Corgi-Chihuahua
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| Corgi/Chihuahua | ||||||||||||||||||||||
 A two-year-old, male, tri-color Corgi/Chihuahua waiting for a treat. |
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| Other names | Perroenano Corgihuahua Chigi Chihuorgi Chorgichi |
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| Country of origin | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The Corgi/Chihuahua is a dog hybrid (not a purebred dog); specifically the hybridization of a Welsh Corgi and a Chihuahua. This mixture was bound to happen since the parent breeds have both been in the top 25 breeds by registration with the AKC from 1997-2007[1].
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[edit] Name
An internet search for "Corgi-Chihuahua" yields number of different names for the breed [2]. Most of these are combinations, or portmanteau words, of the two parent breed names. Examples include Corgihuahua, Chigi, Chihuorgi, and Chorgichi.
[edit] Non-hybrid Name
Unfortunately, the connotation of these hybridized names is that the breed is a "designer dog" breed purely for profit with little regard to health, temperament, or purpose. For the Corgi/Chihuahua to ever have a chance at some point in the future be considered a breed unto itself, it would benefit from a less obviously hybridized name. For that reason, one Corgi/Chihuahua owner has come up with the name "Perroenano." This name was arrived at by taking the name of one of the parent breeds, Corgi, translating from its native language, Welsh to English to get "dwarfed dog."[3] Then, to include the parent breed Chihuahua in the new name, the phrase "dwarfed dog" is translated from English to Spanish (the language of Mexico the home of the Chihuahua) to arrive at "perro enano." [4][5]
[edit] Purpose
Being a mix breed, the Corgi/Chihuahua has no traditional purpose. As such its only true purpose is that of companion or family pet. The known specimens have shown high aptitude for agility, flyball, and other sports.
[edit] Description
[edit] Size
Some Corgi/Chihuahuas have been described as a "Corgi in a smaller package" while others have been described as a "long and low Chihuahua." Some weigh as much of 15-17 pounds, where others weigh only around ten pounds. One theory is that the size is related as to whether the mother of the pup was a Corgi producing larger pups, or a Chihuahua producing smaller ones. It is however difficult to test this theory as this hybrid has little history of intentional breeding.
[edit] Color
It is appropriate for pure-bred Chihuahuas to be any color-solid, marked or splashed [6]. Therefore, the same holds true for the Corgi/Chihuahua.
[edit] Tail
The Chihuahua's tail is moderately long, carried sickle either up or out, or in a loop over the back, with tip just touching the back [6]. The Cardigan Welsh Corgi's tail is low and fox like [7]. Pembroke Welsh Corgis are sometimes born with a natural dock [8]. These three very different tail types make the tail of the Corgi/Chihuahua almost impossible to predict. However, most known specimens have a Chihuahua-like tail.
[edit] Temperament
Being a mixed breed, it is not entirely possible to describe the temperament of the Corgi/Chihuahua. However, the known specimens have shown the intelligence and friendliness of the Corgi and the laid-back lap dog attitude of the Chihuahua. (Additional experiences from individual owners would be appreciated.) Proper socialization with strangers (people, dogs, and other household animals) at a young age is very important as with all dogs [9].
[edit] Health
Both varieties of the Welsh Corgi are considered to be the healthiest and longest-lived of the herding group. They do however sometimes suffer from canine hip dysplasia and other problems[10][11]. The Chihuahua is also a very long-lived breed [12]. They do have some genetic problems, however. The combination of these two breeds would seem to produce a long-lived dog. Additionally, since the two breeds share almost no common genetic disorders, a Corgi/Chihuahua would most likely be very healthy.
Additionally, The Chihuahua and both varieties of the Corgi are very old breeds [13][14][15] dating back thousands of years and from vastly different parts of the world and are bred from large selections of stock today. These factors would indicate that a Corgi-Chihuahua hybrid would have a very diverse gene-pool and as such recessive traits would likely be very rare to manifest.
[edit] References
- ^ AKC registration Statistics
- ^ Google search for Corgi-Chihuahua
- ^ Dictionary.com entry for Corgi
- ^ SpanishDict.com translation for 'dwarf'
- ^ SpanishDict.com translation for 'dog'
- ^ a b American Kennel Club Chihuahua breed description
- ^ American Kennel Club Cardigan Welsh Corgi breed description
- ^ American Kennel Club Prembroke Welsh Corgi breed description
- ^ Oregon Veterinary Medical Association article on socialization
- ^ BreederRetriever.com Health description of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi
- ^ BreederRetriever.com Health description of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi
- ^ BreederRetriever.com Health description of the Chihuahua
- ^ American Kennel Club history of the Chihuahua
- ^ American Kennel Club history of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi
- ^ American Kennel Club history of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi
