs about Erik & I being too close. We can sit next to each other, that is just fine. But oh man, if we play fight (pushing each other, jumping from behind walls, try to block each other from the bathroom, etc), start to dance to music, or, get this, HUG Sammy just loses it.
He was at his worst around 6 months old, and it has slow but steadily gotten better since then. Til yesterday. He would bark at us, jump up on our legs, pace, run around us in a circle, whine and whimper! Then immediately moving away from each other, he would jump up on my legs with his ears back for me to pick him up.
We have tried telling him NO! We have tried just ignoring him. The only thing that helps is picking him up and getting a family hug or family dance, which really defeats the whole purpose to be quite honest!
Anyway, so that isn't even where it ended last night. When we went to bed, first we watched some Friends in bed and Sammy chomped on his bone at the foot of the bed. Then it was time to go to sleep and Sammy climbed up, rolled on his back with his upper body on my tummy and head rolled back on my shoulder, feet upright next to my hips. It took about 10 minutes for him to find the exactly comfortable spot, but once he did (on his side with head on my shoulder, rest of body against my side) he stayed like that for a few hours! This is quite shocking for him, because he usually gets too warm and can't have anything in his bubble while sleeping. So he usually gets some bed above my pillow (I slink down so he has room) and we share my pillow. That way we are close together, but not overheating. Last night though, not an issue. I wonder what is up with him! He seems especially needy for some reason. Hopefully it doesn't last too long! I love him being all cuddly and lovey, but some how he has to know that I am NOT just HIS!

Monsieur Grumpy Pants

2010-06-05T10:57:00.006-05:00

Sammy is very unhappy this morning. Summer is far from a vacation.
First....the weather is awful. For anyone who has been to the midwest (not just heard about it, because it takes experiencing) it is hot and humid during the summer. For instance, it is 72 degrees right now (10:30am) but the humidity is more than 80% making it feel nearly 85 degrees. Furthermore, it is a yo-yo, ....a roller coaster, .......no.....a yo-yo on a roller coaster temperature wise. Yesterday is was supposed to be 86, and when we were in the car, Erik's car told us it was 94 degrees! But in two days, they aren't even expecting it to get into the 80's. However, the humidity is almost always above 60 percent. Sammy seems to just be starting to realize that nice cool, relaxing days outside are not going to come back until September.
Second, if that isn't enough, the temperature roller coaster means is storm time here in tornado alley. We were quite lucky in Apri and May. Few rain showers and storms, and when they came, they were very mild. However now the temperatures are perfect for crazy storms. It is the time of year where it becomes a daily routine. Hot and humid all day long, lots of sun in the midday raising the temperatures. Clouds building up mid to late afternoon. Sun sets around 9 pm right now, so storms around 9:30-10:00pm. Sometimes later. Some all night, some just sparatic, but still, enough that we have excess water the next day to raise the humidity as the sun evaporates the puddles. Sammy is now able to sleep through the storms, so biggie, but he still won't go out for he before bed potty. He hides behind the couch to avoid the rain. Then every morning I have to pick him up and plop him in the grass because wet grass and mud is the devil's handywork. THEN! Once we get into the grass, all his carefully placed scents get washed around and we have to begin, again. But first we have to get the lay of the land, that is the lay of the scents. Poor puppy, every day he carefully potties his area out, but it never lasts through the night. Our morning potty trips are taking longer and longer every morning, as our evening ones get shorter and shorter!
Finally, if all this isn't enough for the poor pupper, his parents have to go and mess up his one routine NOT messed up by mother nature. Last night after watching 2 movies and going to Sonic for ice cream, we decided to play Little Big Planet. I don't know if anyone else has played Little Big Planet, but it is really fun. And, I really don't like video games. I am just not cordinated that way. I played soccer, I ignored hand-eye coordination! So we began playing somewhere around 11pm-midnight. Usually, we go into the bedroom around 10 or 10:30 and Sammy chews his bone for a little while, rearranges the bed and takes his spot and is asleep by 11:00. At least we have Little Big Planet hooked up to the TV in the bedroom. Everytime we would start an adventure, or try to do a tricky thing in the level, Erik would ask me if I was ready. Sammy was freaking out everytime he said "Ready." He would jump up, ears all the way up, anticipation beaming out of his eyes, and every muscle ready to pounce! He never did this when I said it.
After about an hour, Sammy would be worried about it, climb up on top of our laps and cuddle up with us. One time he put his head right between our 2 arms with his front paws on Erik and his body twisted around with his butt on my lap! One level had cats in it, and they meowed. Sammy couldn't figure out where these kitty-cats were! Then another level had dogs barking! Oh, poor dog. He just didn't know what to do!He paced in circles and whined.
Well, we got very into our game, and wound up playing until 5:00 this morning! sammy was very irritated! And then I was all sorts of wired from playing, and couldn't sleep. Sammy is very connected to me, he was unsettled til I was finally able to relax to fall asleep. He was very cuddly all night. If I even breathed too much where my body might move, he had to compensate and curl up even more. At one point he used my head as a pillow! Silly puppy. This made our sleeping time, not very....sleeping!
Lucky for us, my mom called us at 10:00AM! Woke us both up. We got up to do our morning routine. Sammy didn't feel like going to the bathroom right before bed due to rain, so he really had to go. When we came back in, he had to take a flying leap over our mat, because it was still sopping wet from last night's storm! After that, he just sat there all upset. He wouldn't even look at me, he had to make a point. I got him his breakfast and brought it out and set it next to him, and he looked the other way. Then he got up and walked away! He is soooo grumpy this morning! He stays close enough that I know he is right there, but won't look at me. It's the Sammy version of the silent treatment!
I'm gonna hafta pick up some FrostyPaws to make it up to him!

"I'm sooo not hungry!"

"Did you need something?"

"Did you say something about ice cream??"

"You have my attention, but I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!"

Sammy-Sized

2010-06-02T13:21:00.005-05:00

All corgis act bigger than they are. And really, they should be bigger thought of as bigger, 'cause really they are just short. Actually they really do have dwarfism in their bone structure. One thing is for sure, their personalities and attitude is far from dwarfed! Sammy may be a wee bit special though, and I probably had a hand in it. But Sammy, all 31 of his pounds, is NEVER thought of as a little dog.
His meals are given to him according to the table we got from the vet that is based off his age and weight. But when it comes to bones, those "small dog" (AKA 15-30 lb size) are for road trips or basically, appetizers! Over our nearly 10 months together, Sammy has grown as has his bones.
Yesterday afternoon after Erik's doctor appointment, we stopped at Petco. We brought home the second to largest bone available. We nearly got him the largest size, but the price difference wasn't worth the size difference. Oh well, he doesn't know. In fact, he probably wouldn't care even if he could understand since he was too busy with his new bone!!

"Oooooo....I's loves you Momma! Bone, please"

Doesn't he just look as happy as a clam?
Well, now it's been almost 24 hours. Why do we get these so big? Sammy can illustrate.

I'm Suuhh-leeeee-puh-innng!!

2010-06-01T09:29:00.006-05:00

Sammy had a wonderful Memorial Day. We played with his toys all morning, since it was finally cool enough that exerting energy didn't make you want to pass out! Then he rode in the car with us to grab a couple of things at the grocery store so I could make the side salad for dinner. Then we went to see the infamous kitty cats. We ate dinner outside where he got to run around on a rope, and that included up and down the porch stairs. We then made a quick trip to see my grandparents, Sammy LOVES to go see them, then back to see the kitty cats for a quick dessert before going back home. There was little time for napping, or relaxing so he was unable to recover til we got home. He almost didn't eat his dinner. Sammy went right to the couch and passed out. I picked him up and carried him to bed and he just didn't move as Erik and I continued to do our stuff. Usually he panics if he has to be on the bed all by himself since he can't get down by himself! Nope, he just went right to sleep and didn't move an inch til I made him so I could get comfy.

"Mom, I'm too tired for modeling right now!"

"MOM! I'm trying to sleep!"

"Can't you see how tired I am?!"

"Fine, fine, take all the pictures you want, I'm too tired for this."

Aren't corgis just the cutest when they sleep?

Thank You

2010-05-31T09:17:00.004-05:00

As part of Sammy's first Memorial Day, he is learning how to be thankful for all that we have. It is quite often that we get all wrapped up in our own lives and some of the silliest things drive us nutso and forget the big picture. We can get all caught up in having to pick up toys 5 times a day and wonder why they just can't stay picked up for a couple hours, or why we always seem to be out of bones, or why we can't just potty in our yard, why do we have to walk all the way around the building, and we can do this because of our country's heros that have given their life for our country. We are lucky enough to live in the midwest, and we live right by an air force base and most people around here have a family member &/or close friend (usually multiple) that have or are serving and get to be reminded of this often. Still, Memorial Day comes once a year, and I try to make a big deal of how lucky we are and try to keep the big picture in mind. So, we just want to put a big THANK YOU out to anyone who is reading this that has lost a family member or friend.

"...gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime....let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation's gratitude,--the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan." --General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868
The history of Memorial Day:
http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

Evil Genius

2010-05-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

Today I have realized that Sammy is waaaaay smarter than anyone gives him credit for. Ok, so he isn't an evil genius, but he is a genius. He knows that he has us (ok, probably just me) wrapped around his little paw.
And he does some of the strangest things:
in the middle of the night he can step on my stomach to try to get a better spot, closer to the fan;
or he can keep knocking over the plant with his rope;
he can start pacing from window to window trying to get the squirrel outside;
he can bark at the hair dryer in our teeny tiny bathroom that makes it even louder;
he can kick me when I try to curl up with him because he needs his own little bubble;
walk on top of my homework the night before a test;
won't go to the bathroom in 'our yard' but rather must go to the other side of the building;
get a bone stuck against the wall and claw at it to the point where the carpet starts to come up;

...but it doesn't matter. Because he can look up at me and know that he is the cutest little puppy in the whole wide world and give me the eyes like this and stick a fork in me, I'm done!!

Seriously, who could ever get mad at this little baby! And it doesn't hurt that he is super sweet and just a big lover!! He just still has some puppy in him!

Doggie Slide

2010-05-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

We wanted to share a couple of our pictures from last weekend at Indian Cave State Park. As in our story we shared before, we were unable to take Sammy onto the trails, but we played on the playgroud. I have a couple pictures from the slide, but I also put him on my lap and we played on the swing and also we sat on the merry-go-round and spun ever so slightly. He really didn't like the merry-go-round!

For the slide however, the stairs we so steep, that I had to carry his 31 lbs up the almost ladder stairs! Oddly enough, he didn't act like it was weird at all. He just sat in my arms like there was nothing new about this, just off to a new adventure!

See how happy he is!! Sammy just had so much fun on the slide! He is probably a strange dog, but he loves slides! He enjoys them at the park next to us, but this was at least twice as tall! Has anyone else taken their corgi on a slide before? Does he/she also like slides?

Make It Stop!

2010-05-28T19:23:00.003-05:00

"My Momma says I'm pathetic. I disagree, I'm just hot! It's 90 degrees...AGAIN!! There is no where to hide, the heat follows me everywhere! Every couple minutes my heat makes my spot too warm and then I have to get up and repositon. My back seems best, but it takes too much work to keep up so I fall over on my side and I just can't figure out how it happens. I've been staring at her with my puppy-est eyes begging her to make it stop! But that's not pathetic, is it? Just look at these photos and tell my Mom she's crazy!!"

"PS. My mom says she can't make it stop, the heat will be with us for awhile, but if you happen to have the power, can you make it stop? I will love you forever!"

Too Much Heat!

2010-05-25T10:27:00.002-05:00

Poor Sammy. This is his first experience with Nebraska summer. We brought him home in August of last year, so he should have, but the last year has been awkward weather. We brought him home the hottest day of the summer last year. But he came home in the evening. Since the whole world was new to him, he got tired very easily, and so walking around our building exhausted him! We also spent alot of time on the stairs....trying to beat them! All in all, we didn't get much of the Nebraska heat. It turned to Fall fast, and by the time he was able to do the long walks, it was Fall weather. Winter came and blasted us, of which he was just fine. Our Spring kind of tip toed it's way in. And Sammy has loved it. He has loved all the stuff we have been able to do, camping, long walks, jogs, dogpark trips ALL the time, sittin on our patio, playing with the kids that live in the building, ..etc. But it has really toggled with a couple of really nice days squished in between cold days where we still have to wear sweatshirts and/or jackets and even coats. All of which, Sammy handles in stride.
Suddenly out of nowhere the infamous humidity has arrived! We have been toggling the 90 degree temperature line for the past 3 days with at least 70 percent humidity. Literally 5 days ago, the high was in the lower 60's and our heater set at 58 degrees at night clicked on at night. Now our lows at night are in the mid 70's. At night our apartment is still around 80 while we sleep, never quite cools down at night.
The first day of this, it was 87 as a high with an annoying amount of humidity that makes pants impossible to get on, hair impossible to dry after a shower and eye makeup a sticky pad for your eyelid/eyelashes when you blink. We are trying to conserve as much money as possible, and we didn't turn on our air conditioner. Instead we don't really use the oven or stove, keep all the lights off, and spend as mcuh time in the shade and breeze as possible. Sammy just looked miserable and confused. He is constantly trying to readjust and find a cool, comfortable way to lay down. He just slept the first day away, uncomfortable. By the end of the day, he knew the exact spot to get the most breeze between the window and fans.
The next day, he was a little better. And we took a drive to Indian Cave State Park for the afternoon. It was a 2 hour drive each way and Sammy got to enjoy the air conditioning in the car for that. That invovled my lap between the two vents! We got out and played on the playground once. Saw old St. Devion and the couple of buildings that remain. We took Sammy to the boat ramp onto the Missouri River and let him put his toes in, then he rolled in the mud. Figures. We saw the cave and took a little walk around that area. Apparently pets are not allowed on the hikes, which was a major disappointment and we both felt quite misled on that front. But we still had a good day outside for the most part. And Sammy seemed to handle it quite well. (I still have to get our couple of pictures uploaded!) We stopped for an ice cream cone in Auburn, and Sammy was quite excited about that.
So yesterday he woke up with the energy of a thousand corgis! Just busting with energy. Since it was still early, and still in the 70's I thought maybe we should take him to the dogpark for a quite trip. Sammy was quite excited. We got there and all the dogs we in the all dog park. So that's where we went. He bounded from dog to dog saying his hellos. Then he met a 9 month siberian husky. The biggest darn husky I have EVER SEEN! Seriously. Long, long, thick fur. Stood with his back at my hip. Skull at least twice the size of Sammy's. Sammy and him had a good time. Apparently he likes the little dogs, and Sammy seems to always make friends with the biggest dog we we go to the all dog park. They wrestled, and the owner was quite impressed with how well he holds his own. One basset hound was quite jealous, wanted Sammy for himself, and followed them barking at them! After about 10 minutes, Sammy began seeking out shade. Behind people, under the picnic table and under the tree. But only for a few seconds at a time, he is too ADD still to stay put. A dog would come by, and he would decide "MUST CHASE. MUST PLAY."
Then out of nowhere Sammy stopped and projectile vomitted! I didn't even know they could projectile vomit. We ran over to get him, and he vomitted 2 more times. He had decided to skip his breakfast so luckily is was just clear liquid. I got our water bowl and washed it down. He didn't feel like walking or anything and snuggled up to my leg making it impossible to walk. It's very easy to tell when something is wrong with Sammy, he clings to me like a toddler to their Mom. He stayed right in between Erik and I on the walk back and stepped only because my leg moved. We got him in the car and put the air conditioning right on him. 3 of the vents all angled right to him. We got him home and I carried him in and put him on the bed. Ceiling fan on, tower fan right on him and we turned on the air conditioning for him. He didn't seem to mind. Just kind of laying down with his head in the air, but eyes closed. I got out a washcloth, got it wet with cold water and washed down his face and tried to get the slobber and dirt off his back. This seemed to make him quite happy. After a couple minutes, I brought him a bowl of water from the refridgerator and he got to drink in bed. After another 10 minutes, I brought in his breakfast and he got to eat in bed! He napped the rest of the morning and first part of the afternoon in bed. We stayed in bed with him.
Overall, we was fairly lazy the rest of the day. That evening we turned the air conditioner back off, and enjoyed the evening on our patio, in the shade, but in the breeze! He slept the whole night through, right in front of the fan. He has made a full recovery! I still can't believe what just 15 minutes at the dogpark did! He plays just so hard, with all he has then gobbles up water so fast. Hopefully his doggie senses will kick in sometime soon to keep a steady flow of water in his system! Happy Summer. Everyone will be happy to know, he woke up with the energy of 998 corgis this morning. Right now he playing with his squirrel, shoving it under the couch and begging for me to pull it back out for him, just to shove it back under. He has eaten his breakfast this morning and said hello to our neighbor dog and his dogwalker. But NO DOGPARK today! (or jogs.) It's still super hot and humid!