Red and fawn
Red puppies can be born with dark shading through the coat that clears as they grow, and fawn puppies can look grayish at first. Early on it can be hard to tell whether a shaded puppy will clear to red or stay sable.
Corgi guide
What colors do Corgis
come in?
Pembroke Welsh Corgis come in four accepted colors, red, sable, fawn, and black and tan, each with or without white markings; black and tan is usually seen as a tricolor. Merle and brindle are not Pembroke colors at all: they belong to the Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Here is what each color looks like, how puppy coats change, and what mismark, bluie and fluffy mean.
At a glance
What colors do Pembroke Welsh Corgis come in?
The AKC standard accepts red, sable, fawn, and black and tan, each with or without white markings. On AKC registration papers both tricolor patterns are recorded as black and tan. The table also covers colors you will see advertised that the standard does not accept.
| Color | What it looks like | In the AKC standard? |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Clear red from deep red to lighter shades, with little or no black in the adult coat | Yes |
| Fawn | A paler red, from yellowish to strawberry blonde | Yes |
| Sable | Red or fawn base with black tipped hairs, light or heavy, usually darkest on the back and head | Yes |
| Red headed tricolor | Mostly red head, black saddle over the back, white markings | Yes, registered as black and tan |
| Black headed tricolor | Black around the eyes and over much of the body, tan points, white markings | Yes, registered as black and tan |
| Black and white, no tan | Black with white markings and no tan anywhere | No, it is a mismark |
| Mismark | An accepted color with white on the back, sides or ears | No, a very serious fault |
| Whitelie | Mostly white body with red or dark patches | No, a very serious fault |
| Bluie | Smoky or bluish cast, often with light eyes and a gray or liver nose | No, a very serious fault |
| Cream or "champagne" | Off white or silvery body color, paler than fawn | No, according to the breed club |
| Merle or brindle | Marbled gray and black patches, or dark stripes | No, not found in purebred Pembrokes |
A color outside the standard does not make a lesser pet: the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America calls mismarks, whitelies and bluies excellent pets that simply should not be shown or bred.
Sable, red and fawn
What is a
sable Corgi?
A sable Corgi has a red or fawn base coat with black tipped hairs mixed through it. Some sables have a light dusting of black over the back and a dark patch on the forehead, while the breed club shows heavily sabled dogs that look nearly black. The black usually sits along the back, the shoulders and the top of the head, with the legs and underside lighter.
A red Corgi has the same warm base without the black overlay. Shades run from deep red to fawn, a paler red that ranges from yellowish to strawberry blonde, and the breed club treats everything from fawn to deep red as correct.
One shade is not accepted: a body color so pale it looks cream, ivory or silver, sometimes sold as "champagne". The PWCCA says these dogs lack enough red pigment and do not fit the standard, even with a black nose and eye rims.
Tricolors
What is a
tricolor Corgi?
A tricolor Pembroke is black, tan and white, the color the standard calls black and tan. There are two patterns, and breeders name them by the head.
A red headed tricolor has a mostly red head, sometimes with a little black sprinkled across the top of the skull, and its black sits on the body in a saddle over the back. A black headed tricolor has black around the eyes and usually much more black on the body, with tan on the cheeks, above the eyes, on the legs and under the tail.
Both are fully accepted colors, usually with white on the chest, legs, collar and muzzle.
Black Corgis
Is there a
black Corgi?
Yes, in the sense most people mean. A black headed tricolor Pembroke can be mostly black, with tan only on the cheeks, eyebrows, legs and under the tail, and that is usually what people mean by a black Pembroke Welsh Corgi. It is an accepted color, registered as black and tan.
A black and white Pembroke with no tan at all is different. The AKC standard lists "black with white markings and no tan present" as a mismark, a very serious fault in the show ring. Before you decide a puppy is black and white, look closely: the tan on a black headed tricolor can be limited to small points on the cheeks, over the eyes and on the legs.
The Cardigan standard accepts black with or without tan or brindle points, and black and white is one of the AKC's standard Cardigan colors. A black and white Corgi with a long, low tail is often a Cardigan, and our Cardigan vs Pembroke guide explains the other differences.
Puppy coats
Do Corgi puppies change color as they grow?
Often, yes. A puppy's color at eight weeks is a good guide but not the final word, so ask to see both parents and, if you can, grown dogs from earlier litters.
Sable
Sable puppies are often born looking dark or mousy. Much of that overlay fades as the adult coat comes in, but the grown dog keeps some black tipping. Partway through the change, a sable can briefly show what look like tan points.
Red headed tricolor
These puppies are born looking like black and tan dogs. As they grow, the tan spreads up the head and down the body until the black is left mostly as a saddle over the back.
Black headed tricolor
The tan markings on a black headed tricolor do not spread with age. The pattern you see on a young puppy, with clean edges between the black, tan and white, is largely the pattern you get.
White markings
Where can a Corgi have white markings?
The AKC standard accepts white on the legs, chest, neck (in part or as a full collar), muzzle and underparts, and as a narrow blaze on the head. Within those limits, how much white a Pembroke has is a matter of taste. White in other places, or too much of it, takes a dog outside the standard:
- Mismark: an accepted color with white on the back between the withers and the tail, on the sides between the elbows and the back of the hindquarters, or on the ears. The breed club's rule of thumb is no white above an imaginary line from the elbow through the stifle.
- Whitelie: a mostly white body with red or dark markings.
- Bluie: colored areas with a distinct bluish or smoky cast, usually with very light or blue eyes and gray or liver colored nose, lips and eye rims. It is easiest to spot on a tricolor, where the black looks gunmetal.
Fluffy Corgis
What is a
fluffy Corgi?
A fluffy is a long haired Corgi. Instead of the usual medium coat, it grows long, soft hair with feathering on the ears, chest, legs, feet, underparts and hindquarters. The AKC standard calls fluffies a very serious fault and adds that trimming the coat does not make it acceptable, so fluffies are not shown. The Cardigan standard treats a distinctly long or fluffy coat the same way.
The long coat is recessive. Researchers first tied the FGF5 gene to coat length in dogs by comparing short and long haired Corgis, in a 2006 study by Housley and Venta. A short coated Pembroke can carry one copy without showing it, and when two carriers are bred, on average about one puppy in four will be a fluffy. DNA tests can identify carriers.
A fluffy from two registered Pembroke parents is still a purebred Pembroke and can come in any of the normal colors. It is not a separate or rare breed, whatever an advertisement says. Fluffies make lovely companions but tangle more easily and need more brushing, and our Welsh Corgi grooming guide covers how to keep that coat comfortable.
Merle
Is there a blue merle Pembroke Corgi?
Not a purebred one. Merle, a marbled pattern of gray and black patches, is a Cardigan color. The AKC Cardigan standard lists blue merle with or without tan or brindle points, and Cardigans can also be brindle. The Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America says neither merle nor brindle occurs naturally in Pembrokes, and it asks judges to withhold ribbons from any that appear in the ring.
Merle is dominant, so a merle puppy needs a merle parent. It cannot hide for generations and then surface in a litter of Pembrokes. The Cardigan and Pembroke clubs of America both say a merle or brindle "Pembroke" is the result of crossbreeding, and the Cardigan club adds that such puppies cannot be registered in the AKC Stud Book. Calling them American Corgis does not change the fact that they are mixed breed dogs.
Merle also comes with a health caution. Two merle parents can produce double merle puppies, which carry a much higher risk of deafness and eye problems. In one veterinary study of 153 merle dogs, 25 percent of double merles were deaf in one or both ears, against 3.5 percent of single merles. The Cardigan club's code of ethics allows members to breed blue merles only to black dogs, so if you love the merle look, look for a Cardigan breeder who health tests.
Questions
Common questions.
What is the rarest Corgi color?
No registry publishes color counts for Pembrokes, so any claim about the rarest color is a guess. Be wary when "rare" is used to sell a color outside the standard, such as merle, blue or mostly white. In a Pembroke those are faults or signs of crossbreeding, not upgrades.
Can two red Corgis have a tricolor puppy?
Yes, it can happen. Red and sable are dominant over black and tan at the gene that controls these patterns, so a red or sable Corgi can carry tricolor without showing it. When two carriers are bred, on average about one puppy in four will be a tricolor. A DNA color test shows what a dog carries, and a tricolor parent or grandparent is a strong clue.
What eye color should a Corgi have?
Brown. The AKC Pembroke standard asks for oval eyes in shades of brown that suit the coat color, with dark, preferably black, rims, and calls yellow or bluish eyes undesirable. Very light or blue eyes in a Pembroke are associated with the bluie dilution. In Cardigans, blue or partly blue eyes are allowed only in blue merles.
Should you choose a Corgi puppy by color?
Color is a fine tiebreaker, but temperament shapes daily life far more. We temperament test our puppies at about seven and a half weeks, and the results say more about how a puppy will fit your household than its coat does. Our puppy program page explains how we raise each litter.
Keep reading
More Corgi guides.
Next step
More to know before you choose a Corgi?
Read how much Corgis shed, find out whether Corgis have tails, or meet the puppies available now.