When you look at pit bulls, german shepherds, or Rottweilers and then look at your cute corgi, you’ve probably asked yourself “Can Corgis Be Guard Dogs?”. Well, you’d probably be surprised with the answer.
Corgis are not made for protection or to be guard dogs, but they can certainly fill this role if needed. There are some limitations to their ability in this area of work, but there is certainly room for improvement and making your corgi a companion in good and evil.
This is not an easy task to perform, so you better be careful and do things as advised because if you skip even one step in their training, it can lead to disasters.
If you’re keen on learning all about these limitations and possibilities of training your corgi to become a guard dog, I highly suggest getting comfortable and scroll through this article with a great deal of attention because I will teach you everything there is about this topic!
DISCLAIMER:
- Corgis are not bred for guarding and there is a possibility your dog won’t be able to do the same jobs as other breeds that are specifically bred for this purpose.
- Corgis are not vicious or aggressive dogs and shouldn’t be trained to become that. Keep in mind that dangerous animals can also bite their owners.
Will Corgis Protect Their Owners?
Let’s start from the basics. All dogs have an instinct to protect their owner with everything they’ve got in almost any situation. This is because they look at their owners as someone to whom they owe their life, so there won’t be many situations in which you’ll be in trouble and your corgi will stand aside and watch you struggle.
Corgis (amongst other dogs) have a very high instinct of protecting their “pack”. This comes from the feeling of sacrifice and gratefulness towards their owners. If your dog sees you struggling in a situation where your life isn’t in danger, it’s most plausible that they’ll jump to your aid.
You don’t have to do any training at all because this is instinctual to almost all dogs, and will probably happen even if you don’t expect it to.
The problem with these kinds of situations is that your corgi will get all worked up and even if you’re playing with someone and aren’t in danger your dog will react pretty seriously. In situations where they experience an adrenaline rush, you’ll have a hard time stopping them from biting or letting go of the person that’s attacking you, or at least the person your dog thinks is attacking you.
How Protective Are Corgis?
Everybody that hears this thinks to themselves “are corgis overprotective?”. The answer is no. This is simply the way almost all dogs react to imminent danger to their owners even if the danger is not real.
So if they aren’t overprotective, how protective are corgis? Well, they are not much more protective than other dogs, to be honest. They don’t have a special instinct for protecting their owners like some other dogs that are specifically bred for this purpose.
| Don’t forget that corgis are a herding dog breed and that is their primary use. There are other dogs that have originally been designed for herding as well but have been used in police forces and as guard dogs just because they have sharper instincts than other dogs. |
The best example of this is the german shepherd. These dogs have also been used for herding but have become the primary work dog for police forces all around the world. They are known for their discipline and hard-working ethics.
Corgis don’t possess this kind of potential, or if they do, it hasn’t been discovered yet. One thing to keep in mind when putting these two breeds side by side is the size difference. Corgis are much smaller in size than other guard dogs and that’s the reason why they won’t be used in this line of work ever.
Also, corgis have much more of a character than most of these other dogs thus making them not fit to work these jobs. When a dog is playful and goofy, it’s hard to make them serious all the time and hyper focused on their line of work.
For all of these reasons, I recommend you look into some other breeds if you are looking for a guard dog that will be easy to train for that purpose.
How To Train A Corgi To Become A Guard Dog?
If you already do have a corgi and want them to become a guard dog regardless of my recommendations, I have a few tips and tricks up my sleeve that might help you to turn your fluffball into a serious defense dog.
This kind of training is pretty much the same for all dogs. Discipline and stimulation are all there is to it, but don’t be fooled – it’s quite hard to do this if your dog is fully grown.
Police dogs, for example, are trained from the earliest stages of their lives. That doesn’t mean that you should train your puppy like you should train a fully grown dog, but some exercises that will help them develop a mentality of a guard dog are required even at that age.
Well, because there’s a big difference between training a corgi puppy to become a guard dog and training your fully grown corgi to do the exact same thing, let’s separate the training into two different and completely separate categories.
Corgi Puppy Training
If you just got your corgi and they’re still small and hyperactive, you should have a totally different approach to training them for becoming guard dogs.
The first thing that you have to realize is that when corgis are in that age period, they see everything as a game, meaning you have to make everything seem like a game in order to get their attention. I’d recommend starting with simple exercises and commands such as teaching them to come between your legs and looking in the direction that you are also looking at.
This is a crucial part of training your corgi to become a guard dog, but they don’t realize that so they’ll figure it’s just a game. You should do this by waving the treat over their head and then making a motion of the treat passing through your legs from the back to the front.
They will mimic the moves and stand between your feet in no time. If you also want to teach them to sit between your legs just raise the treat to your belly button and tell them the “sit” command.
Another useful and crucial beginner guard command for your dog is “speak” or “bark”. Some people get threatened just by the barking of your dog and will immediately back down if they hear it. The way I approached this exercise with my corgis is that I always had a treat on me and the second they start barking for no apparent reason I’d say “speak!” so they recognize that that word is associated with them barking.
Over time, your dog will develop a habit of instinctually barking every time you say that command. It’s also good to reward them with a hefty prize every time they do this because it’s quite hard to get them to do so at first.
Everything else that is related to guard dog commands will have to wait until your puppy is grown a bit and can fully utilize their jaw for biting and legs for jumping.
Fully Grown Corgi Training
If you have a fully grown corgi that doesn’t know the basic commands that puppies learn such as the ones I’ve mentioned above, you should start by teaching them those. This will stimulate them to work hard for their prize and will be eager to work every day. Once you get the basics down, you’ll be able to get on to the next level of training.
I recommend buying a training sleeve for biting as you need to protect yourself from your corgi biting.
There are amazing guides that can help you get them to bite on command, just remember that corgis like to nibble and bite every now and then for no apparent reason, so be careful when training them to bite so they don’t use it when they are not working.
It’s also quite crucial to teach your dog to stop biting when given a command for that, which is maybe harder to do than to teach them to bite on command. I recommend you don’t teach them this alone but seek the help of professional dog trainers that will do the job for you and then teach you how to operate the commands once your dog gets them down.
Mutual movement is also something that you can incorporate into your dog’s working routine. When they learn to stand between your legs, start making small steps and wave the treat in front of your dog. By doing this you’ll make your corgi follow your steps and you’ll walk together in a synchronized manner. This is quite important for making your dog a guard dog.
Do Corgis Make Good Guard Dogs?
All in all, you can see that even though corgis aren’t made for guarding purposes, they can be made into a dog that knows how to do some guard dog things.
But, you have to be careful about the limitations of your pet. You shouldn’t forget that corgis aren’t a breed that is made for guarding and protecting so they can’t do things that other dogs can (dogs that are specifically bred for guarding).
But are corgis protective? Are corgis good protectors? Of course, they are, like all of the other dogs in this world. I highly recommend teaching your dog some of the tricks I’ve listed in this article because even if you don’t plan on using them for protection, they can be useful in other scenarios.
In the end, it’s most important you remember that corgis love to work and that it’s crucial for you as an owner that you give them the opportunity to work every single day and develop a working habit that will keep them happy.
Have fun and keep working with your pet!