Two downsides of Corgis... dental maintenance and shedding (as john mentioned). They are great for everything else, considered well-rounded dogs like labs (though labs are the most registered dog in the AKC).
We have Lucy (the bitch) and two of her pups. She had all girls. The pups are now five years old. Each has their own personality. Lucy is GREAT with kids. Victoria is too... Jane is more hesitant and hates being cornered and will nip. So among three corgis, two are good with children. Pups will be pups no matter what breed you have.
I like corgis because they are a big dog in a smaller body (about 30 lbs). They have a bigger bark than you expect in a compact frame and will not back down to predators, other dogs, or bad guys. That's why we originally got them. Then are fine in the house and love running outside. They do like to get in lots of exercise but do not go nuts when they don't get in a daily walk.
My understanding is that, as herders, they are best used for anti-herding... meaning, they like to chase things away off of your property. They will get in fights with dogs three times their size if they feel threatened.
Corgis are known to be very smart (I think they are in the top ten of smart breeds), but not all are the same smarts. Victoria is our most submissive and stupid. She's actually my favorite because she's dumber than the others and sticks close to me (heels naturally) on walks. She's also the best tracker and runs the fastest. Jane and Lucy will leave you like a bad relationship if another dog or fox or rabbit or squirrel or cat... crosses our path. Part of this is having three. Three is a challenge as they imitate each other. If one barks they all bark. If one darts they all dart. We've been complimented for having three well behaved corgis... even when we feel like failures with them. Sooo, having three is a different kind of challenge.
Lucy will do the normal tricks: sit, lay, rollover, fetch, speak... the others will sit and lay down. They don't play fetch with a stick. They fetch and herd Lucy when Lucy chases the stick. This is because it's hard to train three dogs separately.
I think they are great breed for children and are also used as service dogs. But, like all breeds, each has their own personality. If you get a Victoria, you get a loyal and dumb dog that you will love to death. If you get Lucy, you've got a smart and loyal dog that will work for you and jump at every chance to ride in the jeep. If you get Jane, you get a dog demanding to be petted at every hour (co-dependent issues) and smart enough to do her own thing.
As for jeeping, they all like to tuck themselves into secure places when offroad... they like the cage for this, and they go to sleep. Seriously, they conk out within 10 minutes on the trail and only wake up when we stop. They love running around... Victoria and Jane will run through water and Lucy will not, keeping her paws pristine like royalty. She hates water. That's why she's called "Lady Lucy" on her papers... actually, they are all "Lady" for their first names. The queen of england has a bunch and it seemed fitting.
We were hoping to breed Victoria and Jane (as we did Lucy) as they are descended from multiple champions but it's too much work for the payout... plus, who wants to put diapers on their dog twice a year... :laugh:
PM me if you have more questions...
