Have you ever introduced your corgi to another corgi? Or have you ever seen that in a dog park for example? If you have, you may ask yourself why do corgis fight? It can sometimes be an unpleasant sight.
This is due to their dominant temperament that comes from all those long years that corgi breed have been used for stock-herding.
Corgis’ have developed a strong sense of independence and dominance, making their own set of rules that they follow. You can imagine how that works when two corgis with two different sets of rules come to meet each other.
But, don’t worry – there are some things you can implement in your work with your corgi, or if you’re thinking about getting one, there are some more things you can do from day one.
If you want to really understand why your corgi may fight with another corgi, and to learn how to prevent these situations, keep reading and pay close attention.
Welsh Corgi – A Dog With A Character
During the last decade, these dogs gained a lot of popularity just for being charismatic like no other dog breed can ever be.
Many people rushed to get themselves a corgi without doing any research beforehand. They ended up with a dog that is more stubborn than usual, and a problem every time they try to take their dog to the dog park.
This is a result of a corgi’s instinct to be dominant. If their owner does not set and enforce a specific set of rules, a corgi will most likely do that instead of waiting on their human to do what is needed.
Some of these rules apply in your dogs’ social life, meaning if you don’t teach your dog how to behave when near other dogs, it’ll develop rules of its own and follow them.
This is especially the case when you bring your corgi in a place where other corgis are present. They recognise that they are very similar, and can easily get into fights with one another.
You should never oversee the fact that corgis’ (regardless of their cute butts and soft bellies) are a working dog, and that they do not think like other dogs their size. Actually they are very territorial and don’t allow other dogs, especially other corgis to endanger their territory or their owner.
Fight or Flight – What Do Corgis Choose?
Corgi owners (or at least I do) know that their corgi is a little ball of joy and fun most of the time. These dogs do not seem vicious, but rather cute and playful. And this is true, but there are instances where you have a chance to see your corgi in a totally different light.
When good socialised dogs (involving corgis) get into situations where fight or flight instinct kicks in, they mostly choose to stay cool, calm and collected, and let their owners deal with the situation.
There are situations where your dog gets physically attacked, and then most of the dogs chose fight, so be careful when near other dogs that seem aggressive, because if you foresee the potential conflict, you can prevent it from happening.
Why Do Corgis Fight? Male Vs. Female Corgi
You should be very specific when asking yourself a question of why do corgis fight. There are some criteria on which this depends on, and one of the most important ones is the sex of your corgi.
Maybe you would be surprised if I tell you that when most corgi fights occur, participants of that fight are females.
This can especially happen when both of them are in the same household and none of them are spayed.
Spaying can decrease the probability of a fight between two female corgis because the non-spayed female won’t perceive the spayed one as a competition in the mating season.
If this does not help, and you don’t want your female corgis to have any puppies, you should try spaying the other female as well. This decreases the chance of them fighting drastically.
When in a situation where your female is not spayed and you run into another female that also isn’t, you should keep an eye out on your dog’s posture and body language. If you estimate that there is a potential conflict, you should head in the other direction.
Remember, you can’t control a hundred out of a hundred situations, so be ready to react quickly if your female gets into a fight. You should keep your hands and fingers away from the dog’s mouth and try to separate the two by dragging both of them by their back legs.
Males, on the other hand, fight much less frequently. They are usually calmer and less prone to fights (or even skirmishes). Even if they do fight, it’s because of much different reasons than females do.
Most frequent reason for male corgis to fight is the territory. As I’ve said earlier, corgis are a very territorial and protective breed. In most cases, when on a public ground where a lot of dogs leave their scent, males probably won’t show any territorial tendencies.
But, when bringing in another corgi in your dog’s territory (such as your apartment, backyard or house) be extra careful, and don’t let the guest show any sign of dominance.
You can prevent this by making sure the other corgis’ owner knows what to do, and by letting your dog exempt dominance in those territories.
This allows your male to show that this is his “playing field” and that no other dog should even consider challenging him for that place.
Males, being less prone to fights, can be much more aggressive in those rare occasions due to testosterone levels that are higher in males than in females.
You should pay close attention when thinking about your male corgi fighting another male corgi. This can mostly be a problem at public places where you can run into a bitch that is in heat.
Both males can get an urge to compete for the female, resulting in a fight. This can be pretty serious due to a high drive of the males.
In this situation, you should pay close attention to the dogs that are nearby, or if you know that a female that often hangs around places you take your dog is in heat, you should probably avoid it for the time being.
By doing this you prevent your male corgi from getting into situations that can escalate in a fight with another corgi, or even another dog.
Keeping Your Dog Cool – The Ultimate Prevention
The very best thing you can do to prevent your corgi from getting into fights with other dogs, including other corgis’ is to teach your dog to always have its attention on you and to obey your commands in all kinds of situations.
The difference between a well trained corgi and a fantastically trained corgi is precisely in this. Well trained corgis obey your commands only in low intensity situations, and they do not differ from other dogs in this.
Where corgis shine is obeying commands, having their attention on you even in high stress situations such as potential fights with other corgis and keeping calm. As a matter of fact, especially in potential fights with other corgis.
If successful in teaching your dog this, I guarantee you won’t ever have to think about what will happen if you run into another territorial or non-spayed corgi.
Another thing to think about is getting to know other dog owners in the area where you bring your corgi for playtime.
Even if you have to take your corgi to the daycare, try to get to know other pet owners that also leave their corgis there.
Nevertheless, you can’t know all of the dog owners, or even corgi owners (due to their recent spike in popularity) in your neighbourhood or area. This is a long term method that can keep your corgi safe in the future.
Conclusion
Why do corgis fight? That depends on many things. All of them are pretty easy to prevent and keep your corgi happy, depending on whether it’s a female or a male. Or maybe is it a well known neighbourhood for our corgi or not.
All of these are very important things that you should pay close attention to, and not let your corgi make its own set of rules, because if it does, you’ll have much harder time implementing the rules of your own.
So, be smart, stay safe, and train your corgi properly in order to keep it out of fights!
