Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lou Ann Lemaster on July 21, 2009 at 7:22am

It's more likely that they will do the herding/nipping thing. My dog is great with the grandkids when they come over. When they were younger though, he had a habit of knocking the little one down by accident. Of course, he probably outweigh him by 10 pounds. You can teach a corgi to be gentle around little ones. The main thing is to not let them jump up on the little ones and to watch them when the kids are running. Duncan never nipped at them, just kept running in front to "herd" them to where he thought they should be going.

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on July 21, 2009 at 7:38am

Mine are great with kids! However, they will not allow mistreatment. If a corgi has been mistreated by children it is possible that they can become a little aggressive around children. I liked the breeder web site where she posted that "if you want a dog so your kids can stuff corn up their nose, get a lab". Our corgis tolerate strange children running up and hugging them and my grandchildren crawling all over them but I never allow them to get over stressed by kids or adults. If things seem out of hand to me I remove them so that they are protected from harm. Often rescue dogs have not been so lucky or the rescue organizations are a little (understandably) over protective when it comes to people with children. Unfortunately many parents allow their kids to do whatever they want to a family pet.

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Permalink Reply by Maddy & Keke on July 21, 2009 at 7:53am

Corgi puppy is not for young children. That's because both of them are too young to behave gently around each other. My corgi treated my 7 yrs old as her cattle and used to nip at her whenever she get the chance. If my 7 yrs old suddenly grab her, it means blood. Although they are getting along much better after 5 mths, I do not think corgis is gd for children below 8 yrs old. As I am a SAHM, I got lots of time to correct both of them when one is not behaving as they shld. But it will be tough if adult supervision is not available at all time. Please remember DO NOT LEAVE ANY YOUNG CHILD ALONE WITH A DOG. Cos if anything happens, the (innocent)dog will be paying the price for behaving like a dog. All living creatures need to be treated with respect, no matter wild or domestic.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 21, 2009 at 8:29am

We don't have kids. My leashed Corgi is wonderful with kids and loves them. He cheerfully tolerates, even relishes, toddlers rubbing his fur the wrong way, drooling on him, accidentally jabbing him in the face. To him, kids are a close second to other dogs in terms of fun.

I honestly don't know how he'd be running loose with them, but I think he'd be good. It was easy enough to teach him not to jump and nip when chasing when he was very small; I would simply run and whenever he'd nip or jump I'd stop, game over. It took only a short time. However my dog has a pretty easy-going temperament.

Remember, many dogs in rescue are there because they had some issues that their original owners could not or would not deal with. Others were given up by elderly people who simply never exposed them to kids as puppies. We made a point of having Jack meet lots of kids.

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Permalink Reply by Edward and Gemima on July 21, 2009 at 9:12am

Really?? We haven't had issues with our Corgis and my children(ages 5 and 10) that involved a bad experience!!! Just the opposite in fact!!! My 2 Corgis worship the ground my kids walk on, well if they have food in hand!! They are happiest when my kids around and look for them when they are not!! They help me tuck them in at night and also keep an eye on my littlest one for me!!! I really did alot of research on the breed before we got Phinny, Ed and Gem and I did not find any negative kid-corgi behavior other than the herding/nipping at the heels which they do at times regardless of your age!!!! It is not a constant behavior though and we scold them so they know not to do it. They do demand a bit of respect!!! We have rules in place and both pup and kid get it if they are breaking the rules!!! Corgis are smart and won't tolerate being treated badly!! I really would recommend the "Corgi experience" especially if you just have an occasional kid visitor!!! Kid and Corgi friends in Mn!

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on July 21, 2009 at 11:07am

I agree with the poster that said don't leave a young child alone with a dog. While my experience has been that corgis are great with kids it is still important to be watch full. This is for the protection of the dog as well. I read an article re dog bites once that included the story of a gentle St Bernard that was put down for biting a child. The vet discovered that the child had shoved a sucker stick all the way into the dog's ear! What a sad story! The dog is dead after putting up with excruciating pain and a child is badly injured. I believe a mild mannered corgi pup can be raised easily with children and make a great pet but we have to recognize our responsibility as adults for the safety of both.

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on July 21, 2009 at 6:10pm

Speaking of this - this was on our news this morning when we got up - sooo tragic.

Family Dog Leaves Newborn in Critical Condition
WRITTEN BY LAUREN SNOWDEN
TUESDAY, 21 JULY 2009 00:07
A scary incident leaves a Jessamine County baby in critical condition tonight. The newborn was snatched from its crib by the family dog. Alex Smith is only three days old. It happened around one this afternoon at the family’s home on Beaumont Road.

Police say the dog, a Native American Indian Dog, got the infant out of the crib and carried him to a wooded area outside the house. After about a ten minute search, the baby and the dog were found. Police say Smith’s torso had been mauled and he had lost a lot of blood.

The sheriff’s department was called to the scene along with animal control. The dog was taken to the Jessamine County Animal Shelter where it will remain until the owner decides what to do with it.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 21, 2009 at 6:21pm

I read that too! I mean, how awful, and I do feel terrible for the family. But then again, why leave a large dog where it has free, unsupervised access to a three DAY old baby? Babies don't smell like people, act like people, or sound like people so the dog has no way of knowing it's a little person and must be treated accordingly.

Now the poor baby has god-knows-what horrible injuries, and the dog may be put down, over something that never should have been allowed to happen. :-(

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 21, 2009 at 12:09pm

Agreed. NO child should be left alone with ANY dog, no matter how gentle, until the child is old enough to be consistent around the dog.

Jack's response to teasing or bad behavior on the part of humans is to get up and walk away, but what would he do if someone severely hurt him, or persisted in following him around and cornered him after he repeatedly walked away? I have no idea, and no one can say for sure. Plus, little kids faces are usually right at teeth level, and very ugly things can happen. A Corgi is not a lab. Then again, few dogs are; we had a lab and if you accidentally stepped on his tail he did not even yip, just wagged his tail at you.

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Permalink Reply by Ross on July 21, 2009 at 1:30pm

A lot of the pets on petfinder will say they aren't good with kids, as many of those dogs come from damaged backgrounds (I use the word "damaged" pretty liberally,) and kids usually aren't terribley respectful of a dogs personal space (they run up and hug them, or tug on their ears etc.) you don't want to stress out a dog that already has had a stressful life. If you don't have any kids of your own, I wouldn't worry as much about it, just be very mindful of the interactions between the dog and your nephews and nieces, make sure they are being respectful of the dog's space. Given enough positive experiences with children and some good training, I'm confident almost any dog can become kid savvy.

For example, my rescued dingo came to us a very shy lady, and we where always very careful with her interaction with children. She was very timid and we didn't want to scare her or stress her out. 8 months later, she is a completely different dog. Now she is now a therapy dog, and gets hugs and kisses and ear pulls from children in the hospital and loves every minute of it.
Our corgi, Atlas, loves kids, and he is very respectful of how little they are, he plays really rough with me and other adults but he knows around little kids to be gentle. Be mindful of the herding and nipping thing, but in general with ANY dogs its not a good idea for kids to run around with dogs, unless they are very familar with how the dog will act.

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Permalink Reply by Dez Hunter on July 21, 2009 at 2:03pm

I used to work with a local humane society that worked with breed specific rescues and a lot of them often tell the potential adopter that the dogs aren't good with other cats, other dogs, or children because they are unsure. A better safe than sorry situation, I think. Also, the rescuers are very attached to the animals and would like to see the animals they save go to ideal homes where the pet is given the owner's full time and effort. Some even go as far as to say you aren't allowed to leave your pet alone for longer than 5 hours (crated or not) and have lots of specifics attached to the animal if you wish to adopt it. It isn't to be mean or anything, they just want to make sure the animal goes to what they believe is its ideal home.

I have only had my pup for a little over a month but I definitely notice his herding instinct. He does tend to chase us if we go running off in any direction, and has this habit of throwing himself in FRONT of our legs to try to get us to stop or change direction (which can be quite scary if you can't stop in time). I think with kids they could trip and hurt themselves, and the dog. That isn't to say that this trait can't be altered with training. I think any animal can be good with children, other animals, or to live in any setting or situation as long as there is time dedicated to making the animal accustomed to those factors (children, climate, other animals...)

For instance, my pup is teething and desperately tries to chew on things (including fingers). I have been able to teach him that he can only chew on toys and not other people - and I have only had him for 5 weeks. When we meet children at events he lays on his side and lets them pet him. He won't even playfully nip at them, even when they poke at his snout - which is super tempting!! :)

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer & Matt on July 21, 2009 at 2:04pm

It has as much to do with proper training, handling and supervision of both the dogs and the children. Some dogs undoubtedly won't get along with some kids and some dogs will tolerate anything short of downright physical abuse, but there's a gray area where with the right kind of supervision and rules set by the owner/parent, everyone would get along fine. Corgis seem to be deceptively headstrong -- I guess some people think "oh small doggie!" and assume they'll be pushovers. There are pitbulls that are fantastic with kids and there are terrifying mangler terriers -- physical makeup is just a starting point. It's got a lot more to do with experiences, training and consistent enforcement of rules.

I personally wouldn't pair a dog that was know to be nonkid-friendly with young children or kids who couldn't or wouldn't be able to follow rules consistently, especially if someone wasn't around to supervise at all times. It is also vital that everyone in the family meet any dog you are considering adopting and having some meaningful interactions so you can see how everyone gets along. Unless you're a very hands-on aunt/uncle, your nieces and nephews are still "someone else's kids" and it can be very thorny to tell them what they can and can't do. The health and safety of both kids and dog probably wouldn't be worth that risk to me.

Adopting a dog is fraught with emotion and a yearning to do a good thing, but it is a far better thing to decline adopting a dog that you have reservations about than to wind up having major issues down the line. Use your head and cold, hard logic up front -- there will be plenty of time to be mushy down the line. A dog owner has a huge responsibility, since it's up to us to ensure that our dogs don't get into a situation they cannot handle in the first place. Lots of dog owners are continually working on the basics, so without some serious experience under your belt trying to rehabilitate a dog with kid issues on top of everything else might be a bad idea.

However with that said, there is nothing wrong with crate training a dog and having them in their crate while nieces and nephews come to visit. Even with a fantastic dog a group of kids can be a little too much excitement and some quiet time in their den (crate) is a good idea to ensure everyone's good time doesn't get out of hand. :)

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