When are Corgi's fully grown?

[TheGoldenCorgi]

I've had Jin for about 5-6 months now. He was born in mid May and will be almost 8 months on January 25th

He still looks small and not as fully grown and big as some of the adult corgi's I have seen

I haven't neutered him yet because I want him fully grown before neutering him. I heard neutering them during or before puberty makes them grow bigger than usual.

But I would have thought he would be pretty big by now. He's about 20 something lbs but doesn't look as bulk or muscular as other Corgi's

[KJohnson]

Westin is about 5 months, and all of our "dog friends" are telling us that he won't get much taller, but will bulk up until about a year old.
ButI had heard that neutering during puberty makes them smaller than normal??
We were just going to wait until 6 months and then have it done...
but let me know what you decide and why!

[MyPemCharlie]

Charlie is 7 months old today! He's has grown from cute, roundish puppy to lanky, gangly, awkward-looking teenager. It's normal. Some Corgis don't reach full mature size until 2 years old.

I do still think that Charlie will end up on the smallish side though. He is 19.5 lbs today, and is standing 10.25 inches at the withers.

When to neuter is a topic for hot debate. If there were any chance of Charlie being allowed to produce an unwanted litter, I would have already had him neutered. Since he is under my constant supervision, or in his crate, I have decided to wait until he is 12-14 months. My reason is that I want to get him into sports and believe there are benefits in waiting for the canine athlete. Mostly bone density and length of bone.

Dogs neutered early often get a little bit taller than they would otherwise. The short forearm bone quits growing, but without the testosterone, the long arm bone can continue to grow. As far as bone density, the testosterone will provide a slightly denser bone structure and give the dog an overall more masculine look. So you're both right! They might be slightly taller, but thinner with pre-pubescent neutering; and slightly shorter, but "beefier" by waiting until 12 months.

If I weren't wanting to get Charlie into sports (and making 100% certain that he won't reproduce), I would neuter NOW. We are now dealing with the downside of waiting....marking, marking, marking. Everything outside (and in any pet supply store) is Charlie's territory. Thank goodness he has not yet decided to mark inside the house...I'm watching him like a hawk!

Here are a couple links to articles on canine athletes and benefits/negatives of early vs adult neutering/spaying:
Canine Sports Productions: Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete
http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongT...uterInDogs.pdf

[MattC]

It's funny, Nick is almost two and every time I thought he was done growing he grew some more! Although it looks like Nick is going to top off at about 32 pounds. As for Neutering, I guess every vet has their preference however I did read similar info as what Chris described above. Nick was neutered by the breeder really early on and he is certainly thinner and a little taller.

[KJohnson]

We are trying to avoid the marking thing if at ALL possible....
it's just not something I think that we are prepared to deal with!
=D as far as I know... we are still going ahead with the 6 month date.
However, I would like him to be "beefy" as you say!
so maybe we'll wait!

[MyPemCharlie]

Most likely he will start marking if you wait. Teenage dogs have a huge spike in testosterone...they produce a lot more than (unneutered) adult male dogs. The other downside is the extra testosterone can make them want to fight with other male dogs. We haven't seen that yet. Charlie is still enjoy other dog buddies. I don't think he has an extremely dominant personality. Gotta' weigh the pros and cons. It's not really an easy decision.

[Michael Romanos]

Generally speaking, I would say that an 8 month old Corgi is still in the process of growing physically.

[glencorgi]

Chris is right about the topic of when to neuter potentially being a hot one. Have you discussed when with Westin's breeder? That would be a good first step. Unless you are planning serious dog sport activities with him, six months will be a good time to have him neutered.

I know of a few breeders who do pediatric spay/neuters on their companion/pet puppies before they go to their new homes. We're talking before 12 weeks old here. When some of them as adults visited with their breeder at a specialty show, even the most experienced and breed savvy of breeders could not tell which ones were the pediatric speuters and which ones weren't. I've had any number of adult corgi males in rescue that would fit what most are probably envisioning as a result of early spay/neuters - leggier, not quite as substantive, not really over sized, little depth of chest and these guys were neutered as adults of 3 or more years of age when I got them. Genetics have a lot to do with how an adult is going to look.

I don't consider a corgi "matured out" until they are 3 or 4 years of age. By a year, they will have their full size, but not the complete bloom of maturity. Neutered dogs will also fill out, but how much whether intact or neutered, is going to depend a lot on genetics.

Debbie

[fogebotom]

Maturity really comes from the dog's bloodlines. I have one bloodline in the house that at 1 year looks and acts mature, whereas one of my current clown is just now 2, just starting to finish dropping his chest and hasn't even thought about growing up mentally. Same in my collies-my 8 yr old rough matured mentally at 1 but never got her coat till she was almost 5, where as my almost 2 male is very handsome and mature but mentally still a puppy.