Welsh Corgi

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Welsh Corgi is a small herding dog that originated in Wales. There are two varieties of Welsh Corgi, The Pembroke Welsh Corgi and the Cardigan Welsh Corgi with former being more popular. These two varieties differ in bone structure, body length and size. They have been named after the counties where they were developed.

The Cardigan Welsh Corgi is the larger of the two breeds and comes with rounded ears and double coat that comes in more colors than Pembroke variety but should not be predominantly white. The Cardigan’s coat is of medium length, harsh and dense while the undercoat is short, soft and thick. This dog stands around 12 inches and weighs about 30 pounds.

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi dogs are low-set, relatively smaller in size than Cardigans with a height of around 10-12 inches and weigh about 28 pounds. This dog comes with erect and pointed ears. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi has a double coat with medium length hair and are fairly heavy shedders. In addition to their regular shedding, they blow their coat twice a year (in the spring and fall).

Both these breeds are efficient herding dogs that are popular around the world.

They are recognized by AKC as well as other major kennel clubs like FCI, UKC, CKC and many others.

Color

Cardigans come in a variety of colors including any shade of red, sable, or brindle, as well as black, with or without tan, brindle or blue merle, with or without tan or brindle points. Other unofficial colors can occur, such as red merle, but these colors are not considered acceptable per the Cardigan standard.

There are five "allowed" colours for Pembroke Welsh Corgis:

Red, with or without white markings, which may appear on the feet and legs, muzzle, between the eyes and over the head as a small blaze, and around the neck as a full or partial collar. Red is the most commonly seen color as it is the genetically most dominant of the colors.

Sable with white markings, which is like a red but with a light peppering of black.

Fawn with white markings as described above, which is a lighter red (the red can be from a fawn to a deep red)

Red-headed tricolor, which is a black dog with a red head, red spots above the eyes, on the sides of the muzzle on the legs and in the ears and around the anal area they also have white markings as described above and the white markings can often obscure some of the red markings of the muzzle and legs. A dog would be considered a miss-marked if they were black and white with no tan present.

Black-headed tricolor, (the most recessive color genetically) which is a black and red dogs with red markings (in the same places you would see red on a black doberman) and white markings as described under Red above. A dog would be considered a miss-mark if they were black and white with no tan present.

Coat

The coat of a Cardigan Welsh Corgi is short or medium in length, with hard texture of outer coat and good undercoat. The coat should be weather proof. A straight coat is preferred. The correct coat forms a slight ruff around the neck, pants on the back of the hind legs, and brush on the tail.

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi has medium length coat that is straight with dense undercoat. It is never soft, wavy or wiry.

Personality

There is not much difference between the two Corgi breeds when it comes to personality and traits. The Corgi dogs are excellent herding dogs that have unusual way of herding cattle, sheep and even geese. Being low set and elongated, they are able to drive the herd forward by nipping at their heels and without being kicked in the process.

As a family pet, these dogs are friendly and playful with considerate children. They have inherent guarding instincts which make them very good watch/guard dogs. These dogs do have tendency to try to herd people by nipping at their heels but this can be overcome with proper training. They are among the most intelligent dog breeds and can learn at a fast pace.

Loyal, alert, fun-loving, even-tempered and confident, corgis have all the qualities of a good family dog.

Care

Their coats require average grooming.

Training

Both the breeds are intelligent and responsive to positive training methods. They will be easy to train with positive and consistent training.

Activity

The Cardigans and Pembrokes need atleast a daily walk. They can live in an apartment or small house as long as their exercise needs are met.