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We raise Pembroke Welsh Corgis in Casa Grande, Arizona, and every large Texas metro is one nonstop flight from Phoenix. Here is how a puppy reaches you, and what Texas life with a double-coated herding dog involves.
Arizona to Texas
Mostly by air. Phoenix Sky Harbor has nonstops to Austin, San Antonio, El Paso and both airports in Dallas and in Houston, plus American service to Lubbock and Midland. Most take two to two and a half hours, and El Paso is barely over one. Driving from Casa Grande to Austin takes about fourteen hours, too long a first day for an eight-week-old.
Mind the clocks: Arizona skips daylight saving, so most of Texas is one hour ahead of us in winter and two in summer, while El Paso stays on Mountain time. In July we favor early flights, so the puppy lands before the afternoon heat peaks. Travel is planned once you reserve and quoted separately, and our delivery page explains each option.
See who is availableFor most of Texas this is the simplest option, and it is how the Harpson family's Corgi reached Austin. A flight nanny we trust carries the puppy in the cabin, never in the cargo hold, and hands it to you at your airport after a single nonstop from Phoenix.
El Paso is about five and a half to six hours from our home on I-10, so collecting in person is realistic. Leave early, meet the puppy, then drive home or break the return in Tucson. Your puppy rides with you from the first mile.
Fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor, we bring the puppy to the airport, and you fly home with it under the seat in front of you. Book the puppy onto your return flight early, because airlines cap the number of pets in each cabin.
A USDA certified ground transport provider brings the puppy to Texas in about two to three days, with photo updates on the way. It suits families who would rather skip airports. In extreme heat or a Gulf storm, the run is paused or rescheduled.
Available now
See the puppies available now, then ask about the one you like.
Airports and drive times
Choose the airport by the drive home, not the city on the ticket. These are rough times in ordinary traffic; rush hour in Dallas, Houston or Austin can double them.
| If you live in | Airport, and the drive home |
|---|---|
| Fort Worth | DFW, about 25 minutes |
| Plano and Frisco | Love Field or DFW, 30 to 40 minutes |
| Round Rock and Georgetown | Austin (AUS), 30 to 45 minutes |
| Waco | Austin or DFW, about 1 hour 45 |
| New Braunfels | San Antonio (SAT), about 30 minutes |
| Corpus Christi | San Antonio (SAT), about 2 hours 15 |
| The Woodlands | Houston Bush (IAH), about 25 minutes |
| Galveston | Houston Hobby (HOU), about 45 minutes |
Corgi life in Texas
A Pembroke is a short-legged cattle dog with a thick double coat, bred for the cool, damp hills of Wales. Corgis do well in Texas when the routine bends around the heat, and how it bends depends on where you live.
North Texas asphalt in July can burn paw pads, and a Corgi's chest rides a few inches above it, so summer walks move to sunrise and after dark. White Rock Lake Dog Park in East Dallas has separate areas for small and large dogs, and a launch into the lake for swimmers.
Red Bud Isle, below Tom Miller Dam on Lady Bird Lake, is Austin's best-known off-leash spot, but it is unfenced and the current is real, so save it for a grown Corgi with a solid recall. In the Hill Country, rattlesnakes are active in warm months and grass burs cling to a Corgi's fluffy underside.
Humidity is harder than the heat. A double coat holds damp air against the skin, so a Corgi caught in a Houston downpour needs drying right down to the undercoat. Millie Bush Bark Park in west Houston has a fenced area for dogs of twenty pounds or less, handy while your puppy is small.
The dry desert climate out west is close to ours, so a Casa Grande puppy barely notices the move. The hazards are desert ones: rattlesnakes, goathead burs lodged between toes, and summer ground that stays hot long after sunset.
Worth knowing
Fire ants are established across much of Texas, especially the eastern half, and a puppy who sits on a mound is stung many times before it understands why. Walk the yard before your puppy arrives, treat mounds with a product labeled safe around pets, and check again after rain.
Airline hot weather rules cover pets in the cargo hold, where our puppies never travel. The heat that matters is the walk out of the terminal and a car that has sat in the sun. Park in a covered garage if you can, and cool the car first.
Many Texas apartments set pet weight limits, and many HOAs regulate fences and noise. The breed standard puts an adult Pembroke at no more than 30 pounds, which clears most limits, though an overweight Corgi may not. A herding dog that barks at every delivery van will test the noise rules too.
Gulf Coast hurricane season runs June through November, and Hill Country storms can flood low-water crossings fast. Keep a go-bag with food, a leash and the health records we send home. A puppy that already rests calmly in a crate, as ours learn to before they leave us, is easier to move in a hurry.
Through the year
Corgis were bred to work cattle all day and need real exercise. In Texas that means two good walks at the cool ends of the day, with training games filling the hot middle hours. Before a summer walk, press the back of your hand to the pavement: if you cannot hold it there for a few seconds, it is too hot for paws. Short walks show on the scale, so measure meals; our Corgi care guide covers portions.
The coat sheds all year and blows out in drifts twice a year. Do not shave a Corgi for summer: the double coat shields the skin from sun as well as cold, and it may grow back unevenly. Brush two or three times a week, daily in a heavy shed, with the tools in our grooming guide. From November to March, mild Texas days give you the best walking weather of the year.
A Texas family
Yes. The Harpson family in Austin brought their Corgi home with a flight nanny, who carried the puppy from Phoenix in the cabin and handed it over to the family at the airport. Austin is a single nonstop from Phoenix, so for Central Texas families the trip looks much like theirs.
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Texas questions
From El Paso, yes: Casa Grande is roughly five and a half to six hours west on I-10. From Midland or Lubbock it is a very long day each way. From Dallas, Houston, Austin or San Antonio the drive runs fourteen hours or more, so a flight nanny is easier on the puppy.
Yes, with planning. Our puppies fly in the cabin with a flight nanny, so airline limits on pets in the hold do not apply. What we watch is heat on the ground at both ends, so summer trips favor early departures. If the weather at either airport is not safe on the day, the trip is moved.
Not if the day is built around the heat. With air conditioning, shade, fresh water and walks at dawn and dusk, Corgis live comfortably here. The ones who struggle are walked at noon or left outside all afternoon. Heavy panting, lagging on a walk or stretching out on cool tile are your signals to head indoors.
Bring the puppy's health records and ask about finishing the vaccine series, heartworm prevention, and the flea and tick control that suits your part of Texas. In the Hill Country or West Texas, ask what to do if your dog meets a rattlesnake. Our phone and email support lasts for the life of the dog.
Next step
Tell us your town and the month you have in mind, and we will suggest the easiest route. See who is ready now on our available puppies page, check what a puppy costs, or call (520) 756-1342.
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