Corgi's with other breeds?

[bajoiner]

Hi again, I am wondering what your opinions are regarding Corgi's with other breeds in the home. We had a poodle (miniature) and a Bassett hound which we lost both within one week a year ago. The poodle was 15 and had many health problems and we had to have him put down and then our 10 year old Bassett one week to the day later started having seizures and we thought it was probably anxiety seizures from the poodle being gone but we took her immediately to the vet and after having xrays found that she had cancer and it had gone to the brain and we had to have her put down. So we lost two dogs in one week, but I absolutely love dogs and could not stand being without any so we got our Sassy, but I feel that having 2 dogs makes for great company for each other, but my husband feels that Sassy is so used to having all our attention (we are with her 24 hours a day as my husband is retired and I am a medical transcriptionist who works from home) that she would feel slighted. I disagree with this but I am not sure if another Corgi would be the best companion or if a Bassett hound would be okay? Sassy is a small Corgi (well compared to some I have seen, possibly she is about average in size). She weighs 24 pounds but the vet measured her and she is 10 inches tall. I worry that a full grown Bassett would be too big and could hurt her just playing as our last Bassett weighed 35 pounds. Please give me some opinions on this. Perhaps my husband is right, what do you think?

Barbara

[Michael Romanos]

If your Sassy get tons of attention and leads a full and charmed life, there is really no need for her to have an at home canine companion. I actually advertised (by way of utilising three community noticeboards) 18 months ago, for a casual playmate for Taylor and got one response but the dog, a male Wheaten Terrier with an awkward disposition, was not appreciated by my fellow. Since then I started up a regional Corgi walking group so there is no end to casual meetings one-on-one if I wish. So for a Corgi who gets The Treatment, another dog is not imperative. It's really what you and your husband are comfortable with - one dog, two dogs, three dogs......Sassy can do lots of things with you. There are all the organised sporting opportunities and the endless exercising and sightseeing. nose smelling outings.
With one dog it is much easier to organise your calendar. A single dog is much more likely to be welcomed at all sorts of places.

[Jane Austen]

I agree with Michael that it is what you and your husband want that is important. You seem to want another dog and I see no reason not to get one. Corgis get along good with larger dogs, better I think than a smaller dog. There is something in your question that says that you are really anxious for a bassett.

[Jhemphill]

Corgis can get along with other dogs either big or small. You just have to remember that they are herders and the more animals you have in the house the more your corgi will want to herd them. Maximus leaves with an 4 year old American Bulldog (Medjai) weighing 66 pounds and a 10 week 98% Timber Wolf (Malaya) weighing 20 pounds. He and Medjai play really hard, wrestling and chasing each other, he and Maylaya also wrestle and play chase, but they are still working out the pack order. When all three play Maxi tries to herd and referee the other two, which sometimes get him double teamed by Medjai and Malaya. He handles both of them in different ways, but gets along with both. He is very tolerant of of Malaya as she is a puppy still. He is also content to be with out the other dogs, when we take him with us when we travel. So which ever way you decide your Corgi will probably be just fine.

[Michael Romanos]

It seems to me that judging by Go Corgi members, it is more usual for a family to have two or more dogs in their household in the US than it is in New Zealand. Our Government has imposed a microchipping law - any dogs registerd for the first time from July will be required to be microchipped. This has created a huge uproar - especially among farmers - because of the extra expense, and there is also the fact that a microchipped dog won't prevent bad owners and nasty dogs. This will have an effect on dog ownership - just another cost factor and so it is most likely that the one-dog only owners will increase proportionally.