Re-gifted Tacky Cardigan: How Corgis Herd (as Illustrated by a Dumb@ss)

But first:

<> The diagrams that follow have previously (in 2012) been published on this blog. They were tacky then too, hence, the "re-gifting." And while I'm being honest, I wouldn't be the least bit offended if you went and re-gifted  them again (and so on). They can be like an infinity gift!
<> And, by dumb@ss, I don't mean this guy:

Because, despite his needing major orthodontia, I'd bet he's smarter than someone's honor student. Somewhere. Also, I heart donkeys a lot.

No, I mean this person (who's been posterized in PicMonkey to make her blotches and extra folds less noticeable):

OH MY GOSH! YOU GUYS! I just realized the name "HEE-HAW" (as in the old TV show) is a euphemism for "Dumb@sses"! 

Of course! It makes perfect sense! They couldn't very well have called it the "Dumb@ss" show! It was their own private joke! Hee-haw! Hee-haw! (Note: I watched Hee-Haw before I ever heard of the word "dumb@ss," okay? I think Bart Simpson might have introduced me to that one.)

Ahem. 

So, since I started the week off on a herding note, I thought it might be fun to revisit a couple highly scientific diagrams I made of the dogs performing a herding demo in my back yard. Except, I don't have any barn animals for them to herd, so I substituted Youngest Child. Don't worry, it was his idea he was happy to help. Plus, no one would ever recognize him under that scary foam sheep mask I got at Target.

So in this first example, I've tried to illustrate how Jon Farleigh and Dewi (although both Cardigan Welsh Corgis, in this completely absurd scenario only*) have contrasting herding styles.

* Jon Farleigh isn't always this enlightened. 

And then here, I've illustrated why (when driving cattle, vs. herding sheep) corgis need to have short legs.

Seriously, y'all. They might have looked like hobbits with chicken legs, but those first corgis were total bad@sses! (Why do we have so many slang words with the suffix @ss? It's like we're obsessed with butts or something. I should research that and report back...)

Well, have you learned anything?! Gosh, I hope so! Feel free to share! I won't tell anyone I gifted the information to you twice already! ☺

If you'd like me to consider a photo of your pet(s) for a tacky cardigan, just post it to the Facebook or Tumblr page!

That Picture Don't Make a Lick of Sense: A Corgi and 3 Sheep Walk Into a Pen...

Please excuse the quality of the below photo; it was taken three years ago with my crappy camera. 

So, who's ready to guess WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON IN THIS PICTURE?!

A. Jon Farleigh told a "Your mama" joke to the sheep in the middle, not realizing the 2 flanking sheep were her mama and aunt. oops.
B. The sheep have unanimously decided (because it was disgusting) to cut Jon Fareigh off the "free" all-you-can-eat poo buffet.
C. Jon Farleigh is failing his first herding instinct test.
D. Jon Farleigh is trying to speak sheep code (e.g., baa ram ewe), except, he slept through most of Babe, and instead of speaking sheep (unbeknownst to him), he's speaking Patagonian Toothfish. 
E. Probably all of the above. 

Leave your guess in comments or on Facebook (please!). 

*****

As for the last installment...

E. I'm trying to get Jon Farleigh to lie down for a treat, because we're contestants in a "best trick" dog contest at the local fall festival.
(Although, thanks to a reader's calling his expression out to me, I'm not entirely sure why that old man is smiling. Aaaaagh! I need a shower!☺)

P.S. Do you know how hard it is to train a corgi to LIE DOWN?! They're ALREADY down low enough to reach the treat, for Pete's sake! Just give it to me already (is what JF was thinking)!

P.P.S. We might not have won a prize for best trick at the fall festival, but that's OK, because Jon Farleigh and Dewi tied for Cutest Dog!

Tacky Cardigan: How Dogs Land Jobs - Genetics, Environment, or Something Else Entirely?

So, answer this question: Which came first, the dog or the dog's job? 

I'll go out on a limb and say the dog. Maybe not the ideal dog, but unlike the unsolvable chicken and egg dilemma, if you're gonna give a dog a job, there has to be a dog sitting there ready to take it, right? But then, how did the humans decide which dogs were best for which jobs? So they could work toward their "breed ideal"? Take cattle driving, for example. Of all the available dogs, WAY back when dogs were first assigned as drovers, how did the farmer decide among all the dogs? I don't know. But I'm beginning to wonder whether the cows had something to do with it...

Disclaimer: The cows made up those jokes, not me.*

Things that make you go hmm. ☺

A huge THANK YOU to my muse, the devastatingly handsome Cocker Spaniel, Dexter, and his mama Carol Bryant (yes, that Dexter, and that Carol Bryant) of the acclaimed pet lifestyle blog Fidose of Reality, for allowing me to use their photo! (I saw it on their Instagram. This was SO MUCH FUN to make!)

UPDATE! I've been feeling remiss about not crediting the cows who have appeared with speaking parts; therefore, here are their names (L to R): Lenny, Mortimer (Mort for short) and Ice-Chest.

* I totally made those dumb jokes up, but I'm allowed. I'm owned by two drovers who are shaped like step stools.

Tacky Cardigan With Words on It: Odd Schoolyard Games, Explained

So, did anyone ever play Red Rover as a kid? You know, where a bunch of kids make two lines facing each other, then one side yells out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Tommy (for example) right over!" And then Tommy runs over and tries to bust through the locked arms of the opposing team/line? (Well, if not, it's a real game, OK? I played it as a kid, and I'm lucky I didn't get my arm ripped out of the socket, but that's not the point.)

How about the "telephone" game? Where kids get in a line/circle, and the first person whispers a message to the next, and then the message gets passed down the line until it reaches the last person, who then reports (what's left of) it out loud to the group?

Yeah, well no one knows the true origins of either of these (odd) games. I, however, have a theory...

Red drover? A corgi? Get it??? (You know it could've happened!)

P.S. That red "Rover" in the clover? It's 13-week-old Jon Farleigh (in a tape crown), about 15 minutes after he became a permanent member of my family. ♥

If you'd like me to consider your pet(s) photo for a tacky cardigan, just post it to the Facebook page!

Two Different and Yet Highly Effective* Corgi Herding Styles (as demo'd by Jon Farleigh and Dewi)

I think this ought to explain it all.
Note: Yes, that's a sheep KID. Just look here and don't have a cow.

Click to enlarge.

*So we haven't actually done this with real sheep, but we saw a really articulate pig (and a Border Collie) successfully herd both ways on TV.

And a bonus:

Dewi and the sheep kid demonstrate why Welsh Corgis were bred with short legs.
Note: This diagram is NOT a joke. I'm serious.

Corgis were bred as cattle drovers (heelers/heel nippers). The short legs were life-saving in that line of work.

They're also really cute.

Have good one, friends!

Some Say Welsh Corgis Like to Herd Kids

Mine only like to herd sheep kids.

It's no wonder I love them so much. ;-)

***

Wishing you loads of fun doing your favorite things this holiday weekend!


Coming next week: Jon Farleigh and Dewi model the latest spring fashion trend.


Disclosure (Sat., 4/7/12, @ 10:08 a.m., as a result of the husband shouting this question from the other room while viewing this post from his iPhone: "Now, why'd you make him do that?"): No sheep kids, regular kids or dogs were harmed (physically or emotionally) during the fake herding session pictured in this post. In fact, all parties involved, including the photographer, (as if it isn't obvious) were willing and gleeful participants. Ahem. 

Dewi and Tiffany Go Together Like Hooterville and Manhattan

But make no mistake - they DO go together!

Anyone remember the old TV comedy Green Acres?
(It's from the mid-60s, but still popular in reruns.)

Green Acres Theme, Short

Click arrow for 16 seconds of theme song.

Well, it was the first thing I thought of when I envisioned Dewi's debut at Tiffany & Co. (In case you're new to this blog, I took Jon Farleigh into the Tiffany at our local dog-friendly mall and promised that on my return trip to pick up some cleaned jewelry, I'd take Dewi along.) Naturally, as I cast the characters of the future blog post in my head, Dewi (my goofy, herding inferno) had to be Eddie Albert's character, Oliver (who longed for the land and fresh air of Hooterville), and Tiffany was going to be his high-maintenance, Manhattan shop-a-holic wife, Lisa, played by Eva Gabor.

It was going to be the perfect post! Dewi and Tiffany going at it to the lyrics from the Green Acres song. Move over "Biscuits at Tiffany's"!

But then, last Sunday afternoon, I took Dewi to Tiffany. And just as I was certain he'd plow through the counters (and human legs) like a bull in a china shop, the unimaginable happened.

Oooh, shiny things.

Look, mama! Pretty shiny things!

And, before I could say "in your dreams," Dewi had an entourage of adoring sales associates bearing biscuits. He was in doggie heaven, complete with a Tiffany-blue box and red satin ribbon.

I was too stunned to take a picture, but the whole scene went down just off camera, here.

Then, still on his cookie high, Dewi imagined himself in a diamond-studded leather collar...

Diamonds are a dog's best friend???
(Okay, so I made that last line up, but he WAS checking himself out in the mirror!)

Poor Jon Farleigh had to wait outside.

What am I, chopped liver?

Until he got to go in...

Who's chopped  liver now?

Good thing I can't afford to go back in; I think the free biscuits and lavished attention are going to their Corgi heads. So much for Green Acres. :)

*****

Here are a few more photos of the mall - just for fun!

Checking out the HUGE tree

I told you it was huge.

Dewi would rather drink straight from the spigot.

This little guy's doting person told us he's a Corgi x Pit Bull mix. Such a cutie!

I just noticed that dog in the background. Looks like he'd spotted us. ;)

And as we were leaving, we observed this meeting...

Pit Bull meets baby yellow Lab

Couldn't you just die?! :)

*****

Have gobs of fun this weekend!

Dewi's Kin Folk - Photos!

So on Sunday at the CCWCC herding fun day, not only did we get to see both Jon Farleigh and Dewi demonstrate their ancient Cardigan Welsh Corgi herding instinct, but we got to meet and hang out with some wonderful people and dogs, including Dewi's dad Jack (whom we'd never met before in person) and as a surprise, Dewi's sister (littermate) Anwen (who, BTW, also has a strong herding instinct), and Wilson and Jimmy (who belong to Taryn of A Tail of Two Cardis).

Although my hands were generally occupied with leashes, the two Girl Children and Taryn managed to get a few photos of the family. (Thank you, Taryn!)

From L to R: Dewi, Anwen (sister), and Jack (daddy)

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis

FYI: Dewi's mother, Elowyn (who lives with Anwen and the wonderful Proia family at Arian Farm kennel), has the blue merle coat like Dewi's. Herding phenom Jack is owned by Rebecca Winkler (who we got to meet, too).

Jack is a H-A-M. :)  Really, he's such a happy Cardigan boy. I could see so much of Dewi in him, including his VOICE (as you can see he's using in this photo). He and Dewi are both talkers and have the exact same unique bark (whine, yodel, howl...). :)

This is eight-month-old Winston, and his own Mini-People. Winston likes to herd, too.

Where was JF all this time? Sitting nicely beside his Girl's chair...or herding, or in the kiddie pool, or getting a snack.

We hear the next time the club gets together in August, there might be some Lure Coursing fun. We're penciling it in on the calendar. :)

*****

Happy Wednesday, Dog (and Cat) People!

Burn baby burn! - Dewi's a herding inferno!

...Continued from yesterday

Preface: Dewi comes from a line of actual working farm dogs on his father's side. His father, Ch Chaos's Jack of Hearts (who performed a herding demo at this event), has a string of AKC Herding titles. The likelihood that Dewi inherited at least a little bit of that talent was high.

So, all of you who guessed that Dewi had as much fun as Jon Farleigh during the instinct test were right. He has instinct (that was determined within nanoseconds). If there had been a spark in the sheep pen, I do believe the friction from Dewi's full-on galloping would've set the place ablaze. :)

For optimal photo-viewing effect, I have included appropriate audio accompaniment. :)  (Go on and listen!)

Disco Inferno (1976) - The Trammps (YouTube)

(Right click and open in a new window to play in background.)

...Satisfaction came in the chain reaction. I couldn't get enough...

...so I had to self-destruct...

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis

...I herd somebody say, burn baby burn!

[Herding] inferno!

I just can't stop...when my spark gets hot...

I herd somebody say...

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis

Burn baby burn!

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis

My "Herding Inferno"

The instructor told me after Dewi's test that his herding style is to pin the sheep to the fence and keep them there (which isn't exactly the ultimate goal). He'd need herding lessons (and a distracting object in the pen) to teach him better control.

*****

Coming tomorrow - Dewi family reunion photos!

You can take the dog away from the herd, but yesterday, there was no taking the herd out of the dog.

Yes, friends, it's true. That's why they call it instinct. And despite the sheep's desperate attempt to overpower it with a generous helping of freshly wafting manure odor, yesterday, Jon Farleigh's inborn faculty for driving livestock could no longer be contained. He is, in fact, a herding dog. It was a sight for a doubtful dog-mama to behold. :)

Oh great, a repeat of last time?!

Jon Farleigh says, "No, I don't think so."

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis
(The human is well-known herding instructor Susan Rhoades of KeepStone Farm.)

I've heard other herding dog owners talk of the moment they could tell the metaphorical "light bulb turned on" during their own dogs' herding instinct tests. Now, I know what that looks like. :) There was a precise moment, after Jon Farleigh noticed the sheep moving away from him in the ring, that his expression changed and that poop on the ground was no longer interesting. But being the cautious people-pleaser he is, before he took off to do the thing he mysteriously already knew how to do, he turned to face the instructor and waited for her gesture of approval. Then he was gone. It was a free-spirited side of him that I have never seen before. It was unbridled dog beauty. :)

"Don't let these flowing locks fool you, sheeps; I'm all Corgi."

photo courtesy of Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis

We (my two human Girl Children, two dogs and I) had a great time hanging out with the people and dogs of the Chesapeake Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club (CCWCC) (who sponsored this herding fun event) in Millersville, MD yesterday. So much fun that instead of reporting on all of it here today, I've decided to post it in chunks.

Up tomorrow? Wild man, Dewi, in the herding ring for the first time in his life.

Any predictions?