wombat_supreme t1_j7zuggo wrote on February 10, 2023 at 4:19 PM

Reply to comment by HouseOfSteak in Meet Beans! by Unstupid

This. Also, I think this was at one time a functional thing. To those who do not know, Corgis, believe it or not, are herding dogs. I had no idea they were herding dogs until I adopted a 7 month old pure bred Pembrok Welsh Corgi. The functionality is them not getting their tail stomped while herding. And their herding instinct is strong. Nothing gets past this little dog.

HouseOfSteak t1_j809665 wrote on February 10, 2023 at 5:54 PM

Dwarfism for corgis is also a functional trait - being so low to the ground meant that cattle would have difficulties kicking them in the face (which they evolved to do against predators that notably did not have short legs, putting their hooves at perfect head-kicking height).

Of course, when they aren't herding animals and therefore not are risking a hoof to the skull, dwarfism comes with its own set of problems that they otherwise wouldn't have.