What do I do!?!?!?!

[LittlePonzo]

Hi Guys, desperately need your help for this one. As we speak, my husband and I have two corgis in the house, Ponzo and one our friend found on the streets of Philly!! We always knew we would get another corgi, but I didn't think it would be like this, however this still a trial. Other people are interested in this dog, so if it doesn't work out for us, then there are other options. Also, I have already contacted a wonderful corgi rescue in Ohio, in case things don't work out and none of the others come through either...we are waiting to hear from the rescue.
What things should I look for? Am I doing everything right so far? We had them meet on a walk, not face to face. They walked together, Ponz tried to jump all over his head just like he does with every dog. Once inside our house, the dogs played and after about 20 minutes, the "Philly" dog, who my husband has named Mick~yes, from the movie Rocky~ rolled over right in front of Ponzo and continued to roll over in front of everyone else while Ponzo sniffed til his heart was content. However, this dog is intact and although he has not marked in the house, he has repeatedly try to show his stuff to ponzo's face! Ponzo of course wants to play and play and this dog although not wanting to play and play with Ponzo has not snapped in his face or anything and Ponzo can be quite annoying. We like to call him the "can we play now? How bout now?" dog.
Okay I think I said everything....Help! I feel so unprepared and unsure. The dog is a love, but Help! Tell me everything I need to know and do, please.
~Amanda

[corgimom]

Amanda,

How long have you had this guy so far and were any attempt(calls made) to the shelters in the city he was found in to see if anyone inquired about him?

[LittlePonzo]

Apparently, my friend's friend who lives down the street from him in Philly has not taken this guy to the vet but has put up posters and signs and announcements in the paper. But finding the owner has been fruitless. HOwever, a few other people have inquired about him. They are the first line of back-ups should this not work out with us for whatever reason.

[Chip's Mom]

You may want to take him to the vet to see if he has a microchip. Someone may be looking for him and not seen the ads or posters. He may be lost from another area. The vet should check him to see if he has a microchip at no cost.

[Michael Romanos]

In my experience 90 times out of 100, Corgis will get on well with each other no matter if they are the same sex and not desexed.
I can ge back in my history but I wont. For two weeks I had Taylor and a seven month old pup named Taffy. Both as per above and both completely different in personality ( except that Corgis have so many similar traits with one another) and they got on like a house on fire. The only squabble lasted seconds, when Taylor objected to Taffy getting a good behaviour treat right in front of Taylor's nose in the kitchen. So Taylor said to Taffy "get outta here, you little imposter" and Taylor took control as he has every right to. Walking and running on leash or off leash were never a problem. Whenever they meet to gether since, they are aboslutely fine. Neither are back-down Corgis or Corgis who cower or lie on their backs when confronted by a so called dominant dog.
We have 28 Corgis in the Wellington Welsh Corgi Walking Club and apart from two Cardis who are troublesome with every other dog on this earth, the other 26 can mingle with each other very happily - and there has yet to be any bad conduct apart from Taylor who sometimes is too affectionate with a certain fluffy Pem named Holly

[LittlePonzo]

Already thought of that one...I have to wait until morning to call for an appointment though. Otherwise I have to pay the emergency fee.

What things should I look for between the two of them. Good signs, bad signs? how should I treat them together? Separate?

[LittlePonzo]

That is great to hear. As I have said before, Ponzo has never been confronted really in a fight, but I have noticed just as he greets people, when an unknown dog runs toward him head on, he lowers his head and ears go back. However, he has no problems walking right up to a dog on leash and heading straight for his scent zone. But, should Ponzo sense the dog is a little on edge, he will bow his head and remain calm. "Philly Dog" or "Mick" is getting along great with Ponzo, except that as many boys intact he can only seem to think of one thing! Ponzo rolls over his head and jumps on his back and they jump up on hind legs at each other and run, but Ponzo is doing it do be fun, whereas I think Mick is doing it to try and get a good position, so to speak. He does a lot of air "humping" for lack of a better word.
However, they will roll with each other time and again and Mick will let Ponzo stand over him while he is on his back. I took this as a good sign. Am I wrong?

[glencorgi]

Amanda,

The Ohio rescue people have passed your note on to the major/main corgi rescue list. There are some volunteers in PA and you're not really close enough to the OH people for them to actively assist.

The posters, flyers and newspaper ads are a good start. Also putting in a call to the local shelters is a good idea in case the owner has contacted them looking for him. I concur on running him into the vet to get scanned for a microchip.

Sounds like things are going well and when it gets to the point "Philly dog - Mick" is appearing to get annoyed at Ponzo's "play drive" then crate him for a break. He'll appreciate it and you may avoid potential problems down the road. The mounting is a dominance thing - more or less saying - "pipsqueak, respect your elder."

You probably will be hearing from some of the rescue people after your post to Corgi-L.

Debbie

[Michael Romanos]

Taylor knows which dogs to give a wide berth to and which ones he can walk right up to and say hello and do the social graces. And a wide berth Taylor does give to some dogs. When we walk down a street, Taylor wouldn't walk onto the road to go to the other side to greet a dog - but he might do it if there was a Corgi on the other side. Luckily there are few in the area I live in - though one of them is a Corgi cross who is extraordinarily timid - and Taylor would cross over the road to say hello to her.

[LittlePonzo]

Debbie, so think Mick's mounting is a dominance thing to Ponzo. I know usually mounting is dominance, but I just kinda thought it was because Ponzo lacks male scent and Mick is intact. Also, he was making lovey eyes my friends intact female pit bull. I thought the feeling just might have stayed with him. Woops. Should I do anything to change this? Obviously if we keep him I will be getting him neutered pronto. It's not fair to Ponzo to be guarding is bottom for the rest of his life when it was his house first.
I know that they will find their own rank, but is there anything I need to particularly do for that? I would hate to bring this new dog in and then let him run the show when it was Ponzo's for a year just because this dog is older. Keep the input coming...I need it all!

I also called the 2 Philly shelters, the SPCA and an animal refuge. BOth are closed on Sundays when I called. I will call them again tomorrow to see if anyone asked about a corgi, because although he is a tad skinny, he is groomed way to well down the pants and hair in between his pads!

[glencorgi]

Part of it is because he is intact and some of it may depend on his age - hormones raging.

Supervise playtimes of course. Tell Mick, "that is enough" and do the "annnnnt" if and when he starts in on Ponzo. Enough is enough and manners are manners. Rank is going to depend on the two dogs personalities and temperaments. Top dog will be whichever one it is, human interference or trying to make one be over the other when it isn't in their natural being will cause problems potentially. Just be sure they both know you (the humans) are the absolute top dogs.

Debbie

[LittlePonzo]

Thanks everyone! We have had lots of response from Corgi rescues and as of now, I have called all of the local shelters in and around Philly, 7 in all. I am going to call back soon to places that didn't answer. Wish me luck!