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.
