Camp!

Hello mother.Hello Father. Here we are at Camp River Bend.

Our first day was Olympics Day.

Dreamy won the prize for mud diving. Boy is she dirty. (We aren't quite sure why they put a white fence around the mud hole because it would me much easier to get to without the fence. Duchess has to fold it down so it would be easier to get the the mud. )

Duchess worked out on the balance beam.

We ran track and obstacle courses. Weee haaaaa that was good fun. We especially enjoyed the water obstacle course. Did we mention that Dreamy is really dirty?

Music won the shot put retrieval game, but Duchess won the discus retrieval.

They feed the same slop you do. I thought you said Camp would have good eats. Oops I forgot they tried to poison us with green beans. We ate them but only so the Head Cook wouldn't feel bad.

Oh Dreamy made friends with Music and Ella. Duchess made friends with the Head Counselor.

We are tired so good night. We'll write more later.

Love always, Duchess and Dreamy

So What I Answered It

Hey folks, it is me Rambo.

Mom is making a big ole fuss about this cell phone thing. What's the big deal? It rang. I answered it. I guess I am like my Dad...I don't get it.

Peace out,

Rambo

Rainbow and Daddy Share A Bone

Russ picked up his favorite bone to have a good chew when Rainbow decided that her Daddy's bone looked pretty good. Well once again Russ proved what a tolerant Daddy he is and not only shared the bone but ultimately gave it to her.

Rambo and the Dog Door

Rainbow took a long time to warm up to the dog door. Until about a month ago she would stand next to it and wait for her human companion to open it for her. But once she decided that her little self could do it--stand back!

For a couple weeks she was satisfied to be the first one through as the Cardi troupe made their way to the great outside. But now she bulls her way through and spins around so she is directly facing the swinging door. As soon as one of the other dogs pushes at it, she snipes at their noses. Now none of my Cardis are much for that behavior so they retreat and whine.

Picture it, 17 lb Rambo is keeping Shaker (41lbs), Ruff Ruff (36lbs), Music (25lbs), and Ella (25lbs) completely trapped inside the house by sniping and head butting them if they try to make their way outside.

Now I am trying to convince them that if they just ignore her she will grow bored of the game, but oh no this cast of clowns engage her every time. Sigh!

Eagles Nest is Open

Hey it's me Ruff Ruff again.

Moms finished the Eagle's Nest Guest Suite, so now all my Cardi friends can come and visit me! I especially liked that you can see the Cardi yard from the window, but Mom said something about the River being pretty. (I didn't get that part!)

See ya soon,

Ruff Ruff

Gates Down

Ruff Ruff here!

Mom finally got smart and took down all the dog gates. Now we Cardis can hang out in the living room anytime we chose! It's great, Ella and Music love to sit on the couches.

Now on that note, I don't think that is fair, because I can't jump on the couch. But don't worry, I just whine a bit and Mom comes in and puts me on the couch. What I don't get though is why Music and Ella get on the other couch when Mom puts me up with them. What's up with that?

Well that's it for today. I'll be back later with more news.

Ruff Ruff out!

Serious Cute Overload

Ella and Rainbow have become the best of buds. Not only do they play together but quite frequently they sleep curled up together. But I must admit when I found Ella feet on Rainbow's back I suffered from serious cute overload!

Russ and Eukanuba Year 3

Russ loves to watch Eukanuba. He has been doing it since he was a puppy. The picture is of him watching the herding group.

Species Neutral Bed

Russ loves cat beds. He doesn't care much for cats. So we have to call his cat beds "species neutral beds!"

Caper to Cute

Okay I admit it I thought it was funny when they ripped up the advertisements. I didn't think it was so funny when I had to clean it up. But once again they were way to cute at the end of the day!

Cardi Cute

Well I woke up to find that my clowns had completely shredded the piddle pad that I put out for the puppy. Apparently she didn't need it so it became a chew toy. In addition to the piddle pad, they had saved me the trouble of shredding time sheets. (Yes I feel very fortunate that the employee hours had already been transmitted to the payroll service. Imagine my chagrin if I had to ask for duplicate time accounts!)

So needless to say I was a little annoyed that I had a mess to clean up. But just a couple of hours later, my cute meter got pegged out. I found Rainbow completely curled up with Ella. I missed the altogether too cute picture but later found Russ surveying his kingdom from the stacked dog beds. And Rainbow made a nest for herself in a quilt my grandmother made for me when I was a teenager. She would have loved seeing that cute puppy all curled up in the blanket.

Rambo Strikes

Turn your back for 2 mins and I swear chaos reigns! I had Ella's file out and walked to the kitchen to check on dinner. I came back and found Rambo (aka Rainbow) eating the file!

Yeah there she was eating Ella's puppy pictures, and I swear looking at me like "what?" Oh sometimes she reminds me so much of her father.

Any one seen today's news?

1) Memo to self: When I leave to go shopping don't leave the paper for the Cardis, they won't save it for me.

2) Memo to Personnel Committee: Apparently the Cardis didn't think much of the job description we were working on either.

It Warmed Up...

It warmed up enough that I decided to let the Cardis have a real romp. I filled my coffee cup, donned my gear and headed out. A few observations:

• Shaker loves the cold and snow best. He fancies himself a snow plow. And the most amazing thing is the rest of the kids stay in his paths.
• Russ was lost without his cohort in crime Ella. He spent the first 15 mins trying to get her to play, but she was quite content to hang out with a stick by my side.
• Rainbow has her mother's mouth and her father's bounce.
• Music thinks she needs a throne to watch her subjects play.

Wood Chips

I swear you haven't lived until you sweep wood chips out of your bed!

Now let's see what did I remove from the bed today?

• stuffed fish (it used to belong to Nick but once Shaker removed the eyes Nick lost interest)
• 3 tennis balls (again I'm thinking Shaker)
• One stuffed Milkbone
• Kathy's old hat (again once the dogs played tug of war with it..she no longer desired it)
• 2 rope pulls
• And least we forget---Wood chips. Yes I actually had to use a broom to get them off the spread!

Yep what I won't do for my dogs!

Merry Christmas

From all of us at River Bend, we wish you all the very Merriest Christmas!

P. S. We just got word that our Christmas Tree is going to be featured in Better Homes and Dogs! Cheers!

Someone's Gettin'

Nuttin' for Christmas! And her name is Rambo!

As Corgi Capers go this one will be ranked among the top 10.

Little Puppy Rainbow (aka Rambo) pushed the stair gate down the stairs taking an Isabelle Bloom statue with it. (Now I am well aware that normal people do not use their Isabelle Bloom's for counter weight, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And the heaviest thing without bringing in concrete blocks from the shed was...an Isabelle Bloom statue.)

So once Little Rambo (all 10 lbs of her) knocked the gate and statue into the lower level family room, all the Cardis were free to roam among the cats. Now the cats are interesting but they are smart and hit high ground as soon as they hear the thundering herd. But cats come with other great stuff, like cat food, cat litter, and cat toys. Whooooo weeeee.....game on!

At the time the assault began I was soaking in a jacuzzi tub reading my latest issue of the Whole Dog Journal. Ironically I was reading an article on positive training, when I heard Kathy screeching at the top of her lungs what I thought was my name. (Turns out she was smarter than to yell for me when I am soaking and reading, she was yelling for Nick.) I was sure someone was dieing or had better be dieing if I had to jump out of a hot jacuzzi!

Well I policed up a robe and headed to the basement to find Rambo munching on cat food and the rest of the crowd milling about like it was the most normal thing in the world to be in the basement.

I was herding the hooligans up the stairs just about the time I noticed the decapitated statue. Oh she is getting nuttin' for Christmas...Santa's mad!

P. S. Turns out Cindy is a bit of an expert in head reattachment. I'll be making a date with her soon!

Eagles

This morning I let the Cardis out this morning, and almost immediately noticed 3 eagles (2 adult and 1 immature) swooping the yard. I went to DEF CON 4 immediately. I called "Cardi Corgi Kids Come!" They immediately headed for me.

I opened the garage door and they headed in. I thought it was possible that the eagle flight was a fluke so I waited a few minutes and then went back outside to scope out eagles. Seeing none, I let the Cardi back outside.

They headed out and engaged in a full bark chorus. Within 30 seconds, I had 4 adult eagles flying and swooping the yard. CRAP!!! I bellowed, "Cardi Corgi Kids Come!" Gratefully they did and they immediately went into the garage.

So for the foreseeable future (March 2010), we are under eagle watch and recall boot camp.

Ella Bella

Ella Bella turned a year yesterday, but I was too busy cleaning up after her to post.

Let's see first thing yesterday morning she broke my glasses, and turns out I can't get into see the eye doctor until April. Who needs to see anyway?

Then after a wild romp in the back yard, she began practicing her agility moves. She scaled the baby gate to enter the forbidden living/dining room again! This time she assaulted not only the tree but the village is missing several ice skater heads, and Santa will never be the same! Oh an one ice skater is completely missing inaction--only her boots remain! I wonder if she is getting coal in her stocking?

So while I was having tea with a friend, this beloved friend mentioned that she had a taller gate that she used to successfully keep her Siberian Husky out of the living room. She offered it to me and I accepted in a snap. About an hour later I had the gate installed and was feeling quite smug.

Then I bundled up my joy filled Cardi and headed to obedience class. This was seemingly our last advanced class and theoretically she would be ready to take her CGC test. Could I have been any more wrong? She totally blew me off for 80% of the class. The 20% that she was on she was really on. Well shame of all shame, we are repeating advanced and I will be working more on PROOFING!

With my tall baby gate still holding, I made a steak dinner, and all the Cardis got some to celebrate Ella birthday.

Then Kathy and I went to sit in the beautifully decorated living room. I built a fire and had visions of a relaxing evening dancing in my head. Could I have been more wrong? Ella scaled the Husky sized gate! Holy Mother Of Goodness! She scaled the 3 1/2 foot gate! Well as soon as she made the living room, I decided to let her stay. Almost immediately all &^%$ broke out with the puppy, so we brought her into the living room. Do you see where this is going?

Then Rambo, oh sorry I meant Rainbow, busted down the Husky sized gate, and let the rest of hooligans into the living room. CRAP!! I spent the next two hours, with NO's, Leave It's and Drop It's. The body damage was great but not as bad as last year--only 5 ornaments crossed over to recycling!

By 10:30 I was ready to take the tree, the village and everything else down. Kathy keeps assuring me they will grow up. To which my reply is..."If they live that long!"

Secret Operative Rainbow

Reporting for Duty. I am a very special Cardigan and I have been inducted into the Special Secretive Cardigan Covert Corp. Today my mission was to furtively make my way to the basement and return with "the package."

I made it through the banister without notice, stalked the confines of the basement and secured the covert package. I then made my way up the stairs, but the darn package jingled. I was busted.

Mom took "the package" and returned it to the basement. She then redoubled her banister blocking, so it may not be until tomorrow that I can try to recover "the package!"

Special Operative Rainbow over and out.

P. S. Mom doesn't realize that the package isn't just a cat toy, so please don't tell her any different.

Christmas, Christmas and more Christmas...

Okay the first thing I tell people who ask me about Cardigans is...(drum roll please)... You have to keep them engaged or they will find something to engage themselves. Yeah well guess who forgot the first rule of Cardidom? Yeah me. Here's the backdrop...

Russ loves Christmas. Oh he really loves Christmas. Let me review a few of the incidents:

• He found all the wrapped presents and in a matter of 3 minutes unwrapped and untied no less than 15 presents. (He was so sticky he had to have a bath!)
• Removed and ate the entire bottom 1/3 of the ornaments on the tree
• Brought untold damage to the Santa collection--one was demolished to toothpicks!
• Made a pile of straw out of my Swedish Christmas goat.
• Embarked on a invasion of the Christmas village and left a swath of destruction that rivaled Sherman's march on the south.

Okay I think I have made my point. So this year, Kathy and I thought we were going to outfox the Cardigans (especially Ruff Ruff.) So we did Christmas heavy in the living room and dining room and Christmas lite (or should I say decorations above Corgi height) everywhere else. After accomplishing this goal, I was feeling very smug, and assured of the safety of my decorations.

Now on a usual night of the year, we spend our evenings in the sitting area of our bedroom. But with all the lights, wreaths, village and such in the living room, we decided to spend our evenings up front. Remember my earlier warning about engaging Cardigans or they will find ways to engage themselves?

First they decided to use the hallway for unspeakable acts of defecation. But when this trick failed to amuse them anymore, they joined forces and convinced the baby puppy Rainbow to slide through the banister and push the stair gate back. Once the gate was moved the basement and cat chasing became fair game! Rube Goldberg would be pleased at the contraption we developed to keep Rainbow from going through the banister. (How much longer until she is too big to fit through the banister?)

So with this operation a failure, Ella decided to show everyone how to leap over the living room gate! Yep I caught her red mouthed with one of the ornaments Nick made in the second grade. Well let's just say it didn't survive!

So here I sit in the bedroom sitting area wondering if I give in and let them come into the living room in the evening? Or if I just accept defeat early and spend December in front of the bedroom fireplace? Decisions, decisions...

The Corgis Say, "Let It Snow!"

Could They Have Had More Fun?

Probably not! But I will let the pictures tell the story of the First Snow 09!

Nope

Turns out I can't. Rainbow over and out!

I Can Stay Awake

Hi. I'm Rainbow, and I try really hard to keep up with the big kids. But sometimes I get really really sleepy.

Too Tired

Picture It

The aisle at Petsmart was littered with great toys and treats.

Ella's job was to heel through this mess without going shopping. She did it without any problem.

Then her job was to sit/stay at one end and recall to me at the other end again without picking up the toys or eating the treats. She does this 4 or so times without any difficulty at all. Then our instructor, Diane says, "okay last time," and I casually mentioned that I was down to crumbs. She sits/stays and I trot to the other end of the aisle, turn and call her. Well this is what happened...

Ella moved out very slowly and methodically picked up every single dog treat! I couldn't believe my eyes. She hadn't even glanced at the treats until she knew it was the last time. Yesh!