This thread is devoted to the most awesome creatures in the animal kingdom. Corgis! Corgis are small, highly intelligent herding dogs from Wales. They were bred to be short so they could avoid being kicked by sheep and cows. There are actually two breeds of Corgis, Pembrokes and Cardigans. The Pembrokes are smaller, more energetic, and have docked tails; while the Cardigans are larger, more mellow, have long tails, and come in a few additional colors. Corgis generally have really cool personalities, and behave like big dogs, which is why they're often called a "big dog trapped in a small dog's body." The queen of England used to keep 16 of them. She's also mixed them with Dachshund to create a new breed of low rider dog, the Dorgi. I have two myself: Cool corgi pics: http://www.mycorgi.com/
I Was told that because their legs are so short, they have to move them twice as fast, they wear down to stumps within two years and you have to get replacement legs.
They're generally pretty healthy and live to be about 14 or 15. Some have problems with hip dysplasia or cataracts. Their biggest health issue though is easy weight gain. Corgis love to eat and they can get incredibly fat. I've encountered Corgis that were 45-50lbs!
No another dog killed one of her corgis. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3345585.stm The same dog had also attacked children. It was controversial because the princess ended up with a criminal record for being negligent with her dogs.
I once saw a Corgi that was as wide as it was long. It was disgusting. The owner fed it whipped cream. I'm sure that was abuse of some sort.
The biggest Corgi I've ever seen weighed 53lbs. Watching his owner pick him up and carry him around was kind of ridiculous. He was a gigantic ball of lard and fur with stubby little legs. You're supposed to put them on a diet if they get any bigger than about 35lbs. Corgis are big eaters, and will do just about anything for people food.
Hahahhahah. They pretty much start out with stumps. Ever seen one of them run? They move their stumpy little legs so fast it's like watching a hummingbird or something.
Genetically they're totally defective. But they're cute defects! It's baffling to me that they were used for centuries to herd cattle. In fact, they're one of the oldest herding breeds in the world and were around way before border collies and other modern breeds. The Cardigan is over 3000 years old and one of the world's oldest dog breeds. Corgi Herding: Also, on a completely different note, everyone's favorite, the corgi flop:
The current theory on how Pembrokes came about is that Viking raiders mixed their Swedish Vallhunds with Cardigan Welsh Corgis in the middle ages. Corgis are such an old breed that they don't have a traceable breed history, so this is all speculation. But the Vallhund is also a short legged spitz type herding dog, and its temperament is very similar to the Pembroke. Vallhund + Cardigan = Pembroke Side by Side:
My girl Corgi has now killed two snakes and at least a dozen lizards by my count, and that's just what I've seen. She eats the yard lizards and then barfs up lizard parts. It's pretty gross. I also find dead lizards that she's killed and hidden for later. I think she's hunted them pretty much to extinction in our yard, and now she's eying the lizards in our neighbors' yards through the fence. The last thing yard lizards ever see:
lol my sister does the exact same thing when her dogs make a mess... for what? evidence? I don't know, I don't see the logic in it... dog lovers :|