By Kevin Egan
It has been a busy summer with the two boys continuing to enjoy each other's company. Mungo shows all the lively indoor sprint relay activity that you would expect from a pup as he occasionally dashes from the front to the back of the house at great speed. If we leave all the doors open, then this includes the front and rear gardens too. Edward on the other hand is quite content to sit out these energy bursts and remain a casual observer. He has long since learnt that both mealtimes each day follow the morning and afternoon walks. Once those two sessions are complete he doesn't have to show off how fast he can go anymore!
When the apples started falling in the summer, Mungo made himself busy by sampling them for the first time but rarely got further than just a few nibbles to get them ready for the squirrels. His main garden work involved a lot of digging and unfortunately it was nicely manicured grass that bore the brunt of it. Once he had satisfied himself with trenchwork, he then set about the various pots. Fortunately, they contained only earth and compost, large piles of which he had dug out and rolled in. The plants contained therein having been transferred well out of puppy reach beforehand.
Something Edward never tried as a puppy was chewing painted skirting boards. He showed some interest once or twice in a section of carpet but was soon dissuaded years ago when I started using a spray. Mungo on the other hand, will wander off into a part of the room where you can't see all of him which means he has found a new piece of woodwork to lick and play with. I am fast running out of solid unpleasant tasting objects to place in front or on top of these areas and he doesn't seem to mind the spray at all!
Both boys have one common basic skill - Biscuit Catching! I discovered it first with Edward by accident when food bits were propelled off the kitchen worktops straight into a well-placed mouth below. It is their reward now after walks to sit and wait for me to throw them something. They each have their own particular style. Edward sits looking upward unblinking with no other motion and opens his jaws as would an alligator or crocodile if thrown a tasty morsel. His jaws snap shut, and it's gone! Mungo is rather more circumspect and tilts his head slightly to one side. When it seems as if the biscuit has gone past him, he takes it in a flash but crunches on the biscuit and eats in much more daintily.
One event that always guarantees their joint participation is the high-speed twin- Corgi hallway assault for front door opening ceremonies! This happens every time there is a caller. Mungo usually gets there first by a whisker whilst Edward then thumps into the door like officers do in a police raid and tries to tear the letter box blade from its hinges whilst barking and shrieking the house down!
I was in the kitchen when this last happened and hearing them both I peered through the kitchen window to see who was there. I didn't know that the meter reader man was still nervously standing outside but he was well out of view. Seeing that the front gate was shut, I thought 'maybe another false alarm?' and opened the front door. Oh dear! There he was taking refuge behind the waste refuse bins whilst quick as a flash, both Corgis sped out to repel the invader barking loudly. Interestingly, the meter man had chosen his defensive position quite well as neither of my small ferocious beasts could breach his improvised bin-shields. I then made my customary lip-smacking sound to divert the dogs' attention and they hurtled back indoors because lip smacking means there are treats on offer for the rascals!
Mungo is rarely left alone in the house because Edward is always around. One morning, with Edward joining our neighbour for an extra walk with her dogs, I drove to the local shops and was away for thirty minutes. When I returned, a small quizzical Corgi puppy face was there to greet me together with a scattering of brownish debris across the living room carpet. There was another pile of it on the seat of the sofa with small coloured pieces mixed with it. Closer examination revealed bits of what appeared to be thin plastic with black and white stripes painted on them. The evidence was obviously the result of a puppy shredding frenzy, but what could it have been?
So, armed with dust pan and brush and a brisk sweep, I took Exhibit A into the kitchen for a closer look. The brown bits were cork and the coloured particles a finely chewed example of what a photographic print looks like after some vigorous young Corgi chomping treatment! Now a mess in the waste bin, I was looking at the remains of a coaster. The black and white bits were previously parts of the zebra picture taken to decorate the top of the coaster which had been made on a cork base. Mystery solved for the time being. Now to check the rest of the house to see if any other African wildlife have been taken from us!
Reproduced from Our Corgi World, Christmas 2017 with kind permission
29.04.2018
