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What's the deal with Corgis?
- Thread starter Megalosaro
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DonMigs85
Member
Only if you make them super fat or carry them the wrong way. But yeah it's common among dachshunds and Basset hounds too.
sixteen-bit
Member
what's the deal?!
chickdigger802
Banned
my god, those eyes..
Megalosaro
Banned
Is it blind?
how about a corgi husky?
or a corgi shepard?
Has science gone too far?
thesoapster
Member
Parents definitely had a snu-snu experience.
biggyfries
Member
Like what Don said above, as long as you keep their weight under control, and don't carry them (they're not a lap dog at all), they really don't have any "structural" problems. They were bred to be herding/cattle dogs, and the long body and short legs are great for that.
OTOH, Bassetts can develop leg/joint issues at 6 months old, and bulldogs can develop sinus problems.
sixteen-bit
Member
Alcoremortis
Member
I'm surprised nobody posted my favorite corgi gif yet.
I'm sure people have already said this since I'm LTTP here but they were bred long and low for herding cattle. The back-strike from the cow's hoof would go right over the dog's head where other herding breeds would take the hit and get injured and possibly die. Now that England doesn't really raise cattle the Pembroke was a more passive herder (ie: didn't nip) and moved seamlessly into herding sheep. Their structure doesn't really mean much for sheep but they've had generations of herding instincts bred into them. But the border collie has pretty much replaced them as the defacto sheep herding dog.
The Cardigan corgi started out as an aggressive cow herder where they'd be very nippy to get the cows moving. Sheep didn't take well to this aggressive herding so the Pembroke overtook them as a more popular working breed and lead to the Pembroke's overall popularity compared to Cardigan. However since both dogs descended from separate lines and separate geographical locations in England it stands for reason they were bred low and long because it worked well not because they thought it looked funny.
Since the dwarfism that leads to their size (Pembrokes descend from Spitz breeds and Cardigans from dachshund breeds) is a dominate gene if you cross a Corgi with anything the dwarfism will be passed along to the offspring leading to designer cross-breeds which I am not necessarily a fan of.
The Cardigan corgi started out as an aggressive cow herder where they'd be very nippy to get the cows moving. Sheep didn't take well to this aggressive herding so the Pembroke overtook them as a more popular working breed and lead to the Pembroke's overall popularity compared to Cardigan. However since both dogs descended from separate lines and separate geographical locations in England it stands for reason they were bred low and long because it worked well not because they thought it looked funny.
Since the dwarfism that leads to their size (Pembrokes descend from Spitz breeds and Cardigans from dachshund breeds) is a dominate gene if you cross a Corgi with anything the dwarfism will be passed along to the offspring leading to designer cross-breeds which I am not necessarily a fan of.
RangersFan
Member
How are Corgi's for a working couple out of the house ~9 hours a day? Been looking at getting a dog for a while now and Corgi's have always piqued my interest. Been hesitant to pull the trigger because I leaving a dog alone every day doesn't seem right.
Would love for input on this too.
My wife and I own a corgi who we keep in the crate during the day. A few things.
Make sure you tell the breeder you are looking for a low-medium energy corgi. You don't want an off-the-walls high energy corgi.
Make sure the puppy knows the schedule. Dogs are very routine oriented and as long as you keep a fairly consistent schedule they don't really care.
Of course, crate training is important. I honestly think my dog prefers to be kept in his crate during the work day than when I leave him out. He gets to just stay in his house and chill all day until I come home and get him.
Remember dogs' minds don't work like ours. They don't get bored like we get bored. Put a few chew toys in there and the dog will be fine. Take the dog for a long walk in the morning to get pent up energy out then take for another walk when you get home.
Optionally, but I encourage it, but give the dog something for getting in the crate. Since my dog was a puppy he gets a little bit of Kong Stuff'N liver paste on one of his toys to lick off when he gets in the crate. He knows the routine now and when I'm getting ready for work he excitedly jumps in the crate to get his liver paste.
When the dog is a puppy you'll have to come home and let him out at lunch for at least for first 4 months. Probably more like 6 months. At that age they simply can't hold their bladder long enough to be in the crate 9-5.
In other words it works but you'll have to dedicate at least an hour a day to playing with the dog and dog walks.
Krauser Kat
Member
They need lots of play time or will be very vocal to your face when you just want to come home and play some video games. Food toys do wonders to solve this.
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
Yeah, I think so.
Looks like it is a fluffy Pembroke. Corgis can get a genetic abnormality where they get a fluffy coat instead of their normal tight coat. In general breeders shouldn't breed fluffy corgis since it is considered a fault but many do. If you see a breeder advertising they are breeding fluffy corgis run the other way because that is a sure sign of a back yard breeder. The fluffy genetic pool isn't deep enough for breeders to breed for that coat type. But every so often reputable breeders will get a fluffy in their normal litter. My co-worker has a beautiful blue merle semi-fluffy Cardigan.
HammerOfThor
Member
I'm a working single dude and I don't have an issue with my Corgi. Just gotta make sure YOU have the energy to play with it for around an hour a day just to keep 'em happy and healthy.
Corgi enthusiasts are nuts. Anytime a pure bred corgi is released to a shelter they have a corgi rescue organization they generally contact. That organization will have a list of people willing to accept a rescue corgi. You have to get incredibly lucky to get a pure corgi from a shelter.
Corgis are getting more popular and more overbred as a of late, though. My co-worker had a rescue corgi which was clearly a back yard breeder bred dog. He was a real sweet heart but his bone structure was terrible and a year or so ago his hips completely went out and he is now confined to a walking cart. Corgis can be too unhealthy to not work with a reputable breeder if given the chance in my opinion. Make sure their hips and eyes are clear in their pedigree.
Because they literally are. They've been bread to have the dog midget gene.
They are also predisposed to hip problems, tho I'm not sure if that's related.
Holy crap. Didn't know any of this. I did hear that they can have some hip issues but that's so sad
Confused101
Member
My corgi is a rescue. When I visited her, they weren't sure if she was pure bred or not because she didn't have papers but all signs pointed to the real deal. I took her home and I've lived with her for almost 3 years now. I'll be damned if she's not 100% corgi. The look, the personality, the mannerisms, it's all there. Here's hoping for no hip problems in the future. So far so good.
I'm surprised nobody posted my favorite corgi gif yet.
Terrible. This certainly wouldn't help with the inherent hip or back problems. I know it landed on the snow, but still. It's not a freaking cat.
Awwww dat lookI'm surprised nobody posted my favorite corgi gif yet.
If the dog isn't predisposed for hip issues doing things like this won't matter much. Only when they're about 18 months and younger prior to their spine being fully fused should you really limit them having any impact on the spine.
RangersFan
Member
Thanks for the replies. I've read corgi's are really athletic. Would they be able to do a 5 mile run with me daily in the morning?
Confused101
Member
Hopefully these quotes from a corgi owners website will help.
1) The main limitation is fur. Corgis have a lot of it, and Edison doesn't run comfortably (for more than a half mile) until the weather drops below 60 degrees out. One solution for us, since we run near a river, is to stop half way and let him get a swim. That helps a lot.
2) Edison does a 3 minute mile at top speed (we clocked him chasing our car down a private road), but the truth is, corgis are going to be slower/have less endurance than many of the bigger breeds. I think it's because they run differently, scrunching up their entire bodies like rabbits. My husband had to build up Edison's endurance before he could do more than 4 miles without getting seriously tired (and when a corgi does not want to go, they can *really* plant their little paws).
If you're a good runner, it's even better- my husband came back one day, telling me that he and Edison had overtaken a guy who was running with two huskies. The huskies strained at their leashes, quite unhappy at being smoked by a *corgi*.
I use imgur (reddit's picture site) for Crumpet, my tailed Pembroke Corgi. I love tails on corgis too.
My wife and I have a Corgi and a few times we have left her home 8-12 hours and she does really well.
We caged her until she was 2 and slowly let her roam the house when we left for an hour or two. Now she free roams every day and there are no accidents anywhere. Jayden has never chewed our shoes or anything of that but we do have a large chest of toys so she keeps interested.
If you want a Corgi..for the sake of the dog you need to be a food nazi. You can make a corgi obese very easily and do their length it puts a lot of stress on their spines and reduces quality of life.
Edit: Some corgis have a gene that they grow a nub rather than a tail. We asked the breeder to leave it as docking the tail was for working environment only.
We caged her until she was 2 and slowly let her roam the house when we left for an hour or two. Now she free roams every day and there are no accidents anywhere. Jayden has never chewed our shoes or anything of that but we do have a large chest of toys so she keeps interested.
If you want a Corgi..for the sake of the dog you need to be a food nazi. You can make a corgi obese very easily and do their length it puts a lot of stress on their spines and reduces quality of life.
Edit: Some corgis have a gene that they grow a nub rather than a tail. We asked the breeder to leave it as docking the tail was for working environment only.
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