At the start of 2021 I brought home my very first corgi: Milton. Almost a month has passed owning my little bear, and there is absolutely nothing I regret about bringing him into my life. However, despite the months and months of research I did and notes I took, there were a few things that took me by surprise with owning a corgi puppy. I hope you find these realizations helpful in owning your own puppy. But remember: every dog is different, and every breed is especially different. You’ll find what works best for you and your furry friend as time goes on and you start to see their personalities develop.
Here we go!
1. A Puppy Bladder is Your Carpet’s Worst Enemy
I did a lot of research on potty training. Taking them out frequently, structuring their food and water consumption, crate training (more on that later), and even using the “months plus one” trick for seeing how long they can hold it for. But none of that prepared me for Milton’s uncanny ability to save whatever ounce of pee he had left to potty on our carpet, kitchen mat, his dog bed, and even the towel we set in his crate.
In the first few weeks/months of bringing home your corgi puppy, I’d recommend removing any fabric surfaces from your house until he is a potty training pro. The minute we rolled up our carpet (which I miss) and took the towel out of his crate, the inside messes stopped.
Maybe it’s just him? Who knows, but it DID work.
2. Your Ankles WILL Be Bitten
Hear me out on this one. NO corgi puppy owner is safe from the wrath of ankle-biting corgi shark teeth. When we first got Milton he didn’t bite or chase us. But after the first week? It was game on and our ankles were the victims (honorable mentions: pant legs and socks). Most corgi puppies will grow out of this phase, but not without training them that this behavior isn’t acceptable. We realized that yelping and saying “No!” weren’t enough to get the point across for Milton. Here is what is starting to work for us:
When he bites: I say “Off limits!” and redirect his biting to a toy.
If he bites the toy: I praise him and keep playing.
If he ignores the toy and bites me again: I repeat “Off limits!” and then gently put him in his crate, say “Time to go,” and walk away for 1 to 2 minutes.
This repetition of words, redirecting, and short ‘timeouts’ shows him that biting me means a loss of play. Using “No!” or yelping didn’t work for us because it just made him more excited and almost encouraged the behavior.
3. Puppies Sleep a TON (and in the funniest ways)
This tidbit of info is more on the humorous side, but still super important to know. According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), puppies sleep anywhere from 18-20 hours each day. That may seem like a lot, and trust me, IT IS. One minute Milton is zooming around the apartment and biting my sweater, the next he is passed out on the floor. And once he is asleep, there is very little noise-wise that can wake him (much to my delight).
I say this to remind you that your puppy can’t go on particularly long walks or social outings when you first get them. They need to be able to sleep when the urge hits, especially since puppies grow SO fast.
One thing I’ve found particularly funny that seems unique to corgis is that they sleep in the weirdest positions. Milton loves to sleep on his back with his paws hanging over his belly, or if we are lucky, he will do the famous corgi sploot. Always be ready with your camera to snap a cute sleeping pic or video when it happens (and trust me, you’ll have no idea when that will be).
4. The way you crate train matters
This mistake was definitely a result of oversearching on Reddit, but it’s fine. I’m here now to show you the right way to crate train, which is essentially the process of showing your puppy that the crate is a positive place to be in (and is a major key player in potty training).
You first introduce your puppy to the crate by throwing treats in to get him to go inside, closing the door (not locking it) briefly, and repeating this process by increasing the amount of time he is left in the crate. We crated Milton the first night we got him and put his crate in our room with a blanket over it so he would feel more comfortable. For potty training purposes, I took him out every 3 hours at night (since he was 2 months old) and then threw a treat in his crate to get him to go back inside. He never whined in his crate, which was a blessing.
During the day, our routine is to crate him for a bit after playtime, when we eat meals, or whenever we can’t keep an eye on him. Why? Well, dogs don’t like to go potty in the same space they sleep. So putting him in the crate when he is most likely to go potty (i.e. after playing/eating) and taking him out the minute we let him out, shows him that we control when he goes potty—not him—and that he should only go outside. I follow this loose routine keeping in mind how long he can hold it at his age (so right now he is 13 weeks, so four hours), and make sure he goes out at least every four hours.
Bottom line: use the crate to give him a safe space, and to control his potty breaks.
5. Make A Shopping List Before Your Puppy Arrives
This is a tip that might also seem obvious, but it still took me by surprise. There were a lot of things we did get before Milton came, but there was also a lot we scrambled to get after the fact. Here is a basic corgi puppy shopping list to get you started (note: these aren’t affiliate links):
Grass Pee Pad (more economical and fiscally-savvy than regular pee pads, we placed ours on our apartment balcony to train him to potty outside)
Adjustable Dog Harness (better for leash training than a collar)
Dog Collar/Dog Tag (no recommendations, just whatever you like best!)
Puppy Kong (we freeze peanut butter in ours for a nice treat when he is in his crate)
Kong Wobbler (corgis love toys! This is a fun way to serve his meals and keep him entertained)
Puppy Play Pen (note: this is not a substitute for his crate. We use this to contain his play area so he doesn’t get into household objects, but he will still potty in it if he has to go).
Bully Sticks (these are an awesome, easily digestible natural chew, but make sure you watch them chewing it so they don’t swallow large pieces)
Furminator Undercoat De-Shedding Tool for Short Hair, Medium Dog (helpful when their big corgi coats come in and the major shedding starts, but socialize them on this from the start so they are comfortable around it)