6 Easy Training Tips for First Time Corgi Owners
Corgis are small, affectionate and highly intelligent—but are they easy to train?
Thanks to their intelligence and origins as herding dogs, corgis are one of the easiest dogs to train. The trick is to stick to a consistent and diligent training program from a young age. That way you will keep on top of your corgi’s strong-willed nature and ensure they grow up to be a happy and well-rounded dog.
As with many dogs, how easy or difficult they are to train is largely dependent on how committed you are to training them. For the best results, corgis need consistent and diligent training from a young age.
Let’s take a look at how easy they are to train compared to other dogs and 6 easy tips for first time corgi owners.
Are corgis easy to train?
How easy are corgis to train compared to other dog breeds? Here are 13 dog breeds and their level of training difficulty.
| Breed | Training difficulty |
| Border Collie | Easy |
| German Shepherd | Easy |
| Standard Poodle | Easy |
| Golden Retriever | Easy |
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | Easy |
| Bernese Mountain Dog | Easy |
| Boxer | Easy |
| Chow Chow | Hard |
| Rottweiler | Hard |
| Afghan Hound | Hard |
| English Bulldog | Hard |
| Chihuahua | Hard |
| Basset Hound | Hard |
6 easy training tips for first time corgi owners
If you lead a busy life like I do, you probably want to know how you can make the process of training your corgi a little bit easier.
Here are 6 easy training tips for first time corgi owners that really helped me:
- Spread training throughout the day
- Play with your corgi often
- Manage your corgi’s environment
- Use a long leash to prevent bad habits developing
- Train your corgi after exercise
- Remember that progress won’t be linear (be patient!)
1. Spread training throughout the day
One easy training tip for first time corgi owners is to spread training out across the day.
For example, practice basic commands like ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ before mealtimes and work on recall in the park after they’ve exercised.
Training sessions that last 10-15 minutes are easy to fit into daily life and add up to a solid few hours of training over the course of one week.
2. Play with your corgi often
Playing with your corgi isn’t just a great bonding opportunity for the two of you.
It also allows you to have their full focus and incorporate training into games like fetch and tug of war. When your corgi associates training with fun and games, it’ll accelerate their learning and make the process much easier and more enjoyable!
You can use a game like fetch to teach cues such as bring, search, and fetch. Start with short distances and gradually increase the distance as they master the command.
Other games that are great for training your corgi include tug of war, hide and seek, water play, and chase.
3. Manage your corgi’s environment
Corgis are much easier to train when they are in a safe and secure environment.
Begin your training at home. This familiar and non-distracting environment makes it easier for your corgi to focus on your instructions. When your corgi starts understanding commands like ‘come’ in the house, it’s time to practice outdoors.
When outside and away from the security of home, use a long leash. This will keep your corgi safe and give them a sense of freedom while you stay in control of what they’re doing. You can teach them to come when called and if they don’t come right away (or come all the way), you can gently correct their behavior using the leash.
4. Use a leash to prevent bad habits developing
Speaking of leashes—these are great at preventing bad habits from developing in your corgi.
For example, if you take your corgi to a friend’s house, they might excitedly jump up at people they haven’t met before. If this behavior isn’t immediately stopped, they will associate jumping up (the bad behavior) with receiving cuddles from strangers. An easy way to stop this is to keep your corgi on the leash when you first arrive at the party.
5. Train your corgi after exercise
A great tip for first time corgi owners is to tire them out a bit before you try and train them.
It’s important to note that you’re not going to over-exercise them to the point of exhaustion, because this can be very stressful for dogs and inhibit their learning. Instead, they’re just going to let off a little steam before they begin a lesson of recall or fetch.
6. Remember that progress isn’t linear (stay patient!)
The most important thing to remember when training your corgi is that progress isn’t linear.
There will be bumps in the road. Some days your corgi will obey every command perfectly and other days it will feel as though you’ve gone right back to square one.
That’s normal! Dogs aren’t robots, they’re animals. They behave differently in new settings and unfamiliar environments, so don’t aim for perfection. Give your corgi the time and patience they need to properly grasp instructions. Be tolerant with leash pulling and biting for the first few months.
Your corgi won’t learn everything all at the same time, but with consistent training and lots of patience, they will get there.
How easy is it to train an adult corgi?
If you’ve adopted an adult corgi you might be wondering whether they are easier or harder to train than a puppy.
In my experience, certain things were easier like house training and basic commands like ‘sit’ and ‘stay’. When I adopted Winston the corgi at 12 months old, he was already a pro at these.
However, he wasn’t so good at recall, socializing with other dogs and walking well on the leash. That’s because he’d spent most of his time as a puppy with his brother, Duke (and no other dogs). He also lived in the countryside before coming to live with me in London. There, he spent more time frolicking around outside (off leash) than walking obediently on the leash.
In some ways, it’s easier to teach an older dog these things because they have a longer attention span and more self control than a young corgi puppy. In other ways it’s harder, because they’re more set in their ways and may have picked up some bad habits from puppyhood.
That being said, with patience and commitment it’s still absolutely possible to train an older corgi using the tips outlined above.
Training goals and timeline
This table shows you what kind of age you can expect your corgi to hit their training goals.
| Age | Training Goals |
| 2-4 months | Regular socialization and comfortable with grooming |
| 6 months | Crate trained, potty trained, basic commands mastered like ‘sit’ and ‘stay’ |
| 12 months | Regular training sessions, reinforce recall training and impulse control |
