Weekend Picnic

I've been trying to gather up the energy to write a blog post, and finally have some energy now that its 20 degrees cooler here. Oh gosh, we hit a record high in the city at 98 degrees on tuesday, and today, it was in the nice low 70s. :) Anywhoo, I wanted to recap Bailey's adventure (and mine) that we had this weekend, and our favorite place, Crissy Beach. It's right below the infamous Golden Gate Bridge. It's a beautiful stretch of beach along the northern side of San Francisco, nestled between the Marina district, the Presidio and Golden Gate Bridge, and of course Crissy Field (which apparently used to be used to be a rich salt marsh and was used as a landing spot for planes from early explorers as well as a military airfield as storied here). Anywhoo, Bailey and I were accompanied by some of my fabulous coworkers, their furkids and regular kids. haha. We had a blast, having a picnic at a picnic table off the beach, then trekked over to the beach and waded in the water, ran away from waves, made sand castles with the kiddos, and enjoyed the what became sunny afternoon on the beach. Nothing could be better. Bailey cooperated and brought the ball back each time I or anyone else threw it out. He even goes swimming on command. I say "go swimming" .. and he literally walks and wades into the water. We also had three australian shepherds and one papillon join us, and they were all water dogs too! I finally got to meet Tanner - one of my coworkers aussies which I haven't met in the 2 years i have known his mom, but im glad we got a chance to meet!

Bailey also wrestled with a 10 month old Irish Wolfhound pup named Finley on the beach. Her owner was a bit...... well...... of a hypocrite (he told my coworker that her dog was "attacking" his dog, but well, see the video of his pup below dragging bailey by the neck) but anyways, bailey had fun wrestling with the dog and he welcomes good hard wrestling fun. 

It was a blast! Bailey came home as tired as ive probably ever seen him! We gave him a bath and practically called it a day. We spent I think.. a total of 8 hours there. Got there at 9:30am to secure the spot, and we did not get back home until around 4pm. CRAZY!. Anywhoo, enjoy the videos and pictures!






our attempt at a group picture

bailey's three favorite aussie friends

the "i got you now!!!" picture

bailey trying to steal from our makeshift trash can during lunch

This weekend will sure be interesting. I am taking Bailey to his 3rd annual MLB baseball game! Go Giants!

Miette the Papillon

Bailey and I had the pleasure of watching Miette, a papillon, last weekend. We thought we'd let Bailey test out his big brother skills, and I wanted to see if he could handle it. Overall, it was good. No big fights but it made me realize that Bailey and I are not ready to add to the family right now. Maybe in a year or two.

My young cousins (the three A's) were invited over for a sleepover with Bailey and I this past weekend, since we knew Miette was going to be hanging out with us. That went great, and we only had issues regarding the potty (which i resolved with diapers). I was a bit scared Bailey might relapse in the potty area, but he did not. Thank goodness also for lineloeum floors. Bailey didn't want to share the water bowl with Miette, but he never snapped at her. He would just give off a growling whine whenever she would get near, and Miette was good about waiting. Since Miette doesn't like to play with dog toys, we had no problems there. Bailey did bark if i picked up Miette, but, Baileys not a cuddly sorta dog so i was wondering why he cared. but i was sure to give him lots of pets and kisses when i put miette down to let him know that he was still #1.

This weekend we did our normal 2nd saturday-of-the-month routine. Swimming at Crissy Beach, followed by the monthly corgi meetup. Both went great. It was sunny but cool (mid 60s). Bailey swam and swam until I saw a dog go poop in the water. Even though it was downstream from where Bailey was, I still called him out to leave. haha. Even Miette took a dip! At the corgi meetup, we had only about 5 show up (Kipper, Mona, Waffles, Nick & Hopper) +Bailey =6, so it was not very eventful, although there was a hound playing chase in the park that all the corgis ran after. Miette also came along, but shes a people dog, so she did not veer very far, except to get a drink of water.  We left the park early, went to pick up The A's, and had yummy lasagna and chinese chicken salad for dinner, fed the dogs, played video games and watched endless hours of Spongebob Squarepants (i swear they had a marathon going on saturday night... and when i turned on the TV sunday morning during bfast.. low and behold... it was Spongebob all over again)... hahah.. Miette went home, and i took my cousins to the baseball game, where the Giants lost (ARGH), but we came home to a smiling wiggly butt, went to the dog park and pet store, and finally dropped the cousins off at home. Check out some pictures of the lovely weekend with Miette below:

Tomorrow - picnic with dogs and people at the beach. This should be quite interesting! :) hehe. we've recently had a "low" come in.. a.k.a cold front... so its super foggy here in the city by the bay.... and it could very well be FREEZING (50's) tomorrow. I sure hope not.. but it was quite chilly, foggy and windy today. :).

ZIPPY the CAR - round 2

It's been nearly over 2 years since Bailey's seen Zippy. If you remember from our last post here, you will remember that Bailey was barky and terrified about the antenna poking him in the face. Anywhoo, Bailey’s human cousins visited last weekend and well, we got a chance to pull out the zip car again - rematch!. Bailey is no long scared of the wirely antenna, and oh my goodness, does he look ever so HUGE now compared to the little car. Take a look at these pictures!!!. It took some “leave its” to finally have him just sit and watch, but I wonder if he remembers the good ole’ days when the think used to poke him in the face. Today, he would’ve crunched the thing into pieces if he could just get those awkward-feeling spinning wheels to stop. :D

Bailey does not hesitate now to go over and roll the car over. I do not think its agressive (like he would be with a broom, mop or vacuum), but its more of a playful behavior.. almost like he wanted it to wrestle with him.. or something hahahha. Well, as I've said.. Bailey is no longer afraid... and here is a video and another video is below to prove it (sorry they are kinda dark).

Enjoy!

Bbear ancment: Wellness now at Petsmart!

The Bark

The Bark is a local dog magazine here in California. We got a gift subscription from one of the best dog owners in the world (Faith!!), and we enjoyed reading every magazine. Go over here to check out Bailey's picture featured on The Bark's smiling dogs slideshow. He's the first picture. Now... we submitted this photo in June 2009 (which indicates they must get MANY photos), but we finally got an email today letting us know he was featured online (too bad he didn't actually make it in the magazine). Anyways, go ahead and enter a picture!  I commend them for actually keeping to their promise to either feature you online or in the magazine, even if its a year later right.. better late than never?!?!

Bailey is about 6 months old in the picture, :)

Taken from The Bark website:

"Send us your smiling dog (smiling@thebark.com)! We LOVE them and we WANT yours! When you e-mail your photo, be sure to include your dog's name in both the subject line and as the title of the photo. We pick 40 favorites to appear in each issue of our magazine (published six times a year). All the others will be posted online weekly. Look for yours to appear soon!"

poop bags on clearance at Petsmart.com

What do you guys use to pick up poop? Bailey and I have a red dog shaped poop bag dispenser with the bags coming out of the dogs belly (ok hard to imagine… haha). We usually use plastic grocery bags/newspaper plastic sleeves, but San Francisco actually has a ban on plastic grocery bags at bigbox/ grocery chain stores (i.e. Safeway, Lucky’s, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, etc). Therefore, I am stocked full of paper bags and hard corn-type bags, but very few plastic baggies. Therefore, when I see sales like this, I’ll stock up since it’ll last us awhile. Though its not rated high on the website from the reader reviews, I thought they were OK – not horrible but not the best. Anywhoo… the 8 roll retails for 11.99 and is on clearance for $2.97…. crazy! They had them on clearance at my store, but I went back the other day to actually buy them and they only had two left. Anywhoo, I think it’s a great deal and if there’s a Petsmart near you – its worth going to check out.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3463413&lmdn=Brand#RatingsDetail

Use code THANKYOU for extra 10% off . Or if you can find these in the clearance bin at your store… you’ll save on the shipping!

widows peak

Bailey used to have a widows peak (V shaped blackish fur that framed his forehead). Ever since he turned about 10 months old, it sorta just disappeared. Well, to give some background on it – Bailey’s mom was a tri colored corgi (named Bailey too hehehe), and his dad, Cooper, was a full red/white. He gets his red-headness from his dad. Anywhoo…. That makes bailey a sable pup. He does have black-tipped fur that runs along his back, but other than that (which you only notice if your face is about 6 inches from his body), you would’ve never guessed he wasn’t truly a red/white corgi. Anyways, that doesn’t matter much… butt!!!!! I miss his widows peak. I used to think it was a bit awkward to say the least.. like hmmm that doesn’t look very flattering, but now, I think it would’ve been cool if he still had it. Look how cute it used to be… =D

As for a sneak preview on upcoming posts..... we did a zippy the car round 2 update video... coming soon.

Oh and Bailey wanted me to mention that he's updated the bar on the right - no one has called him yet to reply to his "Single and available" ad on the right, and hes a little bit sad. Poor thing. I'm A-OK with that though!

Izzy Bear & Bailey

The other day at the park, we ran into Izzy Bear. Bailey (bear) and Izzy Bear were great wrestling buddies as puppies. Izzy Bear is a Australian Shepherd, and is only about a month younger than Bailey. They played great and learned a lot from each other. Bailey still plays great, but Izzy has learned some bad habits from his doggy day walking group – and he now plays very aggressively!. But on the other hand, Bailey and Izzy Bear still say hi to one another, and well I couldn’t resist taking a reunion picture.

Two years later really… how much they’ve grown in comparison to these shots of them in late 2008. J Little grown men now. How cute.

We also have pictures of Bailey and Izzy wrestling on youtube! (search Bailey the Corgi Izzy)

I hope you guys have a great rest of the week. We are planning to have a four legged visitor next weekend for a sleepover that my cousins are looking forward to – and we can’t wait. :) More to come!

Here is a picture with Bailey and one of his favorite fans.. i mean cousins!!! =D

Pembroke Welsh Corgi:Cruise-line social director x high school hall monitor

 Hi!!! sooo... the article in dog magazine is so cool. First of all, there are so many wonderful pictures.. and so much information.. most of which i already knew, but i did learn something new. :) Have fun reading, everyone!! 

Pembroke Personality:

"sometime described a a combination of cruise line social director and high-school hall monitor, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi ha a bold-but-kind nature, a quality that make it a popular companion and show dog".

That completely describes Bailey. He i such a high school hall monitor, but he has such a sweet nature about himself always wanting to meet everyone at the dog park! Bailey would make an awesome cruise line social director.. i can see him now.... putting together an ice breaker game for all the guests.

One sly dog:
"Perhaps a little too bright, Corgis can get bored easily, especially if they are asked for frequent repititions. Be aware , however, that the Corgi is a pushy dog that likes to have its way, a remnant of its herding hertitage."

Bailey is a little pushy... hahahahaha and he does whine when he has nothing to do or when i wont get up fast enough in the morning..... hahahhahaha. The article also describes corgis with having a wedge shaped head (so cute!!), and talks about its exercise needs, etc.

Care and Handling:
"It's said that Corgis aer fairy-bred dog, once serving as steed for the fairie in their homeland of Wales. Look for the saddle across a Corgi's back or the harness marks behind it shoulder if you don't believe it"

I never knew about the fairie saddle on the back. I just noticed it.... and now understand why baileys fur is a tad longer and coarser between his shoulder blades.. who would've thought!!!!!

The article also mentions common health problem associated with their eyes, long backs and concerns regarding degenerative myleopathy ( a form of progressive paralysis. I hate reading the part where it ever talks about the lifespan of dogs. This article indicates corgis have a lifespan of 12-14 years on average. It just make me sad thinking about it already. sigh.

Health Check:
"It's essential to keep a Corgi at a healthy weight to prevent back problems and other weight relaed health issue, such as arthritis and skin-fold infections. Corgis like to eat ... like "walking stomachs" - o owner mut be vigilant in controlling their intake.

Yesss.. bailey is a walking stomach. His human cousins went to Costco today and got him some dog treat samples (who would've known - they give out samples for your pets now!!). hahaha. He just about sniffed out all of it within a matter of minutes. no patience what so ever!

Facts you may not have known:

1. The breed originated in Wales some 1,000 years ago, where it was a farm dog used to herd livestock, control rats and other vermin.

2. The word corgi means "dwarf dog" in the Welsh language.

3. The pembroke corgi first gained widespread recogniton in 1933 when King George VI presented a puppy, Rozavel Golden Eagle, to hi young daughter, Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret.

4. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi is the 26th most-registered breed among the 164 breeds.

Dog World July 2010 issue : Corgi on the cover!

Hi Everyone! Wanted to let everyone know about this awesome magazine.. in case well yea you are still able to get it (bookstore, etc)!!!

It was the July 2010 issue and i had it backordered since i recently subscribed to this magazine but received August 2010 as my first issue and found out through the reader comments that a corgi was on the July cover!!!! Theres a couple of pages in the middle that talk all about corgis.

I haven't had a chance to read the article yet (yeaa i knowww i thought id be all over it but i really want there to be like 1 hour of free time so i can really sit down and read every single word, and not skim through it!! - probably this weekend).

There is a small article at dogworld.com - but its very short compared to the magazine. Anyways, I'll get back to everyone after i read it.