Doggie Boot Camp

Today I decided that I need to get into gear and get on top of this 4H year. Yesterday, I was at our state fair for 4H. My dogs didn't qualify, but I volunteered and I went to spend time with my friends who qualified in my county. It dawned on my yesterday that I am starting my last year as a student in 4H. NERVE RACKING! So starting today, I am really going to get my bum into gear and make my final year of 4H the best that it can be.
With that said, this afternoon, I took both of my dogs out on the back patio. I was treat training the dogs, something I used to never do because of how overweight Sparkie is. He used to be much worse that what he is now. I worked with both dogs for about a half hour. Blew was overly excited because he was actually working for treats. He was so excited that he didn't do exactly what he was told because the treats were the coolest thing since sliced bread. He was so overwhelmed he couldn't stay still for more than five seconds. It was like having a two month old puppy all over again!
Sparkie thought that the treats were too good to be true, so he didn't believe that they were actually in my pocket. He barely got excited by the treats, which is highly unlike him. But anyone who thought that corgis were very easy going and push overs thought WRONG. Sparkie has a very strong stubborn streak. The reason why is that he think that he is the brightest bulb ever, so what I am telling him to do, isn't that great of an idea so his idea is the better one to choose. In some ways, it's just his giant ego showing. I was trying to get him to do the stand for examination, which is always his downfall in the show ring. Each time I got him to stand, just before I gave the command to stay, he was immediately sit down. This is where Sparkie proved how stubborn he is.
Anybody who thought that training a dog is easy, think again. It take patience. All they want to do is please, but they get ahead of themselves. Always remember that the best thing to give them is lots of love and praise!
So tonight, I started teaching Sparkie dance moves also. I can get him to put his front paws on my knees, and if I take his paws in my hands, I'll walk backwards and of course he comes with me. He isn't comfortable with it yet, but like all things, practice makes perfect. My goal is to have him do a full dance routine by the time the fair is here next year. I have seen many videos of dancing corgis and would love to have him be a dancing corgi. Also, it will help get him back in the proper shape. Yes, round is a shape, but not healthy for a little guy like him.
Part of his doggie boot camp is to have him be active. Training him is great, but one of his ultimate favorite games to play is fetch. I have to tell him "drop it, leave it, get it," though or else I am tugging a slimy rubber ball out of his mouth. So tonight from 8 pm until 10 pm while I was watching The X Factor I was throwing the ball for him. He is a lot of fun to play with. By the end of the night, he was panting fairly hard.
After the end of the night, I weighed him.
 Prepare yourself for the verdict. Sparkie weighs a whopping 30 pounds. That is about four pounds overweight. I know it is going to be hard (especially because I start classes on Monday) but I am going to work very hard to get him into proper shape. I want to make my last 4H year all that I can.
So now I will leave you with a cheerful video of a corgi dance routine!

Creature Of Habit

Everybody has their own special routine, correct? It may not be as extensive as Rachel Berry's nightly moisturizing routine from Glee, but it's a routine no less. Well let's just say that I can't start my routine until Sparkie is done with his morning routine. Perhaps it is better to say that he has me trained...?
Every morning, the first thing I have to do is help Sparkie get outside. We have a dog door, but it's rather heavy because it's plexiglass so we help him get out. He always run in the morning. It is safe to say that he is a morning person... er... morning dog. So while Sparkie is getting his morning fresh air, I go fill his bowl. By the time both food bowls are filled, both dogs come running inside and devour their food. I don't think they actually taste it, they just inhale the food.
If you think the morning routine is bad, the night time routine is pretty bad too. The dogs know that they are to be fed at exactly 6:00 pm. My mom usually gets home from work around 6:00 also. It is safe to say that it sometimes can be a crazy time in the house. When the dogs are hungry, they are wired for sound. Even a pin dropping, they will start running through the house barking. they will do whatever it take to get my attention. Yesterday was one of my favorites though, at exactly 5:59, Blew came trotting up to me, hopped up on the couch and kissed my face. When the clock read 6:00 Sparkie walked in the room I was in and stared at me. It was safe to say that my dogs were hungry. My dogs are spoiled (as if that wasn't already known.) They are fed kibble  in the morning, and a raw meat patty mixed with kibble at night. So as I mixing their food, Blew sits in the kitchen while a line of drool comes out of his mouth. Sparkie of course cannot contain his excitement. He jumps on the side of the counter while he is barking. When I go to set the bowls down, he is so excited and so happy (and probably thinks I am going just way too slow) that he is running circles.
So what do you think, does he have me trained, or is he just a creature of habit?

A Day at the Fair

Once more, I truly am terrible with the everyday update thing. I suppose that when there is a new post on my blog, it is a cause for excitement, seeing as it doesn't happen very often. I do have one excuse for not posting, but it is a weak excuse. I was at the county fair for two weeks and then I was on vacation for two weeks directly after, and I being such a knucklehead decided to leave my laptop at home, not being able to blog at all.

Sparkie and Blew on the bench in the Dag Barn!

In terms of the fair, we had a doggone great time. Please excuse the pun. I don't know if I had ever seen a dog enjoy being called cute that much. One would think that after hearing it so much you would get used to it and not react. But Sparkie might as well be in my school's drama program because he always has the same happy and hyper reaction when a group of fair-goers coo at him say "Oh he's so cute!" Being told he is cute is most likely Sparkie's favorite words to hear. I would say that his showmanship score proved it too. Sparkie and I got a blue in the showmanship ring. He couldn't get enough of showing off how wonderful he looked when he was fully groomed. But being told he was cute went to his head by the time that he got in the obedience ring. In obedience we got a red. But I don't really mind about our scores, 4H is meant to have fun.

My 4H club won Herdsmanship!

In total, I got a blue and a red with Sparkie, a white for obedience with Blew. We also did brace which is with the two dogs doing obedience at the same time, which we got a white in. My club entered in team obedience which we got a red in. I was on our Dog Bowl team which is a knowledge contest, our team was able to get a blue and take first place. I went to the state fair as first alternate. At state we took fifth out of the other counties. At county we also do what is called Herdsmanship. We have to work on greeting the public, keeping our area of the barn clean, watering the dogs, and taking the dogs out when needed. My club hasn't taken the Herdsmanship banner for a day at the fair in a couple of years. Luckily, this year we got to. We were in fact awarded bonus points for playing a game with the public where the kids could answer a question and get a pencil or piece of candy. Winning Herdsmanship was one of my favorite accomplishments.
After this year at the fair, I can safely say that each year continues to just get better and better. This year was possibly the best year yet at the fair and I cannot wait for next year.

Time for a Check Up!

With the 4H fair approaching at a frightful pace, it was time to take my little boys to the vet. What an enjoyable and exciting experience, right? Two dogs at the vet, couldn't be too bad. Surprisingly, it wasn't.
My blue heeler had the joy of going first. The big baby couldn't handle a needle, though I don't blame him. I'm terrified of needles also. He yelped and snapped at the vet, causing my brother to have to hold his head. He refused to eat any of the treats that the vet gave him and was rather distraught after he got off the exam table. But everything came up clear and he got all his needed vaccinations to enjoy next weekend at the fair!
Sparkie was such a tolerable little boy when it came to the vet check up! He let me pet him and talk to him and was extremely cooperative. It might have had something to do with the fact he got to eat all of the treats that Blew did not. I was very proud of my little boy for doing so well with the vet, despite the fact Sparkie is not the vet's favorite patient, always getting a remark that he is "overweight." Today, to my surprise the vet did not say a word about Sparkie's weight. We had to check how his seasonal allergies are doing. Sparkie gets very watery eyes come spring and summer and his skin gets rather itchy. But all is well. He will be off doing what he loves; showing off at the 4H fair next weekend!
~Ella

Sorry for my Absence!

Oh my! I am so sorry for my absence. I did not get hit by a train, abducted by aliens, or chased by a panther. I promise. And as for the star of our blog, Sparkie is doing splendidly! The only major worry he has encountered in recent times is lightning. The Pacific North West is not prone to major lightning storms as other areas of the county is. I am not used to them, having lived her my entire life. But poor little Sparkie was absolutely terrified of the storm. A few weeks ago, we had a storm that started probably around 5 in the morning, and lasted until around 9 in the morning. I had both of the dogs sleeping with me on my twin sized bed. Our heeler was extremely stressed out, he didn't sleep most of the night. But Sparkie is known for sleeping throughout most of the night. At 6 am, we had lightning strike just off our road, it sounded like World War Three was taking place. The thunder had to have gone on for thirty seconds at least. It was one of the loudest noises I have ever heard. Therefore, dogs having more acute hearing than humans, probably heard it even louder than we did. Poor Sparkie! He was laying on top of my stomach, shaking, breathing so heavily that he was shaking my bed. So after that loud thunder, I gave up on going back to sleep. The rest of my family was already awake, so I went downstairs and joined them for coffee. In a half hour, we all decided that the dogs were too high strung to go back to our beds, so we all crashed on the couch going back to sleep. Sparkie is no capable of jumping on the couches to cuddle, and I couldn't find him when I lie down. I fell asleep on the couch. My mom told me when she was leaving for work. She had found Sparkie camped out underneath the couch (not the one I was sleeping on) and he was still so terrified. He followed her into the bathroom when she went to shower, and nearly jumped in the bath tub. When she left she put him on the couch with me. He did not go any further away from me than an inch until the storm ended. Even after the storm, he was nervous. Luckily, by the end of the day, he was back to his playful self. Lesson learned, Sparkie is not so fearless when it comes to thunder and lightning!

Food Bowl

Sparkie must be watching some Star Trek. He believes that food will now materialize. He spends ten minutes after he finishes his dinner staring at his bowl. He doesn't just stare though, she talks about it. He whines, barks, groans, and grunts about the fact that he won't get anymore food. Dinnertime is always interesting for Sparkie. It's a bit entertaining also.

The other day, I was watching a football game on tv, and during half time I fed him. Well the 3rd quarter began and his bowl is behind where I was sitting. Here goes Sparkie again, wanting the food to materialize like it does in Star Trek. So I turn around and try to figure out how to help him without giving him extra food. It turns out that the food was stuck in the corners of his bowl. He gets defrosted raw meat patties for dinner. So periodically, I turned the bowl around so he could possibly reach it. Still he couldn't, this was so disappointing for him, he had a lot to talk about. Dinner is never boring.

Sparkie enjoying his dinner, before the talking part.

Cuddle Bug

Here in Washington, we have been facing one of the worst storms the North West has seen. What we thought had been just a heavy snow storm, quickly turned to an ice storm. Sparkie, has been quite the brave soul through the storm.

Last night, I don't know if it was that he was cold or just his little cuddle bug self, but last night all he wanted was to be close. Now my dogs are extremely spoiled, and we allow them to sleep on our beds. Last night we crawled into bed, and Sparkie would not leave my side. I held him in my arms and he rested his chin on my neck. I couldn't move. I wasn't very comfortable,  so it took me a very long to fall asleep. He finally moved his chin off my neck, deciding to just rest his chin on my shoulder. He stayed close to me the entire night, whether I had my arm around him or not. Sparkie is my cutest, and favorite cuddle bug. He might as well be another blanket too, I might add. :)

As for the storm, Sparkie's "brother", Blew, hates storms. We had trees and branches falling throughout the day. Poor Blew gets extremely nervous. I had to hold Blew and sing to him to help him relax. He is very sweet. Sparkie on the other hand, just doesn't like the beeping noise right before the power comes back on. Other than that, Sparkie has been just fine with the storm, being his normal self.


Sparkie currently is playing with his favorite orange rubber football. I'm sure that tonight he will be tuckered out and be my little cuddle bug. He will keep me warm through the storm.