For professionals

This article is devoted to breeding corgi with a naturally short tail. Courtesy of our friend, breeder – Leif Herman Wilberg, Siggen

From the history of the pembroke corgi we can read about the little bobtail dog that has been bred on Welsh farms through centuries. We know that in the beginning of this century the majority of pembrokes were born with bobtails.

I believe that the period in the beginning of this century, when the pembroke and the cardigan were registered in the Kennel Club as one breed and were also interbred to a certain extent, is the reason why the bobtails are so few today. When the breeds were separated I 1934, the longtail gene had been introduced to the pembroke population and the breeders docked the puppies that were born with long tails as the standard described a short tail.

The bobtail gene has proven to be a dominant gene, and it is very easy to loose a dominant gene if you are not aware of the genetic rules. If you want to keep a dominant gene in your population, one of the parents have to carry the gene, otherwise you will loose it. It is easy to understand how the breeders would hold on to their best puppy regardless of it being bobtail or longtail as they were all docked anyway, and how the amount of bobtail dogs in the population gradually could decrease.

When we got the docking ban in Norway, I am happy to say that most of the corgi breeders in Norway agreed that they wanted to take part in the project of trying to reintroduce the bobtail gene into our corgi population.

This has been a necessity as our population is so small that we needed to use all our breeding material to keep our breed healthy while introducing the bobtail gene. Although I had bobtails born in my first litter in 1968, and also in a litter in the mid seventies, we were not able to find any dogs of our old lines that could be used when we got the docking ban.

This meant that we had to import dog from England where Mrs. Peggy Gamble (Blands) and Miss Patsy Hewan (Stormerbanks) had just started a project of reintroducing the bobtail gene to the breed.

Miss Patsy Hewan at that time run a very large kennel, and over the years she had managed to keep the bobtail gene in her stock. Peggy Gamble bought a bitch from Patsy, Stormerbanks Bobs, and Peter Hopwood (Jofren) used her uncle Stormerbanks Barnaby Bear to introduce bobtails into his line.

As Patsy Hewan died shortly after they agreed to start the bobtail project, the Blands and Jofren kennels were the ones that carried out the pioneer work, and Stormerbanks Bobs and S. Barnaby Bear will be in the pedigrees of most bobtailed dogs in England, and in Norway. Miss Sarah Taylor (Bymil) and Miss Leila Moore (Kaytop) also had litters containing bobtail puppies sired by Kaytop Ming, but it seems the bobtail puppies have not been used for breeding and that line seems to be lost.

I know that Peggy Gamble also gave her stud dogs for free to some pet owners with bobtail dogs, but I do not think that they have bred on, at least I do not know of any.

There are many hypotheses of defects that are supposed to be linked to the bobtail gene. However, as far as I know there has been no serious research into this matter, and the Norwegian corgi breeders were not willing to accept these theories as long as they were not supported by scientific proof. We could not understand why dogs should be so different than other wild animals or even humans, which live and reproduce happily with their short tails.

We must admit that the first bobtail dogs that were imported to Norway were not of the quality that we were used to, and we had to take a few steps backwards quality wise. This because we had to use our best bobtails even though there might be better longtails available.

For many years we have done mainly longtail/bobtail matings to try and preserve most of our quality, and have tried to import breeding material and find stud dogs that could help us to improve our quality. It has been a long and difficult process, but the last three or four years I am happy to say that I think the quality has improved very much, and our bobtail corgis has won well at group level, and I myself have won both BIS progeny group and breeders group at big International shows with all bobtails.

We have not experienced any of the predicted defects to pop up in our breed. It is as sound as it has always been. Some years ago the Norwegian Welsh Corgi Klubb together with Norsk Kennel Klub and the Veterinary institute, made an x-ray study of the spine of a random selection of bobtail dogs from double bobtail matings.

The conclusion to the study was that there was no indication what so ever to say that the bobtail gene should be responsible for any spinal deformities.

In nearly every litter we will have puppies with different tail length. Some can be long, some half long and some quite short. We do not know why the bobtails appear with different length, but it is a fact that the tail is the only body structure that will appear with different number of bones, this is also true for the longtails.

We found another interesting article on the web. W.H. Harding, Delmater Corgis, United Kingdom. This time regarding pembroke’s inheritance of Welsh Corgi’s color.

What colour will the puppies be? This is a fascinating question, and although the answer cannot be given with certainty, a probable forecast can be made if one has a good knowledge of the parents’ family history and an elementary knowledge of the principles of genetics.

All inherited characters are transmitted via the germ cells of the parents. Each such character has its own gene, and it is the behaviour of these genes which decides what qualities will be possessed by the offspring.

Most genes (and this applies to colour in Corgis), can be classed as dominant or recessive, a dominant being one which will reproduce its particular character if present in the germ cell of only one parent, while a recessive gene will only reproduce its character when combined with a similar gene from another germ cell.

Red is a dominant colour in Pembroke Corgis and may be present either alone or in combination with black or white, the latter two colours being recessive to red. An animal carrying both dominant and recessive genes is said to be heterozygous, and the recessive character may remain dormant through many generations, giving no outward evidence of its presence until a mating with another heterozygous animal causes it to reappear. Fig. 1 will illustrate this point.

AA = homozygous (true-breeding) RED
Ab = heterozygous phenotype: Red (carrying the black gene)
bb = Tricolor (or black and tan*)

A and B are heterozygous parents (Ab), exhibiting only the dominant character, i.e. red colour. They will produce offspring in the proportion of one black and tan*) (or tricolour) to three red, two of the latter being heterozygous like the parents (i.e. carrying the black (or black and white) genes as well as red), while the other red offspring will be homozygous (i.e. carrying the red gene only).

Stated more simply, the heterozygous offspring are genetically “impure” reds and the homozygous one is a “true-breeding” red.

Now since the heterozygous and homozygous reds are indistinguishable from one another, their genotype can only be determined by noting the colour of their progeny.

The following diagrams illustrate the possible results from the various matings, although it must be emphasised here that the proportions for each expectation will apply to a large number of offspring only and not necessarily to one litter, where the number of the progeny will be too small to give a true indication.

The reason for this will be clear if one remembers that at each mating a very large number of spermatozoa or male cells are liberated, but only a few ova or female cells are available for fertilisation.

Therefore the number of gene pairings is too small to show a true proportion.

Now in Fig. 2, the heterozygous red A (Ab) is mated to a homozygous red B (AA). No tricolours or blacks and tans will result, but half of the offspring will be heterozygous (impure red) and half will be homozygous (true-breeding red), so that no visual evidence is produced to give any clue to the heterozygous character of A, all the progeny having red coats like the parents.

But if A is mated to a tricolour (bb) (or black and tan) as illustrated in Fig. 3, then half of the offspring will be tricolour (or black and tan) and half will be impure reds.

Now if A is a homozygous red (AA)and it is mated to a tricolour (bb) (or black and tan), then the expectation will be no tricolours, but all heterozygous reds as illustrated in Fig. 4.

So far, white has not been considered as a separate colour. As already stated, it is recessive to red, but owing to breeding fashions, it is difficult to find an all-red Corgi which is not heterozygous to white, and therefore, an all-red litter is a rarity. Actually, in some strains the dominance of red over white has become so reduced that the colours are almost evenly balanced. Hence the occasional appearance of a “whitely”, where the white exceeds the red in the coat. This result is quite easy to grasp, if in Fig. I, A and B are considered to be reds carrying the excess white instead of the black and tan factor, in which case the whitely corresponds to the one black and tan offspring. Or, in other words, if the parents A and B carry excessive white, then the expectation would be one whitely in four, though not necessarily in respect of one litter.

If, as was reported in the Dog World, five puppies in a litter of seven should be whitelies, this would not disprove the theoretical expectation, for if the same mating produced six and seven red and white pups in two subsequent matings (and this would be quite probable), then the ratio of whitelies would be correct, being five out of twenty.

I know of one case where a litter of four, sired by a well-known dog, contained one whitely. A red dog with white feet only from this litter was subsequently mated to a red bitch known to be heterozygous to black, when the resultant litter of eight contained one black and tan and one almost pure black and white with a minimum of red.

It is a peculiar fact that the black gene appears to have a stimulating effect on the red. A strain which is entirely free from the black gene tends to degenerate to a pale fawn or golden colour, and if a bitch of this strain is mated to a tricolour dog, the puppies are likely to be a much brighter red and white, but there will be no tricolours. However, there may be some sable puppies.

Brindle is not a true Pembroke colour, and when it occurs can only be due to a recessive gene carried from Cardigan ancestors.

The usual five generation pedigree may in itself give no indication as to whether or not a dog carries the black gene. Every dog in direct line of descent may be red or red and white, but there may have been tricolour brothers and sisters not shown in the pedigree.

For example, a dog of my breeding has sired two tricolour and seven red and white puppies from one particular bitch. No tricolours appear in his eight generation pedigree, but he has a tricolour Champion half-brother, and on his dam’s side, there have been tricolours in the second, third and fourth generation back.

I repeat then, “A probable forecast can be made if one has a good knowledge of the parents’ family history “.

From The Welsh Corgi League Handbook 1958

Dog vaccination calendar: compulsory and recommended vaccinations

Vaccinating a dog for rabies is the responsibility of every owner, but there are other diseases against which you should especially protect your pet. What does the dog’s vaccination calendar look like, which vaccinations for a dog are mandatory, which ones are recommended and when do you need to vaccinate your puppy?

Vaccinating a dog, just like a human, is of great importance for health, because it helps protect the animal against diseases that not only destroy the body, but can even end in death. The mechanism of acquiring immunity is moreover similar: after receiving the vaccine, a small amount of a pathogen – bacteria or virus enters the body. Because it is low, the animal’s body quickly copes with it. At the same time, however, thanks to immune memory, the immune system “remembers” the enemy – when he contacts him again, the body will already have antibodies that will not allow the infection to develop, or make its course much milder.

The vaccine, depending on the type, contains either a live but weakened pathogen, also known as an antigen – then we say they are vaccines attenuated or dead pathogen (so-called inactivated vaccines). There are also vaccines that only contain fragments of the microbe that causes the disease – just enough to cause the body’s response, but not harm it. Vaccines can be either monovalent (protect against one disease) or polyvalent, otherwise combined – thanks to the content of several antigens they allow the animal to be immunized against various diseases.

Types of vaccinations in dogs

In accordance with the recommendations of WSAVA, which is a global organization associating veterinarians, vaccination for dogs can be divided into three main groups:

• basic vaccination – so-called Core Vaccination. All dogs should be vaccinated with this group. These include vaccinations against rabies, parvovirus, nasal disease, and Rubarth’s disease.

• additional vaccinations – Noncore vaccination. They are recommended when, due to the state of health or lifestyle, a given dog may be at risk of specific diseases. These include, for example, vaccination against Lyme disease (for animals that live in areas infested with ticks), leptospirosis (if the animal often walks in the forest or has a tendency to hunt rodents), or dermatophytosis or herpesvirosis (for breeding).

Dog vaccination calendar

The vaccine is given individually, depending on, among others from the animal’s state of health. Vaccination, however, is not worth delaying, if only for the fact that for puppies certain diseases are more serious than for older dogs, and between different vaccinations a certain distance should be kept due to the fact that immediately after vaccination the body is weakened and another vaccine could result infection.

It is recommended that the vaccination course be started after 8 weeks of age – previous vaccinations may not be effective due to the antibodies that the puppy received from the bitch along with colostrum.

Therefore, dog vaccination calendars have been developed, suggesting when to vaccinate the animal. It is divided into so-called Early, standard and late vaccinations – the one to follow depends on when the puppy was first vaccinated.

Early vaccinations – for puppies over 6 weeks of age

6-7 weeks: distemper and parvovirosis (vaccine for puppies)

9-10 weeks: rhinoceros, parvovirus, coronovirus, Rubarth’s disease, kenel cough, leptospirosis

12-13 weeks: rhizome, parvovirus, coronovirus, Rubarth’s disease, kenel cough, leptospirosis

15 weeks: rabies

After 12 months, booster vaccinations are required.

Standard vaccination – for puppies over 9 weeks of age

9-10 weeks: rhizome, parvovirus, coronovirus, Rubarth’s disease, kenel cough, leptospirosis

12-13 weeks: rhinoceros, parvovirus, coronovirus, Rubarth’s disease, kenel cough, leptospirosis- 15 weeks – rabies. After 12 months booster vaccinations are required.

Late vaccination – puppies over 12 weeks of age and adult dogs

after week 12: distemper, parvovirus, coronovirus, Rubarth’s disease, kenel cough, leptospirosis.

after another 2-4 weeks: distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis, kenel cough, viral hepatitis, coronary virosis.

after another 2-3 weeks – rabies.

After 12 months, booster vaccinations are required.

When does the vaccine start working?

Vaccination can take the form of an injection, both subcutaneous and intramuscular. Oral and nasal vaccines are less common. However, the vaccine does not give immediate immunity. When it is introduced into the body, the animal’s immune system begins to produce antibodies, but the process is complicated and takes some time. Usually, post-vaccination immunity is generated within 14 to 21 days of vaccination after the first administration of the vaccine – with the next administration of the same vaccine, the animal is resistant already on the day of vaccination.

How to prepare a dog for vaccination?

A week before the scheduled date of vaccination, the dog should be trimmed and monitored for signs of infection, as the dog must be healthy – giving a vaccine to a sick dog may burden him with another infection, but will not stimulate the immune system. Before vaccination, the doctor should examine the dog: check the temperature, auscultate, assess the lymph nodes, as well as check whether the animal has already been vaccinated (and with what vaccines) and has not had any adverse reactions. During the pre-vaccination interview, he should also ask about the animal’s lifestyle, as in some cases he excludes certain vaccines (e.g. against leptospirosis).

The dog should not be vaccinated:

during illness or weakness, eg after illness, dehydration, severe stress

after treatment with certain medications, e.g. corticosteroids

when they are wormed, infested or lazy

adverse reactions have occurred during previous vaccinations

Pregnant bitches are also not vaccinated.

What to do after vaccinating a dog

It is worth reserving some time for the vaccination visit and not leaving the office right after vaccination, but sit with the dog in the waiting room and watch for half an hour whether there is an unexpected anaphylactic reaction or a strong vaccination reaction. It is also worth observing the pet at home: it may happen that after being vaccinated for several consecutive days at the puncture site there will be swelling and soreness, the dog will be depressed and will not have appetite. In this case, please contact your vet who will advise you.

Originating in Pembrokeshire, Wales, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi is an enchanting dog whose background is steeped in folklore. According to Welsh legend, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi sprang from the lairs of fairies and elves!

As the legend goes, one day two children were out in the fields tending to their family’s cattle when they found a couple of puppies. The children thought they were foxes, but recognizing something different about them, bundled them up and took them home. Their parents immediately saw that the pups were not foxes, but dogs, and told their children that the pups were a gift from the fairies that lived in the fields. The fairies used them to pull their carriages and sometimes ride into battle.

As proof that Pembrokes were indeed the mounts of fairies, the parents pointed to the marks on their backs where the fairy saddle had been placed on their shoulders. The children were delighted and cherished their pups. As they grew, the dogs became treasured companions and learned to help the children take care of the family’s cattle.

For those who don’t believe in fairy tales, there are historians who say that the Pembroke Welsh Corgi is descended from Vallhunds, Swedish cattle dogs that were brought to Wales by the Vikings in the 9th and 10th centuries. Others think they may have been descended from dogs that were brought to Wales by Flemish weavers in the 12th century.

Either way, the breed has a rather misty historical pedigree. Farmers who kept working dogs in the past bred the best dogs for the jobs they wanted them to do. They didn’t keep good records about the matings.

In the 1920s, the UK Kennel Club recognized Corgis as purebred dogs. They were officially known as Welsh Corgis when exhibited for the first time in 1925. At that time, Pembrokes and Cardigans were shown in the same class as one breed.

Then, in 1934, the Kennel Club recognized the Pembroke and the Cardigan as two separate breeds. In that same year, the American Kennel Club followed suit. Pembrokes were first shown in the U.S. in 1936.

Pembrokes have slowly gained in popularity in the U.S., and today, are among the top 50 most popular breeds for family pets. They’re also popular with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England, who received her first Pembroke Welsh Corgi from her father (King George VI) in 1933.

The puppy’s name was Rozavel Golden Eagle and was a playmate for Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret. Elizabeth has loved the little dogs ever since, and currently has a pack of them lounging around Buckingham Palace.