They're Cardigan Welsh Corgis, Not Pembrokes, or How I Exploited My Dogs at Our First BlogPaws

In case you missed my last five or six posts, I am an introvert and I attended BlogPaws with my two dogs. 

Now that we're all on the same page, let me explain how that's related to dog exploitation: I USED MY DOGS' CUTENESS TO AVOID TALKING ABOUT ME (and I highly recommend it).

[in the elevator] Me: Alright, boys, like we rehearsed in the car: look cute, wiggle your butts and wait to be invited up.

For fun, here are a few (Corgi) topics that I happily discussed (sometimes more than once), instead of boring stuff about me:

• Yes, they are Corgis.

  
  
• They have tails because they're actually Cardigans, not Pembrokes. The Queen has Pembrokes (with no tails).

  
  
• Cardigans have tails and Pembrokes don't (unless they're born with them and the owner doesn't dock). But you don't need to worry about that - it's confusing. Just forget I said that, for now.

  
  
• No, he's not mixed with Australian Shepherd; he's a Cardigan Corgi with a blue merle coat. Pembrokes (the Corgis with no tails) don't come in merle (although they can be blue - but I kept that to myself).

  
  
• Yes, Cardigans shed just as much as Pembrokes. Whatever your friend told you about shedding, multiply that times 10,000 and that's how much dog hair you'll get off one Corgi (either breed) in a year (or less). 

  
  
• No, he's not mixed with Sheltie, he's what Corgi people call a fluff or fluffy. It's simply a double-recessive coat-length gene. He's otherwise all Corgi. Well, it's a cosmetic fault in the breed standard (not a good all-weather "herding" coat) and prevents him from being shown. Yes, I agree, I think he's lovely, too. :)

  
  
• They are Cardigan Welsh Corgis. A mouthful, yes. The other breed is called Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Just remember Cardigans always have tails. Yes, Cardigans have tails. Yes. Really, you think you have the breed names straight? That's great because it took me two years.

  
  
• Well, you're right. Yes, Corgis' legs are short because they were bred to drive cattle and the short legs helped them roll out of the way of kicking hooves. Yes, they are quite agile (and fearless) little dogs.

  
  
• If properly socialized with them, Corgis are great with cats. No, they don't have that kind of prey drive; they might try to herd a cat, but not eat it for lunch.

  
  
• They are actually two completely separate breeds. Cardigans are related to the German teckel dog (what would later produce the Dachshund) and Pembrokes to the Flemish spitz. 

Okay, I think you get the picture. I had plenty to talk about. And no one asked me about barking or energy levels, by the way, because that was self-evident. Refer here or here.

Dewi: Well you might be a better kisser, but I'm stinkin' cute!

And then it was time to beat Irene home.

I got to meet a few more people on Saturday morning (while browsing around the sponsor exhibits) and bade a fond farewell to Laurie, but then it was time to hit the highway (straight into the path of Irene, the menacing trollop).

Hey, we don't feel any storm comin', you silly. Who's Irene, anyway?

We made it home in record time (because traffic was thin and we beat the storm, not because I broke the law, not by much, anyway). We even enjoyed seven hours of electricity when we got there!

Thanks, BlogPaws organizers and sponsors, for a wonderful time!

It was great meeting you, new (and previously unseen) friends!

'Til next time...