Well! I am overwhelmed, honoured, and honestly surprised by the reception of my degenerative myelopathy post. It was a nerve-wracking topic to tackle, and the response has been so much more positive than I could have imagined.
I also need to welcome my new readers! I am so glad you’re here, and I hope you’ll bear with me, as if you’re expecting content like that DM article…that’s not what I have for you today. But please come back for more educational posts in the future.
Today’s post is sort of a miscellaneous catch-all of some of the things Delia and I have been up to.
Website Updates
First of all, I fixed my “Scribbles” page, which was broken. (And you’ll notice it’s actually in the menu, rather presumptuously, as “Art” now. They’re still lowly scribbles, but I wanted to make it a little more obvious what’s on the page for navigational purposes.)
Secondly, I revamped my “Resources” page a bit. It’s just a little snazzier now, that’s all. If you are new here or you haven’t checked it out before, it’s where I’ve gathered some of the books, podcasts, websites, etc. that I found useful, whether it be corgi-specific info, puppy training, or general dog stuff. I’ve had several friends ask me for recommendations when they were getting a puppy, so I just decided to gather it all in one spot. That was part of my original impetus to make a site in the first place.
And finally, I’ll be redoing the home page soon. Maybe. I need to nail down a clearer vision of what even is this site in order to decide what should be on the home page. To be fair, it’s possible that my hodgepodge of a home page sets the expectations correctly. I don’t know, I’ll consult with the rest of my team.
But that’s that on the site updates.
Slightly Cooler Weather!
Since the temperatures have dropped down slightly, Delia and I have been able to go to one of our favourite places to walk, which we couldn’t enjoy for most of the summer because there wasn’t enough shade.
The reason we like it is it’s one of the places where I feel comfortable letting Delia run off leash. (Though you’ll notice, she always has a cheap nylon leash dangling from the back of her harness. It just makes me feel a little better for whatever reason.)
We do have to watch out for ticks. My foster dog picked some up on these trails, but Delia hasn’t so far. I always check her to be sure, and thankfully that’s a lot easier with her coat than it was with an Aussie coat! She’s quite a bit smaller too.
What I love about letting Delia off-leash is how fast she runs!
Which brings me to the next thing I’m excited about.
Fast CAT!
I entered Delia in an upcoming AKC fast CAT event. If you’ve never heard of fast CAT, the first thing to know is that it has nothing to do with cats.
“CAT” stands for Coursing Ability Test. “Coursing” is chasing after game using sight rather than scent. This type of hunting has been carried out for millennia by some of the most ancient dog breeds.
In today’s society, there are not as many outlets for these coursing instincts. People enjoy the companionship of these elegant, regal, living links to antiquity, but they don’t need them to chase down a hare for dinner or anything like that. And yet, these coursing instincts are as strong as ever. Enter the AKC’s 3 coursing sports!
Traditional lure coursing is only open to the—currently 16—AKC recognised sight hound breeds, along with 4 Miscellaneous and Foundation Stock Service breeds. Then there’s CAT—which you now know stands for Coursing Ability Test. This is a pass/fail test where dogs must complete the course in the allotted time, but it’s designed not to be overly difficult. It is not restricted to sight hounds. You can click the links to learn more about either of those sports.
But today, we’re talking about fast CAT! Fast CAT is a way to find out just how fast your dog can run. As you can guess from the fact that Delia gets to participate, it is not restricted to sight hounds. In fact, you can participate in this and many other AKC sports with a mixed breed dog! (Why does this sound so much like an advertisement? I’m not being paid for this.) You can see the full eligibility details here.
Fast CAT “is a timed 100-yard dash where dogs run one at a time, chasing a lure.” Their run time is converted to mph, so you no longer have to wonder just how fast your dog can run. Your dog earns points based on that mph x their handicap—a number derived from their height in inches. Since it’s all about instinct and fitness, there’s not really any training required for this sport. If you want to learn more about fast CAT:
- Here is that link again to the AKC page on the sport
- Here is an article from Purina that explains it and interviews some fast CAT enthusiasts
- And this is an excellent blog post, which really kind of put me at ease as far as what to expect when I go to the event.
I have a feeling this sport is going to be addictive both for me and for Delia. One of her favourite things in the world is hurtling toward unsuspecting seagulls at top speed, so this should be right up her alley. And I just love watching her run.
I’m also excited for her to be timed so I know just how fast those little stumpers go! I’ve seen her reach some very impressive speeds…when she’s not in a race, that is. 😉
(I’m kidding, she did her best given her confusion, and I love her for it.)
So, we’re looking forward to that coming up in about a month, and we’ll update you. One of the best things about corgis is that they can and will do it all! So we’re excited to get more into dog sports.
Changes Post-Spay
I don’t think I talked about it here, but I was quite apprehensive whether I would see changes in Delia after her spay. Things I’ve been watching for have been changes to her personality, weight, and coat—in order of importance to me.
Obviously more than anything, I didn’t want my sweet girl to change. Here is a really good paper on behavioural effects of spaying, but as it takes care to point out, there are so many factors involved. It does seem that waiting until full maturity is, once again, the best course. I hope that having gone through two heat cycles, we’re now in good shape.
What concerns me slightly is that Delia has been a little bit nasty to Trigger, my golden retriever, lately. They still get along really well 99% of the time. They play together, she gives him sweet kisses, and sometimes she’ll curl up and take a nap with him as a pillow. But it’s something I am keeping an eye on. I do remember her lashing out at him without provocation (from my perspective, that is) at least once before her spay. But it is definitely not something that has been an issue her whole life, so I’m keeping an eye on that.
Otherwise, she has not changed at all. At the dog park this week, she was as good as ever with other dogs. I was extremely impressed at how she simply deliberately ignored a super rambunctious husky puppy until the puppy was calmer. A younger Delia would have expressed vocal displeasure at the inappropriate behaviour. Ignoring the puppy and then engaging in play when the puppy solicited it more politely is such a mature and beautiful behaviour. She’s growing up!
As far as weight is concerned, spayed females are much more prone to weight gain. My problem with Delia has always been keeping weight on her. She can eat whatever she wants, but she’s always running those calories off.
So I haven’t cut back her food yet, but I constantly evaluate her to make sure she isn’t becoming overweight. A couple days ago at the park, a guy asked me if she was on a special diet. “She looks so much healthier than the corgis I see,” he explained. That’s because there are some real chonkers who frequent the dog park, plus that’s what you see a lot of on social media. But no, nothing special going on here. Just an active lifestyle, good ol’ Purina One (we haven’t talked about food yet…there’s a post I need to do!), and monitoring her to make sure she doesn’t start packing on pounds.
And finally, I was worried that her coat might change. I adore her coat. I mean, I kind of wish that I wasn’t wearing it all the time. And my car, and my house… But I still love it.
I talked at length in this post about how amazing and easy to care for it is. Plus, it’s squishy and feels amazing. It’s not really soft, but it’s a pleasant texture to run your hands through.
My golden has a woolly, fuzzy coat that I attribute to being neutered so early in life. But when I tried to research this, I found what this groomer reported: lots of anecdotes and forum posts from the breeding, showing, and grooming communities, but very little by way of scientific research. I did find this one study. I think that, as that grooming article noted, there is a general reluctance in the veterinary community to talk about any negative effects of altering dogs. More than that though, I think with this particular issue, its just not that important to the majority of pet owners, or something that they’re even aware of. For most of us in the general American pet-owning public, we don’t even get our hands on enough intact dogs to know that there’s a difference. So I just think with all the things to research, I’m not surprised that this thing hasn’t been looked into much.
But anyway.
So far I don’t notice any difference in her coat, but it might just be too soon to tell.
One change I would really appreciate would be never again having her dramatically blow her entire coat all at once the way she did before going into season last time. It was insanity having all that coat come out at one time. The black carpet in my car was almost white! My brother thought I had given her a haircut because the difference was so jarring.
After blowing coat 
Normal
So I’d be glad to never experience that again, even if it means slightly more shedding year-round.
Get Your Corgi a Herding Ball!
Finally, if you don’t have a herding ball for your corgi, I can’t recommend them enough! I talked about them in this post about ways to tire out your corgi. The herding ball is Delia’s favourite activity. Our leashed walks, usually 5 miles or more, are something I do for my own exercise. But if I skipped that and replaced it with just 15 minutes or less of herding ball time, she’d actually find that more satisfying. It gives her a chance to actually run, and more than that, she gets to have an outlet for her herding instincts.
I always figure if you can find a way to let the dog engage in their instinctual behaviours, you’re going to have a happy doggo.
The other day she struck the ball from underneath at just the right moment as it was going over a curb and it got some impressive air!
I will leave you with two awe-inspiring shots of this centuries-old, very dignified herding breed.
And that’s all I have for you guys today. Just a little mishmash of some things I wanted to talk about. Thank you guys for being here and for bearing with me as I just talk about stuff to whatever varying degrees of interestingness. I have lots of future posts planned, so stay tuned.
And have a lovely day.
