FROM HERDSMAN’S FRIEND TO FAMILY PET
The Welsh corgi is an intelligent and confident breed, full of boundless energy and always eager to please
“You think those dogs will not be in heaven! I tell you they will be there long before any of us”
Robert Louis Stevenson
SOFT BELLOWS RING down a narrow lane, dust rising from the baking ground, as a herd of cattle make their daily journey to the milking shed. Occasionally, a straggler, her pace slowing, wanders onto the grass verge, her head raised towards an overhanging branch, with an inclination, perhaps, to stop. But the darting figure of a small dog keeps her on the move, yapping at her heels and goading her forward. The Welsh corgi is in its element: its bushy tail in constant motion and a glint in its eye, it lets forth a volley of commanding barks, tactically retreating before making another run and pushing the group onward.
Before their transformation into favourite household pets, this was the life most corgis would have known. They were bred as farm dogs, covering long miles to drive livestock across the mountainsides and fields of Cardiganshire and neighbouring Pembrokeshire. They worked by heeling, nipping at the feet or tails of animals that loomed above them; worrying and prodding them; making short, fast runs, rather than skirting a wide circle. Confident and assertive, they would stand their ground if confronted by an uncooperative animal, snapping and snarling, facing down the transgressor.
Today, few corgis fulfil their pastoral role, but Rhun Fychan’s three dogs herd sheep and cattle on his 120-acre farm, as did their mother, Gwen, before them. “We live in the heart of Cardiganshire, or Ceredigion as it’s called now, so it seemed the natural choice of breed to keep,” he says. “We didn’t plan for them to herd; they just naturally started doing it. There’s no input from me; they’re not obeying the commands of a handler, as would a sheepdog. The dogs are a law to themselves, and they love their job. They’re very active, and there’s plenty for them to do.”
Long heritage
Rhun’s dogs are Cardigan corgis, believed to be one of the UK’s oldest breeds, the descendants of a dachshund-type dog brought to Wales with the Celts some 3,000 years ago. Like their sister breed, the Pembroke corgi, they were originally used to chase away livestock that had wandered onto their
owner’s land or to clear a path ahead of a group of animals before the heeling instinct was finally harnessed to drive animals forward from the rear. The dogs were tough and self-sufficient: a willing helpmate used to herd cattle to summer pastures, to local markets and cattle trains, to pen sheep or turn their hand to catching rats and rabbits.
The Pembroke is a younger dog, thought to have its roots in a spitz-type breed introduced by Flemish immigrants in the 1100s, and which probably bred with the Cardigan corgi. Rhun believes the modern corgi also shares ancestry with the Welsh sheepdog, pointing to the similarity between the two. “The corgi is basically a big dog with short legs,” he says. “If you look at the shape and colour of a Welsh sheepdog and a corgi, aside from the legs, they’re very similar.” This corgi ancestor was probably one of the drovers’ dogs, who would steer herds of sheep, pigs and cattle, sometimes numbering in the thousands, to the markets of England. “There’s an 1824 map of the upper reaches of the Rheidol valley, in the hills of north Ceredigion, and whoever drew it has sketched a shepherd in the corner. Beside him is a longer-legged dog: red, with a white nape to his neck, like a lot of corgis. That could be the corgi-type dog used by the drovers.”
Corgis remained little known outside the close-knit agricultural communities of western Wales until the 1920s, when their appearance at agricultural shows and then the Kennel Club ring brought them to public attention. Their distinctive looks and charm made them an instant hit. Corgis were initially considered by the Kennel Club to be a single breed, but this was rectified in 1934, when each type was given separate recognition, breed standards laid down and the then common inter-breeding officially halted.
Raring to go
With their pastoral legacy, it is little wonder that corgis are always on the move. “They’ve loads of energy, and they’re out and about all the time,” says Rhun. “They love exercise, but when mine see the lead, they hide under the car, as they prefer to be off on their own. They’re very friendly dogs, but mine can be noisy. They can bark a lot, and if someone’s there, you know it: they’re a good guard dog. Some people might be a bit afraid of mine when they hear them, but if you talk to them, they quieten down straight away and roll on their backs, soft as anything, wanting to be scratched.
“Corgis are very intelligent dogs, very alert, and nothing ever escapes their attention. They need a job to do, to be kept
occupied at all times, otherwise they can get bored.”
Strong-willed and bold, the corgi is used to acting on its own initiative and is more than able to work situations to its own advantage. Training is necessary to curb a tendency to take control. Some believe the Pembroke to be easier to train than the Cardigan, as they are generally happier to learn by rote. Corgis’ enthusiasm and boundless energy, coupled with a surprising turn of speed, mean they will often excel at agility classes or flyball.
Coat of many colours
The Cardigan is usually a slightly bigger dog than the Pembroke. Once known as ‘ci llathen’, the yard dog, it is typically 40in (102cm) long: the same as a Welsh yard in the days before measurements were standardised. This makes it longer than the Pembroke corgi, and, at 11-13in (28-33cm) at the withers, up to an inch (2.5cm) taller. Both breeds are stocky dogs, with a thick skull and strong jaw. They have large, upright ears, those of the Cardigan rounded at the tip and the Pembroke’s narrower and more pointed.
The corgi coat is thick and waterproof, making it ideal for long days outdoors; the body is kept warm by a soft, dense underlayer. The hair is of medium length and very straight, and shaggier on the chest. Most people associate the
Pembroke with a red coat, which can vary through shades of sable and fawn, but there are also black- and red-headed tricolour dogs, all with patches of white.
Cardigans display a wider range of colours: blue merle, brindle, red, sable or tricolour with either brindle or red points. In the blue merle, one or both eyes may be blue; otherwise the corgi’s eyes are a deep, liquid brown, with the Cardigan eye drawing to a slight point at the outer corner and the Pembroke’s, rounder.
Occasionally, red corgis with a bluish tint to their coat may be seen. These are nicknamed ‘bluies’, and the colouring is considered a fault. There are also dogs known as ‘fluffies’, which have a long, thin coat. Breeding from these is not recommended, in order to protect the traditional appearance.
Standing tall
Whether at work or at play, the corgi’s tail never seems to stop moving; this is a big-hearted and curious dog, which enjoys life. The Cardigan has a thick, bushy tail, long enough to almost brush the ground when standing. In Pembrokes, tail length varies. “Some Pembrokes have a tiny bobtail, just an inch or so long, while others have a half tail, and still others a full tail,” says Lynne Creech, a long-time owner and breeder of Pembrokes, who helps run the Welsh Corgi Rescue Service from her Somerset home. “In the past, the tail was docked, but in the UK that’s now banned. Some breeders are trying to keep the bobtail intact, but in a litter with a bobtail parent, you’ll get a mixture of tails.”
But the most celebrated feature of the corgi is its short legs, set close to the barrelled chest, the short stature of the dog originally helping it to avoid kicking hooves. Here is another small point of difference between the two corgi breeds, the Cardigan having a slight bow to its front legs, with those of the Pembroke being straight. Both have thickly padded feet; the Pembroke’s are almost oval in shape, with the middle toes slightly longer than the rest. Cardigan feet tend to be rounder and wider, with toes of equal length.
The small size of the dog is a possible explanation for its name: ‘cor gi’ is Welsh for ‘dwarf dog’. A second theory is that the name derives from ‘cur dog’. Although the word ‘cur’ was often used to describe a mongrel or nuisance dog, this was not always the case. The Laws of Hywel Dda, who by his death, circa 950, ruled most of Wales, refer to the watch cur, the shepherd’s cur and the house cur, all of which were very highly regarded and had a legal value should they be killed or stolen. In his Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe of 1547, William Salesbury defines ‘korgi ne gostoc’ as ‘corgi or curre dogge’. ‘Corgi’ was also the name used in Wales for the ‘cur fox’, one of three types of fox noted by the naturalist Simeon Shaw in 1823, and perhaps a reflection of the likeness between the two.
Happy home
The corgi is a sociable, spirited dog, its expressive face usually wreathed in an infectious smile. “They’re such a great family pet, always happy to be around you,” says Lynne. “I’ve had dogs all my life, mostly fairly big ones, including Old English sheepdogs and Golden retrievers. But, with children, I wanted something smaller, and when a friend got a corgi, I thought they were just brilliant. I’ve got five Pembrokes at the moment, one of which is a descendant of my first dog.”
Corgis are relatively low maintenance, their day-to-day care straightforward. “They’re such easy dogs; they really need very little attention. They don’t need bathing a lot; they eat well and they aren’t fussy with food. But they do tend to guard their food and kennel, especially with animals that they don’t know, and some might nip. You need to set strong boundaries in order to socialise young corgis. All mine
have taken part in the Good Citizen Dog Scheme, which they have really enjoyed.”
With their dense coats, corgis shed a lot of hair, especially in spring and autumn, when they undergo major moults. “Although a lot of people bemoan corgi shedding, I personally don’t think it’s too much of a problem,” says Lynne. “I find that if you groom once a week, you can really keep on top of it, and then there are just the big moults to deal with. The hair comes away in clumps, and once you brush it out, it’s fine.”
With their healthy appetite, corgis can be prone to weight gain, and obesity is one of the biggest threats to their well-being, especially the effects on their leg joints. Like all long-backed dogs, they can also be prone to slipped and ruptured discs. Cardigans can inherit an incurable eye condition, known as rcd3-PRA, which can lead to blindness, although a successful screening programme means that no known carriers have been born in the UK since 2012. Most corgis will enjoy a carefree and active life to approximately 12 years of age.
“Corgis are such happy little creatures: really fun characters,” says Lynne. “They’ll fit into any household really, whether it’s as a companion for an older person or as a family dog. They’re happy to go on a 10-mile hike with you or will just pootle around the garden. Mind you, if you’re out with a group of people, you can suddenly realise they’ve been herding you the whole time, pushing you together without you noticing. I suppose old habits die hard.”
“Day after day, the whole day through— Wherever my road inclined— Four-Feet said, “I am coming with you!” And trotted along behind”
Rudyard Kipling, ‘Four Feet’