Cardigan Welsh Corgi Twin Finder: 139 in the Pool

To find your Cardigan Welsh Corgi's twin, upload one clear photo to PetMatch and the model compares your dog's face against the 139 Cardigan Welsh Corgis already in the pool, returning the real dog whose face sits closest to yours. The low body and the fox-like brush are what people notice first, but the match leans on the large erect ears, the moderate stop, and the muzzle that is shorter than the skull.

A long, low dog with a fox brush

The AKC standard, approved December 13, 1994 and effective January 31, 1995, calls the Cardigan Welsh Corgi low set, with moderately heavy bone and a deep chest. The silhouette is long in proportion to height and ends in a low tail set and a fox-like brush. Dogs and bitches stand 10½ to 12½ inches at the withers. The ideal length-to-height ratio is 1.8 to 1. Ideal weight is 30 to 38 pounds for dogs and 25 to 34 pounds for bitches. A face photo shows none of that length.

The eyes are medium to large, not bulging, widely set, with dark rims, and clear and dark in harmony with the coat. Blue eyes, including partially blue eyes, are allowed in blue merles and are a disqualification in any other color. The ears are large and prominent, slightly rounded at the tip, and carried erect, sloping slightly forward when the dog is alert. The tips sit slightly wide of a straight line from the nose tip through the center of the eye. Small or pointed ears are serious faults. Drop ears are a disqualification.

The skull is moderately wide and flat between the ears, tapering toward the eyes. The muzzle is shorter than the skull, about three parts muzzle to five parts skull, rounded but not blunt, and it sits lower than the skull because of a definite but moderate stop. The nose is black. In blue merles a butterfly nose is tolerated. In any other color a nose that is not solid black is a disqualification.

Coat, color, and a tail the crop misses

The coat is a medium double coat. Outer hairs are slightly harsh, never wiry, curly, or silky. Hair is short on the ears, head, and legs, and slightly longer in the ruff. A distinctly long or fluffy coat is an extremely serious fault.

There is no color preference: all shades of red, sable, and brindle; black with or without tan or brindle points; and blue merle, black and gray marbled, with or without tan or brindle points. White flashings are usual on the neck, chest, legs, muzzle, underparts, the tail tip, and as a blaze. White on the head should not predominate and should never surround the eyes. Any other color, and a body that is predominantly white, are disqualifications. The tail is set fairly low, reaches well below the hock, and is never curled over the back. A head-on crop never shows it.

Cardigan or Pembroke?

The same low outline and erect ears put a Cardigan next to a Pembroke in a tight crop. The Corgi twin finder covers that face, and the Pembroke pool holds 272 dogs, separate from these 139. The AKC standard, approved June 13, 1972 and reformatted January 28, 1993, puts a Pembroke at 10 to 12 inches, not over 30 pounds for dogs or 28 for bitches. The head is foxy, with a fairly wide flat skull, a moderate stop, and the same three-to-five muzzle proportion. The ears are erect, firm, and medium, tapering slightly to a rounded point, so a line from the nose tip through the eyes to the ear tips forms an approximate equilateral triangle. A Cardigan ear is larger, and the tips sit wide of a line through the eye.

A Pembroke tail is docked as short as possible. A natural dock is acceptable if it is short enough, and a tail up to two inches is allowed. A Cardigan tail is a low-set fox brush that reaches well below the hock and is never curled over the back. A face photo hides both. Color is the other split. A Pembroke coat is red, sable, fawn, or black and tan, with or without white. A bluish or smoky cast, which the standard calls bluies, is a very serious fault. Blue merle is correct on a Cardigan, and blue eyes are allowed only on that coat.

When the twin is a mix

Mixed-breed dogs are the largest dog group on PetMatch, at 10,185. A mix that kept the large erect ears, the moderate stop, and the shorter muzzle can place ahead of the Cardigans. The model is matching the face in the photo, not guessing at a pedigree.

A photo that shows the ears

Shoot head-on at eye level in open shade, ears up and mouth closed, so both eyes, the moderate stop, and the full base of each ear stay in the frame. Folded ears change the outline the standard describes as erect and sloping slightly forward. Open shade keeps a red coat from washing out and keeps a blue merle from flattening into one gray.