Different Fur Types

Is there a reason (well besides breeding of course) that I've seen so many different fur types in corgis?

I've seen extremely short haired... to extremely long haired, almost gold retriever long haired.. you know.. the real wavy you could comb hair?

Was just wondering why that is. Is it winter fur vs. summer fur? Age? etc?

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Permalink Reply by Linda on March 27, 2013 at 7:49am

Sam is right. Max is a fluffy and his coat is so different than Katie's and I'm not talking just in length. Katie has the coarse coat where Max's is silky soft and has almost like a puppy fur undercoat. The length of a fluffy coat does vary. I let Max grow out one time and his coat gets very long. My groomer is tops in keeping him well groomed and pretty yet still looking like a fluffy. And when they blow their coats...OMG! I can make a whole new dog just from the clumps I find on the carpets.

The long coats are a genetic fault and as said they can't be shown for conformation...which they should be. Many breeds allow different coat lengths. Also breeders are not suppose to breed a fluffy but when they show up they are sold as pet quality. Max & Katie are uncle and niece, she is a pup from one of his sisters.

Max's sire is from South Africa and for whatever reason his people had never seen a full grown adult fluffy. My breeder sent them a pic (my avie) that I had sent her after Max's coat grew back..it had been shaved bald when we got him. They were amazed at how beautiful he was. Also from what I seen fluffies seem to be on the larger side of the scale, for Pems at least.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Moore on March 27, 2013 at 3:37pm

Yes, fluff's are a genetic defect for the breed. However, a show breeder can have many litters and then BOOM, a littler with a fully. The gene is recessed and one never knows when it will show up. Coats are different in lines. Even at a confirmation show you will see different coats competing. As long as they meet the AKC standard, they can be shone. When I get a fluff into rescue people love them! I talk for hours about the up keep and they just nod. Then they want to shave the dog. That's a big no no. I think that they are beautiful! They are not smaller or larger because they are a fluff. Their personalities are no different than other dogs in the line. The are just beautiful fluffs!

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Permalink Reply by DSmith on March 27, 2013 at 5:14pm

My Dexter is a long hair. I shave him down every few months. I don't understand why it's considered a "big no". Dexter does the stop, drop and roll in every disgusting thing he can find. So in that sense it's a cleanliness issue. In the summer its cooler for him. In the winter the snow balls up in his undercarriage and affects his walking. I know that he doesn't like to go through the grooming process but in the long run its better for him. He also is not as aggressive with my other corgie.

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Permalink Reply by Linda on March 27, 2013 at 6:54pm

I'm sure there are fluffies the size of my Katie..she is about 27 lbs but the ones I have seen all seem to be big boned like my Max...37 lbs with paws the size of the palms of my hand. I do know that from here on in, fluffies are what we want, they are just such beautiful dogs. A little more work in the grooming department but that's why there are groomers. Max always looks like a fluff but I keep him trimmed...I don't let the belly fur get too long or his feet too furry especially in the winter and mud season.

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Permalink Reply by Carrie Baxter on March 28, 2013 at 9:23am

We currently have our #3 (Ryno) and #4 (Wrigley) Pems. Ryno's coat is much coarser, wavy and longer than Wrigley's. They have the same father, born within 3 days of each other, by different mothers. We live is SW Florida and have warm and hot days most of the year.

We have found they actually "blow coat" more often than our northern corgi friend's do, probably 3-4 times a year. They shed constantly. We recently got a furminator and the thing is MAGIC. I went from sweeping up a 3-chihuahua sized pile of fur daily to one over 2-3 days. (We measure fur by how many chihuahua's it would make) As long as we brush them daily (2-5 minutes each) the fur glitter is kept to a minimum.

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Permalink Reply by E.B. on March 28, 2013 at 11:39am

Thanks to the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club website, I now know that my little man is a merle bluie! His little nub of a tail is turning blue. It makes me a little sad to see them call it a "serious fault", even though I know that's not really what they mean. I think he's perfect :)

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Permalink Reply by Judith Andre on March 29, 2013 at 1:06am

I looked at the pictures you posted of Sterling and he doesn't look like a blue merle to me. Looks like he has some sable in him. Puppies often have a grayish tone that goes away as they get older. Anyhow, he's very cute.

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Permalink Reply by E.B. on March 29, 2013 at 7:39am

Oops! I definitely meant to type sable bluie. (We also have a blue Merle Australian Shepard/border collie mix). Sterling is all sable colored, but his little tail has turned blue in the last couple weeks. Maybe that doesn't really make him a bluie, just a sable with a blue tail? Either way, he's only 3 months old so I think his coloring is supposed to continue to change?
I uploaded a picture. Not great, but I think you can see the blue in his little tail.

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