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Pembroke Welsh Corgi

Tri-Color Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Nicknames	Pembroke, PWC, Pem, corgi
Country of origin	Wales, United Kingdom
Traits
Classification and standards FCI Group 1 Section 8 #39 standard AKC Herding standard ANKC Group 5 (Working Dogs) standard CKC Group 7 - Herding Dogs standard KC (UK) Pastoral standard NZKC Working standard UKC Herding Dog Breeds standard
Dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi ( /ˈkɔrɡi/) is a herding dog breed, which originated in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is one of two breeds known as Welsh Corgi: the other is the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi is the younger of the two Corgi breeds and is a separate and distinct breed from the Cardigan. The corgi is one of the smallest dogs in the Herding Group. Pembroke Welsh Corgis are famed for being the preferred breed of Queen Elizabeth II, who owns sixteen. These dogs have been favoured by British royalty for more than seventy years.

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi has been ranked at #11 in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, and is thus considered an excellent working dog. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi was ranked as the 25th most popular dog in 2011.

  Description

  Appearance

  Pembroke Welsh Corgi

The Corgi is proportional to larger breeds but has shorter legs, yet has a sturdy appearance and an athletic body that helps it herd livestock such as poultry, sheep and cattle. They are short so if livestock tries to kick the dog, the hoof goes right over the dog's head. Its body is long, and it has a naturally long, bobbed, or artificially docked tail and erect ears. The corgi's head should be foxy in shape and appearance.

  Size

Pembroke Welsh Corgis are 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) tall from their feet to the top of their shoulders. The length from the shoulders to the set on of the tail is 40 percent longer than their height. Pembrokes in peak athletic condition weigh 26 to 30 pounds (12 to 14 kg) for males, and 24 to 28 pounds (11 to 13 kg) for females. They reach their full height by 9 months old, but their bodies keep filling out until they reach full maturity at two years. Pembrokes have a big appetite, so they can weigh up to 40 pounds (18 kg) if allowed to overeat.^[1] Pembroke Welsh Corgis (Corgwn in Welsh) can benefit from portion control and exercise. a show dog should not have too much white and the proper coloration can be red and white,or tricolored (black,tan,and white)

  Temperament

  Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

Pembroke Welsh Corgis are very affectionate, love to be involved in the family, and tend to follow wherever their owners go. They have a great desire to please their owners, thus making them eager to learn and train. (They can be stubborn, however.) The dogs are easy to train and are ranked as the eleventh smartest dog in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs. Besides herding, they also function as watchdogs due to their alertness and tendency to only bark as needed. Most Pembrokes will seek the attention of everyone they meet and behave well around children and other pets. It is important to socialize this breed with other animals, adults and children when they are very young to avoid any anti-social behavior or aggression later in life. Due to their herding instinct, they love to chase anything that moves, so it is best to keep them inside fenced areas. The herding instinct will also cause some younger Pembrokes to nip at their owner's ankles to get attention, but this behavior can be stopped through training and maturity.^[1]

  Coat and colour

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 mismark 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 mismark if they were black and white with no tan present.

  Pembroke Welsh Corgi

Pembrokes should have a "fairy saddle" marking on the side of their shoulders caused by changes in the thickness, length and direction of hair growth. The phrase "fairy saddle" arises from the legend that Pembroke Welsh Corgis were harnessed and used as steeds by fairies. The white markings can be on the feet, chest, nose, stripe on the head, and as white partly or fully around the neck. Pembroke Welsh Corgis have an undercoat of fine soft fur and an overcoat of coarse hair, which makes their coat water resistant. Their coat should be medium length with a little extra on the chest plate.

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).

Faults in the breed include: "fluffies" who have long hair, and "bluies," which is a dilute colour. In a bluie that is a red dog, the red color would seem to have a bluish cast to it and the eyes will be light (instead of a dark brown) and the nose, eye rims, lips and pad colour would be slate gray instead of black. In a black dog, the areas that would be black in a black dog are instead a slate blue gray. As in the red, the eyes will be light and the nose, eyerims, lips and pads will be slate gray. "Whities" have white in abnormal areas. Fluffies, bluies, and whities should not be bred due to their genetic faults. Other faults include smaller toy-like Corgis, obviously oversized dogs, and Corgis with all short hair as in a Doberman.

  Tail

Pembroke Welsh Corgis are one of the natural natural bobtail breeds with the C189G T box gene. This gene is semi-dominant and lethal in its homozygous form.^[2] This gene means that the breed is naturally born with a tail or with a bobtail of varying lengths, but most puppies are docked after birth. There are several theories on why they are docked outside the written breed standards. Docking has been a criminal offence in the United Kingdom since 2006. The Kennel Club^[3],the United Kennel Club^[4], and the FCI allow tails to be shown in conformation, only the AKC Standard states the tails should be docked no longer than 2 inches (5 cm). Breeders band the tails or have a veterinarian dock the tails within five days of their birth.

  Health

  Pembroke leaving teeter-totter during a dog agility competition

Pembrokes have an average life expectancy of 11-12 years.^[5] Like people, every animal can be susceptible to certain physical problems as they get older. Pembroke owners must not indulge their dogs by feeding them too much, which can be a hard task to accomplish. Other health problems may include degenerative myelopathy, hip dysplasia, and Von Willebrand's disease if their parents suffered from the same problems. Other top genetic disorders are progressive retinal atrophy, retinal folds, persistent pupillary membranes, cataracts, cancer and autoimmune system problems, uterine inertia during whelping, and sterility in males. A responsible breeder will have tested the parents for hips, eyes and vWD, all of which can be verified by checking the parents on the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) site at www.offa.org.

Pembrokes descend from the line that is the northern spitz-type dog (examples include that of the Siberian Husky).^[6]

  History

The Pembroke Welsh Corgi lineage has been traced back as far as 1107 AD.^[7] It is said that the Vikings and Flemish weavers brought the dogs with them as they traveled to reside in Wales.^[7] As far back as the 10th century, Corgis were herding sheep, geese, ducks, horses and cattle as one of the oldest herding breed of dogs. Pembrokes have proven themselves as excellent companions and are outstanding competitors in sheepdog trials and dog agility.

Pembroke Welsh Corgis may be descendants of Swedish Vallhund Dogs, Schipperke, Pomeranian, and other Spitz-type dogs. Pembrokes and Cardigans first appeared together in 1925 when they were shown under the rules of The Kennel Club in Britain.^[6] The Corgi Club was founded in December, 1925 in Carmarthen, Pembrokeshire.^[6]It is reported that the local members naturally favored the Pembroke breed, so a club for Cardigan enthusiasts was founded a year or so later.^[6] Both groups have worked hard to ensure the appearance and type of breed are standardized through careful selective breeding.^[6] Pembrokes and Cardigans were officially recognized by the Kennel Club in 1928 and are lumped together under the heading Welsh Corgis.^[6] Pembroke Welsh Corgis are becoming more popular in the United States and rank 22nd in American Kennel Club registrations,^[8] as of 2006.

Queen Elizabeth II owns 16 dogs of this breed.^[9]

  Activities

Pembroke Welsh Corgis can compete in dog agility trials, obedience, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests.^[10]

  See also

• Welsh corgi
• Cardigan Welsh corgi
• Swedish vallhund
• Herding Group

  References

  External links

• MyCorgi.com (non-profit charity & social networking for corgi owners)
• Cor.gi (Corgi Fanciers of Gibraltar)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Welsh Corgi Pembroke

Dogs originating in Wales Black and Tan Terrier Cardigan Welsh Corgi Pembroke Welsh Corgi Sealyham Terrier Welsh Hound Welsh Sheepdog Welsh Springer Spaniel Welsh Terrier