Guess what! We got a puppy!!!
I am a little late making this post but it has been quite the week with little Fitzwilliam joining us! That is Fitzwilliam as in Mr. Fizwilliam Darcy, Master of Pemberley (Pride and Prejudice).
His name is Fitz/Fritz (depending on who you ask…) since Andrew wanted to call him “Fitz” but I like “Fritz,” good news is that the names are so similar that he answers to both!
Today (Saturday) has been one week since we made the 7.5 hr drive to meet mister “Winston” (his previous name). We traveled all the way from the Seattle area down to the Rogue River in Oregon to meet him! Thankfully we started out the night before and stayed in Salem, OR and then only had a 3 hr drive the next morning. Of course that 3 hr drive took longer since I was suffering from food poisoning. (For some reason Andrew never gets food poisoning!) Gwen traveled great though! She slept on the floor behind the driver’s seat and only woke up and got annoying when it was time for Corga Potty Breaks.
We met Winston and his sister Daisy, the last two puppies from the breeder’s January litter. Going down there I had wanted another girl puppy and Andrew had wanted a boy puppy (he was feeling out numbered in the house) but when we met the pups, we both fell in love with little Winston! Daisy was a little firecracker. She and Gwen were two peas in a pod! Daisy is exactly like Gwen was at that age (and sort of still is!). Little Daisy hopped up on the couch and popped her head up over the back when you’d walk by the couch, like a little jack-in-the-box. So adorable! And she had huge upright satellites (ears)!
We got to play with the puppies and meet the puppies’ parents and the other Corgis that the breeder had in her home. It was a lot of fun! And then Gwen was introduced the the puppies. At first she ignored them and checked out the place (fascinated by their waterer) then she started a game of chase where she and Daisy hit it off! Of course Gwen would choose the more rambunctious puppy! But we liked little cuddly Winston! 🙂 After a little while of watching the girls play, he decided to join in for a bit. After we saw Gwen play nicely with him we knew for sure that he was the one for us!
I didn’t think I could survive having Gwen and her dopplegangger running me ragged! Plus, Fitz is a little cuddle bug!
The car ride with an almost 5 month old corgi pup is so much easier than a long car ride with a 9-10 week old pup (Gwen’s age when we got her)! He was quite nervous leaving his little sister and the place he knew as home, but he sat on our laps and finally fell asleep when we switched drivers and Andrew held him. We eventually got home a little before midnight since Andrew had duty the next day and had to be at work at like 6am!
Fitz and his floptacular ear.
Week 1 with Puppy:
Only a couple of accidents in the house on the first day and then after that we figured out his I-need-to-go-outside-now signals and with the help of Gwen, he has figured out that outside is the potty place and which door to go out.
Walking on a leash is a hoot! He is learning but the first couple times he walked on a leash he would hop around and grab hold of it. I don’t remember Gwen’s first leash experiences but I am sure they were not nearly as funny as his! He is doing a lot better about it now since every time he goes outside he’s on a leash.
Mastering the 4 steps from the porch down to the yard has been a little slower. Going up them, no problem! Going down them…well, some days he’ll brave them and others he needs help. Just yesterday he went up and down them all by himself, so he is getting braver! 🙂
Gwen loves it when he plays chase up and down the hallway with her! She is not very fond of the fact that little Fritz likes to steal her antlers. She in turn has claimed his puppy Nylabones as her own.
He has already gone out to the barn with me and sits nicely with Gwen! I take the x-pen out and set it up half under the picnic table so he has shade but can lay in the sun if he chooses, while Gwen sits in her usual area near the picnic table. I tied him once when I was just making a quick stop and not wanting to leave them in a hot car, and he did fine! He tried to follow me but other than that he just curled up next to Gwen to wait.
Fitz doesn’t want you to be out of his sight at all. He loves to snuggle, sit on your feet, and give kisses! So much more than Gwen who is just like a cat… His crate training is going well, and Friday was the first day I decided to leave both dogs at home so I could run some errands by myself. Freeeedooooom!!! (Not to worry, I came home and played with them both and was only gone for a total of 3 hours.) It is nice having an older puppy though! We couldn’t both leave the house for very long when we first got Gwen since she was not master of her wee little bladder quite yet.
Snoozing in his new harness.
Gwen:
Gwen has been quite jealous of little Fitzy. I think she wanted us to take him back for a few days but I think she figured out that he is here to stay. She has started to try and get him to play tug of war and is getting a little better about sharing toys. The world has revolved around her for so long that she is not used to this “sharing” concept. {Don’t worry, Gwen, I get it! Only child here! Sharing attention with others (e.g. husband) = horrible, horrible experience!}
Yesterday, after Andrew got home, I took Gwennie to the park by myself while he stayed and bonded with Fritz. It was so nice to just be out in the park with Gwennie. We watched some people flying kites, she rolled in something dead, and we sat and watched some boats on the water. After Gwen’s 45 min of solitude she was ready to be patient again since she started pestering Fitz to play with her when we got home.
Gwen’s favorite sans puppy activity is still to go play soccer in the backyard. For now, we are playing soccer without him so she still has one chance of running around without worrying if he is going to steal the ball or us worrying about where he is going. Pretty soon, though, he will be out there running around with her and stealing the soccer ball!
Two worn out corgis!
“Um, guys? The puppy is too close!”
Can you spot the 2 submarines in our fish tank?
Gwendolyn Rose 
I’m completely in love with him!!
YAY! Thrilled for you 3 on bringing home Mr. Fritz. He’s such a handsome little man!
I’m glad to hear Gwen is initiating play with him. That’s one of the ways we knew Gimli was ok with Merida… although for him, it took him much longer to start initiating :). Have they started wrestling yet? My two get up on their back legs like bears and make the same amount of noise too!
The same thing happened when we took Gimli to meet Merida’s litter. He took a liking to her sister, who was the same personality – outgoing and rambunctious. Merida, wiggled over to me and decided she liked my lap and my sleeves a bit better.
You’ll find that training him to learn the house rules will be faster because he’ll pick up the rules and some bad habits (!) 🙂 from Gwen.
Looking forward to hear more about Ms. Gwen adn Mr. Fritz!
She LOVES when he will play chase with her and she has even attempted tug of war a couple of times with him but he hasn’t quite got that yet. He is good at ambushing her, kind of like a cat. Oh yes! They like to wrestle! I let them play and rough house just as long as Gwen doesn’t gnaw on his ears…one has had a little trouble standing up so I’ve been a little protective of his ears.
I think Gwen was quicker to pick up on tricks and commands than he is but she was also younger when we started working with her. His potty training was going so well til we had visitors this weekend and then he kind of forgot how it all worked…I think he was just too excited by the new people and dogs in the house. I’m hoping Gwen will teach him how to be a nice dog. 🙂 She has already taught him ALL about barking…little guy discovered his “voice” when we were at the pet store and barked his little head off the dogs walking around in there. It was kind of cute and annoying and embarrassing all at the same time! haha
Gwen is teaching him the ins and outs of being a guard/watch dog…bark at anything and everything different, new, or potentially scary or startling. And don’t quit until humanoids have acknowledged presence of “danger.” (They scared the living daylights out of me the other day over the fish tank! lol)