I have a problem and need advice from you guys. My mom adopted a small corgi (15lbs) about a month ago from our local Humane Society named Lucy. She has been good in all areas except when she is around my 2 year old niece. Today she growled and bared her teeth at the baby for no reason at all (she has been jealous of her since my mom brought her home.) Because Lucy's attitude changes the minute the baby comes in to the house mom does not allow them to be alone. She tolerates my 2 dogs just by ignoring them and my 2 ignore her for the most part. We don't know much about her background except that she was an owner surrender and that person was her 4th home. She cowers if you hold her leash in your hand and is terrified of any lous noise or a crowd of people. It's obvious that she has been abused but she is a loving little girl and jumps in your lap the minute you sit down. We have always had very docile, friendly well rounded corgis so I am at a loss about this. Is there anything we can do to work with the dog or should we find her another home without kids?

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How old is Lucy?
We think she is 2. There was very little known about her when mom adopted her.
I would think she needs to be taught how to act around the 2 year old especially if she hasnt been around small kids, they may frighten her. Is she a cardigan or pembroke. Maybe keep the two in seperate rooms until Lucy becomes more confident around the little one. I know most corgis do not tolerate roughness with children, like other breeds. I would definately monitor the baby at all times with Lucy. I also know our corgi, we have a cardigan, does not like rough housing. He feels like someone is getting hurt and needs to protect us. He also is not used to children being picked up or crying so he also feels he needs to protect in those situations. The other situation is discipline, yelling or grabbing a childs arm will make a corgi respond in a protective way. Hope this helps. Corgis are also noise reactive so certain screeches that children make can also send corgis into alert mode. She probably is not sure of her new situation and needs some confidence building skills.
She is a Pem, the smallest PWC I have seen. I told mom to get her into some sort of behavior class pronto instead of giving up on her.
Yes training classes definetly, I agree. Corgis can be bossy, they need to know who really is the boss! Otherwise they think they run the show! She is so cute.
She is cute and sweet for the most part. I don't think mom has control of her at all so she thinks she can boss everyone around. I hope things work out for the best.
Yes I hope things work out for the best too. Cant be said enough for training and they also for sure need to know you wont put up with aggressive behavior at all. When she acts aggressive towards your moms niece or anyone she should immediately put Lucy in a time out! Good Luck! You can do it.
Fast movements of toddlers could be enough to scare a corgi, or loud noises like screaming, crying are you sure your moms niece wasnt doing anything, it may have seemed like nothing to you at the time but for a corgi who isnt used to a toddler it could have been enough to scare Lucy. Have you seen Lucy react to your moms niece when crying etc.?
Yes, her whole demeaner changes when the baby comes over (which is all the time.) I think that is does scare Lucy because the baby is everywhere and she is loud. My mom is torn up about the whole situation, I just spoke to her on the phone.
Antoher suggestion I just thought of, is you could have Lucy on a leash around the toddler and that way it would be easier to correct her right away. It sounds like Lucy is adapting to her new enviornment and needs to feel secure around the toddler.
Yeah, I suggested that too. She is terrified of her leash though. When Mom calls her to take her out for potty she hides in her crate.
First, I would contact the humane society and ask if they have a behaviorist they work with. I'm surprised that they didn't notice any signs of aggresion in her. Lots of times, on an owner surrender, the owners don't really tell all the reasons, for turning the dog in. Explain the issue and would they be willing to work with your mom on the problem, since Lucy is obviously hand shy and trying to express her fear, the only way she knows. A behaviorist would be able to see the problem as it's happening and give an assessment and probable plan of action. In the interim, keep them seperated. Obviously, Lucy is confused, scared, and needs reassurance that she is in her forever home. It will probably take some time to overcome her fears and begin to live a happy corgi life. She probably was unsocialized and not trained in her previous homes. Is your mom prepared to work with her, possibly for many months? Also, I would have a complete physical exam done to preclude any medical issues that could cause her reactivity.

I would start with the call to the humane society and then depending on the behaviorist question answer, have your mom decide if she wants to go through the expense and work required to work on Lucy's issues. If she does, I would check with the local corgi club and see if there is a behaviorist they would recommend to work with your mom and Lucy. Each of the regional corgi clubs generally has a rescue group and they often have dogs with issures come into their programs. I know that in your area Palmetto PWC club is very active in rescue and they might provide some resources.

Wish I could be more help, but obviously, Lucy needs some professional help and lots of love.

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