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!'

First snow for Graigcoch.

Hello, everybody! This is Cadwaladr! 

Are you well? I hope so! 

I want to tell you about the first time my little brother Graigcoch saw snow. Me and my family woke up on Christmas day and we looked out of the window. Can you guess what we saw? Oh, it was not snow! The weather was terrible on Christmas morning where we live. It was raining! I wanted a white Christmas—not rain! Bad luck for me and my family, it seemed. Anyway, although it was raining we had a nice time opening our Christmas presents! We listened to Christmas carols as we took turns opening our gifts. It was very fun!

As you all know, I love hiking, so later that day my mummy and daddy said that we would go hiking! Yeah for me! I love to go hiking even when it rains! We all got ready and got into our car. Graigcoch does not like to stay still for very long, so he gets very grumpy when we are driving somewhere in our car. He is such a baby! Don't you think so? I like to relax on the back seat of our car. I get quite sleepy!

Finally, after quite a long drive we arrived. My mummy and daddy put our leads on us and opened the car door. I could not believe what I saw next! The ground was covered with SNOW!!! Yeah!!! I felt very excited! Graigcoch had not seen snow before, so he was very interested! I think he liked the snow a lot! He was digging with his paws! Our family could have a white Christmas and Graigcoch could see his first snow. Christmas day was SO pawsome for us! I think I am a very lucky corgi!

Tara now,

Cadwaladr.

My Daddy's slippers!

Hi, everyone! It's me Cadwaladr. 

Are you all well? I hope so! 

I want to tell you about my daddy's slippers! I like them a lot! They are very soft, so I use them as my pillow sometimes! Oh, and they smell very good! I like to put my nose right inside. They smell of my daddy's feet! My mummy says that my daddy's feet smell bad, but I think they smell wonderful! Sometimes, I feel so cosy with my nose inside my daddy's slippers that I fall asleep. I dream about nice hiking trips with my daddy and mummy! In my dreams, the air smells like my daddy's slippers!

Sometimes, Graigcoch steals my daddy's slippers when he takes them off. He tries to chew them! I tell him, “No! Stop it, Graig! If you destroy them daddy will get new slippers that don't smell good!”

Anyway, I am going now to look for my daddy's slippers! :) I hope Graigcoch has not stolen them again!

Tara now,

Cadwaladr.

Cadwaladr won the prize.

All hail to Cadwaladr for he is the king of Christmas dinner. He won the prize from the Christmas cracker! But King Cadwaladr was not happy with his prize. He did not want his bag of marbles. Poor King Cadwaladr! Maybe the next prize he wins will be more fun for a Corgi. Cheer up, Cadawaladr! You are the King of Christmas dinner!

“I wanted a chewy bone! Not marbles!” :(

Graigcoch's ears

Hello, everyone! :)

How is your day going so far? This Cadwaladr!

I want to talk to you about my little brother's ears. They are very interesting! I have known my little brother for just a couple of months, but in that time his ears have changed SO much! My mum and dad have told me that my ears have always been pointed. I think you have all seen my puppy pictures, haven't you? Well, my brother's ears are changing all the time! They never stay still.

At first his ear were very flat and flopped forward near his eyes.

Then they started to point sideways.

Slowly, they started trying to point up to the sky!

They were almost pointed, but his right ear has given up trying to be pointy, it seems! He now has one almost pointed ear, and one floppy ear. I wonder what happened? Is it normal? I think my mum is a little worried about it. Can I ask all you readers with dogs with pointed ears some advice. Do you think my brother's right ear is okay? I hope so! I like his ears a lot! They are much bigger than mine! His hearing is excellent. He can hear when mum is serving us our dinner and he runs to the kitchen and gets very excited! Has my mum told you that he is food crazy? He really is!

Anyway, I'm going to play with my brother for a while now. We like to chase each other a lot. It is so fun having my little brother to play with! Yeah!!!

Tara now,

Cadwaladr.

 

Graigcoch

Hiya!

This is Cadwaladr.

I have some pawsome news to tell you!

Some of you might have noticed already...

Now I've got a stepbrother.

Yeah!!

Introducing him to you...

Graigcoch, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi!

Graigcoch means 'red rock' in Welsh.

He came to us in October.

I LOVE playing with my little brother!

He looks cute, doesn't he?

But sometimes he is annoying!

He has so much energy!

I think I will need to change the title of my blog...

What shall I call it ?!

Umm........

Um........

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Cadwaladr.

Boxing Day!

Hiya, everyone!
This is Cadwaladr.

How's your Boxing Day so far?

It's been a long time, hasn't it?
I'm sorry about that!
But, you see, I can't type so well with my paws and my mummy's been very busy (Actually, I think just LAZY!!).
You've probably wondered where I've been.
Well, I've been here with my daddy and mummy doing all the usual things, mainly hiking which is my favourite thing to do.
I'll report all about my journey. Don't worry, everyone!
You won't miss my story even though it may be a little late.

Tara now!

Cadwaladr.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Cadwaladr.

St. David's, here I come!

Hi, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr.

My family and myself visited St. David's city in Pembrokeshire! Yes! The Corgi Land! It was my first time to visit my home county!  I didn't see any Corgis there, though! I was the only one! Lol! Lol!

It is said that Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is one of the best coast line in the world according to the National Geographic. It says Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada is the best in this article. I really wonder what it is like in Avalon Peninsula because as you will read my adventure, Pembrokeshire's coast line was SO pawsome! I thought I was in heaven! I am very proud of myself that my home county is such a beautiful place!

Apologies to any Cardigan Corgis reading. I will be visiting your home town in the future article! I promise! Cardigan is just north from Pembrokeshire in Ceredigion.

Well, this time, we hiked around St Non’s Bay and our hike started from Caerfai Bay near St David’s that has cliffs of purple sandstone and a sandy beach.

Caerfai Bay



A path leads down to the beach area, a bit steep.



'Wow! Sea! This is my first time to see sea!'



Caerfai Bay

'Daddy, it's so big!'

I told you that I have been practicing swimming these days. Yes. I was preparing for today! Lol! What do you think of my swimming skill? Am I better than Michael Phelps?

And, I had so much fun running on the beach!

Tomorrow, I am going to show you St Non’s Bay!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

Back to Corgi Land!

Hello, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr.

How have you been? Hope you are all well!

The weather here's been very nice these days!

I couldn't upload my journey since I've been to Pembrokeshire and the Gower Peninsula on my holiday. Yes! I visited our Corgi's home county for the first time! It was very beautiful in Pembrokeshire. I wish I could live there!

I will upload my journey little by little!

Have a pawsome Monday, everyone!



'I miss Corgi Land already...'

Michael Phelps, here I come!

Hi, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr.

These days, I'm taking some swimming lessons from my Daddy.


'Follow me!'

'I am taking you to my secret swimming pool!'

'This is the reservoir where I practice swimming these days!'

'It's still cold...but I want to be like Michael Phelps!'

'Oh, I am getting better! I'll have some rest now!'

'It's getting late! The moon is out!'

'We'd better go home, Dad!'

Cadwaladr.

Jump! Corgi! Jump!

This is how our Cadwaladr expresses his happiness.

Cadwaladr.

Ridge Walking 3 (Twin Peaks in the UK)

After Cadwaladr finished trying to play with his cute lamb friend, we followed the trail and we reached Fan y Big where pawsome scenery waited for us.

From left to right, Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Twin Peaks on Cadwaladr's head. Please feel free to climb up them.

'Don't make fun of my big ears!!!!!'

We walked for about 5 hours this time. We were thinking of climbing up to the top of Cribyn, but our little Corgi was getting grumpy--he gets VERY grumpy when he is too tired--, so we could not make it. Well, we will have another chance to go up there.

The Brecon Beacons is always there!

Had a wash in this puddle before getting in the car.

'See you, Brecon Beacons!'













P.S.
This is a video of a lamb having his lunch.
He or she has amazing tail movement.

Cadwaladr.

Cherry Tree

Hi, everyone!

This is Cadwaladr.
How is your Thursday so far?

Today I would like to show you my favourite park where I often go for a walk. It has a nice lake and at this time, the cherry trees are blossoming SO beautifully.

Have a lovely Thursday, everyone!

Cadwaladr.