Yes, my friends. It's official. I own a second, bona fide swimming corgi! In the tradition of Fezzik, Taggart loves playing in the pool, and he's worked out some unique and amusing techniques.
I mean, just look at his entry. Impressive, right? Wearing nothing but a corgi smile, parabolic ears and that cute little nub of a tail! Look at how he's tucked in his front legs! Adorable, I tell ya.
I know it looks like he's a little frazzled, but trust me. The whites of his eyes are only showing because he's looking "downstream" to catch up with Handsome. It's a look of determination.
He now knows to turn around to head back to the swim-out. That's where he can safely climb out of the water to rest a bit. He knows
right where he's supposed to go for a teeny rest before jumping right back in.
One of the things that makes us laugh is when he does a tight turn. Where Fezzik used to just stop kicking one leg to make his turns, Taggart prefers a little butt roll. This technique causes his back leg to break the surface just enough to splash some water. It resembles a turtle flipper splashing around, and it's so cute. It only slows him down a bit.
He knows that he can trot along the top step (it's an extension of the swim-out) and jump out from there. This shows the beginning of his exit.
If you click on this picture, you can see just how much water he hauls out with him. He's not too interested in shaking off the water, mainly because he's only going to jump right back in!
If he's out of the water, he'll run to whichever end of the pool Handsome is heading toward. That way he can give a little "Hi, Dad!" when Handsome surfaces.
What I
really wanted to show you is my six month old corgi's beautiful topline. If it weren't for his boyish, frowsy coat, he'd win Best In Show, don't you think? No. I'm not going to show him in the ring. He's gonna be a working boy true to his breed. Once we get down the basic commands (which, so far, His Little Boldness obeys when he's in the mood), we'll find some tests and trials for him. (Don't tell me about using treats, because he knows when I have them and at those times he's a perfect gentleman. He also knows
when I don't. That's a story for another day.)
After a little towel and blow drying from me, it's off to his kennel with a nice dry towel to dream about his next swimming escapade. Or perhaps his dreams involve herding a few wooly, runaway sheep? I'm so proud of my charming, pool-proof, swimming corgi.
So, 'til next time...More wagging and less barking!
