Thorin was pretty aloof and disoriented during his first few weeks in the city. I think we were all a bit freaked out for the first couple of weeks. He was a third roommate in a small Manhattan apartment. He inspected every inch of the apartment and the neighborhood during our walks, while avoiding direct contact with us or anyone on the street. He liked being near us but wasn't crazy about being touched. Rose at the rescue had told us that we'd need to work on socializing him with humans. So we picked him up and petted him a lot more than we normally would have at first.
We soon found out that he was a really smart and funny little guy though. He quickly learned his way around the neighborhood and would pull the leash toward the dog run, the bookstore that handed out treats, plus he learned a few tricks in a really short time. We sometimes made him do a succession of tricks before giving him a treat (sit, lie down, lie on your side, roll over, run in a circle). It was a long list for sure, although it didn't take him long to forgo the individual commands and do them all in the right order upon the command "Sit."
He became a little destructive over the months that followed, probably out of boredom and loneliness. That's what prompted me to get Cleo. The last straw was when he nearly ripped the living room rug completely in half. Corgis have powerful jaws. He has thankfully given up destroying our property since Cleo came along. He does occasionally take out his aggression on stuffed animals though. He loves to gut them and rip them apart, but not until he's cuddled with them for a day or two first.
Thorin's most noticeable quality is his voice. He is extremely chatty and over the years, he's developed a really impressive repertoire of noises. He loves to talk and engages us in conversation a few times daily. His greatest love is food and he talks about that more than anything else. He spends a lot of time in the kitchen, trying to convince us that we have forgotten to feed him and he desperately needs a treat. If you didn't know him, you'd probably fall for it. I still do most of the time, and I usually reward him for putting on such a show. Cleo's personality made me realize how cooperative he is too. He has to help me corner Cleo to put the leash on her before walks, and he does so willingly but I can tell he gets frustrated with his little sister's antics. He cooperates everytime something must be done like going to the vet, getting groomed, taking mediciine. I've taken to calling him "Mr. Thorin" because I have so much respect for him.
In 2004 I noticed that, like a lot of male corgis, Thorin has occasional seizures. The vet did a series of blood tests and x-rays and found nothing wrong with him though. His last seizure lasted about four minutes. We petted him and talked him calmly through it and while he was a little dazed, he recovered from it just fine. I don't know how many seizures he has had, but I've personally witnessed three of them. They all seem to be brought on by a lot of activity and excitement, so we try not to get him too worked up. He's so funny when he's excited though, all smiles and enthusiasm.
