Breed trait questions

Hi Everyone,

Just swinging thru in an attempt to learn as much as possible about "your" breed.

I have always had labs (LOVE 'EM!!) but my apartment complex changed the pet policy a couple years back. My ole boy passed in July and I must consider a dog under 50lbs.

I'm interested in a Corgi because of their size (we have NO plans on purchasing a home), "sturdiness", intelligence, determination (I think)and they are REALLY freakin cute!! And, to be honest, no tail. lol
My 9 yr old daughter and I are very eager to start obedience, agility and everything else that may come along.
We have looked into Boston Terriers but their sensativity to heat is a concern since we love the outdoors. All 4 seasons because we do live in Michigan.

Do Corgis like water? We live within walking distance to the beach.

Are they, as a norm, dependable around other dogs (aggression issues)?
We are a bunch of dog lovin people. But, most of my friends are large dog fanciers, so the "sturdy" aspect of the corgi is a plus. Not saying i'll let the little thing be "malled" by the larger dogs, but they should all be fairly compatable to play together safely.
How concerned should I be about the tendency to nip and children in an attempt to herd?
What about the other dogs/people if we are out camping and playing frisbee...etc.

Thank you for your time, I look forward to your educated responces.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Aj on February 3, 2009 at 12:30am: Some corgis don't like water, but I believe that most of them do. This is the same regarding the dependability around other dogs. You need to teach corgis not to nip starting from puppyhood and children should be advised not to run, just as a precautionary.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on February 3, 2009 at 3:30am: Oh boy, where to start???
I'm certainly no expert, I just have my own experience with Sidney and discussions with other corgi moms and dads.
We decided to get a corgi because my daughter wanted a dog to work in agility with and she fell in love at first sight when she first saw a corgi. We are waiting for an opening at the agility school where my Dad takes his border collies, so hopefully we will start soon. Sid has also tried herding and did very well in his first experience with sheep.

I have found corgis to be very sturdy. Sid has two older doggie brothers who are bigger than he is and he loves to play/wrestle with them. At dog park he holds his own against bigger dogs. He's not aggressive at all, just loves to play and is not afraid or intimidated by bigger dogs. I have been to corgi meetups with 50+ corgis and have never witnessed a corgi dogfight. And see if you can ask John Wolff about how great they are on hikes. He has gorgeous pics on his page taken on the hikes he takes with AL and Gwynnie. Corgis seem to love adventure!

It looks like it could go either way with loving water. Sid himself hates to get his paws wet. On hikes we "need to" carry him across the streams because he won't go willingly. I've known other corgis who can't wait to get in the water. I think if we worked with Sid we could turn him into a water dog, but even though we live 20 minutes from the beach, we just don't get out there very often.

Corgis are herders. They are 25 pound dogs bred to tell a 1000+ pound animal where to go! They are smart, stubborn and very driven. They can be corrected to not nip at their people, and I think with a nine year old it should not really be a problem (maybe younger kids would have a harder time learning to live with a corgi). SId behaves himself very well and does not herd or nip us anymore. However, he DOES herd our cats! He does not hurt them, mainly nudges them with his nose.

I hope this was helpful to you. I expect you will have many more responses tomorrow, hopefully from people who have more experience than I do. Good luck with your decision!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chelsea on February 3, 2009 at 7:42am: I have no idea where to begin. What I've found from researching many breeds is that corgis are basically the entire package. From owning one I've figured out that they're the perfect dog for me and can adjust to pretty much anyones lifestyle. They love to be outside and love to just lay on your couch. They're good vacuums too you will not have any mess on your floor if a corgi's around. They're very hardy for their small size. In my opinion they have the cutest doggie paddle because of their little legs. The herding is going to happen no matter what weather if its your kids or soccer balls or other dogs. It just happens with the corgi. Idk my corgis the best decision I've ever made.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cat&Matilda on February 3, 2009 at 8:03am: I got a Corgi as my first dog and i don't regret it.
In fact, as soon as my situation gets better, and me and my husband get a house with a backyard, we are planning on getting another.

They are just so incredibly smart, and very food driven so they are very fast learners. Only downside is that they are quite stubborn, but you just need to be more stubborn then them :) They do require alot of exercise, though. They are very high energy, especially puppies.

Tilda nipped and bit hands quite alot as a puppy, but you can teach them out of the habit if you are consistent. Now at 6 months she never touches anyone's hands with her teeth, she nudges us alot with her nose but that isn't painful or anything. It's her way of saying "pet me!"

I haven't had the chance to take Tilda to the lake since it's currently frozen.I'm curious if she will like the water.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sarah C. on February 3, 2009 at 10:23am: On sturdiness.
At 3 months old my puppy jumped out of a car going approx 35-40mph. She rolled a few times and wobbled to her feet and ran to me when I'd jumped out of the car to go OMG! She was completely fine. No bumps, breaks, swellings or soreness the next day. She was so well that we continued on our way.
Mine is shy around water and dogs, but warms up pretty quickly. She's actually never been hurt by a larger dog, even when she's been stepped on, bowled over, nipped, and laid upon. I'm sure that Corgis are made of spun steel.
In fact, the worst she's ever been hurt by another dog was when a tiny chihuahua grabbed hold of her nose and gave her a good tweak. She kiyi'd for a good 5 minutes so everyone knew how bad her nose (and feelings) were hurt.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Josh on February 3, 2009 at 10:46am: Pretty much everything you think you know about traditional dog behavior, wad it up and throw it out the window. lol. Corgis..; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on February 3, 2009 at 11:18am: Hi Tracy! Welcome to MyCorgi.com! Before we own corgis, I grew up with larger breed dogs. My wife and I started looking for a corgi back in 2002. At that time we were living in a 1900 sqft condo, there were restrictions on what type of dogs we were allowed to have. We knew we wanted dogs in the herding group, I grew up in the UK and Australian country side, I was very impressed by their loyalty, boldness and intelligence of the herding group. We picked the corgi because of many things.

1. My wife is 5'5, we needed a dog that she feels comfortable handling with.

2. We knew sometime down the road we would want 2, so we made sure both of us were able to handle 2 corgis pulling in the same and opposite direction. In case one of us got sick one day, the other person can still provide the dog's exercise needs.

3. We wanted a dog who appreciate exercise, we knew corgis can run 45 min non stop in a herding environment, we were prepared to meet the corgi's exercise needs, the corgi was ready to meet ours :)

4. We wanted a dog who is brave, who is not afraid of things 3-4 times bigger than their own size, we wanted a dog who can handle themselves and hang with the big dogs. We were not looking for a lap dog, we were looking for a "sleeper" athlete.

5. We were aware of the shedding, we knew it wouldn't be as bad as a sheltie or golden, but not low maintenance like a lab or poodle :)

Okay, to answer your questions:

1. Some corgis love the water, some corgis don't. In my opinion, I think it really depends on how they were introduced, my Vienna LOVES the water, if aquaman have a sidekick, she would be perfect for him :) However, my Mocha is hydrophobic, he walk around puddles and will not go no.1 unless I stand in the rain with him.

2. Aggression issues have a lot to do with how the dog is raised, heredity plays an important part in my opinion, you will get 6 different personality in the same litter, we picked ours based on their personality being in the middle, we did not pick the needy hyper one that ran to us first, we did not pick the ones that did not show any interest in us, we picked the one who was more well rounded. A lot of corgis are food possessive, a lot of aggression issues occur when in a multi dog situation, so the best thing to do is to feed them separately, either in different parts of the home or room / crate.

3. Corgis will do just fine with big dogs, we let our roam in the big dog area, other breed owners are amazed how they are able to hold their own. A full grown corgi can out smart the big dogs, they are great at short cuts and know how to use the environment to their advantage.

4. Corgis should be taught at a very young age that the nipping is not desired, the owner must be consistent and firm on discouraging that behavior. It is teachable.

5. Yes, thee are corgis who plays frisbee, however, you may want to wait until they are 1+ year old, till their bone structure is fully develop.

Just let us know if you have other specific questions :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on February 3, 2009 at 11:29am: I love these posts!
I wanted to make sure you know about a few things that could be considered negatives about owning a corgi:
They do shed, some quite a but. A good brush like the Furminator will help a lot.
They can be barky, though SIdney is not.
You have to be careful about letting them offleash in an unfenced area. Don't do it. When a corgi gets a whiff of adventure, he's off and will become selectively deaf to your calls. There might be a corgi out there will reliable recall, but I have not met him yet :-).

I love being a corgi mom and I doubt I will ever own a different breed from this point on.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sarah C. on February 3, 2009 at 11:33am: Really? I've heard that lots of corgis are velcro dogs. :o I know mine won't go very far w/o me when we're hiking. I didn't know that was unusual! I'm learning a lot from this thread. :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on February 3, 2009 at 12:02pm: That's cool! I wish Sid was more of a velcro dog...but he's awesome anyway. We just have to keep a close eye on him. I'm hoping as he gets older he'll be less likely to go in search of grand adventures. Once he got out the gate and was hanging on the front porch, so I guess he did not feel like exploring that day!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on February 3, 2009 at 1:27pm: he he he, my vienna is definitely a velcro dog, she is VERY obedient and would drop everything she's doing when I call, even when she is in the middle of a hot pursuit with a cat :) However, i cannot say the same thing with Mocha, let's just say he's very "independent" :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Bonny on February 3, 2009 at 12:33pm: I haven't had much trouble with mine, either. We practice recall often, and they are quite reliable.; ▶ Reply to This