Copper CrestPembrokesInquireWisconsin families
We raise Pembroke Welsh Corgis in our home in Casa Grande, Arizona, and Wisconsin puppies fly home nonstop to Milwaukee or Madison. One of ours already lives in Madison with the Moore family.
Arizona to Wisconsin
By road it is well over a day of driving from our door to Milwaukee, so nearly every Wisconsin puppy flies. Two airports in the state have nonstops from Phoenix Sky Harbor: Milwaukee Mitchell, served by American and Southwest, and Dane County Regional in Madison, served by American. Both flights take about three and a half hours.
Green Bay and Appleton are the gap. Neither has a regular nonstop from Sky Harbor, and a change of planes makes a long day for a young puppy, so Fox Valley families usually meet a Milwaukee flight and drive north. In western Wisconsin the answer is often across the St. Croix: from the Eau Claire area, Minneapolis-St. Paul is much closer than Madison, and our Minnesota page covers that airport.
Wisconsin is an hour ahead of Arizona in winter and two hours ahead from March to early November, so we always give arrival times in your local time. In summer the heat at our end sets the schedule: airlines stop flying pets as cargo out of Phoenix from spring into fall, and even in the cabin we want a Wisconsin puppy on a morning flight, before the day heats up. Travel is quoted separately once you reserve, and the puppy itself is covered on what a puppy costs.
See who is availableThe nanny keeps your puppy beside them in the cabin from Phoenix, never in the hold, and hands them over at Mitchell. It suits southeast Wisconsin and the Fox Valley, and Milwaukee's extra departures help when winter weather moves a date.
The same cabin trip into Dane County Regional, a small airport where the handoff is quick and parking is close. It is the natural choice for Madison and the surrounding counties.
A USDA certified provider drives the puppy to you over two to three days, sending photos on the way. Northwoods families, hours from any nonstop, often prefer it. In winter it is paused or rescheduled when roads are unsafe. Read more about our travel options.
If you winter in Arizona or are happy to fly down, collect at our home in Casa Grande or meet us at Phoenix Sky Harbor, then fly home with the puppy at your feet.
Available now
See the puppies available now, then ask about the one you like.
Drive times
Rough times on clear roads from the nearest airport with a Phoenix nonstop. Winter storms can stretch the longer drives a great deal.
| If you live in | Airport and drive, roughly |
|---|---|
| Milwaukee | MKE, about 15 minutes |
| Racine and Kenosha | MKE, about 25 to 35 minutes |
| Waukesha | MKE, about 30 minutes |
| Madison | MSN, about 15 minutes |
| Sheboygan | MKE, about 1 hour 10 |
| Appleton and Oshkosh | MKE, about 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 45 |
| Green Bay | MKE, about 2 hours |
| Eau Claire | MSP, about 1 hour 30 |
Around the state
A Corgi in the upper unit of a Milwaukee duplex has a different year from one at a Northwoods cabin.
Many Milwaukee families live in two-story duplexes, and a puppy in the upper unit faces a steep staircase several times a day. Carry them until they are grown, because a long back does not need the jolt of tumbling down steps. Winter wind off Lake Michigan makes a short walk feel far colder than the thermometer says.
Dane County's off-leash areas need a county dog permit, daily or annual. The best known is Prairie Moraine County Park near Verona, a large fenced area with trails through prairie and woods, worth the trip once your vet clears the vaccine series. In late summer watch the lakes: blue-green algae on Mendota and Monona can close beaches, and a dog who drinks the water or licks it off its coat is at real risk.
Ask a local vet about blastomycosis, a fungal infection seen most in central and northern Wisconsin that dogs pick up from damp soil near water, especially when digging. Corgis dig, so learn the signs: a cough, lost appetite, or a dog who slows down for no clear reason. Lyme-carrying ticks are common up north too.
The bluffs and coulees along the Mississippi make beautiful walking, and the woods and tall grass carry ticks from spring through late fall. Steep climbs are the main caution: keep hikes short and level until your Corgi is fully grown.
Worth knowing
It looks closest for Fox Valley families, but without a regular Phoenix nonstop the trip means a connection and a change of planes. Meeting the Milwaukee flight and driving about two hours home is usually the shorter, calmer day.
Wisconsin's nine-day gun deer season runs over Thanksgiving week, and public land fills with hunters. If you walk in the woods that month, put blaze orange on your dog and yourself, or stick to city parks until it ends. A low, red-and-white dog moving through brush is easy to misjudge.
A Corgi chasing geese or a ball will run straight onto a frozen pond. Early and late season ice is unpredictable, and a short-legged dog cannot climb out of a hole. Keep the leash on near frozen water, and never go out on the ice after a dog who falls through; call 911 instead.
Corgis grow longer fur between their toes and on the backs of their hind legs, and wet snow packs into both as hard little balls that hurt to walk on. Trim the hair between the pads short for winter and run warm water over the feet after a snowy walk. Our grooming guide shows the trim.
Through the seasons
A puppy from Casa Grande arrives without the dense adult undercoat, so the first weeks of a Wisconsin December are about short trips out, a warm crate near the family and a towel by the back door. Clear a small patch of lawn before your puppy arrives. Wipe feet after any walk on salted sidewalks, and keep antifreeze off the garage floor, since it tastes sweet and a Corgi will lick up a spill.
Keep them busy through the dark months with brisk walks, fetch down a carpeted hallway and a training class, because a herding dog with nothing to do invents jobs, usually barking or nipping ankles. The spring weigh-in is where Wisconsin Corgis show their winter, so trim portions when walks get short. Summer brings mosquitoes and ticks, so set up prevention with your vet before the snow melts.
A Madison placement
Yes. The Moore family in Madison brought Luna home with a flight nanny, who carried Luna in the cabin from Phoenix to the family's airport. In their words: “Our children absolutely adore their new best friend. Luna has fit into our family perfectly.” With children, the first evening goes best when the kids sit on the floor and let the puppy come to them.
Read every family storyWisconsin questions
Pick by where you live. Madison's airport is small and quick to leave, which suits Dane County and the counties around it. Milwaukee has more Phoenix nonstops across two airlines, so it is the better backup when the Madison schedule does not match your puppy's go-home date.
Yes, but the drive needs planning. From the Northwoods, the nearest Phoenix nonstops are three to four hours away by road, so many families choose ground transport to the door, which takes two to three days with photo updates. If you would rather meet a flight, we book an early landing so the drive home finishes in daylight.
Well. The Pembroke double coat insulates against cold and wet, and most adults enjoy snow. What they lack is ground clearance, so deep powder reaches the belly quickly and cakes into ice balls. Plowed paths, trimmed paw fur and a towel at the door handle most of it. On subzero days keep walks brief, and head in when your dog starts lifting its paws.
A veterinary exam, vaccines suited to the puppy's age, deworming, health records, food so the diet does not change on travel day, and a written contract with a one year health guarantee. After that you have our support by phone and email for the life of the dog.
Next step
We work first come, first served, with no waitlist. See who is ready now on our available puppies page, then tell us your town and we will say whether Milwaukee, Madison or Minneapolis makes the shortest day.
Keep reading