Bryn - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Tuesday 3 November, 2015

by Rosemary at 12:00pm in Dogs 4 comments Comments closed

One of the reasons that there hasn’t been many diary posts over the summer is that we’ve had a new addition to the family. His name is Bryn and he’s a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. And he is a wee cracker. Apart from the sock fetish.

After Tess and Fillan died last December, we discussed whether to get another dog or wait until Meg wasn’t around. She’s 15 but is in pretty good health so we decided to go for it. Meg’s sight and hearing has deteriorated so she’s not keen to go away from the doors and I was missing a wee companion.

After doing some research in t’interweb, I proposed a Cardigan Corgi. “A Corgi?” said Dan. “Why a corgi?” 

There were a number of reasons. One, they are a pastoral breed, developed to herd cattle for the Welsh Drovers. That’s two pluses – working and Celtic. Two, the breed didn’t seem to have any inbred problems. Three, the breed had just gone on to the Kennel Club Vulnerable Breeds list – so consistent with our other rare breeds. Four, they have a proper bark. Can’t do yappy dogs. Five – they don’t need trimmed and tarted up, so low maintenance.

There are two breeds of Corgi – the Pembroke and the Cardi. The Cardi is slightly bigger, has a long tail and comes in any colour so long as white doesn’t predominate. The Pembroke is bobtailed or traditionally docked; is smaller than the Cardi and only has three recognized colours. There are other differences around the shape of the feet and the ears for example, but you get the gist.

So, to find one. We thought it would be difficult. There’s only one breeder in Scotland, so we knew we’d likely have to travel. I put a post on the breed’s Facebook page and got an immediate email from a smallholder near Caernarvon who had a litter of pups, with three dog puppies left. We picked Bryn from the photos. 

Young Bryn.

Since we were on holiday last week in July, I asked the breeder if she would keep him until the 1st August, when we returned home. That was agreed and my chum, Carol, and I drove to Wales to pick him up. First surprise was how big and chunky he was ☺ He’d been on his own with his mum, Cardi, and Auntie Nell, the Jack Russell, for four weeks and they had done a really good job of teaching him manners ☺ The breeder also had two young children so he was pretty chilled about being toted around under a small person’s arm.

Gardener Bryn.

I could go on at length, but suffice to say, he’s been a joy. He’s pretty chilled; loves the cats (more than they love him), loves Meg (more than she loves him too), has learned not to chase hens and sheep pretty reliably. I now need to spend more time on his obedience – he’s basically a good wee dog though.

Dog training Bryn.

He has the most remarkable coat – suitable for the Welsh weather, I guess. I tipped a barrowload of manure over him the other day – not deliberately but he was “helping” and ran round the side of the barrow just as I tipped it up – an nothing sticks. We should have called him Tefal. He has white paws and underbelly and although he thrashes around in the mud, he’s never dirty. 

Tired Bryn.

Flat-out Bryn.

Holiday Bryn.

Folk are surprised how big he is – his body is as long as Meg’s – but he’s a medium sized dog with short legs. I have no idea why they aren’t more popular – seriously, every home should have one ☺