Goodbye, Mr Corgi?

Hello, everyone. Are you all well? I hope so.  Oh, don’t worry about the headline to this post! Cadwaladr and Graigcoch are safe and well! And even though they can be very naughty sometimes, I am not thinking of saying goodbye to them. Oh, I cannot even imagine life without my Corgi boys! No, this post is about the decline of the Corgi population in Britain.

As you all know, our family really enjoys hiking—especially Cadwaladr—and when we have spare time and good weather we always try to do lots of hiking. At the weekend we had a very nice time hiking in the Brecon Beacons. It was wonderful to walk on top of the mountains. There was snow at the top and it was misty; it almost seemed like another world. I felt very peaceful and serene.

 

We let Cadwaladr and Graigcoch off their leads as we walked back down and it was wonderful to see them both running down the mountain. They were having so much fun chasing each other. They seemed so happy and carefree. My Corgi boys looked so beautiful! I thought to myself, “Yes, this is where they belong!”

 

When we got home I kept thinking of them running down the mountain together. It is so nice to collect beautiful memories, isn’t it? You can play them back inside your mind like a favourite film. But later I began to think about other things. I thought about how rare it is to see a Corgi in Wales. I thought of all the hiking trips we have taken together around Wales, and I could not remember seeing any other Corgis during our hiking trips. There are always lots of dogs hiking with their owners: Labradors, Border Collies, Shelties, Westies, Huskies...but never Corgis.

 

Corgis, it seems, are a dying breed in their home country. The Kennel Club have been doing research into this and Cardiganshire Welsh Corgis and Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgis are now on a list of dog breeds whose numbers are in decline. The list consists of breeds which achieve 300 or fewer registrations every year in the UK.  The list can be viewed here:

(Link to Kennel Club Article: http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getting-a-dog-or-puppy/finding-the-right-dog/vulnerable-native-breeds/)

It is very sad news for Wales as Welsh Terriers and Welsh Springer Spaniels are also on the list of vulnerable breeds, and Skye Terriers, Old English Sheepdogs, and Irish Wolfhounds are all in decline, too. It is very sad for the whole of the British Isles. I don’t know why these breeds are in decline. All I know is that I just feel so thankful that I have my Corgi boys and that I can look forward to collecting more beautiful memories of them.

 

 

For anyone reading this in other countries, how is the Corgi population where you are? Have you seen any of the other vulnerable breeds listed lately?

Treats from Healthy Paws

On Saturday, Cadwaladr received nice presents from his father.

He got new treats!

When Cadwaladr was younger, we went to a supermarket and bought him some biscuit treats and they made him ill. After this accident, his father studied about puppy food for his furry child. And he found one very useful site called "Which Dog Food.co.uk" which is very useful for dog owners to find the best food for their furry children.

This time, Mr. Chewy Cadwaladr got his treats from Healthy Paws in Liverpool. Their products are natural and healthy and each individual ingredient has been carefully selected to provide particular nutritional benefit for the dog. Among their products, Cadwaladr got Fruit Cookies and Peanut & Oat Biscuits. And thanks to Healthy Paws, they gave him quite many samples of their dog food including puppy food. For now, his food is Millies Wolfheart which is a very high quality dog food. It can only be bought online, but delivery is free, and he loves it a lot. Yet it seems that he likes Healthy Paws' dog food as well as Millies Wolfheart, so sometimes we mix them together. He licks his lips and looks very satisfied after his dinner.



'I wonder what they taste like...'




'They smell nice...'



'I want to try! RIGHT NOW!!!!'




'Oh, yeah!! Yummy! More please!'
'I will go anywhere as long as you give me these treats!'

 

 



Have a wonderful Monday!

Whiteout

Hello, everyone.

 

This is Cadwaladr reporting from the rainy UK.

 

The weather has been so bad today! I could not go hiking! It is so annoying because I LOVE hiking! The weather is very bad in the UK at the moment. It just seems to rain all the time. I am looking forward to spring time when I can do lots of hiking! Yeah! Anyway, it was not possible to go hiking today, so I was very bored, but I cheered myself up by thinking about our hiking trip last Sunday.

 

Last Sunday, my family and I went to the Brecon Beacons which is my favourite place in the whole world! We decided that we would climb to the top of Corn Du to test Graigcoch’s hiking ability! As we began climbing I could see that my mum and dad seemed to be quite cold. They were wearing warm winter coats, wooly hats, scarves, and gloves, but they still seemed to be very cold! I am lucky because we Corgis have double coats which are water resistant. I felt quite cosy, and my brother Graigcoch looked very cosy, too!

 

As we looked to the top of Corn Du we could see that it was covered with snow and as we were climbing higher the weather seemed to be getting worse. At the bottom of the trail there was no snow at all, but as we climbed higher, the grass was slowly being covered by a blanket of snow. My daddy wanted to take some pictures, but when he got his camera out it was so cold that his hands were freezing and he could not take even one picture. As for me, I felt quite cosy and warm. Oh, I love my Corgi coat! Graigcoch was having a nice time, too! He could meet lots of nice hikers and he was enjoying saying hello to everyone he met.

 

As we reached the top the weather became quite bad. There was a snowstorm at the top of Corn Du!  My dad could not see the trail because of the snow storm, so he said we must turn back. But before we did, my daddy said he must take just one picture. Oh, my daddy is quite stubborn, I think, because it was not good weather for taking pictures. Anyway, after he took his picture we started back down the trail to the bottom. As we climbed lower the weather got much better. The snow slowly turned back to grass.

 

Me and Graigcoch at the top of Corn Du.

 

 

When we reached the bottom we looked back up to the top of Corn Du, but we could not see anything. Corn Du had disappeared underneath the snowstorm. I really enjoyed our hiking trip last Sunday, but I felt sorry for my mum and dad who do not have fur coats like me and my brother Graigcoch. They must have been so cold!  

Tara now!

Cadwaladr.

St David's Cathedral

Hi, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr.

How is your Saturday so far?

I am going to tell you about my journey to Pembrokeshire in June, 2013. Lol! Yes, it is about last year and I forgot to upload this article. What a shame!

Anyways...

Not like the area I live, Pembrokeshire is the land of cows! It was quite surprising to see so many cows there! I think I did not see any sheep in Pembrokeshire that day!


Cadwaladr: 'Hello, Mrs. Cow! I'm Cadwaladr!'

                    'Today, I am visiting my home county!'

Mrs. Cow:'Hello, Cadwaladr!'
              'Do you like Pembrokeshire?'

Cadwaladr: 'Very much so!!!!!'

Mr. Horse: 'Welcome back, Mr. Corgi!'

Cadwaladr: 'Nice to meet you! I'm Cadwaladr!

                   'I brought you some apples! '

Mr. Horse: 'Thank you, Cadawaladr.

                  'Have a nice time in Pembrokeshire!'

St David's Cathedral

St David's Cathedral

Have a pawsome Saturday!

Cadwaladr.

Graigcoch's injections.

Today, I want to tell you about the day when Graigcoch had his second injections at the vets because it was quite surprising how different it was to the time when Cadwaldr had his injections.

Having Graigcoch come to our home was quite difficult because he could not go for walks until he had had his injections. Cadwaladr loves hiking, so we could not stay at home. We were not sure what we should do. We did not want to leave Graigcoch on his own, but Cadwaladr needed to go hiking to release his energy. We thought that one of us could take Cadwaladr hiking and one of us could stay at home with Graigcoch, but this did not seem very nice. Finally, we realised what we should do!

Graigcoch will fit in our shopping bag!

We decided that Graigcoch would be safe going hiking as long as he did not touch the floor, so for many weeks we would go hiking with Graigcoch in our shopping bag. He really enjoyed the fresh air and he was quite safe from infection as long as he stayed in the bag.

Finally, the day came for Graigcoch to have his second injections. When we got to the vets we were quite nervous as we had had trouble with Cadwaladr. When Cadwaladr had his second injections he cried SO much that the vet had to get extra help from a nurse to hold him still. The vet was quite shocked at how much of a wimp Cadawaldr was. Well, things were quite different with Graigcoch! The vet gave him his injection and he did not even feel it! He is quite a tough guy, it seems. Or maybe it is just Cadwaladr. He has always been very sensitive. Anyway...

Finally, after a few more days of waiting, Graigcoch was able to come hiking with us without the shopping bag.

Happy New Year!

'Happy New Year 2014!'