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The tail end of things:
Quoting Michael: "Having said that a Pembroke can have a fairly miserly tail, I did spot one Pem whose tail was intact and the tail was quite fulsome .though unlike a Cardi, it stood up quite a bit and waved airily."
A Pembroke tail should NOT be like a Cardigan tail and what Michael describes sounds to be what a "correct" PWC tail should look like and how it should be carried. In addition to a wide range of tail looks that I have seen via rescue (at a corgi picnic two years ago there were about 6 tailed Pems - including one 3/4 length natural bob), I have also had the opportunity to see well-bred Pembrokes from Scandanavia which were imported by some of my Pem club members. Their breeder has also judged our regional speciaty show. We've also had one of the recognized "authorities" on natural bobs judge. Additionally, one of our club members who is an AKC licensed judge has traveled to Scandanavia to judge. So tails are often a part of our seminars on structure and movement. Interestingly, when the Kennel Club wrote tails into the standard, the set and carriage they called for would require an incorrect rear assembly structure for a Pembroke. They really just didn't know how to deal with the tail. To see what a Pembroke tail should look and be carried like, then one needs to look to the Spitz breeds. Tail set is high and when a dog is up and on the move; carried over the back. In a relaxed state the tail can be held down. It does not flow off the body parallel to the ground into the fox-like brush of the Cardigan. That isn't correct for a PWC. Cardigan breeders struggle to get correct set, amount of croup and carriage in that breed and all those components go to correct rear structure, assembly and movement.
Liz without knowing she is doing so, is only illustrating how successful the brainwashing by the animal righters of the general public has been. If one were to be transported back to 1920 - 1930's Pembrokeshire, Wales, one would find natural bobbed Pembrokes common. One explanation as to why Pembrokes are docked is because they are a naturally bobbed breed. Interbreeding with the Cardigans (and a few other breeds) made the tail genes more prominent, however in order to hold true to Pembroke type, the tails were docked. Without type, one does not have a breed.
All Liz needs to do is go find the nearest horsey type breeding corgis as accessories to the barn and for the extra spending cash the litters bring in and she'll find a breeder who will cooperate with her. Shoot there are even horsey breeders breeding Cardigans who dock their tails because their "customers" like the Pem "look" better. As I said, no reputable or responsible breeder in the US will comply with her request. IF she does want to go for a quality and responsibly bred Pembroke with a tail, then importing from a country that no longer allows docking is the only choice she has there.
Debbie
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