Cardigan welsh corgi

While his similar cousin pembroke got into a spitz, the Cardigan welsh corgi has more dachshund features. He is full of spirited, intelligent, cheerful, and at the same time barking dog.

Nature

Welsh corgi cardigan is a cheerful, ubiquitous dog with a great temperament. A characteristic feature of this breed is inborn distrust, which means that when dealing with strangers, its representatives keep their distance. They won’t let you pet them right away, but once they meet someone, they exuberantly show him affection.

Cardigan is staring at you and although he sometimes tries to get his way, he will obey his will without major problems. It is a dream companion of children – always willing to play and caress.

Vigilance and courage make him a perfect watchman. The latter trait also means that despite a humble posture, he expects respect from his brethren.

Active by nature, he doesn’t like inaction. Movement is also very important for him because it prevents obesity, which representatives of this breed are prone to.

Skills

Cardigan welsh corgi was mainly used to herd cattle, sometimes sheep and poultry. His work consisted of running around the herd and reprimanding his disobedient members with barking and pinching the loins – a small increase allowed him to effectively avoid kicks. He chased the cows out on the pasture, drove them to the barn or ran them to the market – these skills are also used today.

Currently, however, cardigans are usually family dogs. They also work well in sports, e.g. in agility or obedience. Thanks to their endurance, they can accompany the owner on long trips or even canicross. In Scandinavia, they participate in training for dog rescuers.

Cardigan welsh corgi. Training and education

This dog learns willingly and quickly. His high intelligence may, however, prove to be an obstacle for people who train a dog for the first time – Corgi will remember the mistakes made by the guide in flight. That is why it is important to work with it from the beginning. This is an elemental animal, so if you want to focus on exercise, we must calm him down beforehand.

Puppies require early socialization (getting used to noise, people, animals) – otherwise, the typical mistrust for the breed can turn into fear. It’s worth attending the dog kindergarten with them.

Who is this race for?

Welsh corgi cardigan is suitable for everyone, but requires consistent upbringing. He adapts to life in both an active and peaceful family, but he needs to be able to discharge energy.

Cardigan welsh corgi. Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• molts abundantly
• is barking

Advantages

• devoted to the family
• an excellent friend of children
• good watchman
• durable and resistant
• suitable for a small apartment
• intelligent
• can play dog ​​sports

Cardigan welsh corgi. Health

Cardigan is resistant, it perfectly tolerates any weather conditions. However, you need to pay attention to his spine – this breed of dog should be slim and athletic, which will allow him to avoid e.g. discopathy. Also, a growing puppy cannot go down the stairs.

Corgi is prone to progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) – but there is a DNA test to detect the gene that causes the disease.

About 6-7. one month of life, the front legs of cardigans twist, adopting a characteristic French posture, which can cause temporary painfulness of the wrist joints and youthful lameness – then it is worth giving preparations to protect the joints.

Feeding

Corgi does not have high nutritional requirements, as a shepherd dog perfectly absorbs food. Each cardigan is a greedy eater, so it should not be overfed or given food with a high protein content – only puppies during the growth period need a high protein diet. Adult dogs are best fed with foods for large breeds.

Care

It is enough to comb the Cardigan thoroughly once a week, thus removing dead hair, so the care is not too troublesome. It is worth remembering, however, that this dog molts abundantly.

If necessary, we bathe dogs in medium-length dog shampoo. You also need to periodically check your cardigan’s ears and – if dirt has accumulated in them – thoroughly clean them.

Cardigan welsh corgi. History

Apparently, the Welsh corgi are derived from old Celtic dogs that arrived with them to the British Isles even before our era. Many cynologists point out that they have been bred for two centuries as two separate breeds: cardigan – the most abundant in Cardiganshire, from which it took its name – and pembroke.

The first of the breeds in appearance, character and origin was closer to dogs of the dachshund type, the second had more spitz features. The oldest historical mention of a corgi dates from 920 and is in the Welsh collection of laws. In the section on agriculture, there is a description of a small shepherd dog that was used to herd cattle.

It is not known exactly where the word corgi came from. Some believe that it can be a cluster of words: cor (dwarf) and gi (dog) or derived from cur (watch) or from corlan gi, which in Welsh means a dog from a sheep enclosure.

At the end of the 19th century, as a result of changes in agriculture, corgi became less useful. At the beginning of the 20th century, however, they appeared at several agricultural exhibitions in London as guardians of the presented inventory, so they aroused the interest of cynologists and did not become extinct. In 1925 a corgi club was established, and in 1934 two separate breeds were recognized – welsh corgi cardigan and welsh corgi pembroke.

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Welsh corgi cardigan – group I FCI, section 1, reference number 38

• Country of origin:  Great Britain
• Original purpose:  cattle herding dog
• Character:  friendly dog, exuberant; very attached to the family; distrustful of strangers, but he should not show fear or nervousness, he is not inclined to dominate, he will submit to the owner; watchful watchman
• Size:  ideal height at the withers – 30 cm
• Coat:  short or medium long, hard, as simple as possible, with undercoat, waterproof
• Color:  any, also with white markings, which should not, however, prevail in color
• Reaching puberty:  10-12 months
• Lifespan:  15-17 years
• Molting:  abundant; twice a year
• Activity:  high; likes movement and long walks; can play dog ​​sports: obedience, agility, canicross
• Training:  indicated basic obedience (PT)
• Vulnerability to training:  high; intelligent dog, eager to learn, does not rebel against repeated exercises; puppies require early socialization due to inborn distrust
• Attitude towards children:  very friendly
• Attitude towards other dogs:  tolerant, but provoked corgi will defend himself
• Weather  resistance: resistant
• Apartment:  can live anywhere
• Preparation for exhibitions:  no special preparation required; bathing, combing hair and cutting claws recommended

Interesting facts

As legend has it, little fairies lived in Wales a long time ago. Those who managed to see them talked about their strange mounts – short-legged, with protruding ears and foxes. People and fairies lived in friendship.

Over time, the villagers, busy with their daily duties, forgot about the enchanted world, so the fairies left – but they left their quadrupeds. The children found them and took them to the settlement, thinking that they were small foxes. However, the adults noticed harness marks on their backs and recognized fairy mounts in them.

The animals stayed with people, they learned to graze sheep and guard the farm – but to this day on the corgi fur, there are apparently traces of a magic harness …

Welsh corgi cardigan is often confused with welsh corgi pembroke – and no wonder, because these breeds are very similar. They are short-legged herding dogs, which were once tried to be bred together, but it turned out that they have a slightly different origin.

The favorite of the British queen, pembroke, is more closely related to the tips. Although oblong, it has a shorter body and relatively smaller ears. He often has a rudimentary tail. By character, he is more hit. Most often in the red color, it can also be saddled or – rarely – black and tan.

In turn, the cardigan may be related to dachshunds. He always boasts a long tail and is available in a larger range of colors: also brindle or marbled. He is shyer than his cousin.