The Pembroke Welsh Corgi: a big dog in a small body.

A Fairy’s Gift.

Perhaps, the Welsh Corgi is the most ancient breed in the British Isles, to be more precise – two distinct breeds, as we will show it below. However, the genealogy of these unpresentable, at first sight, dog can hardly be traced from written sources up to the beginning of XX centuries.

As usual in such cases, the breed’s origins are obscured by tales and legends. They are usually connected with «small people" – elves and fairies of the British Isles.

According to the most wide-spread legend, two children tending their family's cattle on royal lands found a pair of puppies, which they thought were foxes. When they brought the puppies home, they were told the dogs were a gift from the fairies.

Subsequently this legend acquired more details. Welsh legends tell us that the fairies would use the little dogs to pull their carriages or as mounts for them to ride into battle. If you look, you can still see the marks of the fairy saddle on their shoulders (especially pronounced in the sable color). As the little puppies that the children brought home grew, they learned to help their humans watch over their cattle, a task to become a responsibility for their descendants for the centuries to follow.

The belief in the Corgis’ connections with the fairyland dwellers has, probably, one more justification. It is the magic capability for reading mood and wishes of the master. Sincere sympathy to people, nice psychological scent and sense of humour (exactly so, it is reflected even in the standard of the breed!) suggest that not everything is that simple with these dogs.

Obviously, all the characteristics listed above testify to that the origins of the breed trace the roots back to extreme antiquity – during thousands of years dogs “polished” their skill of "domesticating" such a capricious and wayward creature as the man is, and achieved here stupendous results. The dogs’ duties were most various – they guarded children, turned wild fowl out, herded cattle and carried out any commissions. In close communication with people the Corgis acquired a very subtle intellect and learned to “read” thoughts of the master as an open book.

The first pictures of dogs who resemble Corgis in appearance are left by the Britons, Celtic tribes of Britain. It is logical to suggest that they were them who, one thousand and half years before our era, brought their pets to the Isles, where afterwards the breed took its final shape.

The village Bronant is located in the very center of Cardiganshire, there even nowadays live people who are considered to be direct descendants of Britons - militant, quick-tempered, tall men and women with brown hair. Bronant is "the capital" of thoroughbred Corgis. There they always were members of a family.

But it is also possible that Corgis lived in the mountainous part of Wales long before the arrival of the Celtic-speaking tribes , and in those times it was the sole species of working dogs in the British Isles. Some researchers date the beginning of establishing the breed back to the late Stone Age, when islanders, who were not yet familiar neither with husbandry, nor with cattle-breeding, lived on fish, seabirds and their eggs. Dogs of the Corgi type were used for searching for birds and their nests in crevices and on ledges of coastal cliffs, and for chasing animals in their burrows and thick bushes .

After the arrival of Celts - stock-breeders, little four-legged hunters were compelled to change their occupation. In spite of their tiny hight and friendly character, they became excellent shepherds and were introduced in the catalogue of the present-day breeds just in this capacity (The Pembroke Corgi is considered to be the smallest within the group of herding dogs). As all other representatives of this group, the Corgi lately are rarely used according to their purpose, but their high working qualities are being constantly confirmed by test examinations and competitions, where they compete successfully with larger herding dogs.

One of the first records of Corgis can be found in the Codex of Hywel the Good. This Kng of Wales lived in X century, but the laws ascribed to him were recorded only in XII. But, evidently, they were made up even long before Hywel brought them together and bolstered with his authority. According to the Codex of Hywel the Good for murder of a Corgi herding the cattle its owner had the right to an ox as a compensation , when all other species of dogs including those of King cost not more than 4 "short pence".

Such a difference, paradoxical at first sight, can be explained by the fact that often a small dog herded the livestock alone or together with the same dogs – whiteout presence or participation of any man! Therefore its murder not only left the whole herd without tending, but also deprived the owner of an indispensable worker and endangered his whole husbandry. The Corgis were trained to depasture herds independently, protect them from wolves and brigands (íåñìîòðÿ in spite of small size, they notable for their fearless character).

The work of these small doggies, well known by later descriptions, was opposite to the functions of real sheep-dogs: snapping at cattle’s legs, they lead it away of home the farthest possible. All the unplowed land in Wales belonged to the crown, but all were allowed to pasture cattle on it. One needed to reserve a site suitable for pasturing and keep the cattle of others off the territory occupied by the own. Every morning the owner standing at the gate blew two whistles – one on a high note, another on a low one. By this signal a little short-legged Corgi impetuously turned the cattle out. Letting it scatter throughout the pasture and avoiding cunningly the hooves of wrathful animals, the Corgi assembled it in the evening by another signal made by the master – a shrill long whistle.

The Corgis were also used for work with various domestic animals from poultry to cattle and herds of pigs and ponies. Livestock sales to English meat markets were the primary source of income of Wales. When in Wales they begun to rear geese and ducks in huge quantities providing all Britain with down for feather beds and livers for pate, appeared the problem of its delivering to markets. The Corgis proved themselves as irreplaceable assistants in accompanying those large flocks to the nearest city - working in team they suppressed any attempt to escape. The best of all was they “silent work”, because loud barking could drive away poultry.

It doesn’t mean that the Corgis are that reticent in "informal" situations, too. Among other dogs they belong to those vocalists with voice of enviably great compass – from very low (when they warn of an uninvited guest) to sonorous babbling ( when playing ). To the common "dog’s" range of sounds - barking, growling, yipping and whining one should add specific "grunting".

Added:  Monday, January 29, 2007
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