12/08/2025
"Do it all" dogs.
Versatility is always in the forefront of my mind when I think about my program and make decisions on how I am going to proceed. Of course, it's far from the only thing on my mind. But it is a cornerstone of that planning.
The Cardigan Welsh Corgi was developed as an all purpose dog. You need a dog to move your stock? To alert you to possible danger? To take care of critters that may infest your feed? To accompany you on a long day of work, and come in with you in the evening to be the beloved dog at the hearth? The Cardigan was meant to do it all.
That looks a bit different for many people, today. I (thankfully) don't have pesky rodents to drive off. I don't have livestock of my own to herd (though man, do I wish I did!). They alert me to things they think are more important than I do.
But I do have homes that need filled with love, and I do have dogs that want things to do.
So we go do things. We do all the things we can!
We start out with the pet/companion titles. The CGC/CGCA/CGCUs, the trick dog titles. The "leave the house" titles, like FastCAT, are a fun way to start building enthusiasm for trial settings. I personally love to begin with Rally, as it fosters a lot of the skills and team building we will carry on to other sports. Then we start trying more and more, to gauge what each dog likes and where their talents lie.
Wish is my 'A' dog. My "I am here and I am willing to put in the work" dog. My "let's see how far we can go" dog. We try everything we can, and he meets every new challenge with enthusiasm and joy. He has been the best A dog I could have asked for and I love getting to continue meeting and working on our goals together as a team. We built his stamina and resolve (and mine!) over years. He handles back to back days of conformation shows, rally triples, and agility runs with ease and a mile wide smile. His favorite question is, "What's next?"
Kizzie, bless her, never had much drive and was more content to hold down a couch, but in her older years has discovered she actually enjoys scentwork trials, and has always loved a round of fetch. She may not be much of a performance dog, but she has still taught me so much about patience and nurturing confidence in my dogs, as well as the importance of listening to them in what they want to do. Dog sports are games. If they aren't fun for the dog or the human, we don't play. Kizzie wasn't having fun in most sports (and hated the conformation ring! She however decided the veterans ring and being applauded was nice, so we do that occasionally for fun) so we focused on what she enjoyed.
Drama was brilliant. Her time was too short. She loved and lit up in everything we tried together. She would have been amazing.
Rynnie came along and healed the space she left behind, and carried her torch to try all those things she didn't have time to. She's just as brilliant. She is joyful, confident, enthusiastic, and will do anything to make me smile. I cannot wait to continue her journey and watch her grow!
Conformation. Rally. Obedience. Agility. Herding. Coursing. Scentwork. Companion titles. Trick dog. Barn hunt. Therapy work. We are so lucky to be able to do so much. And I am so thankful to have dogs so able and willing.
And when we're not running around doing anything we can? We spend our days curled around each other on the couch. Hammocking in the backyard. Walking with friends. It has to be a balance. The GO GO GO! has to be met with the ability to rest and settle and relax.
It is my goal to continue working towards producing dogs that can do it all. Who represent our breed well not only in the conformation ring, but in whatever game they want to play.
What a privilege it is to work and learn alongside them. Nothing makes me happier and more hopeful than to see my dogs out having fun. Smiling up at me in the ring, out on walks or even just at home. Seeing a challenge that might have once left me trembling with nerves, and now has me thinking, "We can do that! We will get there."
Being able to fail and think, "that's okay, we learned something. Now we'll go work and come back stronger."
There's no shortcut for it. It's work. It's time and training and practice and setbacks and determination. And the byproduct of that is stories, experiences and memories to last a lifetime (well, and titles and ribbons).
I may not be where I want to be, yet. But no matter my shortcomings, I know I have the most important things: Happy dogs who love to play with me, and the willingness to keep moving forward.
Say less. Do more.
(Though my fb posts clearly need work on "say less"!)
"Wish"
GCH CH IntCH Samhain's As You Wish BN RM2 RAE2 PT OAP NJP NFP FDC CA FCAT SCN SIN CGCA CGCU TKA ATT VHMA VCX
"Kismet" (aka Kizzie)
Samhain's Everything Happens for a Reason CGCA CGCU TKI VHMA
"Aderyn" (aka Rynnie)
Vestavia Ostara And the Universe Said @ Halcyon RN BCAT CGC TKN VHMA*
"Drama" (at the Bridge)
Von Schwartz Something to Talk About @ Samhain RN DCAT CGC TKI VHMA
(*pending AKC approval)
