Flight nanny into Midway
The nanny carries your puppy in the cabin, never in the hold, and hands them over at the airport. Midway is compact, and its many Phoenix departures make rescheduling easy if weather moves the day.
Illinois families
Corgi puppies for sale
in Illinois.
We raise Pembroke Welsh Corgis in Casa Grande, Arizona, and Illinois puppies arrive on a nonstop of about three and a quarter hours. The bigger decision is which of three airports you meet them at.
Arizona to Illinois
How does a Corgi puppy reach Illinois?
By air. Chicago is more than a full day of driving from our door, while the nonstop from Phoenix Sky Harbor takes about three hours and fifteen minutes to Midway and a few minutes more to O'Hare. Southwest flies Phoenix to Midway many times a day, and O'Hare has nonstops on several airlines.
Downstate is a different trip. St. Louis Lambert, just across the Mississippi, has Phoenix nonstops on Southwest and American of about three hours, and for Springfield, the Metro East and everything south it is a far shorter drive than either Chicago airport. Central Illinois sits in between, and for Champaign or Peoria we compare the drives before booking.
Illinois keeps Central time, so your clock reads one hour ahead of ours from November to March and two hours ahead the rest of the year. From late spring into fall, the heat in Phoenix, not Chicago, sets the departure time. Airlines bar pets from the hold on Phoenix routes in those months; a cabin puppy is not affected, but we still book early flights so the trip to Sky Harbor beats the worst of the day. Travel is quoted separately after you reserve; the puppy itself is on what a puppy costs.
See who is availableFlight nanny into O'Hare
The same cabin trip, landing on the northwest side. It usually means a shorter drive for the North Side, though the airport is bigger and slower to get out of.
Flight nanny into St. Louis
For southern and much of central Illinois, St. Louis is the sensible airport. The drive home avoids Chicago entirely, and our Missouri page covers Lambert in more detail.
Ground transport
A USDA certified provider brings the puppy to your door by road over two to three days, with photo updates on the way. It suits families who would rather skip the airport, and in winter we pause it when the roads are unsafe. Here is how each option works.
Available now
Puppies ready for
a home.
See the puppies available now, then ask about the one you like.
Drive times
O'Hare, Midway or St. Louis: which is closest to you?
Rough drive times in light traffic. Chicago rush hour can add an hour to the shorter ones, which is why we aim for a midday landing when the schedule allows.
| If you live in | Airport and drive, roughly |
|---|---|
| Chicago's Loop | MDW, about 25 minutes |
| Evanston | ORD, about 30 minutes |
| Naperville | ORD or MDW, about 40 minutes |
| Rockford | ORD, about 1 hour 15 |
| Champaign-Urbana | MDW, about 2 hours 15 |
| Peoria | MDW or ORD, about 2 hours 45 |
| Springfield | STL, about 1 hour 30 |
| Carbondale | STL, about 2 hours 15 to 2 hours 30 |
Around the state
What is Corgi life like in different parts of Illinois?
From a Chicago three-flat to a farmhouse on the prairie to the forests of the Shawnee, Illinois asks different things of a short-legged herding dog.
Chicago
Two-flats and three-flats mean stairs, and a growing Corgi should be carried on them, because a long back and short legs do not like steep steps. City dog parks, which the Park District calls Dog Friendly Areas, require a permit and tag from a participating vet, and puppies under four months are not allowed in. Once your Corgi qualifies, Montrose Dog Beach is the best-known spot for off-leash play on Lake Michigan.
The suburbs
Bigger yards bring their own lesson: coyotes live throughout the Chicago area, well inside the suburbs, and a small puppy alone in the yard at dawn or dusk is at risk. Stay outside with your puppy for the first months, especially in late winter, when coyotes are most often seen.
Central Illinois
Open farmland across the middle of the state means hard wind in winter and humid, hot summers. July afternoons on blacktop can burn a Corgi's pads, so walk early and late. Severe storms and tornado sirens are part of spring here; let your puppy hear the regular siren test from inside the house, paired with treats, so the real thing is less frightening.
Southern Illinois and the Shawnee
The hills and forests of the far south are beautiful hiking country and the heart of lone star tick territory. University of Illinois researchers found it is the dominant tick in the southern counties, where the state reports high rates of ehrlichiosis in people, so tick prevention is not optional. Check your Corgi's belly, armpits and ears after every walk, since that low coat sweeps them up.
Worth knowing
What catches Illinois Corgi owners out?
Defaulting to Chicago from downstate
A family near Carbondale who books O'Hare can spend more than five hours driving home with a new puppy. St. Louis is much closer for the southern half of the state. Tell us your town, not your preferred airport, and we will compare the drives.
A snowy morning at O'Hare
O'Hare is huge and busy, and one snowy morning can ripple into hours of delays. In winter we favor early flights, and often Midway, so a slip can be absorbed the same day rather than leaving a puppy in transit into the evening.
The drive out of the airport
A sensible landing time on paper can put you on the Kennedy or the Stevenson at five o'clock with a puppy who has had enough. We aim for late morning or early afternoon arrivals, and we suggest bringing a second adult so one person can sit beside the carrier.
Rock salt everywhere
Chicago and its suburbs salt heavily, and it ends up on every sidewalk and in every slush puddle. It stings paw pads, dries and cracks them over a long winter, and upsets stomachs when licked off. Wipe feet after every walk, rub on a paw balm before long ones, and use a pet-safe ice melt at home.
Day to day
What does daily life with a Corgi look like in Illinois?
Corgis do well in Chicago apartments and condos as long as they get out. Plan on two brisk walks and some training most days, and in the gray months add indoor games, because a bored herding dog barks at the neighbors and chases ankles. Check your lease or condo rules before you reserve, since some buildings cap the number or size of dogs. A Pembroke who gains a few pounds over a Chicago winter carries them on a long back, so keep portions honest.
Illinois swings from humid summers to bitter wind off the lake, and the Corgi coat handles both if you work with it. Keep summer walks to the cool ends of the day, never shave the coat, and brush hard through the spring and fall sheds. For a puppy's first winter, keep trips outside short and close to the door. Deer ticks and lone star ticks both live in the state, so start prevention in spring. Everything that comes home with your puppy is on our health and care page.
Illinois questions
Questions from Illinois families
Should we fly our puppy into O'Hare or Midway?
Whichever is closer to home in real traffic. Midway suits the Loop, the South Side and the southwest suburbs, and it has the most Phoenix nonstops. O'Hare suits the North Side and the north and northwest suburbs. For the far western suburbs the drive is similar either way, so we choose by schedule and time of day.
Can we take our Corgi puppy to a Chicago dog park right away?
Not for a while. Chicago Park District Dog Friendly Areas do not admit puppies under four months, and every dog needs a permit and tag issued through a participating vet, which requires current vaccinations. Until then, socialize your puppy on quiet sidewalks, in friends' homes and in puppy classes that require vaccines, and save the dog park for later.
We live in a small Chicago condo with a toddler. Is a Corgi a good fit?
Often, yes. A Corgi needs walks and attention more than square footage. The herding instinct is the bigger issue: a puppy will nip at a running toddler, so teach your child to stand still when the puppy gets mouthy, and redirect the puppy to a toy. Our Volhard temperament testing at about seven and a half weeks helps us suggest a calmer puppy for a busy home.
Can we fly to Phoenix and bring the puppy home ourselves?
Yes. Fly into Sky Harbor, we bring the puppy to the airport, and you carry them home in the cabin on your own flight. Reserve the puppy's in-cabin place when you buy your ticket, since airlines cap the number of pets on each flight. With frequent nonstops between Phoenix and Midway, the whole trip can fit into one long day.
Next step
In Illinois and ready to see who is available?
Tell us your town and we will say whether O'Hare, Midway or St. Louis makes the shortest day. Puppies go first come, first served, so check our available puppies page, or call us at (520) 756-1342.
Keep reading