Sunday 28 April 2013

Graduation Day & Dog Agility Tunnel

Noswaith dda! Good evening!

This is Cadwaladr.

How was your Sunday? Did you enjoy your Sunday lunch? I wish I could have my Sunday lunch like my family do. It looks so good! My wish is to try some Yorkshire puddings!

Well, I had my puppy class this morning, and I finally graduated from the "puppy shaping" course! Yeah! Congratulations to my friends and myself! I thought I went to my class just to play with them! I played boxing with my Boston Terrier friend again. I think he is a genius! Today, we tried to go through the dog agility tunnel for the first time and he went through the tunnel so easily. Me? I couldn't do it. I tried to go in there, but it was very dark inside the tunnel, so I just stopped...

After I came home, my mum made a cardboard tunnel for me. It looks stupid (Don't tell my mum!), but I tried for my treats and I made it! She said 'Give me five!', so I gave my paw. Mummy, will you get me a proper tunnel, please?























Anyways, happy graduation day!!



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Waterfall Country

Hi, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr.

I could not write my diary yesterday because I was too tired after my hiking. I went to Waterfall Country in Ystradfellte, in part of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

I will write about my mucky Corgi adventure later!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...


Friday 26 April 2013

Honey Biscuits

One of Cadwaladr's favourite treats is one from Marks & Spencer. However, he eats too fast, and they vanish so quickly! Mr. Chewy Cadwaladr, you can't have your M&S's treats everyday! M&S is not close to our home! Luckily, Cadwaladr likes my hand made biscuits and they are just too simple to bake!

Here they are...

Honey Biscuits

Flour 200g
Water 65g
Honey 15cc

1) Mix water and honey. Sift the flour.

2) In a large bowl, mix water & honey and flour together.

3) Leave the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
    Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (320 degrees F).

4) On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough.
    Cut into desired shapes using biscuit cutters.
    Transfer biscuits to prepared baking sheet.

5) Bake for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden.
    Cool on wire racks.



'This is not me! I am a Corgi with a tail! Mum, you must get a cutter with a tail!'

Well, Mr. Chewy Cadwaladr, actually it's not a Corgi. I think it is a Boston Terrier or a French Bulldog. Anyways, I will try to find a Corgi biscuit cutter for you, maybe.



















'Do you promise? Good! Cross your heart! Oh, and get a bone-shaped cutter, too! You hear me, Mum?'






















'Hmm, these taste good, but I won't tell mummy because I want biscuits shaped like me!'











 
'Mummy, your biscuits tasted... okay.'
 


Thursday 25 April 2013

'Where is my tooth fairy?'

Hi, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr.

My Daddy told me some of my teeth are gone. Look at me!

















Am I losing my teeth? I can't eat my puppy food, then! Oh, no!





















Oh, I will get new teeth? GOOD!
 

Wednesday 24 April 2013

'Let me in!'

Cadwaladr always knocks on the window when he wants to come in. So we always have his paw marks on our window. Will you clean the window by yourself, Mr. Chewy Cadwaladr?

'Knock knock!'





Tuesday 23 April 2013

Cadwaladr, 10 weeks

First day out for Cadwaladr after his second injection.
 
'What is this? Smells fresh!!!'
 
 
 
'I like staying in my bed! It's so cosy!'

Cadwaladr, 8 weeks

'Why do I look grumpy in this picture?'
 
 
 
 'Where is Mummy? Where are my sisters?'

 
'Oh, I am so tired! Long journey to my new home! Zzzzzzzzzzzzz..'
 


Sunday 21 April 2013

New Friend

Hello, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr reporting from the cloudy UK.

It's Sunday and it is my school day. Today, I made a new friend at school. She is a very cute Shih Tzu. I think she is a little older than me and she is as shy as I am! During the class, I was always with her. Because my teacher is really good, now we are all good in the class! At first, I was too shy and too wimpy in the class, so my tail used to point towards the ground, but now it is upwards! My teacher and my parents are very happy about this. I need to be trained more, though. I know it from yesterday's hiking. There is always some playing time for us during the class, and I like playing boxing with my friend. I always play with a very handsome Boston Terrier! He is very good! I must practice boxing more! Lol!

I must go now because I am visiting my best friend! Well, he is actually my grandpa! Lol! I like him a lot! He is such a funny person to play with!
 
Tara now!
 
'This is another picture from yesterday's hiking!'
 

Saturday 20 April 2013

Sugar Loaf

Hello, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr reporting from the sunny UK.


It was a VERY sunny day today, so we went to Sugar Loaf in Monmouthshire. On the way to Sugar Loaf there was a beautiful narrow road that would be good for a film. There were many beautiful white and yellow daffodils on both sides of the road. A Daffodil is a symbol of Wales. My family told me that when they see these flowers they feel that spring has arrived.


The trail to Sugar Loaf was really nice and quiet. I enjoyed walking up and my family took my lead off for my training, so I had my freedom a lot. I could meet many nice friends; horses, sheep, lambs and many dogs. I am not perfectly trained--my family had to say 'Leave it!' and 'Come!' a lot to me. Especially my mum. She said these commands to me more than 500 times! Lol! She looked very tired after our walk. I think I am getting better at being a good puppy, but it seems I need a little more training.

























































This is me, on the top of Sugar Loaf! It was a little windy up there, but I felt so good having my treats while looking down at the beautiful scenery.




















Ah, if there are other puppies who read my diary, please tell me how to deal with my biggest problem which is...'I love eating sheep poo a lot!' I can't resist! My parents look so sad and confused when I try to eat it. They give me nice treats, but I still want to eat sheep poo. I want to stop, but I can't! How can I stop? My Mum told me that my breath smelled like sheep poo after we got home and she brushed my teeth. Was my breath that bad?

Anyways, I was a very good hiker. I think I was the best in my family! My parents were so slow walking up the mountain, especially my Mum! She looked like a snail.

Tara now!

Cadwaladr.



Tuesday 16 April 2013

Talybont

It was a sunny day.

We went to Talybont Reservoir today to do some hiking. The sky was very clear. There are many farms near Talybont reservoir and there were many sheep and lambs in the fields. We could hear 'Baaa!' a lot. When we arrived there, it was their lunch time, so a tractor was driving around the fields to deliver their lunch. The sheep and the lambs were running towards their  lunch; they looked like white clouds moving.

 
Well, today, we tried to walk Cadwaladr without his lead for the first time as the trail was quite empty. We were a little worried about him picking things up on the trail; however, he found some nice twigs and he carried them in his mouth. With his mouth full it was impossible for him to pick up anything else which could have been dangerous to his health. 





















Cadwaladr ran and ran happily on the trail. Seeing him like that, we felt truly happy to go hiking with him. Of course, it is fun to go hiking with people, but it is much more wonderful with dogs! Cadwaladr is just 4 months old, but he is very fit and tough. He surely is a born hiker.

Cadwaladr was fine walking without his lead because we did not see any other people or dogs today; however, we felt strongly that we should teach him to 'Come' on command.  The theme for this week is to teach Cadwalader to 'Come!'. We hope our Cadwaladr will be like one of the dogs without leads we met at the top of Corn Du.

We had fun! Thank you, Cadwaladr!
 





Monday 15 April 2013

Garwnant

Sunny, cloudy and rainy.
 
Since we could not go hiking last weekend, we visited Garwnant to do some forest walks. There is a nice Scandinavian looking Visitor Centre at Garwnant. We did not go there this time because we did not have time, but next time, we will visit there to have some tea. They have nice handmade cakes. They look very delicious.
 
There are three forest walking courses in Garwnant: the Puzzle Trail, the Willow Walk, and the Wern Walk. This time we tried the Puzzle Trail and the Wern Walk.

The Puzzle Trail takes about 30 minutes to go around and it is a fun course for children! They have 12 kinds of statues of animals. We took quite many pictures of them, but the best shot was him with a snake! And there was a beautiful fox, too! I thought he was talking to the statue saying 'Are you my mum?'




 
 
















After the Puzzle Trail, we tried the Wern Walk that takes 1 hour to go around. It was quite a tough course for us because some trees were down because of some recent storms. But Cadwaladr, he was tough enough to jump over the trees. He was having fun with this natural agility course.

It was very refreshing and it was good exercise for me. Right after we left Garwnant to go home, it started raining heavily and the sky became dark with rain clouds. We picked just the right time to come home!





Sunday 14 April 2013

'I was good in the class!'

Hello, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr reporting from the rainy UK.

As my Mum wrote before, we were planning to go hiking this weekend, but the weather’s not been good, so we could not go. It’s Sunday and I had my puppy class. To tell you the truth, I was a little worried going to my class today because I knew I was not a good student in the class. My teacher tells me I don’t have to worry so much, but I already went there 3 times and still I sometimes sit in the corner on my own. So, I wondered what it would be like today, and I know my parents worry about my timidness, too.

But guess what? I can tell you that I was a little different today!! I could feel I grew up a little! There was no chance for me to be alone because I had a good time there!

Today, my Daddy and I practiced walking along the agility course. You know, the agility course? Those wonderful Border Collies enjoy doing agility courses! Have you ever watched CRUFTS? I love it! In the course, there were 3 bars to jump, and some poles to go through. Anyways, my Daddy held a bowl filled with treats, and I followed him because I wanted those treats! They looked good! I knew if I could do a good performance, I could get my treats!

You know that I don’t have long legs? Everyone did not think I could jump the bars, but I DID! Yeah! I could hear everyone say ‘Oh……!’ In the course there were some points where I had to go down and I did that, too! And I could play with my friends a lot today. I thought I was a wimp, but I felt very good today in the class! Above all, the happiest thing was my teacher, my Daddy and my Mummy; they looked so happy seeing my performance because they worry about my wimpy character a lot. Now, I feel I am a little closer to my friends who are very good!

After my class, I was so tired and I slept in the backseat of my car. I love this seat. Cars are very convenient. They can take us everywhere! I wish I could drive a car!

After I came home, I practiced again what I learned in the class with my Daddy. I could see how happy he was today! I feel so good to have made him happy! For a reward, my Mummy gave me some apples for my desert today!

‘It was a good day for me! ’






Saturday 13 April 2013

Postponed

Typical UK weather. We planned to go hiking today, but it's raining outside now. I hope it will be good weather tomorrow, then we will go to Sugar Loaf as we planned.

Early this morning it was not raining, so Cadwaladr and I went for a long walk. It is refreshing walking in the morning. The birds were singing beautifully. We met a nice Labrador Retriever and a Bulldog. It is very good for Cadwaladr to meet many people and many dogs. And this season there are cute lambs on the farm. I try to introduce him to sheep and lambs then he will get used to them when he goes hiking. We don't want him to chase sheep and we don't want him to disturb their peace in the mountains. When we go for a walk, we always meet nice people on our way. I think the UK is the best dog loving country in the world.

After we came home, I had my breakfast. I usually have Fruit & Fibre for my breakfast. It is quite good for my health. I always check online news as I eat my breakfast. And after that, I check what is in the fridge and think about what to cook for dinner. Today, I found a cabbage, some carrots, a leak, some spinach and a lettuce. I don't know what to cook. I am not a good cook, so I don't have many choices. Sometimes it is a little annoying to think what to cook. I must study cooking more.

Well...I think I will cook leek gratin and honey roast nut salad today. We still have some soup left from yesterday. When I cook leek gratin, I use, a leek, an onion, and a tin of chopped tomatoes for the sauce. Ah, have we got some cheese? No. Oh well, I must start again!

In the afternoon, Cadwaladr and his daddy went out to visit his family. Cadwaladr loves visiting them because his best friend lives there. He loves his daddy's father (his grandfather!) A LOT. Dogs know the people who love dogs, don't they? His best friend, he has had many dogs, so he is very good at playing with Cadwaladr. I think he is the best person to play with Cadwaladr. Everytime he comes home after playing with his best friend, he is so tired and looks fluffy like in these pictures.

Step 1 'I can't stand any more! Too much fun for me!'










Step 2 'Daddy, take me to my bed, please!'



 
 














Step 3 'Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!'(He snores.)

 
 







 






Friday 12 April 2013

Courgette & Leek Potage


My family and I love soup a lot, so I cook soup quite often for dinner. Today, I found some courgettes and some leeks in the fridge and I cooked Courgette & Leek Potage.


[Ingredients]

2 courgettes
1 leek
1/2 soup stock
600cc water
salt & pepper
olive oil
 
1. Slice courgettes & leek.
2. Put some olive oil and (1) into the pan, and stir it.
3. Add water and soup stock and boil it for 30 minutes.
4. Use a hand mixer and make it smooth.
5. Add some salt and pepper.
 
I always put some olive oil on top when I serve this soup.
 
After Easter, finally it is getting milder and I can feel that spring has arrived! This green colour soup makes me feel that spring has finally come. It tastes very simple and good. If you use milk & double cream, this soup becomes very creamy and it tastes so good.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It was raining quite a lot this morning, so our Cadwaladr could not go for a walk. He loves going for a walk because he can meet many nice people and nice dogs to say ‘Hello!’ to. Yes, he is a VERY friendly puppy. And he can run and run in the park. I felt very guilty not to take him for a walk because I took away his fun. I am sorry, Cadwaladr. In this picture, he looks very grumpy, doesn't he?
 
' How dare you! You didn't take me for a walk!!!!!!'






Thursday 11 April 2013

Cadwaladr's Eyes

Our Cadwaladr has such character.

When he was little he used to have beautiful grey eyes just like the ones David Bowie has. They were so beautiful and they made him look very intelligent, too. Because his eyes were quite unique for a puppy at that time, we were often asked by the people if he was a fox. He certainly looked like a little fox with little short legs. But as he's gotten older, they changed to a darker colour.

'I looked very intelligent with my grey eyes!'

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And he is very wimpy. He easily gives a yelp at mere trifles. At first, every time he yelped, we thought we were handling him roughly, but we weren't. We tried to take care of him very nicely as he left his parents so young. He was just 2 months old when he came to us. He was so little and soft, and he smelled like biscuits. We liked smelling him a lot when he was little. Now he is becoming a young dog, so he's lost his nice biscuit smell mostly. Anyways, Cadwaladr, he is a wimp. We found his wimpy character when we first went to his puppy class. His teacher tried to touch his collar gently. It was the only thing he tried to do, but our puppy gave a yelp. And during the puppy class he easily shows his belly to other puppies, saying 'I surrender!'. We know we've got a wimpy puppy, but he is very gentle. Cadwaladr, thank you so much for coming to us! You are our angel.

I am not a wimp! My name is Cadwaladr which means the leader of the battle!’



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Oh, Cadwaladr, we think you are the leader of the wimps. But we love you just as you are!





Wednesday 10 April 2013

A Night in the Kitchen

One night, Cadwaladr’s owner came home very late and he went to the kitchen where Cadwaladr was sleeping in his cosy bed. He tried to be as quiet as possible not to wake up his cute puppy, but Cadwaladr woke up and they cuddled each other for a while. Cadwaladr LOVES to climb up and sit on our laps a lot.
 
After a while, he was satisfied sitting on his owner’s lap and he went to drink some water, after his drink he started walking elegantly to his bed. Seriously, he walks so elegantly. :)
 
Next moment, the accident happened.
 
’Paaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!!!!!!!!!!!!!’
 
Yes. He passed a very loud gas.
And he did not know it was him! He was very surprised at the noise he made and he looked back and sniffed as if he was saying...
 
‘What was that strange noise!?!?!?! And it smells SO interesting!!!!!!’


 
 


















Oh dear, Cadwaladr, it was you who made the strange noise and the interesting smell. You passed a gas! And for your information, your gas is quite smelly! But I bet you didn’t know about this!





Tuesday 9 April 2013

Peanut Butter Experiment


Our Cadwaladr loves to chew everything and it is the biggest problem for us. When we go for a walk, he keeps looking down at the floor and he eats everything on the street. Stones, leaves, pine cones, etc... We know we must stop him because he could be in a big trouble. I often hear about dogs who need surgery to open their bellies to take the things they ate out. We are trying to watch him very carefully not to let him eat things, but it is not working so far. We are going to ask his puppy class teacher how we can solve this problem.

He got his new toy 'Kong' recently and he likes it quite a lot. We heard that we can spread peanut butter inside, and we were so sure that he would go crazy smelling and licking his new toy. And as I said, he loves EVERYTHING. We were ready to watch him to go crazy, but we found we were wrong.
HE DID NOT LIKE IT !

He smelled and licked it a few times, and his face turned very sad and he went to his bed.

' No peanut butter, please! '

















We usually don't have peanut butter, so we went to the supermarket only for your peanut butter today! Give us back our time and money, Cadwaladr! However, I think it would work to stop him eating everything he sees on the ground if we could spread peanut butter everywhere.





Monday 8 April 2013

Sugar Loaf


This Saturday, if the weather is fine, we will go hiking to Sugar Loaf mountain in Monmouthshire which is 1,955 feet high. What a yummy name for a mountain!!!!It has been one of our dreams to go hiking with dogs, so since Cadwaladr has come to us, one of our dreams has come true. I really think dogs are wonderful. They are the best companions for human beings.

Luckily, Cadwaladr is a born hiker! When he was very little, he used to climb up the sofa a lot. He looked like he was training himself to climb Mount Everest.

Dogs are wonderful because they already have natural hiking equipment; their paws and their warm fur coats are great for hiking. Compared to dogs, we, human beings need quite a lot! Hiking boots, walking poles, rain wear, etc.

Today, he has got a new toy,Kong Classic Toy, Medium. When he gets a new toy, he always jumps around before he starts playing with it, without exception, so he jumped around before he played with his Kong. We put his treat in it, so he played with it crazily!!!! Corgis are a quite intelligent breed, so it seemed very easy for him to get his treat.

'Don't disturb me!!!!!!!!'