A Brief History of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi

© Stephanie S. Hedgepath 1998, Revised 2022, 2025. All rights reserved.

by Stephanie S Hedgepath

The two Corgis were first recognized in the 1920s by the Kennel Club (UK), now known as the Royal Kennel Club, in memory of Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty was the world's most well-known champion of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi throughout her life. Both Cardigans and Pembrokes were lumped together as two varieties of one breed when first recognized by The Kennel Club. The Pembrokeshire Corgi (or Corgi from the county of Pembroke in South Wales) was officially recognized as a breed by the Kennel Club in 1934. At this time, the breed was given recognition as a separate breed from its cousin, the Cardiganshire Corgi. Clifford Hubbard, known as the foremost authority on Welsh dogs at the time, noted that the Pembroke Welsh Corgi most certainly dated back to the early twelfth century and probably to the reign of Hywel Dda, King of Wales, in the early tenth century, if not before.

The Pembroke Corgi is a breed of the Spitz group - that Nordic group of dogs easily recognized by a sharp-pointed muzzle and foxy face, erect and pointed ears, and a high set and gaily carried tail. Near relatives include the Swedish Vallhund (Vastergotland Spitz), the Norwegian Buhund, the old type Pomeranian (a much larger dog than the toy breed of today, made popular by Queen Victoria), and the Schipperke. Iris Combe, in her book on the origins of herding breeds, also felt that the Corgi has a possible relationship with the Norwegian Lundehund - a puffin-hunting dog of Norway,

The Romans were the first to classify dogs, and they arranged them into three groups according to the purpose of the dogs. One of these classifications contained the shepherd or herding dogs. Shepherd or herding dogs were further divided into groups, including pastoral dogs, which can be any dog connected with rural life or used in the management of stock on pasture grazing; droving dogs, which encompassed a wide range of dogs each selected by the drover for its instincts to deal with the particular breed being transported; and herding or stock dogs which is any type of canine that has assisted or assists man in any given capacity with domestic livestock in general. The many different sheepdogs, working sheepdogs, collies, cattle droving dogs, and flock guardian dogs come from these groups.

During one period around the 10th century, peasants were only allowed to keep small dogs for the destruction of vermin. Hired keepers, shepherds, and herdsmen were also allowed to keep their dogs, but all dogs were required to be mutilated in some way to prevent poaching of the royal game. Some of these mutilations were quite severe (usually to the feet), but the herdsman's dog was required only to have his tail docked or cur-tailed so as not to interfere with his working ability. The people tried to evade this law, but penalties were severe, and the monies from these fines were a welcome source of revenue for the crown.

When these laws became unworkable, the crown then levied a tax on dogs. Realizing that the peasants could not pay these taxes, nor could they live without the help of a dog for specific tasks, dogs used for a purpose were exempted from taxation. The shepherd or herdsman's dog was still exempt from this tax if the dog's tail was docked. This bit of history is often put forward as to why the Pem has a docked tail, but these laws dealt more with the English Forest laws than with the Welsh.

Before the separation of the Corgi breeds by the Kennel Club in 1934, the two

breeds (Cardigan and Pembroke) were interbred for approximately ten years. Thus, the longtail gene was introduced to the Pembroke population in those years. The Pembroke breeders docked the puppies with long tails as the standard for the Pembroke described a dog with a short tail. The bobtail gene is dominant in the Pembroke Corgi, and it was nearly lost to the breed. When docking was prohibited in several European countries, the Pembroke breeders in Norway feared the same would happen to them, specifically those bred for the bobtail gene. They realized that the first bobtail dogs brought to Norway were not of the same quality as their dogs, causing them to take a few steps backward in terms of breed type. Because they knew they had to use their best bobtails even though there might be better longtails available. The ban on docking in Norway began in 1987.

Today, the quality of the bobtail Pembroke is equal to the best in any part of the world. Thankfully, they did not experience any of the predicted defects that would pop up in the Pembroke due to the bobtail gene. 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 (both parents homozygous for the bobtail gene) matings. The study concluded that there was no indication whatsoever to say that the bobtail gene should be responsible for any spinal deformities.

Before the revolution of trains, all stock – cattle, sheep, hogs, and geese – were taken on long, arduous journeys to market. The drovers also carried money across the country, and their dogs were also used to warn and protect them from highwaymen. It was common for the drovers to use lesser-known, more challenging routes across the mountains to avoid toll roads. Even today, the herding instinct traits are often seen in the dogs of today. The Pembroke's method of always working from behind and flanking to drive forward is opposite to the Border Collie, which works as a gatherer. Corgis work by nipping the soft part of the cattle's heel while being agile and low to the ground, ensuring they miss the inevitable kicks! With the advent of fencing and the coming of the railways to transport stock quickly to markets, the need for the drover's dog diminished. However, the inherited behavior is still there, and the indomitable spirit and character live on throughout the generations.

The word "Corgi" is most likely from the Welsh "cor" (dwarf) plus "ci" (dog). (The "ci" becomes "gi" by common mutation - resulting in Corgi). Another interpretation is that of "cur dog" or "Cur." This interpretation can be dated back to one of the earliest dictionaries, Wyllam Salesbury's "A Dictionary in Englyshe and Weslhe" London, 1574, where there is a reference to the "Korgi ne gostoc," that is, Corgi or "curre dogge." (The use of the K rather than the C at that time was perfectly proper; eventually, the K was no longer used interchangeably with the C.) The connection of the word "Corgi" with "Cur" has considerable historical support. There were many references to Corgwn (Welsh plural of Corgi - pronounced Corg'n, sounds like oxen) in many a cywydd (a song of praise) in the 14th and 15th centuries. Please understand that the term Cur was not used in a derogatory sense when applied to dogs, as we do today. It did mean a dog of low breeding, as distinct from the "superior kinds" of dogs owned by the nobility. Cur generally indicated a working type of dog instead of the sporting and luxury or ladies' lap dog. The Ancient Welsh Laws referred to three kinds of Curs: the Watch Cur, the Shepherd's Cur, and the House Cur. The Cur was indeed a beneficial and well-disciplined race of canine.

It is interesting to note that Iris Combe traces the origin of the Corgi back beyond its pastoral origins and connects it with the Nordic breeds. Through this connection, she traces them back to Neolithic times when islander families lived on a diet of fish, sea birds, and their eggs, the soil on the islands being too shallow and poor for crop cultivation. Through this connection, the use of the Corgi on the vast flocks of geese and ducks kept in Wales can more easily be understood to supply the demand for fine feathers and liver for pate throughout Britain. This might also explain the affinity many Corgis have for the water. Ms. Combe's connection of the Corgi with the original role was that of a wildfowler's dog, on the cliffs and in the caves of the Welsh coastline, to supply the trade in seabird feathers and eggs. The Corgi or spitz-types were used to work the caves and rock faces to hunt out live birds.

The Scandinavians believe our Corgi descended from the Swedish vastgota-spitz or Vallhund. Vall means farm or guard dog, and he is, in fact, mainly a cattle dog from a particular Swedish province. There is a difference of opinion on the place of origin of the Vallhund. Some think that the original dogs brought to Sweden by the Vikings were the Corgis, which, over the centuries, the Welsh had turned from bird dogs to cattle dogs. Others believe that the introduction of the Vallhund from Sweden helped in the evolution of the Corgi as a cattle dog. It is well known that the Corgi was used as a heeler and a drover, especially on cattle. Some evidence points to the Pembroke Corgi and the Vallhund sharing the same ancestry. Clifford Hubbard, in his notable book, "The Pembrokeshire Corgi Handbook" (1951), believes that the Vikings brought their short-legged cattle droving Vallhund and crossed them with the native Corgis in Pembrokeshire. Thus, the Welsh Corgi dog was modified into two types - the earlier, longer-bodied, heavier, and blunt-jawed Cardiganshire dog, and the Pembrokeshire breed with his typical Spitz head and abbreviated tail." He further expounds in his book, "The Cardiganshire Corgi Handbook," that the Cardigan, spared of the crosses with the Nordic dogs, retained their aboriginal form in central Wales "undisturbed and relatively unaltered." The Pembroke brought from Welsh farms in the early 1900s were tall, leggy, terrier-fronted, and not at all uniform in appearance. Today's dogs are more consistent, long and low, with lovely heads, foxy expressions, and excellent bone and substance.

To this day, Pembrokes still retain this easy adaptability to manage all sorts of livestock, from poultry to cattle to pigs. On the whole, they can be used for almost any purpose on the farm, though as a sheepherder, they are not as suitable as collies, Corgis being considered too sharp and excitable for sheep. They have even been used as gun dogs on both feather and fur and are the most efficient ratters. Because of the various duties a Pembroke was supposed to perform as a guardian and drover of livestock, dispatcher of vermin, and companion to the farmer's children, his brave, steady temperament, physical agility, and easily-kept compact size are essential characteristics of the breed.

Welsh Corgis were exhibited in the UK after WWI, but not much progress was made in the breed until the formation of the Welsh Corgi Club in 1925, which at first catered only to the Pembroke owners. In 1926, the Cardigan Club was formed and eventually became the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Association. In 1928 Challenge certificates were granted by The Kennel Club in Great Britain. In 1934 The Kennel Club recognized both varieties as separate breeds, and owners were given a choice as to which breed they wished to have their dogs entered as - Cardigan or Pembroke.

© Stephanie S. Hedgepath 1998, Revised 2022, 2025. All rights reserved.