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.
AKC Breed Standards
Approved June 13, 1972
Reformatted January 28, 1993
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