Behavioral problem with my corgi...

Okay, I'm no expert and I can't see Bixby for myself, but this sounds very much to me like she's feeling very insecure at the moment.

My corgi, Penny, went through a similar stage, though nowhere near as bad. It was after living with a dog that would go off like a rocket at the slightest provocation and pick the poor little thing up and shake her. Add to that, we had a couple of large dogs charge her while we were out walking and suddenly she's very defensive around other dogs. She would bite them on the nose as well, and she still does snap at their noses when they get too close.

So this is just my take on what you've said, but it sounds like she's getting guardy because she's scared. I'd say she's attacking the other dogs because she's scared. Who knows how this came about. I don't think it really matters at this point. When Penny was scared of this dog she was living with, she turned into a control freak and tried to control the other dog in everything she did. I believe she did this because it was the other dog's unpredictable behaviour that was making her frightened. And yeah, other dogs really don't like being snapped at or bitten every time they do something. Penny eventually grew out of her fear. She spent some time living with some nice large dogs that wouldn't take her bullying and she matured and realised it was all no big deal.

Something tells me it's probably not going to resolve itself with Bixby like it did with Penny. Sounds like something's really got to her and she's probably too scared and insecure to learn for herself that there's nothing to worry about. Sometimes animals can feed their own fears. It becomes a habit to be afraid of something, so even when that thing is no longer scary to the dog in itself, the dog doesn't like feeling afraid and insecure and feels afriad and insecure about the feeling of fear and insecurity. If that makes any sense. I'm thinking that might be what's happening with Bixby. Maybe.

Anyway, considering she's pretty off the wall at the moment, I think professional help might be the way to go. In the meantime, if it were me I'd let her keep her kennel room and maybe put up a baby gate so the other dogs couldn't go in even if they wanted to. It might just make Bixby feel a bit more secure (or it might make her frustrated, who knows). Anyway, it would protect the other dogs from her as well, which might reduce the tension in the pack, which would be helpful. I'd also feed her in her kennel room where she can't even see the other dogs.

It is my humble opinion, not being very experienced with this kind of thing, that trying to suppress the behaviour itself just makes the dog more anxious. With Penny at least, if she's freaking out about something the best thing I can do for her is acknowledge it, call her over, tuck her behind my legs or between my feet, and just try to calm her however I can. Ignoring her behaviour just seems to make her more frantic. Scolding her just tells her that she'll get more anxiety from me. It seems to me she's looking for someone to say "yes, I see that, how scary, but it's okay, you'll be safe right here by me". I don't coddle her. I just calmly offer reassurance, usually in the form of slow strokes and quiet, low-pitched words. 

 I would take her to the vet, if this is new behavior. Tootsie, my corgi will bark and show teeth when she is scared, of other, bigger dogs. She is also known to go belly up , when shes scared. Something has scared your baby. I'm sure you already know, but harsh words will devastate a corgi. Don't get rid of her, find out the underlying issue. What scared her?

Thanks for the opinions and suggestions. I agree with both of you, it seems fear based. It seems to be much worse indoors. In the yard she acts strange (hiding, growling, etc.) but she can snap out of it. In the house... just a wreck. She even acts afraid of me! I do not hit my dogs and have to say it is really embarrassing for people to see my dog act like I beat her. When I stop and think about all the things that have led up to this weirdness, it almost seems logical (I've been thinking about this all day.) I got Roscoe in Jan., I got two beagle puppies, Reety (oldest dog) suddenly became more aggressive because her arthritis worsened, my fiances mom came into town and brought her dog, we left town to one location with her, came home, took her to another, came home and the yellow lab was still here. The lab lives by completely different rules (read: none!)  and I wonder if my frustration with the lab made Bixby think I was mad at her. I found myself raising my voice with this labrador (usually because she surprised me by pouncing on me or shoving her face on my table or she'd just squat down and pee on my carpet right infront of me) Her one on one attention time has decreased somewhat from the new additions. All in all, that's some pretty overwhelming stuff for a dog. Do you think she is just terrified because she doesn't know what is going to change next? On the bright side I made her come into the kitchen with the beagles and Roscoe today, had them all sit nicely in a semi circle around me and hand fed all of them. This seemed to work really well. Everyone was calm, she waited her turn, no guarding or growling because there was nothing to protect. But, then again, I don't want to start having to hand feed all of my dogs 3 meals a day! Interestingly enough, after I hand fed the dogs I took them all outside to play ball. She actually played nicely with the others and fetched the way she used to! However, when we came in, she ran right back to her kennel room and hid. Should I start hanging out with her in there? Should I offer her cookies when she comes out? This is such a sad situation... she's a sweet little dog and I can tell she's miserable right now.

Oh, another thing that has changed is her amount of daily excercise decreased dramatically. Instead of an hour walk a day and playing on the ball field near my house, it's gone to pretty much zip as I've not been home, and it's baseball season again so I can't take the dogs on the field. It used to be the minute we woke up, we were out the door. Recently it's been a very briefwalk at night. Now that I can get back on track with my routine this will change. Is it possible us just getting back on our regular schedule could really help things?

I reckon probably all the things you've mentioned played a role in her current state. It's really encouraging that she was better for a little bit there.

If I were you, and this is based entirely on what I know of my own dog, I'd make sure we did some fun, group activities she was comfortable with, like outdoor play, walks and the likes, regularly. I'd also leave her be in her kennel room. Rewarding when she comes out wouldn't hurt, I think. When Penny is freaking out over thunder or fireworks, I let her find a place she feels safe in anywhere she likes and just leave her to it. If she won't settle, then I'll sit with her, but if she's happy to cower in a makeshift den, I just let her do that unmolested. I know that sounds a little contrary to what I said before about acknowledging the dog's fears, but I guess what I mean is that letting her find her safe zone and offering some encouragement to settle there is acknowledging it in my books.

She might just come around on her own with time after all. I'd take it real slow and let her find her own way and just do what you can to minimise damage to the rest of the pack at the same time. I don't have to tell you that upset in one member of the group upsets everyone in the group, and that just makes it worse.

That's just me, though. 

My corgi girl does not do well with any change. Shes very set in her ways. Also even if i raise my voice to the cat, she immediately thinks its something she did. Shes super sensitive. I think your best  bet with her would be to get back to her normal routine. Dogs love routine. 

Good news. We are all getting back to our normal routines, I'm back to staying home a lot more, and Bixby seems a little better the past few days. She still wants to lay in her kennel but has not bitten/growled and is back to wanting to go outside with all of us :) I think she might just be overwhelmed now. Granted, it is only a few days of improved behavior and could be a fluke, but any positive change is exciting. I'll continue keeping things quiet and low key. I really think a lot of her problem was the lab that stayed with us for almost a month. I don't know why but they really didn't seem to get along. If I can get Bix back to normal, as mean as it sounds, I might have to ask my mother in law to not bring her lab or try to keep them seperate or let me teach her some basic manners so I'm not always on edge about what it's going to do next. Harsh words DO traumatize corgis. I think she just heard too many while Buttercup was in town.