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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on May 6, 2012 at 3:58pm

I am guessing that maybe in the very beginning she was confused and perhaps the confusion led to a bit of fear. Now she has learned that by acting scared, she doesn't have to do what is asked. I think she has you wrapped around her little finger. Corgis (females especially) are VERY smart and can be stubborn. I think she's just figured out a way to get around having to do what she is told. I would suggest obedience classes, try to find a teacher who has experience with timid dogs. Nobody benefits by her not having to mind you. Maybe she isn't comfortable being top dog but since you haven't really stepped into that spot she feels she has to. This would cause her to be much more anxious and unsure around other humans and animals since she doesn't really want to be top dog but she feels its her job to take care of and protect you.

Also, corgis are herding dogs, not retrievers, so its not a big suprise she isn't into fetching. I spent several months teaching Franklin to fetch, and even now he will only fetch with certain objects and will just look at me if I throw others (i.e. he WILL NOT fetch a normal tennis ball, but will fetch a squeaky Kong ball, won't fetch any of his toys but will fetch a stick, etc). Kirby, my new guy, absolutely DOES NOT fetch, he pretty much just chases Franklin and steals whatever toy/stick/ball he has and then drops it and leaves. If Franklin isn't around and I throw a toy Kirby will just look at it and then look at me.

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Permalink Reply by Lemmy Winks on May 6, 2012 at 5:15pm

I agree with M&F it sounds like she figured out how to get away with not doing things.
As for her defensive behavior, dogs take their cues from their people, so if you anticipate how she's going to react, she'll  be able to tell you're nervous and that's her cue to be shy and defensive. You need to learn to relax, and stay relaxed when correcting unwanted behavior.
 Obedience class helped me a lot, because it taught me how to react in a situation and I was able to trust that I knew what to do, and I had to stay calm or everything I learned was no good. Haha I had a few embarrassing moments with Pilot because I got so flustered and frustrated he wasn't even listening to me anymore and was just pulling and barking like a mad man.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on May 6, 2012 at 6:16pm

The shyness is probably of genetic origin. If she was properly socialized between the ages of 2 and 4 months, that may have helped your outcome (meaning she may have been worse).  If she was not well socialized then, it made her tendencies stronger. Either way, changing things now is not easy, or even doable. Training can be done at any age, not so with socialization.  She is now a middle aged dog, pretty set in her ideas of what her world is like.  As for tricks and fetch, some dogs just don't like that kind of stuff.  I would enjoy her as she is, unless you have a specific need (rather than want) for her to be different.  Sometimes a second confident dog will give a shy one increased confidence and improve general behavior.  Me and you against the world is easier than just me and dogs are pack animals.   Sooooo, if you've been dying to get another dog, here's a good excuse :-)

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Losacco on May 6, 2012 at 7:25pm

My little guy, Austin, is also a shy, timid little boy.  I adopted him when he was a year old and he had never had a leash on or experienced a walk in the city.  It took about a year before we got him to the local dog beach, and lo and behold, one day there were a bunch of corgis there.  It was a corgi meet up group.  This brought him out of his shell immediately and he was able to be a corgi. Has your little corgi been around any other corgis.  Sometimes being shown what to do by a pack of like dogs will help.  My other dog is like a security blanket for Austin, he always looks to her to see if things are okay.  Unless there is a squirrel to chase, then he is on it before anybody else knows.  He also is not a good fetcher.  He loves to chase balls or other dogs chasing balls, but it is the retrievers job to actually bring them back.  He will, however, bring back a frisbee.  His favorite game.  Maybe a canine companion can help teach your corgi how to behave.  Up the treat value when training too, bacon seems to make all fears vanish.

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on May 6, 2012 at 8:23pm

My previous corgi, Buffy, was a fearful dog all her life. Obedience classes and some agility for fun really helped her with her confidence. She never really became what I would call a confident dog but definitely gained a lot from classes. I never really got her to do the teter toter on her own without me by her side but she loved the tunnels and jumps. There was a marked improvement in her personality after. I believe her anxiety was genetic, I am guessing it is the flip side of alertness. Fetch is not always a natural trait, some love it like my Sparty and others wonder why you decided to throw it if you still wanted it like my Izzy!

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Permalink Reply by Angel Estremera on May 6, 2012 at 11:38pm

thank you guys for all your replies I'm going to look into obedience class asap. She has been around 1 other corgi and has lived with other dogs before, she's pretty snappy with other dogs i try to take her to the dog park but she growls and nips at other dogs that get too close lol

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Permalink Reply by Theresa + Caitlyn on May 7, 2012 at 10:16am

I recommend Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt. I check the book out from my local library.

I have attended training classes based on this method, and it helped a lot. It taught ME how to explain to Caitlyn what I mean and what I expect of her.

I think Corgis who fetch are the unusual ones, while Corgis who Zoom or FRAP* are typical.

*(FRAP is sometimes defined as Frantically Running And Playing.)

 

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Permalink Reply by mosesbotbol on May 11, 2012 at 3:34pm

Sounds like our Camber.  She is very hard to train.  Once she is easily spooked, a dangling steak couldn't get her to come back.

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Permalink Reply by Snickmom on May 11, 2012 at 9:48pm

Snickers does not act like Holly does around strange dogs, but I definitely blew it in the socializing when she was a pup. One, I didn't know how important it was and then she got mange, which is contagious and it took over a month to get it cured so we could take her around dogs again. I realized when she was about 3 1/2 that I needed to work on her with socializing other people and dogs and with other issues. She has made a lot of progress, and when we got Dolly 11 months ago, that really helped because Dolly is very social and taught Snickers how fun it is to greet other dogs and people on our walks. Snickers will never be like Dolly, but starting when they are adults is not totally hopeless either.

Dolly does not know how to play with toys, which makes it hard to excercise her without walkies. I started clicker training her (at 4 years) to just touch a soft toy with a smelly treat wrapped in it and we have worked up to her chasing it a short distance. I have to admit I don't work on this often, but again, it is do-able with an adult dog.

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