Hello. Room for one more?

[Freppan]

Originally Posted by missfancypants25

Hi Erin! I have wanted a Corgi for a couple of years and I am finally getting one next week. I'm so excited! I hope you'll be able to get one soon too.

Oh man, awesome! Good luck with everything. I hope I can get one this summer, but some of my family (aunt and grandpa) seems to want to convince my mom to not allow it. It makes me angry because it's not their freaking business anyway. <crosses arms and sighs>

[Michael Romanos]

A dog in the house is by and large a family thing. But siblings can be very very difficult.

[Freppan]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

A dog in the house is by and large a family thing. But siblings can be very very difficult.

By family, I mean aunt and grandpa. They don't live with me. Why should they care?! It's only me and my mom here.

[Michael Romanos]

Ha! Royal advisors to your mother. Maybe they don't realise how responsible you are and how much a Corgi might change you if you aren't.

[Vannette]

yup...just have to prove that you are responsible and show her all the puppy pictures. How about...are you willing to join 4-H and train you dog? I have a friend, her corgi is a year old and her daughter is 13 in 4-H and they said she is the smartest dog there. Also the cutest. Knows all the hand signals for everything. Makes the others look like goofballs. They will be starting agility in 4-H too. Just beginning agility. Check into that and tell your mom about stuff like that. She just started 4-H I think in Sept.

[Michael Romanos]

I can go a few steps better than that. I know it is exceptional but a 15 year old girl in New Zealand has a stable of five dogs and she handled the first of them in serious agility competition when she was seven and by the age of 10 had an agility champion. Currently she has two grand champs, one champ and two on the way up. The dog she handled in agility at seven was her own dog when she was aged five and still sleeps on her bed.

[Freppan]

What on earth? I rarely ever see someone seven years old take any responsibility seriously like that, besides school work. Amazing.

Vannette- Could you tell me more about this 4-H? This is new to me.

[Michael Romanos]

I can send you an email version of the story I did on this amazing girl - Chelsea Marriner. My story does not do her justice because I focussed only on one of her dogs. All her dogs also do dancing and many superb tricks. Last Christmas the annual NZ stadium Xmas music show featured Chelsea and two of her dogs dancing together at the front of the stage's 'catwalk' in time with featured live music performances.
Email me at mjromanos@hotmail.com

[Vannette]

Erin...4-H is a County thing. I looked it up for you. Texas Cooperative Extension, The Denton County Office The phone number is in that site. You can find out information thru them. You know 4-H. The farmers kids that raise the cows and pigs and horses and do the fairs? Great responsibliity. Kids that become vets. And you got The A&M Aggies there too. I lived briefly in Bryan/College Station. It doesn't make you a hick to train your dog thru 4-H. It is just something for you to check into and maybe give you a goal. Show your mom you are serious. Otherwise just keep the pressure on her. She'll cave. I bet Peggy has got some good feedback on 4-H.

[fogebotom]

5? my youngest will be 10 in January. She's been going to the shows with us since she was able to walk. You'll find lots of exhibitor's kids in the ring at shows in the States. Jokingly, when we find out that someone is expecting in the showdog world around here, we tease them about "breeding" new junior handlers.
Meredith sleep in the crates with the handler's pomeranians when she got tired. Had her go in the ring with poms and brussels since she was 4, I think. Since she can't get the corgis on the tables yet, she has been doing the small table dogs or the collies in the ring until she proved to me she could lift Eddie on the table this summer. Sleeps with two large collies, has for years. She's a perfect student, has to care for 5 of her own dogs, helps with the rest of the crew, has two horses she has to hay and grain each day, a group of ducks she's raising for the dogs to herd and to show at fair. Wants to add chickens and a couple of goats next year. She's going to start agility this winter with her one collie and then one of the corgis. Been doing obedience training for about 4 years now but she tends to be shy and hasn't had the nerve to go in that ring yet. But she starts 4-H this year and will have to go in.

4-H---all three of my kids have been actively involved in it AND you can be enrolled in a livestock project without actually owning an animal. Tons of nonanimal projects you can do that might help your mom and other's realize that you know what you are getting yourself into. I train for our county, have for 8 years now. We do obedience, rally, showmanship, agility, therapy dogs through the PetPals program. Community service at the shelter, nursing home visits, responsible dog ownership events, you name it, we do it. Contact your local county extension service and ask for the youth specialist. Let them know you are interested in finding out what it's all about and they will direct you to a 4-H club near you.

Let me know if you want to know more....
Cindy and the crew at Foggy Bottom

[Freppan]

Originally Posted by Vannette

Show your mom you are serious. Otherwise just keep the pressure on her. She'll cave. I bet Peggy has got some good feedback on 4-H.

I have been, and she seems to possibly be leaning in a bit. It's hard to tell, she's reluctant to talk about it. But I overheard her telling my father (who I barely know) over the phone that I really wanted one and that I was working hard for it. That sounds like progress to me, I mean, at least she's acknowledging it, right?

[Vannette]

Cindy, knows the 4-H thing too. I think that would be a good way for you to learn and help sway your mom. Prove yourself.
Can't you just picture a little girl in the crate sleeping with the dogs? lol

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Vannette

I bet Peggy has got some good feedback on 4-H.

Cindy knows more about it than I do. My kids didn't do 4-H with their dogs but they did show in AKC shows.

Peggy

[fogebotom]

My oldest two were very active in the dog program in 4-H as well as horse, rocketry and a couple other projects. Then Alec went gung ho in FFA and is now a State Officer for Iowa. Meredith has learned a lot from tagging along all these years and man, she has plans.

What I find that 4-H does is develop good leadership and communication skills as well as a sense of community. Citizenship is a HUGE part of 4-H too.

I recommend getting hooked up with a club-some counties have clubs devoted to particular things-beef, swine, dog, etc. Many are diverse and offer help in all areas. Again, if you can show your mom and relatives that you can commit to the club and it's activities, they might feel more comfortable knowing you have a support system for you and your dog.

Kid in a crate? I got blackmailed!! One of my father-in-laws co-workers has ridgebacks. I see her at the shows all the time and she took some photos of Meredith sleeping with her smooth collie - in the crate. Sent them to my FIL who asked me what the heck do I really do at those shows and what am I doing to his grandchild-good for a laugh. Poor dog was all squished in a corner with a look of save me. Meredith had a cold that weekend and was on some good drugs for it. Made her very sleepy. This was also her first show in juniors where she and the collie almost got attacked by a St Bernard, so the collie was very protective of her charge the rest of the day. I'll see if I can find it and post it.

Cindy and the crew at Foggy Bottom
Let's see-----health, head, hands, and heart! That's the 4-H one and the FFA one that I like is Blue Jackets, Bright Futures!

[Freppan]

I am in a sort of club thing already, fogebotom. It's a meet up group for corgi people in my area. I am trying to convince her to come along for the next meet up (my aunt is taking me.)

It's in Carrolton, Texas, if anyone was curious.