Introducing The Puppy Daddy

It has recently been brought to my attention that I never posted any pictures of my puppy daddy! This isn't entirely true if you've read through my non-dog blog, as I've posted the pic to the left once before. You might also recognize it from the one of the pictures in the blog title. :)

This guy is Dawson, my puppy daddy. The top left picture is of Dawson as a puppy, and it is one of the cutest pictures of a Corgi I've ever seen. He just looks so adorable and happy, and his coloring is amazing! The other two pictures are Dawson as he is now: all grown up and gorgeous.

Why A Corgi?

There are so many dog breeds out there, how do you possibly pick one? That was the first big decision once we decided to get a dog. We had some criteria:

*a medium to small breed
*a breed that didn't need huge amounts of exercise (normal amount was fine)
*a breed with a good temperament
*a breed that was smart and trainable
*not a Jack Russel Terrier (no offense to this breed, but I just cannot handle the JRTs I've met...)

I hate to say it, but cost was also partially a factor. Sure $2000 isn't a lot to pay for something that will give you 10-14 years of love and affection, but my husband just wasn't having it. After looking into French Bulldogs for a while, my husband decided he didn't want any breed that has been bred to be cute over functional. What I mean is, dogs with the smooshed faces like Pugs, French Bulldogs, etc., have those adorable faces because they've been bred that way. Dogs don't normally have this look because it's not really functional for the dog in some ways. They have breathing problems because their nasal cavity is shorter than normal (or something like that), and they have issues with their teeth and jaws because they have to fit the same amount of teeth in a smaller mouth. Also, dogs like that usually have to deliver puppies through cesarean because of the way their heads are shaped. My husband hated the idea of breeding a dog that has so many health issues just because it looks cute. I tend to agree with him, though they are just so darn adorable!

I told my husband it was his turn to suggest a breed when he vetoed the French Bulldog. He asked me to look into Corgis. Why? I'm embarrassed to admit it (though I doubt I'm the first), but it's because of an Japanese anime show called Cowboy Bebop. It featured a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Ein, who was basically a genetically engineered super smart dog. I normally would have laughed in his face, but I remembered a friend of mine in junior high had a Corgi. His name was Gizmo and he was probably the smartest and most well behaved dog I have ever met. Once I read about Corgis (specifically Pembrokes), I was convinced that this would be the breed for us. They met all of our criteria, plus they're described as having a big dog personality in a small dog's body. My husband really liked that.

So with that decided we set off to look for breeders, and the rest is history...

PS: a great reference I found for anyone looking into dog breeds is this website. It has really great, and from what I've researched, accurate information on the temperament, health, living requirements, grooming, and origin of any dog breed. If you're thinking of getting a dog and you're not too familiar with the breed, I highly recommend checking out this site first.

Introduction

The reason why I'm completely puppy obsessed before I've even gotten my puppy is that I have wanted a dog my entire life. Whenever I would ask for a dog when I was little my parents would tell me that when I was 18 and living on my own, I could get a dog. What a crock! I'm now 25 and I'm just now at a time of my life where it's feasible to get a dog. Between college dorms and tiny city apartments, the early years of adulthood just don't lend themselves to a good dog environment. Finally, we are done with school (well almost, anyway), working well-paying stable jobs, settled into our house, and ready to add to the family (I'm referring to the puppy, of course. No kids on this couple's horizon yet!)

But the devil is in the details. There were still a couple more snags along the way. My husband actually wanted to wait until we bought our next house before we got a dog! We have a small concrete backyard with our current house, which wouldn't be good at all for an outdoor dog. We were planning on getting a larger dog, and we didn't want to keep the poor guy locked in the cramped house all day while we were at work, so at first we decided to wait until we bought a house with the right backyard. Then one day a friend of ours asked a novel question: "Why don't you guys just get a smaller dog?" I slapped my forehead, turned to my husband, and said "why can't we just get a smaller dog, honey?" He didn't have an answer.

I think he was adverse to getting a smaller dog at first because he envisioned bringing home a 3 pound chihuahua name Tinkerbell. Once I helped him realize that there were smaller dog breeds that weren't necessarily toy breeds, he was much more open to it. So that's when we decided, we were finally ready for my dog! A 25 year dream realized!