I have recently contacted Twinkie's breeder about finding a brother for her. Our conversation went extremely well and I think she is going to keep us in mind for one. The only part of her email that has me chilled to the bone is when she said that breeders are getting better at isolating the fluffy gene and therefore having litters with NO fluffies! I love the fluff! Deep down I know that good breeders want to keep within in the standard, yada, yada, yada. Why can't the AKC recognize fluffs? There are both smooth and rough St. Bernards in the show ring. I am frantic because I just love a fluff. Can't we just call them "Glamour Coats" and get it over with? In my experience (and what others have said here) fluffs have sweet dispositions and I think they shed less. And cute? Forget about it!
I know a lot of you are breeders and you can explain it to me better. I am really afraid that fluffs will become a thing of the past
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I'm not a breeder, but I know that in a working Corgi a fluff is deservedly a fault. Think about it: would you want a fluffy to be in a cattle yard every day? LOL Seriously I know must of us are pet people and most of the breeders are not working their dogs, but they still stay away from the fluff. Practically speaking, since the fluffs can't be shown, you are reducing the number of potential show prospects in a litter if you breed fluffs. I know that Maddie was bred before we got her and she was DNA tested as a fluff-carrier, so she was bred to a fluff-free.
Having grown up with a hunting springer spaniel and seen what the show people have done with the coat (intentionally breeding a dog that requires heavy trimming to be able to run through brush) I am personally thankful whenever a breed club tries to keep a dog that at least looks like it could do the work it's allegedly intended for.
Cardis are a different story. Not sure why, but it may be because there are fewer out there and breeders are therefore reluctant to limit the gene pool.
Yep, there is a test out there for fluff. IMO the AKC won't recognize a fluffy as part of the standard because corgis were bred as working farm dogs. A fluffy coat isn't wash and wear like it should be, and doesn't hold up against the elements as well. Breeders don't want fluffs in their litters because that cuts down on the number of puppies they have to choose from for future show/working prospects.
Cardigan breeders seem more accepting of fluffies than the pems, although that may be partly due to the much smaller pool of available breeding dogs. Fluffy cardigans also don't seem to be so extreme as the pems, and I have seen a couple that were finished champions and/or produced very nice litters. I've even heard some speculation that breeding a dog that carries for fluff produces the more desired show coat more often than a dog that doesn't carry for fluff at all.
I'd thought that even though fflufffies were never intentionally bred, breeders perhaps unintentionally selected for the fluffy gene because the heterozygous carriers had a better coat. Is that true? I've seen only 2 corgi litters, and both were about 1/4 fluffy, what you'd expect from a Mendelian recessive and two heterozygous (carrier) parents.
Al & Gwynn are quite likely fluffy carriers -- Al at least had fflufffy littermates -- their coats are sinfully luxuriant, and just shed rain, snow and mud. There's beauty in function. It's hard to argue with what works so well.
Oddly enough we were just talking about this the other day Cardi wise. Strangely, being hetero for the fluff gene doesn't make coats fuller or thicker or heavier, weirdly enough. You'd never know that some dogs carry fluff, or dogs that you think should be fluff carriers don't have it at all. A friend of mine has a dog who's got almost a fluff coat and we were shocked, he came back clear for fluff.
Caleb's clear, and he's got a better coat than Simon for the ring. Simon's a fluff carrier, and yet he has one of those tight, "non-glamour" coats that is totally wash and wear, but isn't a great one for the ring. Simon just knocks the mud off. Caleb isn't wash and wear -- he's just mostly a lot of wash, haha. ;)
Tempe's a carrier, and yet she's got a way thicker coat than the two boys, but that's also because her dad has a pretty nice coat, and his dad had nice coat too. ;) Her lines are known for their heavier coats.
Frankly.... most of us Cardi folks go, it's just cosmetic. Fluffs don't matter for health. No one I know would take a fluffy out of their breeding lines if everything else was there health and structure wise -- they'd just breed to a dog that was not a fluff carrier.
That said, Tempe's brother was one of the Fluffiest Dogs I've ever seen. I admit, every time I saw him all I wanted to do was hug the heck out of him and go, "He's SO FLUFFY." ;) (I have some pictures of him I took, he was gorgeous, wow. Stunning dog.)
That's fabulous that your girls are herding and will do sheep. I know some Corgis aren't usually used for sheep because they are considered too exciteable (the Corgis, not the sheep). Lucky you to be able to do a hobby farm!
I love the description of Corgis as "market dogs" since they were often used to get the geese and other critters to market.
Whatever we do with our Corgis - they are a wonderful addition to our homes
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