Cardigan Welsh Corgi - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin
As the name suggest, this breed was developed in Wales. And the breeds history is very old and it is believed that this is one of the oldest dogs of the British Isles. The breeds ancestors were most likely brought to wales by migrating Celtic tribes 3000 years ago. Because their history is so old, we can not be sure about the exact breeds ancestry.
2) Herders
Even though these dogs look like cute lap dogs, they are actually very lively working dogs and their main purpose in the past was herding. It is documented that they were serving as herding dogs as early as the 10th century. Their low to the ground body was their advantage, since they were able to easily acces livestock ankles and nip their legs to herd them.​

3) Companions
Today, most of the Cardigan Welsh Corgis are companion dogs. This breed is known for being very devoted to its family and owner and create a very strong bond. They are also quite lively and intelligent, they are working dogs afterall so they will love to have some job in their life. It can also be some daily interactive playtime, regular training sesion or some dog sport, for example agility, rally or obedience trials. The Corgi is very adaptable and can live in big house, but also in tiny apartment. The Cardigan Welsh Corgi also do great with kids, but you should always supervise any dog breed with young children.

4) Two Corgis
There is not only the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, but also the Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Even though, those two breeds are very similar, those are two distinct and separate breeds. The main differences are the tail, ears and face. Cardigans have always long tail, but Pembroke can be born with long tail, but also with naturally bobbed tail and the tail is often times docked. The Cardigan ears are larger and rounder, while Pembrokes are more pointed. And the Pembrokes face is lets say foxier, but the difference is not that big. Cardigans are also slightly larger. The last difference is the coat, because Cardigan has litthe harsher coat texture, but again, the difference is not very big.

5) Name
The name Corgi has an interesting meaning. There are actually two possible explanations and the first one is from Celtic, where the word Corgi means dog. Or it can be a combination of Welsh word Cor and Gi. Cor means dwarf and gi means dog. So Corgi most likely means dwarf dog, which fits perfectly.

6) Ears
One of the most distinctive Cardigan Welsh Corgi feature is the upright ears. But the pups are not born with upright ears, but rather with drop ears that lie flat and as they mature, the ears may slowly begin to rise. It is not uncommon for Corgi puppies to have one upright ear and one dropped ears. BTW, originally it was common for adult Cardigans to have floppy ears but after some selective breeding the more erect ears came to be part of the Cardigan breed.

7) Size
The Cardigan Welsh Corgi is a long and low to the ground dog breed with average height between 10-13 inch which is 25-33 cm and weight is typically between 25-38 pounds, which is 11-17 kg. The females are naturally little bit smaller than males.

8) Coat
The Cardigan has a weather resistant double coat which helped them to withstand harsh weather of Wales. The coat comes in all shades of red, sable, and brindle. Other accepted colors are black, with or without tan and blue merle. Red merle can also occur in this breed, but this color is not accepted yet.

9) Maintenance
As i just said, this is doublecoated dog and just like majority of doublecoated dogs, the Cardigan does shed. And often times, they shed quite heavily, which is why you should be prepared for a lot of brushing to remove the dead hair and minimize the shedding. But other than regular brushing, there are no additional grooming needs. Just like with all dogs, you should regularly check the dogs ears, eyes, teeth and nails and clip them or clean them if needed.

10) Health
Great fact is, that the Cardigan Welsh corgi is usually a very healthy dog breed with average lifespan is between 13-15 years. Of course, they can ocassionally suffer from some health issues, for example from progressive retianal atrophy and intervertebral disc disease.