- [Narrator] Dogumentary TV, producing the best
breed documentaries on YouTube.
(dog barks)
(soothing music)
- Hi, I'm Marty Stewart.
- Hi, I'm Tricia Tomono.
- I've had Corgis since I was about six years old.
My first Corgi was a Cardigan, that we found
on the Indian reservation, and I have been a fan ever since.
- My boyfriend and I had decided, back about 2003,
we wanted to get a dog, and we had a hard time deciding
what breed we wanted because he preferred little dogs,
I preferred big dogs, so we kinda decided to
meet in the middle and get a big dog with no legs,
kinda low to the ground.
So we chose Corgis.
- Corgis were bred to herd cattle and that's why
they have the short legs, so when the cow kicks,
they tuck and roll.
And they have a tenacious attitude, they're like
a big, a German Shepherd on short legs.
Because that's what you need in order to move a cow.
- The history of breeds began in Wales,
and originally farmers wanted to have an all-around
herding dog, with something small that was in the house,
that wouldn't eat them out of house and home.
So, but something that was still able to move cattle,
and originally Cardigans were drovers.
They were actually originally sent out in front of
the farmer's herd to clear the way,
and clearing out possibly the neighbor's cattle off
the property for the farmer to then move his cattle in.
But later on, they turned into driving,
so they would actually be behind the cattle
which is why they want to work so close,
is to keep the cattle moving forward.
- The Corgi herds much closer to the sheep
than a border collie, or an Australian shepherd would,
those breeds were bred to kick out in a distance
and work from a distance.
The Corgi move in very close to the cattle,
in order to try and intimidate them.
They apply that technique to the sheep,
so lot of the training we do is to teach a Corgi
to go against his natural instinct and kick out
and work sheep from a distance where
the sheep are more comfortable to have the dog.
The Corgi compared to cattle dog compete and herd
very similar, they were both bred to herd cattle.
However, the cattle dog is bred to go to the head of the cow
and grip it on the nose and hold it on the nose.
The Corgi was not bred to do that.
So that's about the only difference between the two.
The Corgi and the cattle dog both, however,
work very close to their livestock.
- Cardigans, we actually come down from the tackle breeds,
are related to the tackle breeds,
which is where the dachshund and the basset hounds related
which is why we do have a little bit of a bend in the front.
They are dwarf dogs, Corgi does mean dwarf dog in Welsh.
Temperament for a Cardigan, I would definitely
have to say, a little aloof on occasion,
you know, take a little bit to warm up to a stranger.
They are very intelligent, very smart,
and willing to do anything that you ask of them.
The average height for a Cardigan Welsh Corgi is
ten and a half to twelve and a half inches
at the withers or the shoulder.
Weight, males are going to run a little bit heavier,
usually per our breed standard, they run about 34-38 pounds,
with females running at about 34-30.
Life expectancy, I wanna say
usually they average about 14 years.
I do know Cardigans that have lived to about 17.
They are a hardy little breed, that's willing to,
you know, do what you ask.
- The Cardigan comes in a lot of different colors,
blue merle, they come in brindle, they come in sable,
red and white, and black with brindle points.
The Cardigan is a different breed from the Pembroke.
It has tail and always keeps the tail.
On the Pembroke, they dock the tail.
Pembroke came from an area in Wales called Pembroke.
It has a more fox-like appearance than the Cardigan,
it is a smaller, slighter dog than the Cardigan,
and it has a higher anxiety level,
it can be more active,
The Pembroke is a more active dog, gets more involved
in meeting people, greeting others.
- And the Pembroke come down from the spitz,
they are a little different, a little more,
I almost want to say higher strung
- [Marty] They are high strung
(Tricia laughs)
- And the Cardigan is actually, per our breed standard,
we do have a bit of a larger ear, a little more rounded ear.
The Pembroke has a pointier, foxy face,
the Cardigan does have a full fox tail, a big bush tail.
And we usually always do have a tail.
The Cardigan is a little bit bigger boned,
so we do weigh a little bit more
and we are a little bit longer than the Pembroke.
The Cardigans did, heritage were developed in Cardiganshire
of Wales, my understanding is that area was
a little more hilly, rocky, so they wanted a little bit
of a heavier dog to be able to handle the terrain,
which was a little bit more rough.
I mean, the Pembroke's a little bit more slight,
but from my understanding, that area was
a little of a flatland, and they didn't need
to have a heavier dog with a bigger foot to handle,
the terrain was a little bit different.
But originally, at one point, the American Kennel Club,
when they first acknowledged Corgis,
did have them grouped together, in the same group.
They considered the Pembroke and the Cardigan a Corgi.
And they were both shown together in confirmation,
and then decided, once they kind of really
researched our breed background,
that they came from two different areas of Wales
and they were two different types of Corgi.
So, they did decide to split us.
And I wanna say that was in the 1930s,
when they decided to split them into separate
Cardigan Welsh Corgis, and Pembroke Welsh Corgis.
(dog barks)
- We do herd the same, it's mainly,
the big difference between the Cardigan and the Pembroke
was the two different areas they came from.
Which is why they did kind of split
and kind of breed a little bit differently.
- [Marty] But both are barkers, with the Cardigan
probably being a bigger barker than the Pembroke.
- [Tricia] (giggles) They are very willing to tell you
all about, that they don't like something,
or very good watchdogs, because they will let you know
when there is something that does not belong on the property
that shows up or if they hear something.
So they make very good guard dogs as well.
- Yeah, they were bred to be watchdogs at night,
that's why they have the big ears,
so they can hear a lot of noise,
and they are a very vocal dog.
They will talk just to hear themselves talk.
They actually need quite a bit of training for socialization
because they are more aloof breed,
they tend to be suspicious
and can be more protective
of their owners, so you must start socializing them
quite young and working with them and getting them familiar
with new places, new people, and new things.
And that's a lifelong commitment,
that they continue to have that exposure.
The Cardigan Corgi is a herding dog,
therefore it needs a job.
And you need to provide it a job,
and if you do not, it will provide its own job.
And it could be running the fence,
it could be barking at everything,
it could be digging holes in your yard.
You must train that dog in order for him to be fulfilled.
- They are a very easy breed to train though,
they are willing to please,
but it is one of those things
when you are training, you definitely have to do
different things, change it up, you can't drill the same
thing over and over again, they do get very bored with that.
But, I mean, they are willing to please,
so they are easy to train, but you need to keep it fresh,
and do something different every time you take them out
to do something with them.
- I would call a Corgi a wash and wear dog,
I mean, they are easy, they do have the double coat,
so we do shed a lot.
And I do mean you could probably build another Corgi,
another Cardigan in probably about what, a month?
- Or a week, actually.
They shed 24/7,
every day of the year.
If you do not like dog hair, do not get a Corgi.
- The first dog that we worked today, was Todd,
he is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, he is a black brindle
in coloring, he just turned 10 in October.
We started herding, really herding training when
he was about three.
He is a retired show dog.
So he did do confirmation.
Herding has been his number one thing,
so we went back into herding training as soon as
we finished confirmation.
We didn't really start serious herding training until he was
about five, and that's definitely one thing with him.
(Marty sighs)
I've let him get away with some bad manners,
but I also learnt how to herd and train with him.
He was my first herding dog.
So we have done lots of, he likes to be real,
in close and tight with the sheep,
he likes to be right and push and drive.
He really thinks and likes to move fast,
which in herding is not always the best thing,
especially when your sheep have legs three times longer
than yours, to try to move them fast, and be in very tight.
But he absolutely loves it, I mean,
I could work him all day.
- [Marty] The second dog that we worked was Sonic.
He is my six year old sable Cardigan Corgi,
he is working at the intermediate level of herding,
in which he learns to drive the sheep away from me.
And the Corgi likes to bring the sheep to the human,
so to teach them to move them away is a difficult step.
His strengths are that he does kick out
wider on his out drive than a lot of Corgis,
but he does like to argue with you, and so he will stop
and bark and argue with you during a competition.
So the third dog we worked with was Dragoon,
my three year old Cardigan Corgi.
He is very small for the breed, he only weighs around
22 pounds, for a male that is quite small.
But he has the tenaciousness of a German shepherd,
and he works his sheep with a fury of the German shepherd.
He goes in, he drives them quite nicely,
he does have a great out drive, he will kick way out,
but he has his own opinion, and he works them his way,
and he does not like to stop, and hold his weight right now.
So we are working on it.
- [Tricia] And then the fourth dog we saw today was Parker,
he is actually related to Todd.
It's Todd's sister's son, so they are related.
Parker is five years old, and he's definitely
a different dog to work than Todd.
Parker likes to listen.
He'll stop, he will actually obey a little bit better.
He's slower, he actually will walk, and he's thinking
a little bit more about what I'm asking,
a little more wanting to please me,
instead of I know better than you,
I can get this job done without you.
He's just entered into the starter level,
the basic beginning level for herding trialing,
he's actually done quite well.
I'm very proud of him.
The one thing I do like about him, he is a little bit softer
so if I raise my voice to let him know I mean business,
I need you to do something, to think,
he does listen a little bit better.
But he also is very, he is soft enough for the sheep
aren't that intimidated by him on occasion.
So he can get in nice and close
and that doesn't upset the sheep,
which is an advantage on occasion,
and sometimes it is a disadvantage.
But he is learning to do a lot of different things
and I am pretty proud of the dog
because he is trying to learn to work in a smaller pen.
(uplifting music)
- In conclusion, you're either really a Corgi fan,
or you're not.
If you are a fan of the Corgi breed,
you have to be conscious that they will defy you many times
and while other breeds may lead you to success in your sport
the Corgi is going to challenge you
and there's going to be a lot of failures along the way,
and you need to learn to smile with them and move on
because that's the nature of the Corgi.
- That is very true.
They're, I would have to say,
they are very willing to please, but they also,
you laugh at the ones they remember that,
and they'll keep doing the same thing over again.
So you definitely have to remember to have patience,
a sense of humor with this breed, because they wanna work.
They are willing to work, they have great instinct to do it,
you just definitely have to have patience and, you know,
lots of time to spend with them.
- And realize they want to do it their way.