Batman

Quirky Corgis is a wonderful breeder comprised of kind and passionate corgi lovers. They are experienced, professional, and personable breeders who are a great match for first-time dog owners or pet owners looking to expand their furry family. They take great care of their corgis and litters, and they are equally concerned that their pups go to a good home. I strongly recommend Quirky Corgis to people committed to raising their own corgi puppy or corgi puppies, and if you’d like to read more about my experience, please see below.

I found out about Quirky Corgis through friends in Tulsa, OK. When I knew the timing was right with my work schedule and personal life to take on the responsibility and wonder of raising a corgi puppy, I was very excited to contact Quirky Corgis and find out more about them. I grew up with German Shepherds; however, I had never owned a corgi or raised a puppy, so I had a lot of questions.

During our first phone conversation, Quirky Corgis explained their professional background and invited me out to Owasso on a day and time that worked for me to meet their sire, Eli. Their recent litter was still a bit too young to meet the public, but they encouraged me to come and meet the sire so I could get to know him in the meantime.

I was a little nervous to meet the breeders and really begin the process of finding my own furry co-pilot for life, so I brought a friend along with me to meet them. When we pulled into their driveway and I got out of the car, Eli came barreling out of the garage to greet me with a big smile on his face. He didn't bark once or jump on me, he just ran right up to my feet for pets and kisses. I have to be honest, I was nearly sold at this very moment in the hopes that if my puppy were anything like Eli, I would fall in love immediately and forever.

Quirky Corgis, Eli, my friend, and I hoped back into our cars to go to a local park so I could get to know them and Eli a bit better. Over an uninterrupted game of fetch—one of Eli’s favorite games, I came to learn about Quirky Corgis’ personal background and passion for breeding corgis. They also took me through every step of the process of taking ownership of one of their puppies. We then scheduled a day in the coming weeks when the puppies were ready to meet the public for me to meet my first corgi puppy!

Since the first time I contacted Quirky Corgis, they have been very accommodating to my schedule. Soon after our first meeting in Owasso, they brought Eli and the remaining two tri-color puppies of their most recent litter (both at 8 weeks) to meet me at my apartment complex in Tulsa, OK. This may have been one of the happiest days of my life. Their pups were sweet, and energetic, and tiny, and always stuck close by their hoomans ;). One of the tri-pups was a girl, and the other was a boy. Of course, I had names picked out for both before I met either: Virginia Woolf and Batman.

During my first meeting with the pups, the boy tri-pup stuck extra-close to me and gave me the

most kisses. The breeders and I talked about the differences between the two pups, and they told me that the boy pup was a bit more similar in behavior to the sire, Eli, a dog raised as a show-dog with a more relaxed behavior than the mother - or dam - who was raised on a farm as a herder. Every pup is unique, but I was struck at how well the breeders seemed to understand the behavior and demeanors of their pups, even at such a young age. The breeders were able to provide a great deal of context to me about their corgis; litters; breeding process; medical treatments in the way of routinely scheduled checkups, shots, precautions, and medications; and what a healthy daily-routine of feeding and exercise would be for a pup.

After the most euphoric hour of playing with 3 corgis, I told the breeders that I would like to take the next step in the process of taking ownership of the boy tri-color pup, soon-to-be-named Batman. Considering we were already at my apartment complex, I invited them to my apartment for a home visit that afternoon (I had planned for this so I had already cleaned and semi-puppy-proofed the apartment by removing anything chewable from the floors and lower-level areas). After we all walked through the apartment, and I showed them the tiled kitchen area that would be closed-off with a puppy gate as the designated puppy play-pen and a space in the bedroom for the crate, we talked about good (inexpensive) places to purchase necessary items like puppy gates, a crate, food, treats, toys, puppy pads, medication, possible local vets, and more resources to use when things or questions arise (this is typically always going to be your local vet). The breeders also encouraged me to call them with any questions at any time, which was a great source of comfort for me.

After exchanging the necessary paperwork, payment, short-term supply of goods like the boy pups current brand of food and medication, and setting a schedule for his next vet visit to keep him up-to-date on his checkups and medication (puppies’ medications are often given in a series of shots or pills taken once-a-month, so it’s important to keep pace with these), Batman was officially part of my family on the very first day I met him, June 30^th, 2017. Of course, Batman and I had to make a trip to Walmart and PetSmart that afternoon to get some of the aforementioned items and chew-friendly toys.

The first few weeks of raising Batman were some of the most exciting weeks of my life. Fortunately, as an English teacher in the summer, I could largely work from home and spend almost all of the hours of my day with him, watching over him, keeping things out of his constantly open mouth, training him to use his puppy pads (which the breeders had already - and thankfully - been doing with him up until 8 weeks of age), and getting him used to walking on the leash.

He only had one, serious digestive problem (diarrhea and vomiting) that resulted in an immediate and largely precautionary vet visit. To be very clear, he did not contract parvo (a potentially fatal virus for puppies), but I wanted to make absolutely sure and get him tested just in case. This was on the third day that I had Batman, and I was more than worried. I was concerned that he was dehydrated and possibly in pain. When he and I arrived at the vet that I had chosen in Owasso, Quirky Corgis actually met us there! (This turned out to be very helpful as this is the vet Quirky Corgis already use, so this vet already had a record of Batman’s medical history.)

The breeder sat with Batman and I in the exam room and helped me to give the vet all the information he needed. The visit was scary, but it resulted in negative test results for anything seriously dangerous, nausea meds, a precautionary round of deworming medication, and a change of food, and Batman was just fine thereafter. I should add, hesitantly, as this was a very generous and personal gesture, that the breeder even paid for the emergency vet visit and medication despite my respectful objections. Quirky Corgis certainly proved their passion for their pups through their genuine concern for Batman’s well-being even after he had moved on to his forever family. I am grateful to Quirky Corgis for bringing Batman into the world, and into my life, and for being there for both of us on that day. It was truly remarkable.

Since then, I’ve had many conversations and exchanged many messages with Quirky Corgis just to stay in touch. They have continued to be interested in Batman and are always responsive to my messages and questions. Batman has even hung out with his biological father, Eli, on an afternoon during which Quirky Corgis visited us and did a 6 month-follow-up interview. I was happy to participate in this interview that they posted to their FB page - along with many other interviews of recent owners - to help spread the word about these wonderful breeders and people and their pups.

Batman is now a happy and healthy 8-month-old tri-color corgi pup weighing in at approximately 25lbs with room to spare. His temperament is very playful and affectionate. He is housebroken. He keeps very close to me at all times. He loves his daily walks on the leash and can cover up to 2-3 miles with breaks and water. He loves every type of dog that he meets, and he has socialized swimmingly with all types of dogs starting in very little doses with friends’ dogs who I knew with a 100% certainty had been vaccinated. Once he received all of his vaccinations – which requires some time and patience on the part of the owner, he was eager to meet any dog on our walks or at a park. He has become best friends with the other dogs in my extended family, and he is very good with the many small children at all of our family parties. I’ve trained him not to bite or bark (corgis can be yappers and nippers because they are herders), though he can be very vocal when he wants to be with little wookiee-noises, happy squeaks, and he whines when he gets very excited. When I take him to public places, or dog-friendly businesses and restaurants, he does not bark at other people, children, or dogs. However, he’s always willing to sniff, lick, and play with any of them. While he was teething, he did like to chew on anything like the carpet, the shelves, the floorboards, or me (which required attentive behavioral correction and further puppy-proofing for while I was away). He now does not chew on anything other than his own toys. He is still working on sitting, staying, laying down, and offering his paw on command; however, he’s a quick study and is almost there. He aims to please, and he responds (fairly) quickly and obediently to my corrective command word. He is calm and quiet while I am away at work (I have checked with my neighbors), and he makes going home the best part of my day every day.

I’m so happy with my experience with Quirky Corgis, and with each passing day it gets harder to put into words the amount of light, and laughter, and comfort that Batman has brought into my life. Thank you, Quirky Corgis, and I hope this review serves as a recommendation to any corgi lovers out there to contact this breeder to begin an amazing journey with their own corgi co-pilot for life.