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There are several cardinal rules to which a breeder should adhere when breeding the Cardigan Welsh corgi. Among them is exercising good judgment in breeding for color. Cardigans come in an amazing number of colors, and great care must be taken to preserve the original colors.
Accepted colors are:
Red- any shade from light to dark mahogany to sable (sable is a red body coat with black guard hairs)
Brindle- a fine, even mixture of black hairs with a lighter color- usually red, brown, gray, or yellowish. Brindle Cardigans range from red-brindle to brown to very dark almost black.
Black and White- with or without tan or brindle points
Tri-color- black and white with tan points
Blue Merle- blue and gray mixed with black, giving a marbled effect, with or without tan or brindle points.
Here are some of the possible results you can get from breeding various colors:
Red to red-------------------- red, black and white, tri color and brindle
Brindle to brindle---------- brindle ,red ,black and white, tri-color
Black and white to black and white---- black and white and tri-color
Tri-color to tri- color ---- tri-color
Tri-color to black and white--- tri-color and black and white
Tri-color to red or brindle--- tri-color, red, brindle, black and white
Blue merle to tri-color----- Tri-color, blue merle, and black and white
Blue Merle to black and White--- black and white, blue Merle and tri-color
The Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America only allows the breeding of the above colors and they do not tolerate the breeding of Blue Merle to any other color other than black.
It is well to note that, generally speaking blue merles should only be bred to tri-colors and black and whites. The purpose is to retain the blue merle color and to avoid the possibility that in later generations reds and brindles will produce blue merles.
Breeding blue merle to blue merle should not be done as genetics have proved that blue merle contain a dilution factor and can complicate the health of the puppies.
Breeders find it interesting to try and predict the ratio of possible coat colors that can appear in a litter. It is well to remember that Nature does not always agree with the theories expressed by pen and paper- for example blue merle bred to blue merle can produce all black puppies and red to red can produce all reds.
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