Crabby Corgi or Alpha Corgi?

[Sadie Rose]

Hi there, Sadie Rose is 17 months and is a delightful, happy, loyal, and cuddly girl. She lives with 2 cats and two young girls and she has always been very social at the dog park and gets along well with other dogs and spends alot of time with children. At the dog park she is pretty laid back but will if she gets pushed around by the bigger dogs (and even the small ones), put the other dog in its place. But she has never shown any aggressive tendencies. However, this weekend at a family reunion camping trip she was very agressive to certain of my family members dogs (dogs she had gotten along with before as she was at the reunion last year with the same dogs). She was very protective of me and also got very jealous if I pet another dog. She seemed worse if she was on leash so I took her off but even then I had one or two incidents. I am wondering if it was just too much for her and I did not give her enough time out in her exercise pen and the other thing is she did have her annual vaccinations on the day we left for the trip and she gets very stressed out at the vet. Maybe she was wiped and crabby from the shots. I am concerned about some of the comments my relatives made like "well, now she is showing her corgi true colors you know that they are nippy agressive little dogs" which makes me mad because she really is not like that at all. Any ideas on what might have been going on? Also, if I do have an alpha female, any suggestions on training techniques to curb this. I have a friend who is into the leader of the pack stuff (Caesar Milan) and she says that Sadiie is doing this because Sadie is the leader of our family pack and I have not been firm enough with her! Kathleen (Sadie Rose Mom)

[Jaxerspal]

Is it possible your relatives' dogs were the agressors and Sadie just got caught reacting? Perhaps these other dogs were just taking after their owners? People, even relatives, can be very cruel without even knowing it. I'd say give Sadie some extra hugs, as this too shall pass.

[gogogiraffes]

I would like to say, it was because of the shots and trip. Gizmo was even crabby after the bordatella nasal drip.

Gizmo also doesn't like me playing with other dogs, or even babies. He gets put in his place by me. I saw this Saturday big time. We went to petsmart to see a 14 week old puppy. And she was up in my lap and Gizmo snapped at her. The trainer took him out of the ring completely and away from me. Then I went and saw my 14 month old niece, and he tried to herd her away from it. Which at the time, was kind of cute, but looking at it now, it's not.

Just keep an eye on her. And let us know. Good non-crabby vibes for SadieRose

[taflar]

At the dog park she is pretty laid back but will if she gets pushed around by the bigger dogs (and even the small ones), put the other dog in its place.

That's pretty typical of corgis in general. They don't take well to being pushed around.

But she has never shown any aggressive tendencies. However, this weekend at a family reunion camping trip she was very agressive to certain of my family members dogs (dogs she had gotten along with before as she was at the reunion last year with the same dogs). She was very protective of me and also got very jealous if I pet another dog. She seemed worse if she was on leash so I took her off but even then I had one or two incidents.

Well, I would not take a dog off leash that was being even a little aggressive to other dogs. I'd remove him or her from the situation. Crate them or put them in an exercise pen.

It could be she felt insecure and saw you as her security blanket.

I am wondering if it was just too much for her and I did not give her enough time out in her exercise pen and the other thing is she did have her annual vaccinations on the day we left for the trip and she gets very stressed out at the vet.

Even when a dog is stressed out at the vets, once they leave there they are ok. That stress is usually limited to the actual vet's office and doesn't carry over to other days. And it should not carry over. Once the stressor is removed the dog should return to normal.

Ok, about the vaccinations - they can cause a dog to be a little off for a day or two, but as a rule they don't. Most dogs handle them just fine and are ok after having them. A couple days is enough to get over them. I don't think I'd use the vacciantions as an excuese for her behavior.

(And by the way she doesn't need "annual" vaccinations. The combo shot she got should be good for three years now.)

I am concerned about some of the comments my relatives made like "well, now she is showing her corgi true colors you know that they are nippy agressive little dogs"

Well, in England that's exactly how they see them. And to be honest, corgis CAN be nippy and aggressive. Many corgis do not like other dogs, and/or do not like other dogs in their personal space. And her age is the right age for her to begin to show this.

Also, if I do have an alpha female, any suggestions on training techniques to curb this.

An alpha dog is not a trouble maker. An alpha dog does not start fights. An alpha dog is a peacemaker. So if she's an alpha you don't have a problem.

However, if she's a middle ranking dog, and alpha wannabe, that's a different story. The middle ranking dogs do start fights and try to move up the ladder.

I have a friend who is into the leader of the pack stuff (Caesar Milan) and she says that Sadiie is doing this because Sadie is the leader of our family pack and I have not been firm enough with her!

I'm not a Caesar fan, but yes, that can be the problem. If she feels like she needs to be the one in charge and protect you from other dogs then yes, she can become bossy and aggressive.

Try the Nothing In Life is Free program:
http://chien-noir.com/NILIF.html

Also I'd put her in a basic obedience class if she's not had one. If she has go for the next level. Also, if she's not spayed, get her spayed.

Peggy

[sutulu]

I feel your pain!
Tucker, a small Pembroke, can be such a bully. If you look up Napolean Complex in the dictionary – there is a picture of Tucker next to it! He is a bully to Lulu and for whatever reason, she lets him get away with it. She is so much smarter than he is… she keeps her head down, listens to his grumbling, then when he turns away, she steals his toys! With Tucker it is all about the noise!
At the dog park I have tried to figure when and why he bullys the other dogs. Like you have seen with Sadie Rose, it has a lot to do with me. Tucker thinks it is perfectly fine to waggle up to any other dog’s owner and get snuggles and pets but the second another dog gets near me he has a lot to say about it.
I have also learned at the park to walk in (we have a huge dog park) and head my two away from any groups playing. I walk them around for awhile, let them get settled into “park mode”, then let them go play with other dogs.
Tucker bullys big dogs and he bullys small dogs, he doesn’t discriminate. There are a group of about 4-6 labs that love to jump off the creek banks into the water after sticks. Tucker can’t get out of the creek where they play so his idea of a good time is to wait for the stick to be thrown, then chase the labs mouthing off like he is rabid, scares and intimidates most of the labs, but never goes in after the stick.
The Lab people all thought it was real cute for awhile – “look at that little dog beating up on the big dogs, how cute…”… Well they don’t think it is funny any longer. So he’s allowed to go say hello to the people, I give him one run at intimidating the labs, then I have to grab him and move him along to another part of the park. He’d harass the labs for hours if I let him.
I spend a lot of time at the dog park (we live across the road!) so I have a pretty good idea of which dogs are easy to set off and I steer clear of those dogs as well as strange dogs. It is amazing to me that of all the dogs that come to this particular park, there really is a very small number that ever seem to get into scraps. I’ve mentioned my theory that since the park isn’t fenced in, dogs who go there need to have some recall and obedience skills.
Both my dogs are very good about coming to me at the park when called. So they both are famous for getting “time outs” at the park. And as much as I am enjoying conversations with other owners, when my two are making another dog uncomfortable, I have to break it off, excuse ourselves, and move on to another part of the park. I do remember one day when Tucker was just 4o miles of bad road. I made them both go home.
And then there’s Lulu and her “ball guarding”. Lulu has the ball in her mouth, waggles up to people and other dogs looking so cute and submissive, gives the other dog about 5 seconds to sniff her, then drops the ball out of her mouth and snaps in the dog’s direction! What????? She will take a break from playing ball. Lie down in the grass, allows another dog to get near her, then snaps in their direction. It’s an “air” snap, she never gets close, but it sure doesn’t look good.

One woman (you can always tell the “newbies”) came in with these two Rottie puppies, big puppies. They wanted to bark in Lulu’s face. She snapped in their direction, they didn’t get her signals that “you are too close to me and my ball” and kept doing it. So I grabbed Lulu and we went to another part of the park. Didn’t the Rotties follow her and kept at it. So Lulu kept snapping in their direction.
Finally… the owner says your dog is vicious, I thought vicious dogs weren’t allowed at this park. Which prompted me to tell her my dog wasn’t vicious, she is trying to teach her puppies manners, and I would be very happy to take her to another part of the park, please keep your puppies under control and stay away from us.
I love dog parks but you have to watch out for your dogs and you have to watch out for the other dogs.

[CorgiMum]

Try the Nothing In Life is Free program:
http://chien-noir.com/NILIF.html

Also I'd put her in a basic obedience class if she's not had one. If she has go for the next level. Also, if she's not spayed, get her spayed.
Peggy

I couldn't agree more with what Peggy has said, & NILF is something that I have always fallen back on whenever any of my corgis have needed a tune up through the years.

Most dogs, and corgis in particular IMO need a clear sense of who is in charge to make them secure, confident and relaxed. And when they are, they can focus their attention on their owner's directions in tense situations.

Personally I'm not a fan of dog parks, (or Caesar Milan). Controlled situations with dogs that we know, and especially in Ob classes are the types of socialization away from home that I allow mine to engage in.

[Sadie Rose]

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful replies as it really helps to get ideas and the benefit of peoples' experiences. I talked to the trainer who taught Sadie's puppy and obedience class and got some good insight and ideas from her. She is also a fan of NILf system so I am going to try that for a bit. I also realize from talking to my sister in law who has owned and shown jack russell terriers, that it was actually one of her dogs that Sadie was reacting to and Sadie was not necessarily the agressor. But it is good to know what the tendency of the corig is and no matter how much we love them, they do need a firm hand. It is difficult to get my kids and husband on the same page training wise but we did all do a class together last year which helped. I think we will do another one in the fall. I do like our local dog park but agree that you have to monitor the situation and not use it as the only source of socialization. Have a good day everyone. Kathleen (Sadie Rose's Mom):SMILE:
PS - we have a heat wave in Vancouver and at my home in New West yesterday it was 34 celsius!!!!

[CorgiMum]

We're even hotter out here Kathleen!

Good luck with Sadie's training, children can be a real asset in that department, IMO, husbands not so much though. I think that some men can get very bored with repetition very quickly.:WINK:

It's great that you have a trainer that can that can give you the insight that you are looking for with your girl.

And as for any unkind comments about Sadie, we sometimes have to bite our tongues, don't we, I know I have on many occasions. ((K))