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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on April 7, 2010 at 6:09pm

I think you have to be careful about using absolutes like you are.

Were corgis supposed to cover 20 miles a day? I'd say pretty surely not; they were developed to work close and under conditions of communal grazing and periodic short bursts of speed, and to do so while consuming very few calories. The whole reason they went virtually extinct and attracted the attention of wealthy US and UK socialites back when dog breeding (and, often, saving breeds) was something that was expected in that circle was that they DIDN'T have a job anymore. Long-legged herders had almost completely taken over specifically because under the more modern farming and containment systems the farmers had to have dogs who would go long distances and they didn't have to conserve calories as much.

Pembrokes are in some way linked to Vallhunds; Cardigans are not.

And you, again, have to be very careful about defining "traditional" leg length. The goal of the early breeders was to get back to a functional dog from a thousand years ago, not create a functional dog for herding jobs today. If they were trying to do the latter, they could have skipped the whole thing and let the breeds die and bought some border collies. When they picked up the few remaining corgis of both types in Wales, they were looking at dogs who were the tail end (and much decreased in quality) of an ancient landrace. I think we can say some things about how the ancient corgi body would have been constructed - and I think the modern standard comes pretty close to it - but aside from the fact that we're pretty sure that the ancient dogs would have had a short, strong pastern (something a lot of badly bred Pembrokes today terribly lack, even as their breeders are saying that they're "traditional" in style) we don't know what the absolute leg length was. Short or very short, for sure, but we don't know the absolute proportions.

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Permalink Reply by Lucy & Ricky (Wendy/Jack ) on April 7, 2010 at 4:53pm

I'm not a breeder nor in any way an expert on Corgis. I've just loved and owned Corgis my whole life. I trust the Illustrated Study of the Welsh Corgi Standard written by four of the most respected breeders, each averaging, I believe, about 30-40 years of experience working to make the breed better––sound of body and temperament. This standard is not only sanctioned but is published by the PWCAA. I am confident that they would not advocate a standard that was not good for the breed. Additionally the Corgis pictured on the cover were show-groomed and the coats give the impression of being shorter of leg than in actuality. There were no blow-dryers at work back in the old days.

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Permalink Reply by Lucy & Ricky (Wendy/Jack ) on April 7, 2010 at 9:49pm

@ Lisa & Toby- Length of leg has nothing to do with weight problems. Corgis with weight problems eat too much and/or don't get enough exercise. My Corgi, Rookie, was long in the leg and was my only Pembroke to need back surgery at 6 yrs. of age. Lucy is lower in the leg and loves nothing more than running all day. I get tired just watching her. She's a beautiful mover. I'll try to post a video. Frankly, I'd be concerned if Lucy lacked stifle. I am not at all worried about the length of her leg. BTW, we were always advised by Corgi experts to only bathe our Corgi when dirty. It's amazing how little bathing a Corgi in a dry climate requires. The one time we had Lucy professionally groomed she looked like her chest was on the ground. It was merely the result of grooming which included a blow-dry.

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