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GZ BREED COLUMNSherdingThough not yet fully prevalent, theCanaan Dog exhibitor community isstarting to expand in the world of dualand multi-ring experiences. It isthrough these not-so-crazy, but adventurousfolk that the “can-do” attitude isdisplayed when showcasing this versatilebreed. —Denise A. Gordon, desertstarcanaans@yahoo.com;Canaan DogClub of America website: cdca.orgCardigan WelshCorgisBack to the Future!With the advent of the new onlineformat for the Gazette comesmore change. After many years, JenniferRoberson has passed the responsibilityfor the breed column to us, CynthiaSmith and Jeff Welch. Many thanks toJennifer for all her past efforts!We have had Cardigans since the late1970s and became smitten with thebreed like so many others. Breedingunder the prefix Cymbrogi (Welsh for“companions of the heart”), we enjoycompeting in conformation, participatingin Corgi rescue, writing on healthissues, and researching the fascinatinghistory of the Cardigan breed. We liveon a small tree farm and wildlife refugein rural North Carolina and are membersof the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Clubof America.To begin our tenure as breed columnists,we wanted to take you back tothe earliest days of the Cardigan WelshCorgi in America. The breed was firstrecognized by the AKC in the earlypart of the last century, and two seminalarticles from W. Lloyd Thomas werepublished in the October andNovember 1935 issues of the AKCGazette.As it has been almost impossible tofind legible copies of the original, theAKC has graciously retrieved thesearticles for the fancy. A huge thank-yougoes out to AKC Librarian/ArchivistCraig Savino and Breed ColumnsEditor Arliss Paddock for their help inretrieving these unique documents!Excerpted below, the full October1935 article is currently available fordownload and printing at theCWCCA website(cardigancorgis.com/AKCGazette.asp),giving anyone interested in the breedfull access to a unique view of earlyCardigan history.In merging history with the newonline format, we truly hope to bringyou “Back to the Future”!Excerpted from the October 1935Gazette:What the Modern Corgi Owes to ItsCardigan Ancestors, by W. Lloyd-Thomas.The road which leads back to the truefacts relating to the early history of the corgiis one which yearly becomes more difficultfor the newcomer to tread. Soon, alas, thedirect route will be forever closed. Time continuesto take its remorseless toll of thosefine old hillmen who, in their boyhood days,knew the corgi as it was before modernprogress and invention between them hadbrought the breed to the verge of annihilation.While those who remain are now soaged that with hardly an exception theirmemories have grown clouded. Soon thesewill have passed on, taking with them thelast of our direct links with early corgi history;for it is a history which cannot befound in books but must be sought laboriouslyamong the dogs themselves, the ruggedhills which so long were their only home,and the human inhabitants of those hills.For the full article, please visit theCardigan Welsh Corgi Club of Americawebsite atcardigancorgis.com/AKCGazette.asp.—Cynthia Smith and Jeff Welch,CymbrogiCardigans@msn.com; CardiganWelsh Corgi Club of America website:cardigancorgis.comColliesInspirationWe all need inspiration from timeto time. Regardless of our typeof involvement with dogs, inspiration isa source of problem-solving and opensdoors. Inspiration takes us to new levelsof awareness and thinking. It touchesour intuitive side and can change ourpreviously held attitudes. Our sameway of thinking about things canunwittingly keep us in the old ruts—ruts we sometimes don’t even know weare in!As a dog breeder and exhibitor, I’malways thinking about how to get tothe next level myself. We can all thinkof examples of fellow enthusiasts stuckin the same cycles, unaware of theirentrenched thinking. We puzzle overtheir dearth of insight or success.Perhaps they lack the benefit of inspiration.If we always talk to the same people,with the same mindsets, and alwayslook at the same dogs, in our backyardor in our own family, where does thechallenge to our thinking, and subsequentlygrowth, come from?As a photography teacher I wasalways brainstorming ways to push mystudents to a new level. I wanted tochallenge them to stretch their abilityand their way of seeing, to ask, “Whatif?”—“What if I take this picture froma different angle, from up top, or downbelow?”I once had a student who decided totake pictures while he was fallingdown, so he would throw himself ontothe ground and press the shutter at thesame time. Crazy, I know. Yet he cameup with some fantastically originalimages.Inspiration asks us to think differentlyand more deeply about subjects.From a simple question we can rejectthe stock explanations and decide forourselves what works and what doesn’t.If we let the question inspire us, we canapproach the subject from an angle weeither never thought of or could learnfrom.Inspiration can come from a conversationwith people who challenge ourthinking. It can come from reading,beyond dog-themed books … It cancome from expanding our interests.Two that have contributed immeasurablyto my own growth are photographyand writing. Both of these artsforce me to think about a broad rangeof topics and delve beyond the surface.A great source of inspiration for methis year was our national specialty. Iwas fortunate to be able to attend allA K C G A Z E T T E • 35 • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2