Hi Everyone,
I have had Cardi for little more than a month. I have some silly questions to ask you all as a first time corgi owner.
1. I noticed that my Cardi (Zena) got really longer than when I got her first but not much difference in terms of her chest circumference. Is this a typical growth pattern? In other words, get longer first and put a weight later?
2. Zena seems to be on the smaller side. She weighed only 7.4lbs at 9 week and 9lbs at 12 week. She does not seem to put 1 lb /week as everyone says. Should I be concerned? Her behavior and food consumption is normal, though.
3. I read that a dog should have a waist line but no spine showing etc. I am not sure how to look for a waist line. Should I look at her from the top or the side? If I see her from the top, I can see an hour glass shape due to her thighs. It seems to me that she has to put a lot of weight to lose this shape looking from the top. But her chest circumference is already smaller than her belly.
4. I read a lot about no stress on corgi's back. So no stairs (or jumping) until 8-12 months depending on where I read it. So, I carry her to the second floor. But can I let her go up and down a single step? I have a couple of single steps here and there where she is allowed to have an access (e.g. from a kitchen to a family room, or to go outside). The height ranges from 6 to 8 inches. Is it okay for her to go up and down this?
5. How do I know that my puppy is getting enough exercise? I have to admit that walk/outside session time vary depending on the weather and other conditions (10 min to 45 min). Regardless of how long we play outside, she just runs around the house for another 5-10 min. Also, I can see that a long outside session makes her nap for longer time and fall asleep earlier. By the way, she does not show any destructive behavior even with a short outside/play session than average days.

I really appreciate any input from experienced corgi owners.