The Welsh
have always had an affinity with dogs. Welsh mythology, folklore and legends
from The Mabinogion are full of tales about hunting hounds and ferocious,
dangerous beasts that roamed the hills and always obeyed their masters.
There are
very few Welsh children who have not been regaled, either at home or in school,
with the legend of the faithful hound Gelert and his noble sacrifice.
It is a tale
to both thrill and entrance but it’s not just in legend that the love of dogs
comes through.
The Encyclopedia of Wales mentions that even the early Welsh law books
“contain numerous stipulations about staghounds, greyhounds, terriers,
shepherding dogs and guard dogs.
Freemen were obliged to maintain the king's
hunting dogs and horses during his tours, a custom which obliged tenants
to keep pack hounds for their landlords.”
Of course there
are gentler stories too, stories where the dog was a companion and a friend to
anyone in need.
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Every year the farm hosts a sheepdog trial, and this year Sior is planning to compete.
In more
recent times the performance of Welsh dogs during the live and televised
sheepdog trials has grown into what is almost a national institution.
These days
the hunting dogs so beloved by the storytellers and poets have largely
disappeared but, there are still several Welsh breeds of dog.
The Welsh
sheepdog is perhaps the best known, an animal that originally had a dual role –
to drive and move livestock around the countryside and occasionally protect the
herdsman and his flock from wild animals and rustlers.
Strangely,
for many years what we thought of as a Welsh sheepdog was actually a Scottish
animal.
The Welsh
sheepdogs of old, including the long-haired greys that were used by the drovers
taking cattle into England had almost died out, until the Welsh Sheepdog
Society was formed in 1997.
Sior from The Hill Farm series with his Welsh sheepdog.
The formation
of the society prompted a renewed interest in Welsh sheepdogs and these days
they are worked at sheepdog trials alongside the famous collies.
Their way of
working might be different but they are still highly efficient animals.
Think Welsh
dogs and you invariably think of the famous corgis. There are actually two
different breeds of corgi, the sandy-coloured Pembrokeshire corgi and the Cardiganshire
corgi that come in a variety of colours.
Originally
bred to drive cattle and other livestock by nipping at their heels and
frightening them with their loud, shrill yapping, the name corgi actually means
dwarf dog.
These tiny
dogs, often imperious and sometimes even a little bad tempered have become
popular all over the world, probably due to the influence of the Royal family
pets.
The Welsh terrier
is a black and tan animal with a coat that is wiry on top and woolly
underneath.
The dogs
were originally bred to kill rats and were invaluable in the farmyard and
around livestock.
A Pembrokeshire corgi playing on the beach by Sherri Damlo (Getty Images).
However, they
have now become popular animals in the showground where they are much coveted
and ired.
The Welsh springer spaniel has a similar background and was originally bred to flush out game from deep
cover and then retrieve the fallen birds that were shot.
Springers
are still used as gun dogs but they are perhaps equally well known as
affectionate and caring pets.
The Welsh foxhound is descended from a breed of dogs known as the segussi that lived and roamed the
plains and forests of northern Europe in Roman times.
These days
the dogs have light-coloured fur but originally they would have been black and
tan.
During the medieval period the foxhounds were used to hunt wild boar, particularly in
Wales where the dogs were well-suited to the rough and dense terrain.
A Welsh Foxhound in Carmarthenshire by John B R Davies (Getty Images).
In later
years, as wild stags disappeared from the countryside, the
dogs were trained to hunt foxes and otters.
Now the hunting has ended, these strong and rugged animals are increasingly
valued as faithful companions and pets.
One breed of
Welsh dog which has an origin that can be easily traced is the Sealyham terrier.
Originally a
hunting dog, it was developed and bred at the end of the 19th century
by Captain Edwardes on his estate at Sealyham in Pembrokeshire and was first
shown at Haverfordwest in 1903.
The role of
the Welsh dog has changed drastically over the years, originally bred to hunt
or herd but nowadays they are loved as pets throughout the world.
