Corgis are a small cute dog breed. They are mostly known for their short legs and smiling all the time, but have you ever wondered how fast can a Corgi run?
Their small size, and their short legs, give the impression that they can’t run and are slow.
In fact, that’s true to some extent. But they definitely can run, and way faster than you may think, probably faster than you!
In this article, I’ll explain to you everything about Corgis, why they are short-legged, and how fast they can run, so next time you see one, you’ll know exactly what they are able to do.
Before we dive into how fast Corgis can run, we should first answer a very important question that plays a big role in this: why do Corgi dogs have short legs in the first place?
There are two ways to answer this question.
One is the benefits of their short limbs, and the second is what exactly making their legs short, unlike other dogs.
I’ll start with the first one:
It goes back to when they were bred the first time. They were “created” short in purpose.
Corgis have always been herding dogs, and short legs were a desirable trait.
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Back in the days in Britain, more than a thousand years ago, there were no fences. Herders would need dogs to help them keep their animals separated from others.
To keep the herd together and separated from others, Corgi would nip at their legs to prevent them from joining other cattle.
Corgis make part of a type of herding dogs called heelers. Heelers, unlike other herding dogs, nip the heels of big animals to herd them.
Because of their short legs, Corgis find it easy to reach the cow’s ankles and are difficult targets of the revengeful kicks of cattle.
Enough with history.
The short answer is that they suffer (not in a bad sense) from a genetic condition called: achondroplastic dwarfism.
In fact, the word Corgi in Welsh means dwarf dog.
Achondroplastic dwarfism affects the bone structure. A case in which the bones fail to develop to the same size as other dogs.
This condition is caused by a genetic mutation. It causes the dog to develop abnormally short legs.
Don’t worry. It’s not a bad thing and is not rare in dogs. Plenty of other dog breeds have the same condition. And it’s cute, to be honest.
It depends on the type of Corgi. As you already know, there are two types of Corgis: Cardigan Welsh Corgi and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
Generally speaking, despite looking similar, they are different in many aspects. But short legs and speed aren’t one of them.
When it comes to running, the difference between a Cardigan and Pembroke is irrelevant.
It may come as a surprise, but some Corgis are quite fast, certainly faster than many humans.
Their short limbs make their running a bit special. Corgis run in a different way than other breeds.
Unlike big dogs, Corgis run basically by having their, relatively long, bodies act like springs.
When your Corgi runs, the back and front legs nearly touch or even overlap, and in this position, the Corgi is like a coiled spring.
Then there is the jumping part. In which the back legs push and the front legs stretch forward.
At this point, the Corgi is airborne and then lands with the front legs and then again the back legs come up to meet the front.
While it’s hard to know exactly since it depends on every dog. It is fair to assume that a healthy adult Corgi can reach about 23 mph in a sprint on clear, level ground.
Many Corgi owners confirm this number.
That’s definitely faster than many adult humans, including me.
Sure, that’s still slower than a German Shepherd, for instance, but it is slightly faster than the average across all dog breeds.
Corgis aren’t the slowest dogs, after all. There are slower breeds out there.
They’re not that good of jumpers, unfortunately.
Despite their short legs and small size, the two types of the Corgi dog breed are still able to run relatively fast. Way faster than what you may have thought.
A lot of Corgi owners confirm that a healthy adult Corgi dog can reach up to 23 mph on level ground.
That’s faster than the average across all dogs, and a lot of humans including me, and probably you.
