CARDIGAN WELSH CORGIS

Very, very early this morning, according to Kansas City time, there was this thing called a Royal Wedding.  And what happens at a Royal Wedding is that a Prince marries a beautiful woman, and she becomes a Princess, and they live happily ever after.  And someday they might even end up being the King and Queen.

A lot of people got up in the middle of the night to watch the Royal Wedding, but we didn't.  We just kept on sleeping.  If there had been any dogs in the wedding, it might have been worth watching, but there weren't, so it wasn't.  Or at least that's what I think!

We don't know if the Royal Newlyweds have any dogs, or what kind of dogs they even like.  Prince William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, likes Pembroke Welsh Corgis, as I told you in a blog entry before.  But there is a second kind of corgi, and it is called the Cardigan Welsh Corgi.  Personally, I think the Cardigan is cuter than the Pembroke corgi, but that is just my opinion.  Anyway, because of the Royal Wedding, it seemed like I should talk about a British type of dog, so the Cardigan Welsh Corgi is the breed I chose.

Corgis have probably been around for 3,000 years or more, which makes them one of the oldest of all herding breeds.  They started out in Wales, and they probably came from the Teckel family of dogs, which is where the dachshund also came from.  The words cor gi mean "dwarf dog" in Welsh, and in the old days, corgis used to be called "yard-long dogs."

At first, corgis were just used to guard the flocks and herds, but later on, people started teaching corgis to also do actual herding.  The reason the dogs were bred to be so short is so that if a cow tried to kick them, the kick would miss the dogs instead of knocking their heads off.

Cardigan Corgis and Pembroke Corgis are close relatives, but their genes show that they are two separate breeds.  Researchers think that the Pembroke was crossed with Norwegian dog breeds during the Viking invasion of England and Wales.

The easiest way to tell the difference between the two breeds is to look at their tails.  The Cardigan has a long, bushy one, and the Pembroke has no tail at all, or only a very short one.  Also the Cardigan Corgi is somewhat more reserved with strangers than the Pembroke is.

The coat of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi is double, with a straight, waterproof outer layer, and a softer inner coat that makes nice insulation for the dog.  The coat is thicker around the neck and rear legs.  Accepted colors are red, brindle, black-and-tan, black, and blue merle.  There are usually white markings on the head, neck, chest, legs, muzzle, belly, and tail tip.  A totally white corgi is not acceptable by AKC standards.

Corgis are very loyal family dogs, and they make good watch dogs.  They tend to be most affectionate with the people they know, and they are more wary of strangers.  They have lots of energy, so they need plenty of exercise.  Corgis are smart and easily trained, and they like children.  They do well competing in events such as agility, obedience, flyball, tracking, and herding trials.

The average Cardigan is between 10.5 and 13 inches tall.  Males weigh 30-38 pounds, and females weigh 25-34 pounds.  They usually live for 12 to 14 years.

Okay, well, that's all I'm going to tell you about the Cardigan Welsh Corgi.  If you're one of those people who got up early to watch the Royal Wedding, I suggest that you go back to bed now and take a nice, long nap!