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Auggie

(MS)


by EMaganito

Pembroke Welsh Corgi underneath chair

Auggie is our family puppy. He is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. We got him on August 21st, 2020, in Great Falls, Montana. I had always wanted a dog, but my family and I were inspired to buy a corgi after watching some informational videos on YouTube.

Before we contacted the person who was breeding the corgis, my sister and I did some research. We found out many things like what dogs could eat, and what was toxic to them, how to take care of a dog, how to keep the dog exercised, what types of treats to buy him, and how to groom a corgi. Purina Pro Plan is the puppy food that the corgi breeder was feeding the litter before they were old enough to be adopted. The treats we buy for him are dental chews, puppy training treats, and on special occasions, we give him mango seeds and mango skins along with cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumber rinds. Vacuuming, sweeping the floors daily, and brushing the corgi were the grooming and cleaning chores we needed to do.We took all of that information and started making Word documents and PowerPoint presentations so we could convince our parents to get a dog. After I did my own research, our family did more research about cute dog names, what color corgis there were, and whether we wanted a boy or a girl corgi.

There are two types of corgis. There is the Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Cardigan welsh corgis were often gray with splotches of black and white, while Pembroke welsh corgis were Sable (a red brown with or without white) or tri-color (black, red brown, and white). We wanted a tri-color Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

After many weeks of deciding, we wanted to name the corgi, Auggie, since we had just finished reading the book Wonder, and thought it would the perfect name for our corgi. The woman in charge of the litter of corgis we were going to choose from sent us two pictures of the only tri-color corgis in the litter. The corgi we wanted had a lopsided ear that didn't look correct, so we decided that the name Auggie was perfect.

Because we contacted the person on the website late, we were further down the line, which didn't allow us to get the first pick. The person in front of us was going to take Auggie, but we had no control over it. Luckily, the woman was able to convince the man to get the other tri-color corgi that had its ears up already. Auggie's ears were floppy and he didn't have a saddle, or a white ring of fur around his neck, which is why we were able to pick him without anyone else taking him away from us.

Socializing with other people is important to puppies so they are not scared when they meet other people or sad when you have to stay away. We had bought Auggie after we had joined a swim team in Bozeman, so he came to practice with us and was able to play and socialize with other people. One of our coaches said that in order for his ears to stand up like a regular corgi, we would have to buy chews for him to work out his muscles in his mouth. Sure enough, a couple months after we bought him chews, his ears lifted and he looked more like the corgi he is today.

Corgis are known to be one of the smartest dogs, which is why we bought him a puzzle treat toys. Having a corgi, we train him for fun, but we also train him so he will stay behaved. Some fun tricks he has learned so far are shake, spin, high five, high ten, jump, dance, down, sit, stay, come, fistbump, and my favorite, pick and choose. We have also been working on circle where you have your hands in a circle and he puts his nose through it. All of the tricks he learned were fairly easy to teach him. My favorite is pick and choose where you put a treat in one hand, then stick both of your hands out for him to choose which hand he thinks has the treat in it. Because they are very smart, corgis can pick up on familiar behaviors, emotions, and habits along with commonly said words. When we sometimes leave him at home in the laundry room for swim practice, he will refuse to go inside the laundry room since he knows that we will leave him in their. If we say "outside" or "upstairs" he will immediately pick up that he is going to go somewhere else with us. Two other words that he recognizes is "treat" and "toy". When you say, "Treat!" he will run up to you and sit patiently until you give him the treat. Whenever we say, "Go get a toy," he will run and grab a toy and drop it at your feet.

Auggie loves going on car rides, which is another trigger word, and does very well in a car, which is good since we have to travel back and forth from Helena to Bozeman for swim practice. He won't get sick or vomit everywhere; he will sit and sleep on someone's lap. Sometimes he will get impatient, though, and he will start whining or barking when he wants to go outside or play with someone in the enclosed space. When we say, "Let's go," to him, he will jump onto the window sill of the car and stare out the window longingly. Then we push him back into his bed and tell him to wait until we get out of the car. Once outside the car, we tell him, "Come on," and he will jump into your arms. 

We are very lucky to take care of a corgi. As a family, we love him very much and we greatly enjoy whenever we spend time with him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pembroke Welsh Corgi underneath chair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUBMISSION TITLE
Auggie

IMAGE LOCATION
Helena | Montana | United States

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CONTRIBUTOR
EMaganito

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