[Peggy]

Hi Merrie,

Originally Posted by Mvons

Provided we don't get the chance to get a pet quality female puppy from a breeder, we will have to decide upon a male because we want a puppy in June so my almost 12 year old can train the puppy in the summer.

Usually there are pet quality puppies in most litters. Like almost all of them. It's rare to have a whole litter be show prospects. My litters have as a rule had more males in them than females. I've only had one litter that had more females and one that was equal numbers. So, IMO, you have a better chance of getting a male if you are willing to do that.

I've only had females dogs and don't know if there would be problems having a male. I wanted a female because all of the neighbor's dogs are males.

Since this is a pet puppy, you're going to neuter him right? Do you expect him to be able to play with the neighbor's dogs? If so be sure to tell the breeder that.

Question of curiosity: At the end, our female had wet in her crate. Can a male pee laying down, or do they have to stand to lift their leg?

Females usually squat, and males usually lift their legs. But they don't have to. Like a female they can pee in any position. Usually they won't unless they're ill. And I'll bet your girl did not pee laying down unless she was leaking. There's enough room in a crate for her to squat too.

Does gender matter on wanting a puppy that snuggles? We hope for a snuggler because that would be different personality from the one we lost, who would rather chase the ball, than get a petting.

My experience over the last 28 years has been that males are sweeties and bond to their people a bit faster. Females tend to be a bit more indepenedent. However, a lot just depends on the personality of the dog. I've got males that are snugglers and some females that are. More of my males are then the females though.

Are boys always bigger than girls?

Usually. Always is such an ablsolute term and of course there will be dogs on both sides of the norm. Once in awhile there is a big female or a small male so not always, but usually.

Having a two story home, being the elevator for the last two years of our old corgi's life, I appreciated her 25 pound weight. I'll be in my 60's on this next one's senior life and thus won't be able to handle hauling a 35 pound dog. 35 pounds is my lifting limit right now.

A typical adult male Pembroke should weigh 28-30 lbs. 35 would be a rather large Pembroke and IMO, oversized.

Are runts the smaller regardless of gender?

Depends, a runt is a sickly puppy, who doesn't thrive. They are usually small due to health issues. However, just because a puppy is smaller than littermates that doesn't make it a runt. I have three sons, none of them weighed the same at birth. One was about a lb. smaller than the other two, and he was in no way a runt!

There may be a puppy or two that is smaller than the others, and then again, maybe not. And if one is smaller, that doesn't necessarily mean that he will be smaller as an adult either. I had one that were only 6 oz. at birth (average is about 10 oz.) and he grew to be as big as his brothers.

Are boys more apt to run away? My female would run towards someone with food, otherwise she didn't stray during the times we were gardening and could watch her off the leash.

Depends on the dog. Some stick with you and some don't.

Do both hunt well? My female was the hero of our neighborhood in San Diego when she killed off the ground squirrel family. She was skilled at digging down to the gopher runs, here the vole runs, so I could set a trap.

I can't say as I don't let mine hunt. I have heard from others that corgis will chase squirrels if allowed to. We don't have any so I can't say.

Some of them can be diggers, but for the most part, mine aren't. I would not say digging is a corgi trait.

You know back when the breed was developed, they were all around farm dogs, and that meant they did some ratting or pest removal duties too.

For all you don't kill a creature people, voles harbor the plague fleas and seeing our squirrels suffering and decimated by the plague in 2005 got me setting the traps. A surprise rain the end of the summer gave the squirrels a bath and they are thriving again, but so are the voles looking at my destroyed iris's. I'm planting day lillies now.

Not all voles. We do have voles here, but no fleas. We don't have fleas in Uah. Voles are not the same as ground squirrles though. If you want to get rid of voles get a cat.

Talk with the breeder you've chosen. A good reputable breeder will be able to guide you in your choice. Go meet his/her dogs and see what you think about both sexes.

Peggy