New Corgi for a New Life
Just a warning: this post is HUGE. I've broken it down into parts so you can read and respond to sections easily without feeling the need to respond to the whole thing. :]
Hey, everybody! I'm new to the site, and will soon be new to the world of dog ownership. I've only had cats growing up and have seriously wanted a corgi since I was 16 or 17, though I dreamt of owning one since I was 12. I'm 19 now (though I will be 20 by the time I can get a corgi), and a student at Virginia Tech. I'm moving off campus next school year specifically so I can have the opportunity of getting a dog.
Owner benefit: I've heard from a lot of people that college students shouldn't get a puppy. I disagree with that in my case. I'm an engineering student and have a LOT of homework to do. As such, I spend a lot of time in my room doing said homework. I'm not a party girl... I think the longest activity I do all weekend is play Dungeons and Dragons, and I can bring Waffle to that with no problems. I also have severe depression (and have had it for a while) and am finally seeking help. My medicine isn't doing anything except giving me insomnia... I was discussing the want and possibility of getting a puppy with my therapist. She seemed really positive and agreed with me when I mentioned how it would help me. The responsibility of taking care of a puppy would force me to get out of bed, go outside and exercise, be on a strict routine, and be mentally challenged but also immediately rewarded. So, Waffle would not only be a dream come true, but a treatment for this disease that's been plaguing me for years. Unlike medicine, it will actually work. Does anyone have any stories they can share about dogs helping depressed people function again? Just curious.
Expenses: Because I am a poor college student, money is kind of a big deal. I worked all summer at 7$/hr in a popcorn factory and managed to store $1000 in my savings account. This is and has always been specifically for dog purposes. I made an excel spreadsheet of all the things I would need for getting a dog initially. However, I am not sure of the biggest expenses at all. How much is neutering for a corgi pup? Shots? The corgi itself?? I snooped around the internet and guesstimated... Basically, does this expense sheet look right? If I forgot something IMPORTANT, let me know.
Moving: I can't move in to my apartment until August of 2010. As such, I really want to get my corgi in late spring/early summer so I can begin training him at my parents' house and he can be moderately well behaved and potty trained... It will be difficult (no, impossible) to return to my apartment every hour during classes, but doable every 3 or 4 hours. I was discussing this with my friend, and she brought up a slightly upsetting point. She has a friend who has a dog named Chubaca, not sure of the breed. Chubaca was a puppy that was trained at home and was brought up to Tech for living in an apartment. He was perfectly trained, but moving reverted him back to square 1--mostly peeing everywhere. Is this a problem for corgies? If so, or even if not, how can I minimize the trauma of moving and prevent this from happening? If it does happen, is there anything I can do to stop it besides getting super strict with the potty training?
Furry family members: I'm moving in with a friend from middle school and her roommate. They are both animal people, one studying animal science and one studying bio with intent to go to vet school, so of course they both want pets. VetSchool wants and is definitely getting a cat (I'm very happy about this!!), but AnimalScience wants to get a dog. She is unsure if she will be getting a dog, doesn't know what breed, and doesn't know what age. So, this is iffy but still a concern. Mostly, I'm afraid the other dog may ruin Waffle's training if AnimalScience isn't being very stern in making her dog a good citizen. I can eliminate the problem with toy stealing by keeping Waffle's all in my room... I also don't want them to eat each other's food. I don't know... Should I even be concerned?
Training: I'm really looking forward to training him and having that bonding time and control. I don't think I will be taking him to obedience classes... but I may if I'm having a hard time doing it on my own. (I watch "It's Me or the Dog" and am minoring in behavioral psychology... so I want to put my skills to the test before spending money.) Potty training, sit, stay, heel, drop it, leave it, etc are all basic and necessary. I was reading about "emergency recall training" on these forums and am definitely going to teach him that. Are there any other invaluable commands I need to teach him?
I think that's it. Of course I'll ask questions as they arise. :3
Hey, everybody! I'm new to the site, and will soon be new to the world of dog ownership. I've only had cats growing up and have seriously wanted a corgi since I was 16 or 17, though I dreamt of owning one since I was 12. I'm 19 now (though I will be 20 by the time I can get a corgi), and a student at Virginia Tech. I'm moving off campus next school year specifically so I can have the opportunity of getting a dog.
Owner benefit: I've heard from a lot of people that college students shouldn't get a puppy. I disagree with that in my case. I'm an engineering student and have a LOT of homework to do. As such, I spend a lot of time in my room doing said homework. I'm not a party girl... I think the longest activity I do all weekend is play Dungeons and Dragons, and I can bring Waffle to that with no problems. I also have severe depression (and have had it for a while) and am finally seeking help. My medicine isn't doing anything except giving me insomnia... I was discussing the want and possibility of getting a puppy with my therapist. She seemed really positive and agreed with me when I mentioned how it would help me. The responsibility of taking care of a puppy would force me to get out of bed, go outside and exercise, be on a strict routine, and be mentally challenged but also immediately rewarded. So, Waffle would not only be a dream come true, but a treatment for this disease that's been plaguing me for years. Unlike medicine, it will actually work. Does anyone have any stories they can share about dogs helping depressed people function again? Just curious.
Expenses: Because I am a poor college student, money is kind of a big deal. I worked all summer at 7$/hr in a popcorn factory and managed to store $1000 in my savings account. This is and has always been specifically for dog purposes. I made an excel spreadsheet of all the things I would need for getting a dog initially. However, I am not sure of the biggest expenses at all. How much is neutering for a corgi pup? Shots? The corgi itself?? I snooped around the internet and guesstimated... Basically, does this expense sheet look right? If I forgot something IMPORTANT, let me know.
Moving: I can't move in to my apartment until August of 2010. As such, I really want to get my corgi in late spring/early summer so I can begin training him at my parents' house and he can be moderately well behaved and potty trained... It will be difficult (no, impossible) to return to my apartment every hour during classes, but doable every 3 or 4 hours. I was discussing this with my friend, and she brought up a slightly upsetting point. She has a friend who has a dog named Chubaca, not sure of the breed. Chubaca was a puppy that was trained at home and was brought up to Tech for living in an apartment. He was perfectly trained, but moving reverted him back to square 1--mostly peeing everywhere. Is this a problem for corgies? If so, or even if not, how can I minimize the trauma of moving and prevent this from happening? If it does happen, is there anything I can do to stop it besides getting super strict with the potty training?
Furry family members: I'm moving in with a friend from middle school and her roommate. They are both animal people, one studying animal science and one studying bio with intent to go to vet school, so of course they both want pets. VetSchool wants and is definitely getting a cat (I'm very happy about this!!), but AnimalScience wants to get a dog. She is unsure if she will be getting a dog, doesn't know what breed, and doesn't know what age. So, this is iffy but still a concern. Mostly, I'm afraid the other dog may ruin Waffle's training if AnimalScience isn't being very stern in making her dog a good citizen. I can eliminate the problem with toy stealing by keeping Waffle's all in my room... I also don't want them to eat each other's food. I don't know... Should I even be concerned?
Training: I'm really looking forward to training him and having that bonding time and control. I don't think I will be taking him to obedience classes... but I may if I'm having a hard time doing it on my own. (I watch "It's Me or the Dog" and am minoring in behavioral psychology... so I want to put my skills to the test before spending money.) Potty training, sit, stay, heel, drop it, leave it, etc are all basic and necessary. I was reading about "emergency recall training" on these forums and am definitely going to teach him that. Are there any other invaluable commands I need to teach him?
I think that's it. Of course I'll ask questions as they arise. :3
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Avyon on
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I've decided its the squeeling. Corgi's like that high pitch scream little kids make. and do anything in their power to get it out of kids.
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Permalink Reply by Albert, Ava and J.J. on
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I'm new here and I'm a new dog owner. I have been trying to absorb as much as I can through the internet and watching Cesar Millan Dog Whisperer show, so I cannot offer much doggies advise. However, as a former engineering student (many years ago) and lived with other college roommates, I would offer some precautions. I highly commend you for having done quite a bit of homework in dog ownership and understand doggies need; however, I don't know how much you have experience in terms of living with other humans that are not related to you. Given a tremendous amount of stress of school, esp. senior year of engineering, you may be setting yourself up for the perfect storm of stress. Here are things to consider that others may or may not have mentioned, I've just only browsed through most of the thread:
1. You are set on a puppy, so that mean a lot of accidents and possible destructive chewing. This may be fine with you because you have the patience, but how would your roommates feel when it is their personal belongings that get peed on or chewed through, esp. after a rough day of classes / exams? You cannot constantly watch your new puppy and they can eliminate so fast even before you know that they did it. My newly adopted house trained adult Corgi, after 1 month, still have accidents in the house, due to adjusting to the new environment. It happens rarely, but it still happens.
2. People have trained their dogs not to bark, but you cannot totally eliminate it, and Corgis are known to be barkers. After a late night of studying to prepare for an exam the next morning, I don't like the idea of getting woken up in the middle of night with a barking dog when I have an important exam early next morning. Again, you may have the patience, but how about your roommates? I have been fortunate that my Corgi is pretty docile and hardly barks and when she does, it is not that loud, but my friend's Corgi is a barker and have a loud bark.
3. Your roommates have their own pets, but there is no guarantee that they will all get along well together under one roof. From what I have read, you can get them to tolerate each others, but not to be friends with each other. I would think that this toleration in a confined apartment would add stress to all the pets, which would not be healthy.
If it is just you and your dog, all is fine, but the above three points can create a very stressful living condition among all humans and animals. Trying to live harmonously amount human is not something that can be easily solved once a situation arise. Now, all these stress will get magnified under the stress of school. The dogs will pick up the stress in their human owners and they too will become stressed, and from what I have read, esp. from watching Cesar Millan, once the dogs pick up bad 'energy' from their pack leaders, they will start to exhibit bad behaviors. You may end up with a feedback loop that compound the problem more and more. I hope that this will not happen, but I recommend that you and your roommates should really think about this beforehand.
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Permalink Reply by Brittany on
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These are all great ideas! When we were looking for puppies we went to 4 different rescues to see what was available and there were SO many Corgi's! I couldn't believe it!!
The rescue we finally got ours from charged $80 and it is all refundable when you get a neuter and the rabies vaccine--so you would of had to pay that anyway!
We also got all sheets and blankets for his crate and for my car from Goodwill, as well as 2 big dog bowls from there for like 2 dollars each.
I even bought our crate on Ebay for like 10 dollars.
Just some ideas :D
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