The Pembroke and the Cardigan – unlike twins.

Splitting of the standard became only the acknowledgment of the obvious fact: the Corgi is not the one, but two distinct breeds. The Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi are diverse dogs originating from two different regions of Wales. Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire were always split by mountains, therefore there were no an active crossing between local breeds of dogs. The said mountains are the Cambrian mountain range extending roughly from northeast to southeast across the peninsula. Independent development within isolated highlands provided for preserving various peculiarities of the breeds’ phenotype.

Both the Cardigan and the Pembroke at first sight resemble a fox – they are small, short-legged, but very agile. Upon a closer view, the Cardigan is coarser and a bit larger than the Pembroke; his tail is long, never docked. Pembrokes are considered to be a docked breed. Indeed, they often litter puppies born docked. Those who born with a tail have it docked for a length of one vertebra. The Pembroke’s ears are of middle size, the Cardigan’s ones are a little bit larger.

The Cardigan - Its coat is short and coarse. The colour can be black, red, tiger, tricolor and even blue merle in any variants, with red or little white speckles. The Pembroke’s coat is of medium length, colour – only red or tricolor with large white markings at paws, chest and neck.

The Pembrokeby nature is more lively and curious; the Cardigan is calmer and more restrained.

They both are conventionally referred to the group of so-called straight-haired sheep-dogs; however, as all the ancient breeds, each of them is more than a breed in the up-to-date meaning of the word. Therefore the matter of their "kinship" is tangled and full of misunderstandings. One should proceed from the fact that primarily the breed was defined not by an exterior, but by working qualities, that is why the phenotype during centuries might change considerably, and it had settled only by the middle of XX century (to make sure, it’s enough to have a look at photos and reports of dog-shows of the beginning of that century).

The hypotheses existing nowadays about kinship of Corgis with these or that breeds are often based on the formal resemblance only. Thus, some reckon that the Cardigan is a kindred to Dachshund-like dogs, but when it separated from this branch or received an infusion from this part – one can only speculate.

Probably, these four-legged aboriginals of Western Britain start they genealogy from those times when they arrived with first settlers. And the fact that this genealogy became obscured with the centuries is not the fault of them. During centuries they might mate with various dogs imported to the British Isles, and any of the existing theories regarding that can be neither proven, nor denied.

Added:  Friday, January 12, 2007
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