Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Breed Standard
General Appearance
Low-set, strong, sturdily built and active, giving an impression of
substance and stamina in a small space. Should not be so low and
heavy-boned as to appear coarse or overdone, nor so light-boned as to
appear racy. Outlook bold, but kindly. Expression intelligent and
interested. Never shy nor vicious.
Correct type, including general balance and outline, attractiveness of
headpiece, intelligent outlook and correct temperament is of primary
importance. Movement is especially important, particularly as viewed
from the side. A dog with smooth and free gait has to be reasonably
sound and must be highly regarded. A minor fault must never take
precedence over the above desired qualities.
A dog must be very seriously penalized for the following faults,
regardless of whatever desirable qualities the dog may present:
oversized or undersized; button, rose or drop ears; overshot or
undershot bite; fluffies, whitelies, mismarks or bluies.
Size, Proportion, Substance
Height (from ground to highest point on withers) should be 10 to
12 inches. Weight is in proportion to size, not exceeding 30
pounds for dogs and 28 pounds for bitches. In show condition, the
preferred medium- sized dog of correct bone and substance will weigh
approximately 27 pounds, with bitches approximately 25 pounds. Obvious
oversized specimens and diminutive toylike individuals must be very
severely penalized.
Proportions--Moderately long and low. The distance from the
withers to the base of the tail should be approximately 40 percent
greater than the distance from the withers to the ground. Substance--Should
not be so low and heavy-boned as to appear coarse or overdone, nor so
light-boned as to appear racy.
Head
The head should be foxy in shape and appearance. Expression--Intelligent
and interested, but not sly. Skull--should be fairly wide and
flat between the ears. Moderate amount of stop. Very slight rounding of
cheek, not filled in below the eyes, as foreface should be nicely
chiseled to give a somewhat tapered muzzle. Distance from occiput to
center of stop to be greater than the distance from stop to nose tip,
the proportion being five parts of total distance for the skull and
three parts for the foreface. Muzzle should be neither dish-faced nor
Roman-nosed. Eyes-Oval, medium in size, not round, nor
protruding, nor deepset and piglike. Set somewhat obliquely. Variations
of brown in harmony with coat color. Eye rims dark, preferably black.
While dark eyes enhance the expression, true black eyes are most
undesirable, as are yellow or bluish eyes. Ears-Erect, firm, and
of medium size, tapering slightly to a rounded point. Ears are mobile,
and react sensitively to sounds. A line drawn from the nose tip through
the eyes to the ear tips, and across, should form an approximate
equilateral triangle. Bat ears, small catlike ears, overly large weak
ears, hooded ears, ears carried too high or too low, are undesirable.
Button, rose or drop ears are very serious faults. Nose--Black
and fully pigmented.
Mouth--Scissors bite, the inner side of the upper incisors touching
the outer side of the lower incisors. Level bite is acceptable. Overshot
or undershot bite is a very serious fault. Lips--Black, tight
with little or no fullness.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck--Fairly long. Of sufficient length to provide over-all
balance of the dog. Slightly arched, clean and blending well into the
shoulders. A very short neck giving a stuffy appearance and a long, thin
or ewe neck are faulty. Topline--Firm and level, neither riding
up to nor falling away at the croup. A slight depression behind the
shoulders caused by heavier neck coat meeting the shorter body coat is
permissible. Body--Rib cage should be well sprung, slightly
egg-shaped and moderately long. Deep chest, well let down between the
forelegs. Exaggerated lowness interferes with the desired freedom of
movement and should be penalized. Viewed from above, the body should
taper slightly to end of loin. Loin short. Round or flat rib cage, lack
of brisket, extreme length or cobbiness, are undesirable. Tail--Docked
as short as possible without being indented. Occasionally a puppy is
born with a natural dock, which if sufficiently short, is acceptable. A
tail up to two inches in length is allowed, but if carried high tends to
spoil the contour of the topline.
Forequarters
Legs--Short, forearms turned slightly inward, with the distance
between wrists less than between the shoulder joints, so that the front
does not appear absolutely straight. Ample bone carried right down into
the feet. Pasterns firm and nearly straight when viewed from the side.
Weak pasterns and knuckling over are serious faults. Shoulder blades
long and well laid back along the rib cage. Upper arms nearly equal in
length to shoulder blades. Elbows parallel to the body, not prominent,
and well set back to allow a line perpendicular to the ground to be
drawn from tip of the shoulder blade through to elbow. Feet--Oval,
with the two center toes slightly in advance of the two outer ones.
Turning neither in nor out. Pads strong and feet arched. Nails short.
Dewclaws on both forelegs and hindlegs usually removed. Too round, long
and narrow, or splayed feet are faulty.
Hindquarters
Ample bone, strong and flexible, moderately angulated at stifle and
hock. Exaggerated angulation is as faulty as too little. Thighs should
be well muscled. Hocks short, parallel, and when viewed from the side
are perpendicular to the ground. Barrel hocks or cowhocks are most
objectionable. Slipped or double-jointed hocks are very faulty. Feet--as
in front.
Coat
Medium length; short, thick, weather- resistant undercoat with a
coarser, longer outer coat. Over-all length varies, with slightly
thicker and longer ruff around the neck, chest and on the shoulders. The
body coat lies flat. Hair is slightly longer on back of forelegs and
underparts and somewhat fuller and longer on rear of hindquarters. The
coat is preferably straight, but some waviness is permitted. This breed
has a shedding coat, and seasonal lack of undercoat should not be too
severely penalized, providing the hair is glossy, healthy and well
groomed. A wiry, tightly marcelled coat is very faulty, as is an overly
short, smooth and thin coat. Very Serious Fault--Fluffies--a coat
of extreme length with exaggerated feathering on ears, chest, legs and
feet, underparts and hindquarters. Trimming such a coat does not make it
any more acceptable. The Corgi should be shown in its natural condition,
with no trimming permitted except to tidy the feet, and, if desired,
remove the whiskers.
Color
The outer coat is to be of self colors in red, sable, fawn, black and
tan with or without white markings. White is acceptable on legs, chest,
neck (either in part or as a collar), muzzle, underparts and as a narrow
blaze on head. Very Serious Faults: Whitelies--Body color white,
with red or dark markings. Bluies--Colored portions of the coat
have a distinct bluish or smoky cast. This coloring is associated with
extremely light or blue eyes, liver or gray eye rims, nose and lip
pigment. Mismarks--Self colors with any area of white on the back
between withers and tail, on sides between elbows and back of
hindquarters, or on ears. Black with white markings and no tan present.
Gait
Free and smooth. Forelegs should reach well forward without too much
lift, in unison with the driving action of the hind legs. The correct
shoulder assembly and well-fitted elbows allow a long, free stride in
front. Viewed from the front, legs do not move in exact parallel planes,
but incline slightly inward to compensate for shortness of leg and width
of chest. Hind legs should drive well under the body and move on a line
with the forelegs, with hocks turning neither in nor out. Feet must
travel parallel to the line of motion with no tendency to swing out,
cross over or interfere with each other. Short, choppy movement, rolling
or high-stepping gait, close or overly wide coming or going, are
incorrect. This is a herding dog, which must have the agility, freedom
of movement, and endurance to do the work for which he was developed.
Temperament
Outlook bold, but kindly. Never shy or vicious. The judge shall dismiss
from the ring any Pembroke Welsh Corgi that is excessively shy.