Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Book Review: Welsh Corgis: Pembroke And Cardigan

My latest read is Richard Beauchamp's Welsh Corgis: Pembroke and Cardigan (Complete Pet Owner's Manuals). It was definitely a step up from the last Corgi-specific book I read. Again, it didn't have a lot about what makes Corgis unique (which is what I was hoping to find from these books), but there was so much good general information that it made up for it, and there were a few useful snippets about Corgi behavior.

This book is fairly short (only about 120 pages), it covers the usual bases like feeding, grooming, housebreaking, etc., and it has dozens for amazing pictures of adorable Corgis. As you can tell from the title, the book covers both breeds of Corgi (Pembroke and Cardigan), and actually spends a little time covering the minor differences between them. Other than the obvious physical differences, and the fact they were bred in different areas of Wales, Cardigans tend to have a more calm, friendliness to them, while Pembrokes are more bold.

This book, like the last I reviewed, tried to do too much, but it did what it did better, I think. There was information in this book I didn't already know, and while it was all interesting, it wasn't all necessary. The end of the book covers how to breed Corgis, which I don't think should have been brought up at all. It was interesting to read, but I would hope anyone looking to actually breed Corgis would find much more in depth information from difference resources than this book.

The book did have some interesting and very detailed information on health, specifically vaccinations and parasites. It not only explained all the different parasites that plague dogs, but also what they look like. Eww! It also detailed the different vaccines that puppies need and why they are needed.

I would recommend this book for someone who is thinking of getting a Corgi, but mostly for people who have never had a dog before and haven't done much research yet. It's a good starting point for getting an idea of what own a dog entails.

What I learned (or confirmed) about Corgis, they are friendly and devoted. They want to be with you all the time. They need something to do, so if you don't live on a farm, it'd be good to do some classes: obedience, agility, herding, conformation, etc. They are small, but they don't know it. They won't back down from a fight with another dog, which I think makes them pretty fearless. They will rule your house, they will rule the dog park, they will rule anything and everything you let them. They won't be content to just curl up at your feet every night, so be prepared to play!

4 comments:

Cody, THE Fussy Pot Pants said...

Hello Ju Lo (I hope I got your name right),

I noticed that you have my blog as a fav in Technorati! It's amazing how you managed to stumble onto my blog, considering there are millions, billions and watever "-llions" blogs out there!

I see you are waiting for a corgi pup! I am so happy you choose one of us cos I think we are the best breed ever! My Mumsy says I have too big an ego for a short legged dog.

Anyhow, thanks for making my day by putting my blog as your fav. There are more links to other corgis' blogs on my webby so happy reading!

Cheers
Cody, THE Fussypot Pants

Anonymous said...

You've probably read every book on the planet about corgis! You must be soooo ready to have your puppy :) Bryson and I are excited for you!

I've also read the book you reviewed here (standing at Barnes and Noble for an afternoon) before we had Bryson. Most things it says about corgis are true- yes, they are smart, curious, active and all that great stuff. But as we discovered while watching Bryson and his corgi buddy, Picasso, corgis also vary widely in their personality, depending on their parents' temperament and how they grew up. In Bryson's case, we heard his mom is kinda reserved, and Bryson probably wasn't socialized too much as a show dog growing up, which may result in him being a bit shy around strangers and dogs taller than him (which is most dogs).

So, socialize, socialize, socialize when you get your pup! We have a corgi club in our area (San Francisco), you may find one in yours too, great place for them to mingle and get precious info from fellow corgi owners.

Good luck!

JuLo said...

Cody, yes, I added your blog as a favorite! Of course, I haven't had time to read very much of it yet. That's why I added it, so I could find it again! :)

I wanted to find more blogs on Corgis, so I just did a search for blogs with Corgi as the subject (yay Technorati!). There's an unfortunately small amount of blogs on Corgis (in English anyway!). :(

Ivy & Bryson, reading every book on the planet about Corgis sure wouldn't be very hard, since there seems to be only about 5 written! :(

I definitely agree with the importance of socializing a puppy lots and early! My friend has 3 dogs and a park right by his house, so my puppy will be having lots of play dates. There's also a Corgi Meetup group that meets once a month at a local dog park, which I definitely plan on regularly attending. Plus, I live about 1 mile from a dog park myself, so once my puppy gets all his/her shots, we can play there all the time. I've got the socializing covered, I hope! :)

Cody, THE Fussy Pot Pants said...

Haha thanks a lot! You really massage my already too big ego!

On my blog there are links to a couple of corgis' blog, like Benny, Trax, Chester my brother and Dexter. All in English! Have a look at their stuff!

- Cody, THE Fussypot Pants