The Cardigan Welsh Corgi has been around since ancient times and was used for cattle driving. Some say the name Corgi came from the Celtic word for dog and others say it is from the Welsh word for tiny dog. Either way, the breed is believed to have originated in the British Isles and was brought to Cardiganshire, South Wales hundreds by Europeans. Another idea is that the Cardigan Welsh Corgi is a descendent of Swedish Vallhunds brought to South Wales in the 800s by Vikings. One other theory claims that the breed was brought to Wales in 1200 BC by the Celts and was related to the Dachshund. Either way, the Corgi was used as a hunter and protector of the family until it was discovered how talented the dog was at driving cattle. The breed almost became extinct in the 1800s when there was no more need for drovers and many could not afford the luxury of a dog. In the early 1900s, the Corgi was mixed with a brindle herder to produce the Cardigan Corgi that we have today. Until 1935, it was common to interbreed the Cardigan and the Pembroke Corgi because they were considered one breed. Since that year, the breeds have been separately registered by the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the Cardigan is the 69th most popular breed in America. The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog has also been around since the ancient times and were likely related to the Mastiffs from Caesar’s invasion of Switzerland when they were used as guard dogs. This is the largest and oldest of the four Sennenhund breeds; the Bernese Mountain Dog, Entlebuch Cattle Dog, Appenzell Cattle Dog, and the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. This breed is also good at herding cattle and other livestock and was almost extinct by the 1900s when Dr. Albert Heim, a dog show judge, encouraged breeding programs to bring them back. The AKC acknowledged the breed in 1995 and they are the 78th most popular breed in America.
