Corgi scared of heights?

Hi everyone!

I just had a quick question and thought maybe you guys could help me. Do you think it's possible for a dog to be scared of heights?

Chloe is our second corgi. Her big brother Carter lives at home with my boyfriend and Chloe lives here at school with me. From the 3rd step down the stairs she can go down perfectly fine. Anything above that she begins to wine. She is 4 months old. Is that something normal? I don't remember Carter having the same experience when learning to go down the stairs. She jumps down from the sofa and the bed that's on the floor but she won't from my bed back home that is on a frame.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

I've tried using treats and everything and she still seems kind of scared.

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Permalink Reply by Laura Rochette on November 28, 2011 at 3:42pm

I have wondered about this too--or rather, wondered if dogs have poor depth perception. When we are out on walking trails, Lucy peers over cautiously, but avoids steep embankments or small cliffs (not a bad thing really); she hates going over bridges (the kind you find on walking trails) and won't look over the side. She also stays clear of sewer grates.

She also won't go down the stairs, but I've always thought it was because she felt top heavy (the big head, ears!) and couldn't get her hind legs down on the step without her butt getting in the way, but perhaps it is because of lack of depth perception?

I'm curious about this too.

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Permalink Reply by Joe on November 28, 2011 at 4:05pm

She knows how to go down each step and can get her hind legs with her but cause she does it from 3 steps down. She's not scared of looking over the bed edge or down the stairs either. She only starts whining when she wants to get down from the bed or go down the stairs. I also didn't know if I was babying her to much. After a couple of minutes if she doesn't attempt it I just carry her. I do try to teach her to jump down her self with treats but that hasn't helped and thats why I thought maybe she's scared of heights?

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Permalink Reply by Mal Schaal on November 28, 2011 at 11:04pm

I babied my corgi. I wouldn't let her jump anything until she was a lot older. And I still keep a close eye on her! Spoiled . . .

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on November 29, 2011 at 8:18am

Sure she could be afraid of the height. It also may hurt her short little legs and long back to make the jump. At her age you should be careful not to allow the jumping anyway. I do not allow mine to jump very far even as adults. These are dwarf dogs and can be very prone to structure problems.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on November 29, 2011 at 10:58am

When I was jumping dogs in training, my rule of thumb with pups and young dogs under a year, was not to jump them more then elbow height until a year of age. After that they could increase slowly up to 1 1/2 times their height at the shoulder. Some breeds can never jump safely more than their shoulder height. At 4 month, your pup's height at the elbow is not much at all.... Bev Levy is absolutely right!