It was the best of times . . .

It was part "The Godfather," part "Singing in the Rain," and yes, part "Brokeback Mountain," and it was undoubtedly the second largest Cardigan convocation last weekend.  If you missed it, you don't want to miss the posts about it.  Be sure to check out here, here, and here.  Check often - it may take a while to get all of the evidence out there.  Warning:  some of the pictures are dirty.

Here's just a little taste of what went on:

Catching up with the Ocho - Ginger, fka Joanie

Ginger sent the following via her Mom Kathy:

Most Sundays we spend the morning at Bernheim Forest where I’m learning to track along with my mom Kathy. Jimbo (our instructor) says I’m doing great, he tracks my big brother William and my partner in crime Amelia but thinks my mom needs to track me.









Then we take a walk with all my big sisters, the old lady Jeter, the superstar Flirt my best buddy Amelia and my big red buddy William.









During the week my mom teaches a beginning agility handling class and we all get to go hang out at the agility field, you ought to see me climb the A-Frame, run thru the tunnels and chute and I even walked the dog walk a time or two, I think I gave my mom a slight heart palpitation.









My mom says I need to go to puppy class and she has that scheduled for after the Kentucky Derby, I’m a busy girl. The rest of the time I’m just a normal puppy getting into everything, I really like the doggie door especially when I can run off with a roll of toilet paper and tear it up in the back yard.








You can keep up with me on Mom's blog.


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Maryland Puppy Party

Nick and Sally were not the star attractions at the puppy party, but they made for a cute sideshow. Photos robbed from Laura P.











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Location:Queen Anne Rd,Upper Marlboro,United States

Catching up with the Ocho -Tommy

Tommy is living the good life with Betty. I think he must have more toys than any dog in the world. (And I mean real toys, not empty water bottles like Sally has.)

He has been doing well in his obedience class and has started conformation class (not confirmation class, which what Betty's son thought she said. I guess he was wondering what what would be an appropriate first communion gift for a cardigan.)

Betty reports that today, Tommy went to the big show in Perry GA and entered the fun match there. He was the only cardi entered, so that BOB was easy, but then he went on to get a Herding Group 3rd place! He had a great time and got lots of scritches and attention.

Here he is lounging in the hotel afterwards, saying "I'm da man!"



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They are going to have to rename it to The Chastionals

First Papa Chase finished his Herding Started title with two high scoring Cardigan Champion wins.

Then he gets Best Brindle Dog in the Megan.

Then his daughter Nikki wins her class in puppy sweeps.

And today, she is Winners Bitch.

And, unofficially, I will say that daughter Lowri must have been the cutest baby there, too.

Congratulations Penni and Carolyn!

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Location:State Route 639,Salem,United States

Catching up with the Ocho - Abby

Here's baby Abby in a puppy pile:

And here's the pic Tiffany posted today on Facebook.  Her husband Jay posted, shortly afterwards, "where are her ears?"  Tiffany replied, "I took this not too long after she got up this morning. These are her sweet ears!!! Isn't she freaking adorable??" 

Tiffany went on to say, "She is doing so good. She is getting big and her ears have pretty much done all the lifting they're gonna do. They're not all the way up, but we LOVE them so I don't think Abby will have a crown lol. She has been such a blessing for Jay and I!! She is the love of our lives!! She has an amazing personality and I'm pretty sure she is the sweetest dog ever!! "

That's what's been the blessing for me of these pups - all these families who each got the best dog in the world! Happy 4 mo birthday to the Ocho!

Catching up with the Ocho - Big Nick!

Big Nick came into this world a charmer.  He was always the special boy - the only red boy.  When new folks came to visit the Ocho, inevitably he was the one people gravitated to.  Whether it was his personality or just his incredible soft fuzziness, everyone wanted to pick up Nick.

Nick was my original first choice to keep.  Even when it became evident that he was fluffy, I still thought about keeping him.  But the more I thought about it, I realized that the reason I was so crazy about Nick was because Nick is so much like Spencer, and was it a smart idea to try to live with two over the top personalities in the same (small) house?

And the decision to let Nick go was easy when I found what I knew would be the perfect home for him with Liz and the Joeys.  Nick would have both his very own boy and a brother cardi, Rufus, to show him the ropes.  Here's Liz's report on life with Nick:

You probably know way more about Nick than you want to know! But he is doing just great. He and Rufus have really settled into a routine. They miss each other when one of them is missing! That has been the biggest surprise to all of us. Ruf still tries to steal toys and treats (he has chewed two of the super-chewer puppy KONG toys in half!) but they are really getting along well.

He is a huge love muffin. He loves attention, loves to give kisses, loves cuddling. He is definitely NOT a lap dog though, he is usually chewing on a chew toy or chasing his ball around. And of course, he has NEVER met a stranger. Every one of our friends comments how he is the "anti-Rufus" - he will go up to anyone with no fear, try to win their hearts over. And of course, he is so cute that everyone WANTS to love on him! I probably have mentioned this before, but he has really rubbed off on Rufus - when we take the two of them anywhere, Rufus will actually let strangers pet him! That would NEVER have happened before Nick. We are so proud. Rufus smiles about 99% of the time now, he is so happy to have a little buddy. Every so often, they will give each other kisses. Very sweet!


He still has that shoe fetish. No pair of shoes will be safe in our house. And he's not really destructive, he really likes carrying them around like trophies!


Nick will start at daycare next week, we're going to try one day a week for now since I'm working half-days on Fridays. We haven't had any playdates lately - Dewi had his surgery last week so they've been MIA, Stony the MinPin ate an eraser and had $2K in surgery (ouch) and my sister has been out of town with the hounds. I think he will definitely benefit from the extra exercise and more dog socialization.

You can follow Nick's adventures on his very own blog!

Catching up with the Ocho - David

David has settled in with Alex, Allen and cardi brother Tim in Lexington.  Here's what Alex had to say about what the boy is doing now:

Since I do not possess the technical skills to blog or send pictures, I thought I would send an update on the ocho littermate known as David. It has been 3 weeks since he arrived and it seems as if he has been with us for so much longer!

The trip home was uneventful - thank you for tiring him out. He had three hours to stare at his new cardi brother Tim. I think we matched temperments perfectly. Both dogs are cool and aloof as the breed standard states and they happily spend  time  doing both of the above. Housebreaking was a breeze because David mimics Tim so they go out together and perform in tandem!  Play time in the house and in the yard wears them both out and is greatly appreciated by their parents.

When I first put a collar on David, he had a fit. Rolling and trying to peel it off- to no avail. But wait it gets better. I then bought a leash and we tried that. He went into his nest and sulked for about an hour. We go through this process dailey.  I have now purchased string cheese so he can be bribed to walk about with me.

One of our favourite t.v. programs is Ceasar Milans Dog Whisperer. When good dogs go bad and start barking , David sits in front of the set and barks back at them. It is really funny! He is quite the little character. His favourite treat are mini organic carrots - he picked that up from Tim.

Well enough about his personality - I will try to describe the physical development of this pup for all you corgi affficianados. His weight is almost 17 pounds, he is a very good doer and never leaves a kibble. His front end which was quite wide when he was 8 weeks has come together nicely. He no longer looks like he spans the Brooklyn Bridge. Hind quarters have developed as has his athletisim. I liken him to some of our horses when they are young - no clue as to what they are doing, but slowly it all comes together.

This puppy is everything I hoped he would be and more. My husband who was not sure we should add another canine to our family just loves him. I can't thank you enough, Janet. I have never seen anyone take such wonderful care of their dogs and to document the process on puppy cam made me feel as if I were a part of the process of raising these pups. Pictures will come soon - probably via the mail. Also Liz and Nick should really look at doing a book - this stuff is really good. Regards to all the new owners of the ocho and the terrific people I met at the puppy party.

Catching up with the Ocho - Alli (fka Mary)

On Wednesday, the Ocho will be 4 months old!  I've been catching up with them - and our first featured girl started out as Mary, now known as Alli.  Here she is being loved on by mama when she was one day old.

And here she is with her very own girl today:

Alli is co-owned by Scout's breeder Marla, Mackenzie Mann and this young lady, Madison.  Mackenzie's mom, Diana, sent the following:

She is getting so big, I can't believe she is the same puppy who flew here!! Madison has been doing a great job with her - I went to check to see if she had lost any baby teeth & she didn't even flinch when I looked at her mouth (one of the "assignment's" we gave Madison was to get her used to showing her bite) - she is confident, personable...& still a spitfire :) They told me she is also quite the herder - they have a few chickens & apparently Alli has been herding them all over the yard - to the point that sometimes the chickens come up on the deck just to get away from her :) Apparently when the chickens stop, so does Alli & just waits & watches - I told them that both of her parents were A1 herders...& that they should get her some ducks :)



Once we get back from the National, Madison & Alli are going to start taking handling/showing lessons from Mackenzie so that Madison will be ready to get back into the Jrs ring this spring, & so Alli will be ready to hit the show ring this summer, & maybe even be able to be Madison's Jrs dog once we breed Jenna. 4-H obedience classes start in a couple of weeks, but unfortunately Alli is too young, so Madison is going to do this year with one of their other dogs & use what she is learning to start Alli on some obedience basics - & then by next year she will be able to do the classes with Alli.

It ain't easy being WHO?

Sally sez she heard that her studmuffin international man of mystery v wild brother was going on about how hard it is to be him. At least you're not wearing a tacky masking tape crown AGAIN and sitting behind bars!