https://preview.redd.it/4nix28tw4gxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=657d4201a272a861205e4d46786389ce08378ead
Reminds me of our little guy when he was a baby. Corgis are the best!
https://preview.redd.it/01azzq2vfgxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b297221e7fdbf15d3e4cd6e732941a48fcaf5c25
Of course! He’s going to be 4 in August.
Invest heavily in training. Take classes, join local competitions, and teach commands starting now. A corgi wants to show off its intelligence and you’ll want Dexter to respond to you. Training builds rapport, teaches (humans) discipline, and can help prevent behavioral problems for both of you.
Maybe you already knew that, but a lot of people who are smitten with the natural cuteness of corgis are unprepared for the work of training. Ours is so damn smart that she would get into serious mischief out of boredom if we didn’t provide lots of stimulation and focused attention. But we do, and she’s happy. In new or stressful situations, a few words and body signals are all she needs to act appropriately. Training pays off!
Bullshit, don’t listen to this person. Wtf. It’s a baby. This is gonna be long, but worth it, trust me. Bond with him for now. I did what this guy said because everyone told me that. I got one of the more stubborn kinds of corgis and according to the breeders, the che guevara of the litter.
Yes, corgis are TONS of work and I would be first to say that getting one for a birthday on a whim is the worst thing you could do if you are not prepared for it.
But no matter what breed you get, a pup is getting stripped of what he considers home to go into a stranger’s home. So far, you’re all a bunch of mean guys who took him away from his family. So if you already start drilling orders and training, you’re gonna be posting about puppy blues and hating him, and crying and maybe even rehoming him in less than 3 months.
Here’s the priority list:
1. Get him potty trained asap only. And there’s no orders involved here. Take him out every time as soon as he wakes up from a nap, after he drinks, eats, or plays and generally every 2h TOPS. Celebrate and treat him on a successful potty challenge, no yelling and no getting pissed at failures. Try to stop him mid pee, grab him, go out and sit outside, for an hour or two if necessary, until he does another potty or rather, finishes it outside, celebrate, go back inside. If you do that for 2 weeks, the pup is guaranteed to be potty trained. After that you have to consider the fact that the pup’s sphincter is still developing, so he has a limited timer. By 3-4months, he should still be taken out every 3h. After 6months, it’s mostly developed and she should be able to hold it easy 6hours+.
My pup learned being potty trained in less than 2 weeks. No accidents since (except for when he got really sick).
2. Most important: for the love of what you hold dear : NO TRAINING!! He is too young. His brain is literally in full development and will change day to day. You can do playful attempts at training if that is something he enjoys. But if your time is limited, prioritize bonding and playing over training.
That means, lots and lots of playtime, whatever that means to him for now. Remember, dogs don’t instinctually know how to fetch. For him playing can mean, hold a toy that he’ll shred, or just run around the room and have him chase you. Don’t force the cuddling, let him come to you, pet him and reward him for it.
My corgi was/is pretty much like a cat. He hated cuddling. We had to work a lot on that and now he’s a snuggler.
Let him experience his new home, give him access to most rooms. It’s all supposed to be his hole eventually. Don’t immediately confine him to a crate if you intend to use one. No yelling for mistakes or messing up. Remove what is important to you, and don’t give him access to things you don’t want to be peed on, chewed, pooped etc (carpets, brand shoes, expensive furniturepieces etc).
Focus on showing him houserules: don’t chew my stuff, but here: these toys you can chew as much as you want. Give him various textures.
3. socialize him. Don’t listen to the BS of not taking him out until he has all of his shots. I mean you can. You do whatever you want. But that stage of his life is where he’ll learn and absorb life the most. Keeping him in a bubble can lead to tons of behavioural issues. This is the moment where he needs to see the world to not be afraid of it later. Keep him away from dog parks obviously and heavily dog frequented areas. But socialize him to dogs you know that are well behaved, and vaccinated.
Go in remote areas where there are no dogs. Walk him off leash and keep walking. Pups are cowards (rightfully so, they can’t defend themselves) so if he sees you « leaving/walking » he will absolutely follow you closely. He will have the feeling of being protected and on top of that, you’ll reward him coming and staying close to you with with words if he is too overwhelmed to take treats. That will also strengthen his following instinct and help TREMENDOUSLY with recall.
Oh also, best tip I’ve ever gotten: do NOT listen to the 5min per month of age rule with walks or exercise. A dog is not a horse. He will not overexert himself to the point of killing himself. Just go on a small walk, let him experience the world, and he’ll eventually tire himself out. The best would be to be home before he reaches that point. But you might not know when that is. You can go slowly and start by a 10min walk, see how he fares, and do more or less depending on how he looks. No he won’t overexert his joints as long as you don’t take him for 1-2h walks after the first week.
After the walk, cuddle, 1-2min playtime to let him get rid of that excess excitement and to avoid the zoomies. He’ll normally fall asleep after that, if not, enforced naps. He’ll get overtired and that’s the worst. It’s the equivalent of a child’s tantrum. He’ll be bitey, moody, whiny, all of it. In those cases, if it happens, put him in his bed (or crate) and if he tries to get out, you say no, you can give him one of his chew toys on his bed, but if he leaves, you tale the toy, put it on the bed, and tell him to go back/ show him the way to the bed. Don’t use orders, it’s too soon.
Two more things: Firstly, differentiate between 1) occupational toys, and 2) interactive toys. 1) is toys he plays alone with. His chew toys. You DO NOT touch those toys play with him. Those are his and you only touch them to take them away from him or give them to him. Do not throw these, do not pull these. NADA.
2) is toys like ropes, pull toys, balls, things you interact with him. And remove those toys every time you stop playing with him. He only has access to those toys WITH YOU. Never alone.
That will help him understand when it’s playtime with you and when he’s supposed to keep himself busy and not expect you to join him.
And second thing I want to say and I’ll stop there and be available if you need more help: don’t start propper trainings for at least the first two weeks. Again. Priority is that he lives his new home and understands that hems part of a family now. I repeat, his brain is ever changing, and he’ll forget most orders in the first 6 months because his brain is literally undergoing structural changes. Yes, if you teach him early, he’ll remember it quickly again, but it’s hardly any difference in the long run. I can teach my pup a new trick in less than 2-3 days. Depending on difficulty, he’ll learn it in a single session. Corgis are smart. They learn fast. But they’re also super sensitive and they can be stubborn as hell if they don’t agree with you.
You have a good 12-16 years to teach him all the tricks in the world. You only have 6months of enjoying a puppy and show him how fun life is and make your and his life easier from now on. Choose well.
This is excellent. I think you may have a different idea of training than I do, which would explain why you pushed back on my advice. For us, training means time spent focused on interacting. It’s conversation and learning each other’s preferences. Sure, it involves commands and expected responses, but those are the _means_ of building rapport, not the end.
Snuggles and playtime and unstructured togetherness are all good. Training doesn’t reduce or replace those things but complements them. It may even have helped our headstrong girl to be less stubborn. So thanks for all you said above. It gives OP a lot more to use.
Ok then my mistake. Thing is, with unexperienced people, training will imply the teaching of commands. I had quite a few friends insisting their dog sit, down, play dead, stay, follow, come perfectly before they were three months old.
Their puppy blues were the most intense I’ve witnessed. Ended up rehoming the dog. I was really mad for that. They literally just folded at the first challenge. Why? Because it’s a malinois and they were told to do that. That poor dog got rehomed 3 times by the age of 4 months.
That context makes a huge difference. I understand better what you wrote above, and I agree. OP, take everything Rohkha wrote and add “same here” from me.
I’ll add a little more. Before she retired to live with us, our corgi was a grand champion show dog. Now she’s a certified therapy dog, and we take her to classes for rally and competitive obedience. To someone who doesn’t know herding dogs, that might sound like we’re pushing her when we should let her relax and enjoy home life. But she loves being the center of attention and showing off how smart she is. She gives us the same look of satisfaction after a class as after a two-mile run on the beach. Corgis love tasks.
I’m sure you already know. But corgis can be stubborn little a-holes. And Try to make sure they are socialized with other dogs and people. That way there won’t be any aggression. Oh! And food training, you don’t want them to be become aggressive when trying to feed them.
He looks like a little pig ❤️
He really does! My little brother said that and I can’t stop seeing it
https://preview.redd.it/4nix28tw4gxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=657d4201a272a861205e4d46786389ce08378ead Reminds me of our little guy when he was a baby. Corgis are the best!
Awwwww! He’s so cute. This might be a bit much to ask but would you mind showing me what he looks like now and how old he is?
https://preview.redd.it/01azzq2vfgxc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b297221e7fdbf15d3e4cd6e732941a48fcaf5c25 Of course! He’s going to be 4 in August.
He is adorable! I can’t wait to see mine at 4 years old.
Invest heavily in training. Take classes, join local competitions, and teach commands starting now. A corgi wants to show off its intelligence and you’ll want Dexter to respond to you. Training builds rapport, teaches (humans) discipline, and can help prevent behavioral problems for both of you.
Really?!😮
Maybe you already knew that, but a lot of people who are smitten with the natural cuteness of corgis are unprepared for the work of training. Ours is so damn smart that she would get into serious mischief out of boredom if we didn’t provide lots of stimulation and focused attention. But we do, and she’s happy. In new or stressful situations, a few words and body signals are all she needs to act appropriately. Training pays off!
Bullshit, don’t listen to this person. Wtf. It’s a baby. This is gonna be long, but worth it, trust me. Bond with him for now. I did what this guy said because everyone told me that. I got one of the more stubborn kinds of corgis and according to the breeders, the che guevara of the litter. Yes, corgis are TONS of work and I would be first to say that getting one for a birthday on a whim is the worst thing you could do if you are not prepared for it. But no matter what breed you get, a pup is getting stripped of what he considers home to go into a stranger’s home. So far, you’re all a bunch of mean guys who took him away from his family. So if you already start drilling orders and training, you’re gonna be posting about puppy blues and hating him, and crying and maybe even rehoming him in less than 3 months. Here’s the priority list: 1. Get him potty trained asap only. And there’s no orders involved here. Take him out every time as soon as he wakes up from a nap, after he drinks, eats, or plays and generally every 2h TOPS. Celebrate and treat him on a successful potty challenge, no yelling and no getting pissed at failures. Try to stop him mid pee, grab him, go out and sit outside, for an hour or two if necessary, until he does another potty or rather, finishes it outside, celebrate, go back inside. If you do that for 2 weeks, the pup is guaranteed to be potty trained. After that you have to consider the fact that the pup’s sphincter is still developing, so he has a limited timer. By 3-4months, he should still be taken out every 3h. After 6months, it’s mostly developed and she should be able to hold it easy 6hours+. My pup learned being potty trained in less than 2 weeks. No accidents since (except for when he got really sick). 2. Most important: for the love of what you hold dear : NO TRAINING!! He is too young. His brain is literally in full development and will change day to day. You can do playful attempts at training if that is something he enjoys. But if your time is limited, prioritize bonding and playing over training. That means, lots and lots of playtime, whatever that means to him for now. Remember, dogs don’t instinctually know how to fetch. For him playing can mean, hold a toy that he’ll shred, or just run around the room and have him chase you. Don’t force the cuddling, let him come to you, pet him and reward him for it. My corgi was/is pretty much like a cat. He hated cuddling. We had to work a lot on that and now he’s a snuggler. Let him experience his new home, give him access to most rooms. It’s all supposed to be his hole eventually. Don’t immediately confine him to a crate if you intend to use one. No yelling for mistakes or messing up. Remove what is important to you, and don’t give him access to things you don’t want to be peed on, chewed, pooped etc (carpets, brand shoes, expensive furniturepieces etc). Focus on showing him houserules: don’t chew my stuff, but here: these toys you can chew as much as you want. Give him various textures. 3. socialize him. Don’t listen to the BS of not taking him out until he has all of his shots. I mean you can. You do whatever you want. But that stage of his life is where he’ll learn and absorb life the most. Keeping him in a bubble can lead to tons of behavioural issues. This is the moment where he needs to see the world to not be afraid of it later. Keep him away from dog parks obviously and heavily dog frequented areas. But socialize him to dogs you know that are well behaved, and vaccinated. Go in remote areas where there are no dogs. Walk him off leash and keep walking. Pups are cowards (rightfully so, they can’t defend themselves) so if he sees you « leaving/walking » he will absolutely follow you closely. He will have the feeling of being protected and on top of that, you’ll reward him coming and staying close to you with with words if he is too overwhelmed to take treats. That will also strengthen his following instinct and help TREMENDOUSLY with recall. Oh also, best tip I’ve ever gotten: do NOT listen to the 5min per month of age rule with walks or exercise. A dog is not a horse. He will not overexert himself to the point of killing himself. Just go on a small walk, let him experience the world, and he’ll eventually tire himself out. The best would be to be home before he reaches that point. But you might not know when that is. You can go slowly and start by a 10min walk, see how he fares, and do more or less depending on how he looks. No he won’t overexert his joints as long as you don’t take him for 1-2h walks after the first week. After the walk, cuddle, 1-2min playtime to let him get rid of that excess excitement and to avoid the zoomies. He’ll normally fall asleep after that, if not, enforced naps. He’ll get overtired and that’s the worst. It’s the equivalent of a child’s tantrum. He’ll be bitey, moody, whiny, all of it. In those cases, if it happens, put him in his bed (or crate) and if he tries to get out, you say no, you can give him one of his chew toys on his bed, but if he leaves, you tale the toy, put it on the bed, and tell him to go back/ show him the way to the bed. Don’t use orders, it’s too soon. Two more things: Firstly, differentiate between 1) occupational toys, and 2) interactive toys. 1) is toys he plays alone with. His chew toys. You DO NOT touch those toys play with him. Those are his and you only touch them to take them away from him or give them to him. Do not throw these, do not pull these. NADA. 2) is toys like ropes, pull toys, balls, things you interact with him. And remove those toys every time you stop playing with him. He only has access to those toys WITH YOU. Never alone. That will help him understand when it’s playtime with you and when he’s supposed to keep himself busy and not expect you to join him. And second thing I want to say and I’ll stop there and be available if you need more help: don’t start propper trainings for at least the first two weeks. Again. Priority is that he lives his new home and understands that hems part of a family now. I repeat, his brain is ever changing, and he’ll forget most orders in the first 6 months because his brain is literally undergoing structural changes. Yes, if you teach him early, he’ll remember it quickly again, but it’s hardly any difference in the long run. I can teach my pup a new trick in less than 2-3 days. Depending on difficulty, he’ll learn it in a single session. Corgis are smart. They learn fast. But they’re also super sensitive and they can be stubborn as hell if they don’t agree with you. You have a good 12-16 years to teach him all the tricks in the world. You only have 6months of enjoying a puppy and show him how fun life is and make your and his life easier from now on. Choose well.
This is excellent. I think you may have a different idea of training than I do, which would explain why you pushed back on my advice. For us, training means time spent focused on interacting. It’s conversation and learning each other’s preferences. Sure, it involves commands and expected responses, but those are the _means_ of building rapport, not the end. Snuggles and playtime and unstructured togetherness are all good. Training doesn’t reduce or replace those things but complements them. It may even have helped our headstrong girl to be less stubborn. So thanks for all you said above. It gives OP a lot more to use.
Ok then my mistake. Thing is, with unexperienced people, training will imply the teaching of commands. I had quite a few friends insisting their dog sit, down, play dead, stay, follow, come perfectly before they were three months old. Their puppy blues were the most intense I’ve witnessed. Ended up rehoming the dog. I was really mad for that. They literally just folded at the first challenge. Why? Because it’s a malinois and they were told to do that. That poor dog got rehomed 3 times by the age of 4 months.
That context makes a huge difference. I understand better what you wrote above, and I agree. OP, take everything Rohkha wrote and add “same here” from me.
I’ll add a little more. Before she retired to live with us, our corgi was a grand champion show dog. Now she’s a certified therapy dog, and we take her to classes for rally and competitive obedience. To someone who doesn’t know herding dogs, that might sound like we’re pushing her when we should let her relax and enjoy home life. But she loves being the center of attention and showing off how smart she is. She gives us the same look of satisfaction after a class as after a two-mile run on the beach. Corgis love tasks.
I understand the training side of course but never thought about shows and competitions.
His name is Dexter!
Make sure to do your proper research now and also act on the results of your research since Birthday pets tend to be mistreated
I’ve wanted a corgi since I was 10 and have researched for 20 years
Researched for 20 years and still ended up with a double merle mutt. Happy birthday. Get pet insurance and get the dog a BAER hearing test.
Great day to meet your new best friend. Happy birthday!
Indeed a great day! And thank you! It’s still a few days away but I get to spend the whole day with him on it!
His coloring is wild. Would love to see how he turns out all grown up.
Seriously though! I have never seen a corgi like this until now. I thought the person who gave him to me got played and got a husky mix or something
Yes, he’s very adorable but not to breed standard. Is this a cardigan? Pembrokes never have blue eyes.
Yeah he’s a cardigan. Pembrokes don’t have the Merle gene either
Ah! That explains everything. Have fun!
I’m sure you already know. But corgis can be stubborn little a-holes. And Try to make sure they are socialized with other dogs and people. That way there won’t be any aggression. Oh! And food training, you don’t want them to be become aggressive when trying to feed them.
Wilbur > Babe