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Permalink Reply by Cindi on February 28, 2010 at 11:16am

Yes, they can have issues and jumping on/off furniture can become a problem, especially if you pup gets overweight. We always maintain their proper weight and have doggie-stairs for them to get up/down off things here. I've had many corgi friends whose dogs have gone down in the back after a jump.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Davenport on February 28, 2010 at 11:21am

Oh! that's a good thing to know. We do have one set of dog stairs that she uses, as do the chihuahuas I have. So what do people do? Train them to 'wait' and be picked up?

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Permalink Reply by Cindi on February 28, 2010 at 12:21pm

Most folks just let 'em jump. Some pick them up. Mine took to the stairs quite well once I found some they liked (needed to have wider stair steps.)

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Davenport on February 28, 2010 at 1:37pm

thanks so much Cindi. Have a great day

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Permalink Reply by M. on February 28, 2010 at 6:48pm

What an adorable little guy. :)

I tend to agree with those who said weight is the biggest issue. Be sure to keep an eye on that and make sure to keep up with your regular vet screenings. Whenever I pick up a corgi I'm always careful to support them under their back legs and make sure I'm not hauling them up by their front legs, but I do let them jump up and down off of things.

When a jump that they like to make frequently is extreme though I do make concessions. My bed is extremely high off the ground so I got a padded storage chest to sit at the end so they can do a two stage corgi hop up and down rather than trying to do a super flying leap.

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Permalink Reply by Aber, Ragnar and Kelso on February 28, 2010 at 8:47pm

Going up stairs or jumping on furniture isn't bad. But going down is. Corgi's carry their weight in the front, so when they jump down all the weight goes forward on their little front legs. This can cause compression and other problems in the spine. They definitely shouldn't be jumping off the sofa or going down stairs until they are 6 months. And weight is the biggest factor. If you keep weight down and there are no hereditary issues, your dog should be fine, but just be careful.

Aber just had back surgery (a hemi-laminectomy) this past November. He still can't walk and we're probably going to get him a chair. He climbed and jumped happily his whole life, but he also fought his weight, so I'm going to bet it was more a weight issue than anything. But his brother from a different litter (same parents) had the same operation at 7, and that dog was a tremendous athlete---top in agility and such, so maybe heredity had something to do with it. Who knows. Just be smart and be careful. That's really all you can do.

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Permalink Reply by Gina Mac/Fergie & Minnie on March 12, 2010 at 11:43am

Since Corgi's are so smart, I almost feel like they know their limits. Our girl Minnie is 9, and manipulates the coach like its an Olympic sport, during playtime with my husband, yet we have a high bed which she refuses to jump up on, and gets kind of nervous if we place her on it. Our 3 mos old Fergie, has just mastered the 3 steps out our door wall, but still uses great caution. I was always worried about the weight thing as well - I know how my back feels when I'm carrying more weight then I should. I also try to discourage our kids from carrying the dogs, no matter how fun it is! I love your tri's coloring by the way - very unique!

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