Corgi TV discussion

[Michael Romanos]

Had a call from New Zealand's national television. They got hold of me because of the Wellington Welsh Corgi Walking Club. They want to do a special live studio presentation and discussion on Corgis and conincide the programme with the Queen's Birthday Weekend which is on June 3-5 (Sat, Sun, Mom - with the Monday being a public holiday). It is not the official birthday of the Queen but that is the time every year that we celebrate it.
They want a group of people with their Corgis and they also want at least one breeder. I told them that there is no breeder in this region and the closest is Bridget Smeeton who lives in Feilding and the Delwyn Kennels which are in Ashhurst - both about 100 to 130 km away from Wellington. Bridget breeds Cardis and the Delwyn Kennels breeds Pems. Interestingly, most of the Corgis in the WWCWC are Delwyn. Debbie of Glencorgi knows Bridget because she is an international Corgi conformation show judge. And Delwyn Kennels would be known in North America. At this stage it looks as though Bridget (if she is available) and me and a few others from the WWCWC will be part of the tv show. I hope Clogs is reading this post.

Has any members got any ideas what I should generally say about Corgis.

This will surpirse most people on NZ tv is when I tell them there are more Corgis in NZ than in Wales and that the country with the most Corgis by a huge margin is the USA (can any of you Americans hazard a guess of how many pure bred Corgis in the USA and how many might be Corgi crosses. I could multiply the number here in NZ by the population differential with the USA and i would get to 525,000 Corgis = pure bred and crosses combined).

It is probable that I won't be asked the question about the relationship between Cardis and Pems because it seems obvious to outsiders that they are closely related - even if they are not. I don't know Bridget's position on the matter. Glencorgi says they are in no way related and I say they must be related. But I know that Bridget thinks that Pems are quicker witted and looks the smarter of the two which she says accounts for a lot of the Pem's popularity. Anyway if Bridget can't make it we do have a very handsome red and white Cardi named Sam in the WWCWC who gets on famously with Taylor. Hah, Taylor's front looks like a Cardi's anyway.

I told the tv programme producer that I could arrange a theatre actress to play the role of the Queen and that interested the tv people. So I gave them her contact details. Have yet to see this queen impersonator but her voice is very Qneen Elizabeth The Second-like.

[Jane Austen]

Keep us updated on the TV show. I would be glad to buy a copy of a DVD or VHS tape of the segment, if you could manage that.
Do you know how long they expect the episode to be?
Very exciting!

[Lovemycorgi]

Sounds VERY interesting. I too would like to buy a copy of the CD. Good luck with the show.
Edna

[Clogs]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

I hope Clogs is reading this post.

*read...read...read...*

I told the tv programme producer that I could arrange a theatre actress to play the role of the Queen and that interested the tv people. So I gave them her contact details. Have yet to see this queen impersonator but her voice is very Qneen Elizabeth The Second-like.

Is this the same one who is doing the....hmmm...don't know if I'm supposed to mention this, but is she the one involved in event that you were talking to me about the other day?

[Michael Romanos]

Yes. But she is a different person. This person is a real actress so we are not getting an amateur or someone 'off the street.'

[Michael Romanos]

I phoned around the WWCWC members and I was pleasently surprised to find so many members available and willing and excited on a normal working day to roillup to the television studios with their Corgis. I think we will end up with around a dozen Corgis including two Cardis. Could do with more....... but it's cheaper by the dozen.

Have to wait now for a list of questions from the producers, the format and confirmation of the actual time of the day when required. Isn't it great that all the Corgis get on so well with each other.

I know what one question will be and one topic. What makes a Corgi unique and how do Corgis perform in the show ring.

What do I say to the TV host when asked what makes a Corgi so UNIQUE a la different from any other breed of dog.

Is it to do with shape only. What about humour. Corgis are full of humour.

Perhaps it is a combination of things - a humerous, bouncy, busy, clever, bullet of muscle, yet cuddly and luxuriously coated with big ears, foxy face, bunny rabbit rear (Pems with no tail) and no legs; easily trained, long lived and hardy, adaptable dogs with a big outlook on life despite being a dwarf. They are the world's smallest herding dog breed.

Any ideas, please let me know.

[PaulaK]

Please also mention the possibility of corgis being opinionated, bullheaded and shedders. Corgwn are not for everyone.
Paula
Annie "I'm not too opinionated!"
Joey "I'm just a sweet boy"

[LuvMyFluffy]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Perhaps it is a combination of things - a humerous, bouncy, busy, clever, bullet of muscle, yet cuddly and luxuriously coated with big ears, foxy face, bunny rabbit rear (Pems with no tail) and no legs; easily trained, long lived and hardy, adaptable dogs with a big outlook on life despite being a dwarf.

Any ideas, please let me know.

How about , plain and simple "frapping".

Judy & Giz

[Michael Romanos]

Paula - I don't think so. But I might add that Corgis are not kennel dogs unless they are sopecifically part of a crew of Corgis who are used for real herding on farms.

Judy - I thought of adding 'frapping.' Other breeds frap as well you know - so I will leave it as 'humerous and may add 'playful.' Besides, frapping is a word that may not be understood by many people including the interviewer.

Please keep coming up with suggestions.

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Paula - I don't think so. But I might add that Corgis are not kennel dogs unless they are sopecifically part of a crew of Corgis who are used for real herding on farms.

Michael I don't believe that would be an accurate portrayal. I can cite several corgi clutches which are used for real herding on farms and they are not kennel dogs. They are a part of the household.

I also don't see why you would not mention what Paula suggested, "...being opinionated, bullheaded and shedders," those are some of the Pembroke's most endearing traits.

Won't be long Michael and you'll be the NZ version of Animal Planet's Ron Reagan.


Debbie

[PaulaK]

Thanks Debbie - I just worry that profiling corgis as a "perfect" dog is not exactly correct. Scares me!
Michael - I love it that Annie is opinionated and bullheaded! she's smart and wants to make her own decisions - IMO thats her heritage. (and rarely wants to cuddle) Joey is the opposite - just being a sweet dog. Just trying to be fair to future corgi owners and the breed.
Paula

[Michael Romanos]

Debbie - you can't be serious. A farmer who may have several Corgis (or lets say he has a dozen) as his full time herding etc crew, will have all the Corgis inside his household. I don't think so. But there are always exceptions. Aside from anything else, a full time farming Corgi would not be the cleanest of dogs for obvious reasons - and a crew of them....... I don't even think that domestic Corgi owners of a a dozen or so Corgis would have them all housed inside their house either.

Almost every breed of dog sheds. I don't think shedding is endearing. If one was asked unwanted traits you might say 'stubborn,' 'answer back' and 'do some things their way.'

[glencorgi]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Debbie - you can't be serious. A farmer who may have several Corgis (or lets say he has a dozen) as his full time herding etc crew, will have all the Corgis inside his household. I don't think so. But there are always exceptions. Aside from anything else, a full time farming Corgi would not be the cleanest of dogs for obvious reasons - and a crew of them.......

Michael, Michael, Michael ... I don't even know where to begin here - explanation of correct corgi coats? pointing out that they can be cleaned up before entering the house? or acknowledging that you'll be going on TV spouting off - this is the way something is that you have no frame of reference or actual knowledge about, in short giving out misinformation based on how *you* think things should/would be handled.

I don't even think that domestic Corgi owners of a a dozen or so Corgis would have them all housed inside their house either.

And there you would definitely be mistaken.

Almost every breed of dog sheds. I don't think shedding is endearing. If one was asked unwanted traits you might say 'stubborn,' 'answer back' and 'do some things their way.'

As Paula responsibly noted and suggested - corgis are not for everyone. Each of the qualities/traits listed above are things some individuals could not cope with or handle in a dog. In addition to all the wonderful qualities corgis possess, it is only responsible, as a presenter, to give a true all-round picture of the breed(s) so people can make educated decisions as to whether this would be the right breed of dog for them to acquire as a pet. The above traits are also a part of the uniqueness of corgis.

Debbie

[Michael Romanos]

None of the top Corgi breeders in NZ house all their Corgis inside their house. Perhaps most of them (the Corgis) would have time in and time out on a roster kind of basis. I wouldn't expect most of any other part of the world with large numbers of Corgis to have them all running around inside a home and living in the lounge and bedrooms.
No farmer in NZ with a large tract of land requiring many farm working dogs, will have his/her dogs inside his/her house unless one or two are also treated as 'pets' - and even that would come with restrictions. Some farmers have their farm working dogs and also their dog 'pets' and they treat their pets differently. There is no farmer in NZ with many Corgis who are used as farm working dogs. So my contention was hyperthetical. There might be the odd farmer with a Corgi that is part of his farm working dog team. Farms in NZ where a team of Corgis could operate in herding cattle, cows or sheep are mucky places most times of the year, and no farmer with any sense of propriety will allow a mucky dog into his/her household.

The forthcoming TV programme and the previous one that Taylor and I appeared on last year, have nothing directly to do with people buying or wanting a Corgi. The one in a couple of weeks is more about "why is the British Queen so rapt with Corgis." So I would think the uniqueness of a Corgi would be one way of addressing this scenario. And I have no intention of placing a Corgi in a bad light because most of our Go Corgi members and all the members of the Wellington Welsh Corgi Walking Club ( including the dozen who will be turning up for the studio filming etc) know that the typical Corgi is quite simply cute, cool and cuddly and fits in perfectly well together as a crew - just as the Queen's Corgis do.

Does any other member have any positive suggestions to make about the uniqueness of a Corgi.

[Peggy]

[quote=Michael Romanos;30522 I don't even think that domestic Corgi owners of a a dozen or so Corgis would have them all housed inside their house either.[/QUOTE]

I know of a couple breeders in the US that have a dozen or more corgis and do have them all in the house loose at the same time. It can be done, but as Debbie stated in one of her posts these breeders are very careful of temperments and any dog that won't get along finds a new home.

It can be done.

Also, I find it very doubtful that a farmer would have a dozen or so working corgis. I think that usually they would only have a couple.

I do agree that many farmers even today do not allow their working dogs in the house as pets. I see that here where I live, in a rural community. Most of the working dogs (although not corgis) are outside dogs and live in the barn or have dog houses.

JMO.
Peggy