Pie (and Puppy) is Done!

For the last ## hours, I've been in the kitchen making multiple pumpkin pies. Denali and Elbee slept through the process, but Sage hung with me most of the time. As our official "Fruit (and vegetable) Dog," he was most excited when the canned pumpkin popped open - Yum!

Now the pies are done.

And so is Sage!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Moosh Puppy!

Certainly our two previous Cardigan females were affectionate, but  until we got Sage we'd never had a certified Moosh Puppy. You know, the sweet, happy, bouncy, exuberant little dog that wants to give hugs and kisses and cuddle with you at every opportunity.

One of Sage's favorite activities is hanging out with the family to watch TV. We're not big TV watchers, but usually we will sit down on Friday nights to decompress. Sage is usually herding us toward the TV room, bouncing and smiling in anticipation.

Once there he knows it's time to cuddle - and as a special treat, he gets the be on the couch. You can do absolutely anything with this dog, as Moe demonstrates.

But you do have to be careful...

Or you'll end up getting upside-down kisses on your glasses.

Like our other corgis, Sage watches TV- intently. Naturally he is especially alert to the presence of an animal of any kind. Seeing dogs make him scamper up to the screen, frantically trying to locate them inside the "box." 

Because he inherited the Grandma Phoebe gene, causing him to be particularly suspicious of anything that looks new and unusual (like moving a potted plant to a new location), Sage also responds to unusual stimuli on the TV. The other night there were some people transporting bricks in baskets balanced on their heads. Admittedly, it looked peculiar and Sage rushed up to the TV trying to figure out why. Sigh...life is never dull with a Moosh Puppy around!

Home for the Holidays means even more time to cuddle with our boy - and a continual stream of entertainment!

Denali does it Again! (Note to Sage)

This morning my newly-crowned RAE Dog took to the Rally Ring again to take her first RAE-2 leg. Today she brought home the red ribbon in EX-B instead of the white one. Not bad for a rusty team that hasn't been training for a month due to her toe injury.

(Side note: We got to see Cappy's dad, Trenton, and Sage's sister, Greta, this morning too! Greta looks a LOT like Sage, in a different colored suit! She's VERY cute! It was cool to see them both and we look forward to the opportunity again in a couple weeks at the Vallejo shows!)

Sage has been training in obedience and informally working on some Rally moves since he was just teeny. He hasn't seen any ring action yet due to his uber-excitability around other dogs. But he's definitely growing up and building confidence in his Advanced obedience class right now. At some point he'll be ready to Rally. 

Just so he knows what to look forward to, I let Sage examine Denali's ribbons from this morning's show.

First the sniff - "Hmmm...it's not fruit!"

"And it doesn't bounce or try to run away."

Awards? Really? 

"Well yea...I can sit, down, call front...Oh, you want it all in a row and I have to pay attention the whole time! Are you sure there's nothing that bounces or rolls in it for me?"

Sage - Year 2 in Pictures (Happy Birthday!)

Happy Birthday Sage - and all members of 

the Oct. 21, 2008 Tree Litter!

Got fruit?

One of the things we learned about Sage during his second year with us was just HOW much he loves fruit! He will take it over anything else - even fresh meat! Accordingly, this year's "cake" will be a fruit plate (photos to come).

Looking at the year in pictures:

Starting with last years birthday celebration and a giant meat cake shared with two of his littermates, Cappy and Fig, and their guests!

Some of the party guests

Sage finally got his coat!

He shares Denali's toy fixation

In fact he shares a lot of things with Denali. 

They've become very strongly bonded.

Enjoying a morning sunbath has become routine.

Still very much the goofy puppy, 

Sage will make a toy out of anything.

Or anyone!

Or any slipper...as long as it is Moe's!

This is the SWEETEST little boy!

Everyone enjoyed posing for the Valentine's Day shot (NOT!).

Sage is allowed on our bed and one sofa. 

Most mornings he's here, waiting while I take a shower.

Like any good dog, he loves his chew bones. 

I am happy that he likes them more than my furniture now!

Did I say sweet?

Partners

in crime? 

("She's never gonna feed us again Denali!" 

"Watch and learn Sage. Just keep staring like this. It always works!")

Goofy puppy!

The best toys bounce and 

Roll!

Walking on the beach to benefit the 

Multiple Myeloma Foundation.

And just because!

Certainly not a show dog - but so handsome!

Sage as product model as the weather turns warmer.

Paws it Forward - a box for us!

Just what I wanted! (How did Janet know?)

Postal inspector sends his brother, Fig, a box 

and Paws it Forward continues.

It was Sage's idea to make this cup for Fig's mom, Alden. 

It shows a photo of her puppy, Watson, along with his dad, 

Chase, and brother Holmes.

Unfortunately, we also thought it was Sage's idea to eat the other half of this button.

So he got some bread to, uhh...help the process.

(Never did find the button.)

From the beginning, Sage has been our most oral dog. 

As a puppy he ate everything: our sofa, 

various plastic items, woven baskets, 

and a huge favorite, giant dirt clods.

A common sight, post FRAP.

Everything is a toy!

Yep, Fruit Dog!

One of my many favorite things about Sage, 

his always-happy smiling face. 

Now he's two, but he'll always be our sweet puppy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAGE

(We love you to pieces!)

Happy Birthday Moe!

Have a Great Birthday!

The $350 Squirrel (No Rally for You!)

Denali is our official Squirrel Chaser Extraordinaire. And she is VERY effective. Unfortunately, on Wednesday night she put a little too much enthusiasm into the chase. I looked out the window, saw her streak out to the back corner of the yard in pursuit, then emerge from the bushes...limping!

I rushed out, picked her up, brought her in and examined her. She had a cut in one of her pads, and some abrasions on the same toe. Home remedies took care of the cut, but by this morning her toe was very swollen.

The vet was puzzled by the swelling, so an x-ray was in order. We went back in the exam room to wait for the x-ray to develop. Even before the doctor returned, the vet tech brought in the pictures. She put one up on the screen, flipped on the light, turned to me and said, "Well, I bet you can see the problem!"

Looking at the slide made me wince. Denali had severely dislocated one of the middle toes on her front, left foot. It looked really painful! Due to the swelling, the vet was only able to partially relocate the toe. She had to use the other two toes as splints to hold it in place and pack the whole thing in a ton of bandages. Toss in some antibiotics and some anti-inflammatories, give it about five days and hopefully the swelling will go down and we can fully relocate it next week some time. At least, that is the plan.

Denali is very upset about having to wear all this stuff. She has strong negative opinions about wearing bandages and is better than Houdini at getting out of them, thus the need for the Cone of Shame. My poor girl!

So, take a good look! This is what we got for $350 and two-hours at the vet while they fit us in between other appointments. 

Oh, and did I mention that THIS Sunday was to be leg #10 of her RAE level Rally competition in Hayward. That's right, we were on track to get our RAE title this Sunday! Sigh...not this time! Disappointed, yes - but Healthy Dog trumps obedience competition any time!

 And, just because he always wants to help, and doesn't really understand why his interactive toy and best friend isn't able to play with him, Sage took his stuffed squirrel out to the yard this evening. Evidently he was showing the real squirrels what might happen to them if he got ahold of them. Here he is, scanning the terrain for rodent invaders.

Thanks for the help Sage. We can use it about now!

Compare and Contrast

Carolyn's post, asking whether Hiro looks more like his brother, Captain (Cappy), or his dad, Wally, made me curious. So I stacked them up side-by-side to take a look. Just based on these photos, I am going to say that Hiro is well on his way to being a Cappy look-alike, but Wally's influence is certainly clear in both of them. But then...

L. to R. - Wally, Hiro, Captain

(click on images to enlarge)

I added Mom to the mix! And guess what, Hiro's white markings certainly show Hannah's influence! All this made me even more interested to see how my own Hannah-Wally puppy, Sage, compared to his handsome parents, so...

L. to R. - Wally, Hiro, Captain, Hannah

Here's the lineup, complete with a picture of the other "pink" puppy in the litter, Sage's sister, Iris. Although it isn't as evident in these photos, due to the different angles, I have always thought that Sage and Iris bore much more of a resemblance than Sage does to his two local brothers, Cappy and Fig. I also thought that Sage's facial structure came from Hannah, not Wally. At the same time, I certainly see Wally's influence! After all, they are a mix of both parents.

L. to. R.- Hannah, Sage, Iris, Sage, Wally

Having a boy with a mostly-white face makes you really look at structure, more than color. Sage is his mother's son. But if you look closely at the coloring to the left of Sage's left eye, you'll see that the shape of his markings echos Wally's markings. Just interesting to see how the parents each influence their young.