Guest post written by Lazhar Ichir, owner of breedingbusiness.com
The Pembroke Welsh Corgi, or dwarf dog, is a wonderful small dog breed classified as a cattle herding dog in most Kennel Clubs. Its appearance, elongated and very peculiar, makes the Corgi an appealing breed that will raise the curiosity of most people.
Oh, and let’s get that out of our way: the Corgi is Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite dog breed. It is also a very smart breed as Stanley Coren’s The Intelligence of Dogs had the Corgi at the 11th position. Our incredible breed was ranked 18th in the American Kennel Club’s list of the most popular dog breeds in America. They were 24th in 2013.
All this number-packed introduction to say Pembroke Welsh Corgis are booming. Social medias and hashtags love putting Corgis in funny pictures and memes. The Corgi’s unique appearance makes it go viral quite often.
Breeders May Lack Knowledge About Breeding Dogs
Hypes and sudden trends are never a good news when it comes to selective breeding. What happens is that nowadays, the general public loves Corgis thanks to their peculiar looks and lovely temperament. What will ill-intentioned breeders do? Exaggerate what people like.
Instead of having the perfectly balanced and very healthy working dog we have today, many breeders will make it smaller (and soon you will read about teacup corgis) and the sausage look will get overemphasized.
Readers on this article clearly don’t belong to this group of unethical Corgi breeders but you will eventually suffer from them, too. Why? Simply because the general public isn’t knowledgeable enough. People will pay a premium price for exaggerated Corgis, and you will have plenty of your own healthy puppies unsold.
You will incur extra costs you never thought you would have, and you will have to keep these pups or sell them to family at a heavily discounted price. Not because you want to, but because you have to. And it hurts, a lot.
Health-wise and because of its unique looks, Corgis are prone to canine hip dysplasia and intervertebral disc disease. Ask your vet for X-rays in order to find out what is your Corgi’s hip score. To a lesser extent, the Corgi breed can be victim of epilepsy, progressive retinal atrophy, and urinary stones.
It’s overall a rather healthy breed besides a few structural worries resulting for the breed’s unique appearance and build.
It Hurts To See Your Corgi Puppies Go
Ask any dog breeder out there what is the hardest part of breeding dogs and they will tell you, “seeing them leave.”
Imagine organizing a wonderful breeding between your female and a matching stud. She successfully gets pregnant, and you care for her throughout the 63 days of pregnancy. She eventually gets into labour and give birth to each one of those beautiful newborn Corgi puppies.
On average, Corgis will give birth to six to eight pups. Each one will become like a child to you. You will handle each one of them daily, take their weight, observe their growth, bring them to the vet for checks, make sure each one eats enough, and so on.
Few weeks later, they are old enough to play with you and your family. They will follow you around the house. You will have a favorite, two maybe. Your partner will have other favorites. You will start wondering whether or not you should keep one corgi puppy with you. But you cannot, it’s too much of a commitment and it’s an emotional reaction rather than a well thought out decision.
People come to see them and choose the one they want to take home when they are over two or three months. You are doing your best to screen each person aspiring to be one of your pup’s forever home. Then you’ve got each family locked and everything is going well.
A few weeks later, each family comes to pick up their little fur baby. And it hits you. You really got attached to this army of little Corgis. It will be very hard to overcome, trust me. You eventually will, but you may not desire a repeat. You will join the club of the one-litter breeders.
Dog Breeding Is Expensive and Time-Consuming
Breeding dogs is often referred to as a hobby but it is very much time-consuming and you will need to allocate several hours every day over several weeks.
Earlier in this article, I mentioned health testing and vet visits. They aren’t cheap. Especially when you have several of them in a short period of time. But you have to make them, because they are necessary.
Most ethical dog breeders don’t profit from dog breeding, they just do it to improve their favorite breed as a whole. Others may do it because they want to see their bitch enjoy motherhood.
Regardless of why you are doing it, remember that it needs to be driven by love, not by money. And before you even start, you need to have emergency savings in case things don’t go as planned, and additional expenses arise (C-section, hospitalization, etc.)
Guest post written by Lazhar Ichir, owner of breedingbusiness.com
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Great article, but you didnt say anything about DM and before buying a pup makes sure they are tested for this fault and Breeders MUST start breeding so their litter doesn’t have any high risk results for this awful genetic fault.
We can’t find a puppy to buy without spay or neuter contracts. We want a female and think maybe we should begin a breeding program. I am a retired nurse and understand health issues. Can you help me find a female?
We have a litter due august 9th. They will be sold without a spay or nueter contract. So you would be able to breed a female if tou nought from us
Weston how can I get a hold of you. I am looking for a little boy.
My name is Mandy. I am looking for a healthy corgi. Preferably a female…but a male isn’t out of the question. Do you have any available? If so, please contact me at mandyjn159@yahoo.com
Info please
I have been thinking about becoming a breeder to better the breed but I also cannot find any breeders in my area that sell without spay / neuter contracts. I am an animal lover with a fenced yard and no children. I’ve been learning and researching articles about corgi’s and becoming a breeder for roughly six months to a year and I’m always willing to learn more, as one can never know enough. I do everything within my power to make sure my animals are healthy and happy. If anyone could reply with some even some information or referral that would be wonderful. gloverdani97@gmail.com
I have been owned by Corgis most of my life. I tried with help from 2 reputable Irish breeders to breed a litter with two excellent show dogs. 7 bundles of corgis love came into this world. 6girls and 1 lone boy. Just like the article highlighted I loved watching them grow,become socialized in the world and then let them go. Wayyyy harder than I imagined. I decided that I wasn’t fulfilling that edict of breed to better the breed and so for that period of my life I wasn’t going to breed any more litters. God rewarded me by giving me back my pick of the litter which I sold and she became my beloved therapy dog. I lost her last year, she was born in my lap and she passed there as well. But my search to find a new girl…pup or young adult has highlighted to me that ethical breeders can be hard to find. I am still fascinated by genetics and improving the breed and I am here to learn and maybe someday I will feel I can be worthy to carry that responsibility that comes with the title Corgi breeder again.
I have a 2 1/2 yr old male ! I have a friends female here at my homecto get bred it’s been two days and she’s ready but he attempts to breed then backs off! Will they finally hook up in a few days?