Editing Welsh Corgi (section)

==History==
[[Pembrokeshire]] and [[Cardiganshire]] are adjoining historical agricultural counties in [[South West Wales]].{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=7}} Welsh Corgis were cattle [[herding dogs]], the type of herding dog referred to as "heelers", meaning that they would nip at the heels of the larger animals to keep them on the move.{{sfn | Boorer| 1975| p=17}} The combination of their low height off the ground and the innate agility of Welsh Corgis would allow them to avoid the hooves of cattle.{{sfn | Boorer| 1975| p=17}} In the [[Welsh language]], the word "Corgi" literally translates to dwarf dog (''cor'' = dwarf, ''gi'' = [[lenition|lenitive]] of ''ci'', dog). In Welsh, the term can also be used more broadly to mean a [[mongrel|cur]] or a working dog.{{efn|name=efn1|See [[wikt:corgi#Welsh|Wiktionary: corgi § Welsh]]}}{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=7}} Different tales have been told of the Corgi's origin; some believe that the two modern breeds evolved from shared ancestry,{{sfn | Boorer| 1975| p=18}} while others attribute the import of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi to [[Flemish people|Flemish]] weavers starting around the 10th century.{{sfn | McGreevy| 1999| p=300}} Further theories on the origin of the Pembroke variety suggest that they may have originated from central European herding breeds from the area around modern Germany. Depending on the time when these dogs were imported to Wales, they could have been either Deutsche Bracken or [[Dachshund]].{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=8}}

The Cardigan Welsh Corgi has been attributed to the influences of [[Norsemen|Nordic]] settlers in the region.{{sfn | McGreevy| 1999| p=301}} Dogs of similar dimensions exist in modern Scandinavia, called the [[Swedish Vallhund]],<ref name="Canis major">{{cite web |url=http://www.canismajor.com/dog/corgi.html |last=Bennett Woolf|first=Norman|title=Welsh Corgis: Small Dogs With Big Dog Hearts |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref> and some historians claim that these two breeds share a common ancestor.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=9}} In the late 19th century, farmers began to switch from cattle to sheep, but the Corgi was not suited for working sheep. Similarities between the Welsh Corgis have been attributed to crossbreeding between the two or simply selected breeding from those who wished to have the Cardigan variety appear closer in nature to the Pembroke.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=9}}

The first recorded date for Corgis appearing in the show ring in Wales is 1925. Captain J. P. Howell called together a meeting of breeders of both the Pembroke and the Cardigan varieties and formed the Welsh Corgi Club, with an initial membership of 59 members. A general [[breed standard]] was drawn up, and Corgis began to appear in [[conformation shows]]. Until this point, neither breed had been specifically bred for looks. Members of this club were primarily interested in the Pembroke variety, although the Cardigan variety also appeared. At that point, the breeds were referred to as the Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire varieties; the names were later shortened. There were a number of disputes between breeders of the two types in early shows, as judges who were breeders of one type would often favour them.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=10}} The Welsh Corgi appeared at [[Crufts]]—a dog show held annually in the United Kingdom—for the first time in 1927.<ref>{{cite news|title=Local Successes at Crufts'|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000324/19270210/043/0008|access-date=10 April 2016|work=Hull Daily Mail|issue=12901|date=10 February 1927|page=8|url-access=subscription |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref>

The first [[Championship (dog)|championship]] was awarded at a Cardiff show in 1928 to a red and white Pembroke bitch named Shan Fach. The breeds continued to be judged together until 1934, when the Kennel Club recognized each breed separately. Some 59 Cardigans and 240 Pembrokes were listed in the pedigree books in that initial registration. The decisions about the breed to which each dog belonged were sometimes left to the owners, who were free to choose whichever they felt was the most appropriate.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=10}} The first dog to be named best-in-show at an open conformation show was [[Championship (dog)|Ch.]] Bowhit Pivot.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=13}}

Cardigan Welsh Corgis continued to be rarer than Pembrokes, with only 11 registrations in 1940. Both breeds survived the [[Second World War]], although the Cardigans registered with the Kennel Club numbered only 61 by the war's end.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=10}} Pembrokes became very popular during the postwar years in the United Kingdom; in 1953, it was ranked as the fourth-most popular breed by the Kennel Club, behind the [[English Cocker Spaniel]], the [[German Shepherd]], and the [[Pekingese]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Steinkoff|first1=Alan|title=Putting on Royal Dog|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4908918//|access-date=11 April 2016|work=The Oil City Derrick|issue=27636|date=21 March 1953|page=8|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{open access}}</ref> In 1955, the reserve Best in Show at Crufts was the Pembroke Welsh Corgi ''Kaytop Maracas Mint''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Supreme Champion At Cruft's|work=The Times|issue=53159|date=7 February 1955|page=3}}</ref> The Corgi breeds declined in popularity: [[veterinary physician]] Brian Singleton suggested in ''[[The Times]]'' in 1963 that this was due to issues with their temperament.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Bulldog Breed IS All Wrong|work=The Times|issue=55870|date=28 November 1963|page=14}}</ref>

The Cardigan Welsh Corgi was listed in the Kennel Club's first list of [[Vulnerable Native Breeds]] in 2006.<ref name=regstats>{{cite web|title=Comparative Tables of Registrations for the Years 2006-2016 Inclusive: Pastoral|url=http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/129021/10yrstatspastoral.pdf|publisher=The Kennel Club|access-date=11 April 2016|archive-date=22 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422220206/http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/129021/10yrstatspastoral.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> This list is for those breeds which register less than 300 dogs in any one year;<ref name=endangeredtime>{{cite magazine| url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/11/05/everybody-panic-corgis-are-on-their-way-to-becoming-an-endangered-species/ | last=Grossman|first=Samantha|access-date=10 April 2016|magazine=Time | title=Everybody Panic: Corgis Are On Their Way to Becoming Endangered | date=5 November 2013}}</ref> there had been 84 Cardigan Corgis registered in 2006. After an initial increase, this declined to 46 in 2010 but rose to the highest number since the list began in 2015, with 124 puppies registered.<ref name=regstats/> In 2013, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi was also added, as there had been only 241 puppies registered that year. While the Kennel Club blamed this decline on the importation of foreign dog breeds,<ref name=endangeredtime/> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' faulted the UK's 2006 [[Animal Welfare Act 2006|Animal Welfare Act]], which banned tail-docking for cosmetic purposes.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Millward|first1=David|title=Queen's favourite corgi endangered due to Labour law|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10423474/Queens-favourite-corgi-endangered-due-to-Labour-law.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10423474/Queens-favourite-corgi-endangered-due-to-Labour-law.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=10 April 2016|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=3 November 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite act |title=Animal Welfare Act 2006 |orig-section=s. 6 |date=8 November 2006 |legislature=Parliament of the United Kingdom |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/section/6/enacted |access-date=17 February 2025 |via=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref> However, 2015 had an increase of 34% in the number of Pembroke registrations; the popularity of Corgis on [[Instagram]] was credited for the change. Pembrokes were removed from the Vulnerable Native Breeds list in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Winter|first1=Stuart|title=Corgi popularity on the rise thanks to social media|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/611321/Corgi-popular-the-Queen-social-media|access-date=11 April 2016|work=Daily Express|date=12 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Nagesh|first1=Ashitha|title=Pembroke Corgis and Old English Sheepdogs are officially no longer endangered|url=http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/07/pembroke-corgis-and-old-english-sheepdogs-are-officially-no-longer-endangered-5667079/|access-date=11 April 2016|work=Metro|date=7 February 2016}}</ref>

===United States===
In 1933, American breeder Lewis Roesler brought the first Welsh Corgis to the United States for her Merriedip Kennels in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. She had previously been well known for breeding [[Old English Sheepdog]]s. Roesler purchased a Pembroke Corgi, Little Madam, at London's [[Paddington Station]] for £12. Wanting a mate for the dog, she visited several Corgi kennels and bought a dog called Captain William Lewis. The [[American Kennel Club]] (AKC) first registered Welsh Corgis in 1934 as a single breed, and Little Madam was the first registered animal of the breed. The first litter was registered later that year, by Mr E.M. Tidd in Oakland, California, from a bitch named Toots, which he had purchased in Canada.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=13}}

Tidd imported Ch. Bowhit Pivot for his breeding lines in 1935, registering him with the AKC as Sierra Bowhit Pivot. In addition to his British titles, he became the first Corgi to be awarded champion status in the US and the first such dog to be named [[Best of Group]] at a conformation show in the United States. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi club was formed in 1937,{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=13}} and the first show was held at [[Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge]]'s [[Giralda Farms]] in New Jersey. Following the Second World War, imports from the United Kingdom included Rozavel Uncle Sam, which dominated the show circuit for Corgis. In 1949, he became the first Pembroke winner of best-in-show at an open conformation show in the United States. By 1998, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi had become the 37th-most popular breed of dog in the US.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=14}}

A pair of Cardigan Welsh Corgis was imported to the US in 1931, but the first member of that breed to be registered with the AKC was Blodwen of Robinscroft in 1935. They have never been as popular in the US as the Pembroke type. In 1997, some 752 Cardigan Welsh Corgis were registered with the AKC, compared to 8,281 Pembrokes.{{sfn | Beauchamp| 1999| p=14}}