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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on August 28, 2014 at 9:25pm

"out of place": that is SO right! Ruby will bark if she spots any object that has been placed where it doesn't belong.

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Permalink Reply by Natsuhi Shirosaki on August 28, 2014 at 9:45pm

Good Idea Kristin, I actually visited a pet fair and saw plenty of corgis (the main reason is to evaluate how they act around so many ppl and dogs..most of them are well behaved)I think it is a good idea to babysit a corgi or go to someone owning a corgi to understand them better, thats what I will do next :)

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on August 28, 2014 at 6:00pm

I don't think a corgi is for you, unfortunately.

Corgis are bred to be stubborn.  They are bred to herd cattle, and to work independently.  A corgi that is well bred to herd a 1200 lb cow isn't really going to be concerned with what you have to say sometimes.  Can this behavior be modified, yes- BUT can't ever be completely erased.  I have two corgis...a female that is very well bred, and a rescue from a puppy mill with not so good genes.  Their temperaments are night and day.  My female is bossy, stubborn, and just makes me want to tear my hair out somedays.  If you can't have a sense of humor about their stubborn personality, then don't get one.  You must have a sense of humor.  My rescued male will do anything you ask anytime because he just wants to please you and have you love him.

They all bark.  A lot.  My female has the highest, loudest, ear shattering bark I have ever heard.  It literally hurts sometimes.  And it echoes...a lot.  I know that my neighbors out here in the country can hear her over a half mile away.  The barking like the stubbornness can be modified, but will never completely go away.  Corgis aren't guard dogs, they are "alert" dogs.  They think they need to tell you about EVERYTHING that is not where it was the day before.  Or a neighbor walking by that they've seen every day for 6 years.  Or a squirrel.  Or bird...you name it, they bark at it.  

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Permalink Reply by Natsuhi Shirosaki on August 28, 2014 at 9:50pm

*sigh* yeah I get your point, for stubbornness I guess I can handle it just because they are so damn cute and I am a sucker for cute face (Same way my rabbit defeat me LOL) but the I completely agree about the barks, I actually tr

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Permalink Reply by Denis J. on August 29, 2014 at 7:48am

hahaha!   Yes the Echo can happen and sometimes at the Dog Park I find myself circling other owners as Wally's picking on another dog, sometimes smaller as he knows they'll run.   They bark to play and to run or just to get attention.  But yes the Echo in the home can be controlled.   Just get a lot of thick and bulky furniture, preferrably carpet on the walls.    :)

But that unexpected bark sometimes makes us jumps off the couch while watching a horror movie...  

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Permalink Reply by Starry on February 5, 2015 at 11:04pm

You can find Corgis that aren't stubborn or barky (I have one!) but from what I hear these dogs are exceptions, so you'd have to search specifically for such an atypical individual. I could be wrong but it seems like the easiest way to find such a dog would be to go with an adult that has shown they do not have those traits.

Something to keep in mind when you evaluate an adult dog is that #1 you may never know its history (because it was a stray or because its owner lied) and #2 how it acts at first with you may not be how it acts when it's settled into your home and feels comfortable.

When I adopted my adult corgi from the shelter, she had no history, so I evaluated her based on how she acted for me and what the shelter could tell me about their interactions with her. She seemed just like what I was looking for*, but I didn't assume that what she seemed like would turn out to be what she really is. Thankfully, my shelter has a policy where if the adoption doesn't work out, you can bring them back within 30 days and they will get put back up for adoption, you don't have to worry about them getting put to sleep (unless they've bitten someone.) So, there was no pressure because I knew I wouldn't be sentencing her to death if I couldn't make my home work for her. (One thing I worry about with bringing a new dog home is what I'm going to do if I can't make it work out.) (That said I wasn't gonna bring her back over something I could fix with a trainer's guidance.)

I've had her for three weeks now and she's still fitting in wonderfully. I highly doubt I'll have to take her back to the shelter. She's still basically the same dog I adopted. She has changed some but these are all changes I have been working to bring about. For instance, she used to seem uncomfortable about me looking at her. She seemed to think punishment was about to follow. So for awhile I was giving her a treat every time I looked at her and now she seems to associate me looking at her with happy things.

I am still vigilant, though. She might become barky or less obedient. If I notice a problem emerging, I am going to address it right away and I have dog books and a dog trainer that I can consult if I need help :)

That said, though, she'd have to get a lot more barky for me to even care. She almost never barks. If she barked a little more I'd probably be happy haha xD

*Needed a dog that was low in stubborness, low in barking, not a resource guarder, not animal aggressive, etc. I wasn't looking for any particular breed just any dog that seemed like a match.

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Permalink Reply by Holly on February 9, 2015 at 12:18pm

"Thankfully, my shelter has a policy where if the adoption doesn't work out, you can bring them back within 30 days and they will get put back up for adoption, you don't have to worry about them getting put to sleep (unless they've bitten someone.) So, there was no pressure because I knew I wouldn't be sentencing her to death if I couldn't make my home work for her."

A lot of shelters have that policy, but I can't imagine the animal's terror of having to leave the shelter, go to a new, unfamiliar home, then leave the home and go back to a shelter. That would shake most animals, and people, to the core. The day I picked Sully up she reacted as if she was being kidnapped, and how would she know she wasn't? After a few days she realized she was safe and began to relax as long as I was in sight. I can't imagine how horrified she would be if I sent her back, even to the kind shelter providers. How would she, or any dog in that situation, ever be able to relax? I'm glad you understand that most problems with pets are the owner's responsibility to resolve. I wish all owners thought that way.

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Permalink Reply by Natsuhi Shirosaki on February 8, 2015 at 5:09am

Thank you for the reply! that assured me greatly :D In the end after so long I realized this corgi obsession just won't go away, though it calmed down a lot lol

I am very thankful for all the input here & after long consideration I am dead set to get a corgi (one day definitely), with the good and bad. Of course I can try to pick out "the one" but then again I will be expecting things as per the standard traits of the corgi either good or bad. Corgi nation FTW!

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on February 8, 2015 at 10:55am

What a great reply by Holly!

You know, all dogs, like all people, have their quirks. Barking? Ya haven't been barked at until a German shepherd positions herself on the back seat of your Camry, affectionately places her mouth near your left ear, and lets loose with a roar of car-riding joy!

Stubborn? Corgi stubborn is as nothing compared to, say, beagle stubborn. Or better yet, dachshund stubborn! Holee mackerel. You have not been lorded over by a dog until you have been lorded over by a dachshund.

Shed? Oh please...come on over and wade through the Dog Dunes at my son's house, deposited daily courtesy of Charley the Golden Retriever. Nary a corgi breathes that can drop as much hair as a fully grown 90-pound golden. Or GerShep, for that matter.

Now that Ruby the Corgi Pup is a year old, she rarely barks. Cassie the Corgi, however, believes barking is akin to breathing. It seems to depend on the dog's personality. However, Cassie can be discouraged from barking in either of two ways: 1) by quietly telling her to pipe down (raising your voice makes her think you're barking with her and that you wish to engage in choral barking); or 2) by squirting her with a stream of CLEAN, cold, clear water (nothing else but water). One brief squirt of water can stop a barking frenzy forthwith. It's not an intractable problem.

I would, however, not leave  her outdoors when I wasn't home, lest she stand in the yard and bark the neighbors nuts. She's fine in the house and that's where she resides.

Just as we have to focus on our spouse's good points in order to live together, so we have to focus on the dog's good points: friendly, smart, funny, playful, kindly, cute, alert, protective, not too big, not too small, wacky, silly, hilarious...and so on. What's a little barking when you can have all that? ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Starry on February 8, 2015 at 11:32am

Yeah and I think it's a lot easier to accept a breed's "bad" points when they have a lot of "good" points that you like. (Good and bad is in the eye of the beholder.) I notice that I'm much more tolerant of, say, barking from a dog that I like than one that I don't.

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Permalink Reply by Holly on February 8, 2015 at 10:08am

I took the route you did and I began researching what kind of dog I should get, based a lot on my life-style and what kind of pet owner I knew I would be. You don't mention whether you want a puppy or you are considering adopting an adult dog, but there are benefits to both of course. I took an online survey, based on my needs and on any potential deal-breakers, such as "not good with children and pets, excessive barking, aggressive tendencies and drooling," all of which I was not prepared to deal with, but I did say I could tolerate shedding, which seriously is probably why a corgi was one of the survey result's top suggestions as my perfect pet. LOL. Another reason was their independence which leads to their adaptability in living in rural areas as well as apartments, I live in both.

It did warn that some corgis can bark a lot, but they are eager to please so they can be trained to replace barking with more positive behaviors. In addition to learning which breeds might be good for me, I discovered I could choose a dog with the temperament best suited to my own. The shelter providers have no reason to misrepresent an animal because they don't want a failed adoption anymore than you do. I needed a very low-key, submissive dog that I could build up, rather than one I that had to help learn to be less dominant. I didn't need a lap dog, but I cannot run with (or after) a dog due to spinal cord damage so it was good to see there was an alternative to the active, teacup varieties. It did take me many years to reach a point where I had sufficient time to devote to a pet but I am happy I looked into it while I was still working full-time. Even when I decided I was ready, it was well over a year before I found one with a temperament that matched mine (a bit like online dating :D) but it was well worth the wait. Also, corgis don't show up as often in shelters. I would have taken another breed, but I had to have a small dog based on my lease, and I was worried about a "yappy" dog myself. It was weeks, maybe months after I brought her home before I heard Sully bark and she still very rarely barks. If she ever does bark she stops as soon as I check out whatever the concern may be. This weekend she really barked in alarm and seemed agitated in the middle of the night. Turns out a neighbor had fallen and I didn't hear it. I feel like the stubborn label is misleading and unfair to corgis. I think all dogs ignore their owners at times but corgis typically try to please. The main difference is that they may question our judgment, seriously, and try to do something the way they see fit. I think that is common in working dogs who need to make their own decisions. If they are not herding they can learn to wait for and follow our requests, but as much as they love and respect their owners, they have a strong self-respect so they "demand" in subtle ways to be handled with some negotiation and much mutual respect. When they feel happy and safe, they love to cooperate, from what I have seen and heard. That said, any dog, especially a corgi I think, needs and wants the comfort of a confident owner to be in charge. Without that, they can become  difficult and very unhappy. You are showing signs of a responsible pet owner to put the needs of a much wanted pet ahead of your own and wait until you are sure you are ready. I suspect that one day you will find the perfect puppy or adult dog to adopt. I used Pet-finder, but I also used several other sources in my research. I just happened to find my perfect "match" on Pet-finder. Many shelter providers steered me away from some dogs by the way, based on behaviors they saw that where not clear in their online doggy bios. It was very helpful for me in making my final decision whether or not to adopt, and which pet was right. Though I didn't feel pressured, the shelter that had Sully made it very clear they thought we were made for each other and I have never had a sweeter, more considerate roommate. If you happen to live near a shelter maybe you can ask about volunteering to take dogs out for walks to get a sense of how various dogs act one-on-one and what traits you enjoy most. I did find shelter staff pretty reliable in explaining various traits of the dogs in their care. Happy hunting!

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Permalink Reply by Starry on February 8, 2015 at 12:23pm

" I feel like the stubborn label is misleading and unfair to corgis."

Hmm, you know, I've seen a lot of people call a lot of dogs stubborn and most of the time these were people who were not good at communicating with a dog. If the dog doesn't understand the request, how can they respond?

Other times, people call dog's stubborn because they can't get their attention. That dog might just need to go for a run so it can calm down and focus.

I've also seen people who try for five seconds to teach the dog something and then declare it stubborn because it did not learn in that time frame. Those people need more patience.

And then some dogs get called stubborn because they won't tolerate punishment-based techniques. I had a dog like this, he wouldn't do anything for you if you started popping his leash and yelling at him, but he'd listen enthusiastically if you focused on his good behavior. (And if you did have to correct him, he was much more apt to accept it, because 99% of the relationship was positive.)

Some dogs are truly stubborn and need special training techniques but I don't run into them nearly as often as I do the above.

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