Hello from Philly

[LaRositaMonita]

Hi there! I am a future Corgi owner from the suburbs of Philly, PA. My boyfriend and I have been looking to get a dog for some time; I will be finishing my first year of teaching in June and will be taking the summer "off" to recuperate and start grad school, so it will be the perfect time to stay home with a puppy. We've already been researching breeders in our area for a few weeks and have found a few we really like; it all depends now on whose mommy dogs and pregnant!

More than likely, we will wind up with a Cardigan. Originally, we were looking strictly at Pembrokes. After being contacted by rescue about two weeks ago, we wound up talking to a Cardigan breeder who convinced us that good-tempered Cardis might be even better for our lifestyle, since they tend to be more laid-back. We live in a first-floor apartment (convenient for housebreaking!) and are very excited to have a dog we can take on nice long walks or trips to the park, but without a fenced-in yard and with two working parents during the school year, we're going to need a dog who isn't going to be too high-energy. That said, we've found great breeders who are really focused on temperament that we'll trust to match us up with the best puppy for us no matter which breed we wind up going with.

Mainly, we're looking to connect with other owners, get some tips on raising our pup once it comes home with us in June/July, and hopefully find some other pups to visit/play with as part of our "research" until that time!

(Incidentally, I found out about this forum from karysmith37, who used to be in my boyfriend's World of Warcraft guild... so hi!)

[LittlePonzo]

Welcome! We are from outside of Philly, too. It's great to have someone here from close by...everyone on this site is scattered around the world, you'll find lots of great information. My husband and I got our Pem. puppy last march. His name is Ponzo and he is a 13 month old red and white. We got him from a breeder in Glen Mills, PA,(near the Delaware county prison) if you know where that is. She was great and we couldn't be happier with our dog's personality he is the superstar of the neighborhood and local dog parks. I can give you her info if you are interested. My husband and I are both teachers, so we know the schedule. Anyway, welcome to go corgi, where all your questions have answers! HA!

[LaRositaMonita]

Where do you teach? Your location is listed as Swarthmore, so I'm assuming somewhere in that area. I teach middle school in T/E (Conestoga is our high school); to boot, one of my grade team members is a proud graduate of Strath Haven I graduated from Villanova in 2006, so while I'm still relatively new to the area, it feels a lot like home.

I have a hunch we've already either attempted contact with your breeder...but we've talked to so many I'm having trouble connecting the town with the name. The breeders we're really liking are Susan Strickland in Landenberg, Kandy Boll in Laureldale (near Reading), and Nancy Cone, who is our Cardi expert and lives in Ohio! (however, she is BY FAR the best match for our personality/needs we've spoken to, and as she's a little outside of our geographic area the puppies are cheaper... it'll be well worth the trek).

Are you on the PhillyAreaCorgis yahoo group? We joined that last week and it's been a blast connecting with some locals. They run a picnic every June; we'll probably be the ones there with a stuffed animal Corgi instead of a real one, as ours will be too young to come along at that point

[LittlePonzo]

Wow, I didn't know there was such a thing! Thanks I am going to look into that......Susan Stickland is awesome! Her corgis are fabulous. In fact Ponzo is from HoneyFox lineage! Unfortunately, you prob. didn't talk to our breeder, I just went to visit her site and she has completely stopped her corgi breeding program but is still doing golden retrievers.
I actually teach in Glen mills at Garnet Valley School Dist....I did some field experience in TE at Beaumont and loved every minute of it...great district. When do you plan on getting your puppy because I would highly recommend bringing your puppy to a corgi event...socialization needs to start immediately as up until I believe 14 weeks is a crucial socialization period. The more new things the better. Can't wait to chat more! Thanks for the info on Yahoo!

[LaRositaMonita]

How long ago was your field experience? Some great co-workers of mine used to teach at Beaumont and then transferred to my middle school when they moved the 5th grade up there. I'm wondering how small the world might be!

(By the way... I interviewed with Garnet Valley! They didn't like me... their loss, I think

We are hoping to get our puppy somewhere between mid-June and early July. It all depends on which breeder works out for us. Since the Corgi picnic will probably be earlier in June, our pup may not even be home with us then! I'm also worried about taking him or her out to meet other dogs before s/he's through with shots. This will be the first pup I've raised... will he or she be all ready to go at 14 weeks? I don't know yet the schedule of vaccinations from vets.

Here is the link to the PhillyAreaCorgis group: PhillyAreaCorgis : PhillyAreaCorgis

Hope to see you around... and "enjoy" the upcoming PSSAs!

[Hayashi_eri]

Hi LaRositaMonita!
I am Eri with my 2yrs old pembroke gal, Buta. Hope you get your lovely Corgi soon

[ZdogZ]

Welcome to GoCorgi! I bet you are getting excited about your future corgi. I have Zia, a 6 month old r/w pem, and Zip, an 8-year old blonde cocker. I also teach school. This is my 11th year. I have taught SPED (K-5), preschool, and am now teaching 1st grade. Good luck with your grad work!