How are Corgis with children?

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Crispin's Mom

Definitely not planning on adding a seventh dog - my husband would divorce me! We have several that are way up in dog years.......the only young one we have is the cairn terrier. He is 18 months old. Any research I am doing now is for the future. I do love dogs though!

Then get the opposite sex from the terrier. If you've got a male get a female. And vice versa.

Peggy

[Michael Romanos]

In my expereinces with Corgis it need not be a requirement to get a male if you have a female or vice versa. Taylor for instance, to all intent and purpose, gets along with male dogs just as well as with female dogs. In other words any extra compatibility he focuses with his relationship with females is insufficient to warrant that being a significant consideration.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

In my expereinces with Corgis it need not be a requirement to get a male if you have a female or vice versa. Taylor for instance, to all intent and pirpose, gets along with male dogs just as well as with female dogs. In other words any extra compatibility he focuses with his relationship with females is insufficient to warrant that being a significant consideration.

Yea, but Michael it isn't within your experience to have lived or be living with multiple corgis (or dogs) under the same roof/same home for an extended period of time either.

Debbie

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by glencorgi

Yea, but Michael it isn't within your experience to have lived or be living with multiple corgis (or dogs) under the same roof/same home for an extended period of time either.

Which is the experience I was speaking from. And until you've lived with two males or even worse two female who have decided they HATE each other, well, IMO, if you're going to have only two dogs, it's just easier to get them of opposite sexes and bypass the possible same sex fighting issues.

And terriers are known to be scrappy to begin with.

Peggy

[Michael Romanos]

Debbie and Peggy - sorry to contradict you but twice in my life with Corgiis have I owned two at the same time. And I know or have known, plenty of people with two or more male or two or more female Corgis.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Debbie and Peggy - sorry to contradict you but twice in my life with Corgiis have I owned two at the same time. And I know or have known, plenty of people with two or more male or two or more female Corgis.

I know plenty of people too, but I know even more who've had problems.

More than twice in my life I've had either males or females who didn't like others of the opposite sex.

And we're not talking living with another corgi here, we're talking living with a terrier. A terrier will not back down should a corgi decide to get a bit fiesty. IMO, better to get the opposite sex and just avoid the problems.

Peggy

[Cheetah]

Common knowledge in dog ownership, from what I understand, is that you're less likely to have fights with two dogs of opposite genders, regardless of breed and/or alteration, and it's what I've personally experienced as well.

[Crispin's Mom]

Duncan (terrier) gets along extremely well with his "family". He is pretty laid back for a cairn. He is suspicious of dogs he doesn't know and is protective of his mom. However, I think he probably prefers females. On the flip side, the females are not quite as tolerant towards Aidan. When the time comes, I will be very careful in evaluating temperment with the breeder and will probably go with a dog that is a little older. Thanks for everyone's help! Mary

[Michael Romanos]

Terriers form a huge group of dog breeds and not all Terrier-type dogs are as described by Peggy. Your Cairns will probably be a very tolerant fellow towards a dog of his size.

[Crispin's Mom]

Thanks Michael. I went jogging with my neighbor this morning and we took Duncan (cairn) and her daschund Scarlett with us for the first time. They trotted along side by side and did very well together. I have three friends with multiple corgis and I am planning on visiting them this summer to get some more experience with them. They seem to be pretty popular in the northeast.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos
Debbie and Peggy - sorry to contradict you but twice in my life with Corgiis have I owned two at the same time. And I know or have known, plenty of people with two or more male or two or more female Corgis.

I know you had a bitch at one time along with one of your males and you returned the bitch. I also know you temporarily had Taffy with Taylor. I believe you mentioned perhaps having two of your own males together for a brief time period. Again, none of these were long term and pairs are different than multiple dogs. Throw in dog #3 and dynamics change considerably, #4 another shift and so on.

Like Peggy, I know a lot of people who do have multiple corgis/and or have them with other dogs. I know of two who have double digit corgis where they all get along. One of these individuals, any sign of problems and that one gets placed. The other one has a couple that would like to start things that she has to keep a very close eye on in order to keep the harmony she has.

Granted there are degrees of "terrier-ness" amongst the many breeds found in the terrier group of dogs. The Cairn, which is the breed of discussion here, is one of those where terrier traits are included A LOT in its description - game, eyes should have a keen terrier expression, etc.

Another element failed to be taken into account on how well a corgi contigency gets along is territory. The picnics, playdates, walking groups - all those activities are on neutral territory, behavior can be quite different on home territory.

In giving out suggestions or advice, it is more responsible to take the whole picture into consideration rather than isolated pieces of it. In this home there are now six dogs and a 5 year old child. That research and questions are being asked now for future acquisition of a corgi is a wise and responsible action. Unless five of the current dogs pass away (and we certainly hope that isn't the case) between now and the summer when it appears the time line for acquiring a corgi is being considered, there are still going to be multiple dogs in this home. Any corgi that might be added here may do wonderfully with the child, however IF it doesn't do well with one or more of the other dogs, then there is still the risk of the child being harmed should fights break out and he is in the proximity of it. It is going to be just as important to match personality and temperament to the current dogs as it is to have a child friendly one.

Debbie

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Crispin's Mom

Thanks Michael. I went jogging with my neighbor this morning and we took Duncan (cairn) and her daschund Scarlett with us for the first time. They trotted along side by side and did very well together.

Male and female and neutral territory.

Debbie

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Terriers form a huge group of dog breeds and not all Terrier-type dogs are as described by Peggy. Your Cairns will probably be a very tolerant fellow towards a dog of his size.

Geez, Michael, you can generalize and it's ok, but I can't?

Heaven forbid I could ever be right about ANYthing!!

Why is it that NOHTING I say is ever ok? You find fault and critize every thing I post. Maybe I should just quit posting.

Peggy (who has owned a terrier and who has friends with terriers. But what do I know?)

[Michael Romanos]

Debbie - I owned two male Corgis for years - Ricky and Troy: father and son. But like you I know of many people with muiltiple dogs whetherr they are Corgis or not.
Peggy - you are not always wrong and often make good sense. Just look at the range of Terriers sometime and you will see that some breeds of Terriers are among the worse behaved of any breed of dog and others are little angels. Some are among the most well muscled and toughest of all breeds and others are little more than wisps of dogs. In fact a Tibetan Terrier is not a Terrier at all. Granted there are aspects that most Terriers have in common - digging comes to mind. However it is like lumping working (or herding) dogs as though they are of one mind and character. And we know that working dogs range from Corgis (the smallest) to German Shepherds and even larger breeds.

[glencorgi]

I'm pretty sure Peggy is aware of the wide range found in the terrier group. And we know Tibetan Terriers are not terriers and Tibetan Spaniels aren't spaniels either.

Debbie