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.
Approved June 13, 1972
Reformatted January 28, 1993