C-Myste Corgis

Important Information

Breeder: Carolyn Cannon C-Myste Corgis PO Box 1075 Gold Hill  OR  97525 Phone: 541-840-2403 carolyn@c-myste.com http://c-myste.com

Co-breeder: Amanda Katasse Baledwr Corgis Spokane  WA mandy@baledwr.com http://baledwr.com

Co-breeder: Megan Hanselman Starry Night Stables Newberg  OR megan@hanselman.com http://starrynightsstables.blogspot.com

Feeding

In June of 2007 subsequent to several dog-food recalls, we started raw-feeding all of our dogs.  We highly recommend it, even though some extra effort and cost is involved.  A description of what your puppy is currently eating and a sample menu for our adults is provided later in this book.

Housebreaking

The key to housebreaking is consistency.  Take your puppy outside first thing in the morning, after each meal, as soon as waking up from each nap, and at bedtime.  Confine your puppy to a small area with puppy pad or newspaper provided when you cannot be present.  We recommend crating at night during the training period.  Carry your puppy outside at first to avoid premature elimination.  If you always carry your puppy to the same location, he will soon become accustomed to pottying there.  You can use words such as “hurry up” while the dog is going to teach him to go on command.  Always praise for a job well done.

Remember that a puppy will not have the control necessary to be truly housebroken until he or she is at least four months old.  Be patient.

Teething

Puppies will teeth at 4-5 months of age.  Just like human children, they lose their first set of teeth and gain adult teeth.  Get your puppy used to having his mouth handled and checked.  Watch for retained baby teeth, especially the canines, during teething: your vet can help extract any which you are not able to remove.  We recommend gumma-bone “plaque attacker” toys for chewing.  We also recommend brushing your dog’s teeth regularly.

Grooming

The Cardigan Welsh Corgi requires a relatively small amount of grooming.  He or she will usually require brushing only weekly, except during shedding periods.  Shedding generally occurs twice per year, spring and fall.  You can hasten the process by giving a warm bath, which will loosen the dying coat.  You can then brush to strip off the dead hair.  You should have a good pin brush and a comb.  The best way to groom your dog is to spray the coat lightly with water, and then to brush against the grain gently with the pin brush.

You will need to clip or grind your dog’s toenails about once every two weeks.  Walks on cement or other hard surfaces can reduce the amount of clipping required, especially on the hind feet.  Cut the nail to just above the pink quick.  We also scissor the long hair which grows between the pads on the bottom of the foot.

You should occasionally clean the inside of your dog’s ears with cotton and rubbing alcohol.

Sometimes it is necessary to tape the ears of a corgi so that they will stand erect.  This is normally done at about 3 months if the ears are not already up.  My preferred method is to use a base of masking tape to make it easier to remove without pulling hair, followed by a crown of duct tape for stiffness and durability.  For an example, visit http://www.c-myste.com/ears .

Vaccinations and Precautions

We recommend a series of 4 DHPP-P shots.  This shot covers Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza type I and II, and Parvovirus.  We do not recommend a combination including Leptospirosis vaccine as it sometimes interferes with the protection from Parvovirus and because we have had allergic reactions to it in the past. If your vet recommends that you vaccinate for Leptospirosis, we recommend that you do so with a separate shot a week separated from the combination. We also do not recommend vaccination for Corona.  Do not let more than 4 weeks lapse between shots.  For complete immunity, it is important to give the last shot at 16 weeks or more of age. We recommend vaccinations at 7, 10, 13, and 16 weeks. After the first set, we no longer give yearly boosters, as studies have shown that immunity lasts for years and that over-vaccination may be detrimental.  If you are concerned, you can have your vet test your dog’s titer levels.  Many people are choosing to vaccinate every three years, on the same schedule as their rabies vaccinations.

Until your puppy has completed all his vaccinations, you must be careful where you walk the puppy.  Do not let him frequent areas which are heavily used by dogs who may be unvaccinated, and never allow him to play with a dog whose vaccination status you are unsure of.

Your puppy has been wormed for round worms.

Your dog will need a rabies shot in order to obtain a license at around the age of 6 months. In general, the first rabies shot is good for one year, subsequent shots are valid for 3 years.  This may vary in different areas: check your local ordinances.

Training

Early socialization is crucial to your puppy’s later development.  Expose your puppy to as many people as possible, within the constraints allowed by vaccination schedule.  We recommend a “puppy kindergarten” class at 4 to 6 months if available.

You should not train a small puppy with a choke collar.  Use a flat nylon collar and a 6-foot leash.  We usually start leash-training our puppies at around 10 weeks of age.  Use treats to call your puppy to you, to get him to sit, etc.  Your puppy should learn to walk on a leash, to sit, to stay or wait, and to come when called.  Even though you can teach him these things yourself, we still recommend classes for your dog to be dependable in the face of distractions.

Recommended Toys and Treats

Plaque-attackers, “chew man” type toys made of fake, tennis balls, Soft-Bite grunting toys.  Avoid pig ears due to the high fat content.  Also avoid cow hooves which we have found may cause slab fractures of the teeth.

One good and cost-effective kind of toy is plastic beverage bottles.  They provide hours of fun for chewing and for chase games.

Breed Recognition

I want to warn you in advance that a large proportion of the humans of the world will be clueless as to what kind of dog you have.  Pembrokes are generally recognized as “the Queen’s dogs”, though we have had them mistaken for Sheltie/Dachshund crosses.  Cardigans on the other hand . . .

1) If you have a blue merle, it will be an “Aussie/Basset hound cross”.  If you have a black and white, it will be a “Border Collie/Basset cross”.  And one time we even had a young brindle girl mistaken for a kitty!

2) True story:  First night of obedience class, Julie and I are sitting next to our friend Evelyn and her Basset hound Fred.  A lady with a Schipperke is  looking at Fred, then looking at Julie, then looking at Fred, then looking at Julie.  “What”, she asks me, “is your dog crossed with.”  I look proudly at Julie, who had completed her championship just the month before.  “She’s not a cross”, proclaim I, “she’s purebred: in fact she just finished her championship.”  The lady returns to her careful study of our dogs.  She looks at me again. “Your dog’s a purebred BASSET HOUND?”, she asks incredulously.

3) Another true story:  on the streets of Fossil, Oregon following Cycle Oregon of 1995.  Tom and I and Julie are walking up the hill, a female cyclist is passing us walking down.  “What kind of dog is that?”, she asks in passing.  “A Cardigan Welsh Corgi”, reply I.  “Nice cross”, she muses and continues walking.  I missed the comeback that time.  What, my dog is half sweater?!

Moral of the story: be ready to educate people about our uncommon breed.  Train and socialize your dog well so that he can act as a good emissary not only for Cardigan Welsh Corgis, but for purebred dogs in general.

On that note: please always be a responsible handler and clean up after your dog in public.  We have found that we can easily carry sandwich bags in our purse or pockets.  By putting your hand in the bag, you can  scoop the mess, turning the bag inside out.  Tie and keep until you find a trash receptacle.  Be glad you don’t have a larger dog.

Another thing that works well for this if you are in a park or other public place: look in the trash receptacle for a take-out drink container with a lid.  The lid can be used to scoop into the cup, then both can be disposed of.

Debarking

The Cardigan Welsh Corgi is not generally a “yappy” breed.  Still there are times when you may find a dog that is too noisy for his living circumstances.  If training does not work, you may consider debarking.  It is a simple operation.  I know many debarked dogs and we have had a few ourselves.  It does not affect the dog psychologically in any way.  They do not even seem to realize that they no longer make (as much) noise.

Registration

All of our puppies are registered with the American Kennel Club.  Even if he is to be “just a pet” and you never plan to show him, this enables him to be counted and identified by the AKC.  And sometimes plans change.  Many family pets go on to be stars in endeavors such as agility and or obedience.  We will provide the application for individual registration for you to fill out, then we will mail it in to AKC.  We request that the registered name have our kennel name(s) as specified on your contract as a prefix and that it conforms to our litter theme.  You may call your dog by any name that you desire; it does not have to be a part of the registered name.

Your puppy has been micro-chipped and registration information will be included.  Some of our dogs have been tatooed with their AKC registration number on the inside of their thighs.  Not only does it identify the dog for AKC purposes, but it is a unique number that can be traced if they are ever lost or stolen.  We recommend against using other numbers such as Driver’s license numbers (what if you move out of the state) or Social Security numbers (SSA cannot give out personal information).  The AKC number will allow AKC to locate the registered owner if a dog is ever found in a shelter or as a stray.

Call for Help

I’ve only brushed over a few items here.  If you have any questions or problems at anytime, give us a call.  If you have internet access, I strongly recommend “corgi-l” and “showcardi-l” as other sources of help and information from experienced corgi owners, both breeders and pet owners.  There are other lists which specialize in conformation showing and/or breeding and in performance activities like agility, herding, and tracking.

Instructions for corgi-l

Send a message to:  listserv@listserv.tamu.edu

Subject line blank

Text: subscribe corgi-l Carolyn Cannon (replacing my name with your own)

Similarly for showcardi-l

Message to: listserv@apple.ease.lsoft.com

Subject: blank

Text: subscribe showcardi-l Carolyn Cannon

Enjoy your puppy: he or she will soon become an integral part of your family.