Upsurge of interest in Corgis during this year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
My husband had a phone call out of the blue yesterday from our local BBC Radio station. They'd found us from the Kennel Club register and I guess this means that we are possibly the only owners of a registered Corgi in the whole of the county of Gloucestershire! Looking at all aspects of the Queen and her life in this Jubilee year, they wanted to know all about the breed and what it was like to live with a Corgi. My husband ended up doing a phone interview with the presenter, talked all about Fox and the pros and cons of the breed.
Interestingly the presenter told him that during her research she had discovered that there has been a huge upsurge of interest in Corgis this year and a demand for puppies. Although great to hear, since Pems and Cardies are both endangered over here in the UK, I wonder whether this will lead to an equally big upsurge in unscrupulous breeders. Let's face it......times are hard and people will do anything for money.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kaitlyn & Chase on
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That does raise a flag. Not only could that cause people to become irresponsible "back yard" breeders but it could cause many Corgis to end up in shelters. Many people want Corgis because they are the most adorable little dwarf dogs they've ever seen but they don't do proper research in order to decide if the breed is appropriate for their family. Corgis have very bold personalities and they have a unique Corgi attitude that may not be ideal for everyone. I hope this does not lead to puppy mills or homeless Corgis!!
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Permalink Reply by Gilly & 'Fox' on
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Very true Kaitlyn. The reputation that the Queen's Corgis have for being fat and snappy has given the breed a bad name over here, but does show that they CAN be if overfed and not trained out of their natural 'snap-at-heel' herding instinct. I'm certain that if one has little kids around, they could be the focus of herding/heel snapping to an untrained Corgi. We feel that they are a great breed for families with slightly older kids, especially since they such beasts and enjoy being trained - my son has taught Fox a myriad of tricks, the best one for me being that he will shut the living room door on request, which is great when you're feeling too lazy to get off the sofa!
The other thing that concerns me is that people wanting Corgis to look like the Queen's will also want them docked, which is illegal in this country..and rightly so. Dogs of all breeds have taken on such a designer fashion angle over here, that anything is possible.
Is docking of Corgis still legal in the States? I believe that the odd farmer over here can apply for docking if it can be proved through various channels that it is a regular working/herding animal and likely to be running through hedges and undergrowth etc.=. And what is your equivalent of The Kennel Club over there.....or is it The Kennel Club?!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Diane on
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Docking is still legal in the states... ;-< From what I've gleaned from this site it sounds as though it is difficult to find a pemmie with a tail here. I've seen a few in rescue but that's about it.
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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My Sidney has his tail, but he's one of only a few undocked Pems that I know. Most everyone who meets him wishes docking was at least optional here in the states, but it's pretty much the norm.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I can't say I'd be sad to see Corgis get more popular in the UK; last time I checked, only a few hundred pups were registered every year (and even fewer Cardis). On average, Brits are much more active with their dogs than we are here in the states (with gun dog breeds being quite popular as pets) and the English are more likely to take the dog down to the pub, or out for long daily walks. Many people have access to walking trails either along canals or through farmers' fields at the edges of towns, from what I've seen (my husband is English and we've been there several times). Of course that's not true in the biggest cities. But I think Corgis are under-popular in the UK, for the reasons you've listed.
I am more concerned that they are getting more popular here in the States, for the worst of reasons: they are the center of so many internet memes because they look so stinkin' cute in various costumes and they have such expressive faces that it's easy to stick some sort of funny saying under a picture of one. People who get them for that reason are less likely to do their homework.
We shall see, but I would like to see the numbers come up in the UK.
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Ooops...I meant to write the word "intelligent" between "such" and "beasts in my earlier entry, but I'm sure you got the idea!
That's very interesting Beth. I knew that Corgis were more popular over there, but had no idea that the cutesie factor was becoming a bit out of hand.
Here in the UK, the main general dog issue is the dangerous dog problem, particularly with Staffordshire Bull Terriers, which are often bought by hard nuts as a 'tough' status symbol. They are then encouraged to be aggressive (some even trained for horrendous illegal dog fighting) and end up either attacking other dogs, or even worse... humans. I heard on the radio the other day that the UK are looking to return to dog licences as in the old days. I do think we need to make it a luxury to own a dog in this country and not a right and also give people some incentive to attend puppy/dog training classes. It's sad to see the cast offs in our local animal shelter, although much of that recently has to do with the recession.
The trendy dog thing here is 'designer crosses' - Labradoodles, Spoodles etc. which seem to me like a wonderful excuse to charge a shed load of dosh for a pretty mongrel!
Any reason that pet Corgis are still routinely being docked in this day and age?!
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Permalink Reply by Snickmom on
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I thought when you said "such beasts" that was what you intended....
As far as docking, I read an interesting post on how breeders do whatever it takes to get wins in the ring, and so a breed will vary geographically as to it's conformation depending on how the local clubs judge. (if I am remembering the discussion correctly) I would imagine that corgis are docked partly because of this, and partly supply and demand; the bunny butt is part of their appeal and what the buyers want, the breeders do. The trendy breeds are very popular here, too and Pit Bulls are the tough guy's aggressive dog. It is interesting how many people own pits and swear by how sweet they are, and how many pit and pit mixes are in shelters.
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Actually..you're quite right! Yes, Fox can be a complete beast at times, especially just now when I was trying to get him in and he insisted on barking at/herding my neighbour's lawnmower! Yes, the Pit Bulls/Staffies are the problem dogs here too.
Re. docking again. So is there no Kennel Club in the States....ie. a regulatory body which dictates what can/can't be done to Pedigree dogs? And how can vets justify doing it? Vets here are heavily fined or prosecuted if they are caught doing it? I can't believe that people still want to cut off a tail just for looks. And anyway...the tail itself is completely fabulous...curly, brush-like, white tipped......tremendously cute and Fox always gets admiring comments about his!
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Permalink Reply by Shou on
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There is the AKC here, but I mean in the end, that's made up of breeders too. They're the ones who end up writing the breed standard. And over here, docking is part of the breed standard. I had originally wanted a corgi with a tail, but that's very difficult to find here. The breeders that DON'T dock tails can't show their dogs since they're not standard. And the breeders that do show... If you want a pup with a tail, you'd have to pay in full before they're born, and whichever one gets picked to keep the tail, is the one you get. I've had a few breeders offer to do this for me, when I mentioned that I wanted a tailed pup. I guess a pup with a tail would be harder to sell.
I ended up getting a pup with a docked tail, since he's an older pup. But I think for my next corgi, if the States hasn't banned tail docking by then, I might have to save up my money and import one fro Europe somewhere just so I can have that lovely tail!
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Permalink Reply by Heidi and Ruby on
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I live in the Midwest and was able to find a breeder in Iowa that recently stopped docking (within the past year). This was a requirement for my husband and I getting a corgi, so we looked around for months before we found her. Let me know if you ever are serious about a tailed pem, as this would probably be much less expensive than shipping from Europe :)
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I feel the same way about Pems getting popular here in the States too, Beth. With all the internet memes coming up every day, it seems like suddenly EVERYONE wants a corgi just because they're cute. Even among people I know, I'm surprised to find how many people suddenly say "OH I LOVE CORGIS!!". I really hope this doesn't lead to an over surge of backyard breeding, or people getting corgis, and realizing what little devils they can be, and then try to get rid of them. :\ The one thing that I love about corgis is that they're a relatively rare breed, and the community around them really loves and cares about the breed. But as they get more popular, it may start to diminish and that is a sad thing.
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Permalink Reply by Rachelle N on
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Beth,
I agree with you on so many points that you made. I adopted my Corgi mix after a lot of thought and after filling out a large application about my preferences and lifestyle. I wanted a very active dog because I work from home and like to go for long walks several times a day. I had wanted one of the toy breeds but it didn't fit into my plan for taking long walks. I tend to be the exception regarding the long walks because I notice that most of my neighbors rarely walk their dogs more than a block. I also see a large number of dogs who spend their days indoors or in the yard alone.
I love my dog but realize that she would not be a perfect fit for others. She does have a somewhat pushy and aggressive personality that not everyone would like or be able to handle. Plus, she barks quite a bit and then there's that herding instinct. On the other hand, she is very protective of me and I love her energy and her clownish behavior. Corgis are adorable dogs, no doubt. I've taken the cutest photographs of my dog "dressed up." I do notice more and more people adopting Corgis because they are "cute" but that's also true about a lot of other "cute" breeds. There are so many "cute" dogs that people can adopt....I wish they would consider lifestyle and personality factors as well as looks.
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