Pembroke Welsh Corgi: inherited diseases and health

Updated 2026-09-30 · 2 sources

Based on: OMIA (University of Sydney), Wikidata

Breed health

The inherited conditions below have been documented in this breed in published research. That does not mean your dog has them or will get them – but it helps to know the names when you talk to a breeder or a vet.

Conditions this breed is prone to

Veterinary charities list this breed as more likely than others to get these conditions. Read the signs and what to do:

Pembroke Welsh Corgi and chocolate: how much is dangerous?

Typical adult weight: 9–12 kg. Grams of chocolate at which signs can start (20 mg/kg) and at which severe signs are reported (40 mg/kg):

Dog weight	Milk	Dark 70–85%	Baking / unsweetened
9 kg	90 g signs 180 g severe	22 g signs 45 g severe	13 g signs 26 g severe
12 kg	120 g signs 240 g severe	30 g signs 60 g severe	17 g signs 34 g severe

Based on published doses: signs from about 20 mg/kg, severe signs from 40 mg/kg (US FDA, Cortinovis & Caloni 2016, Swedish Poison Information Centre). An estimate, not a diagnosis.

Check the exact amount with the chocolate calculator →

Inherited conditions documented in the breed

Conditions documented: 11

A gene variant is known for 8 of the conditions below, so a DNA test may exist. Ask your vet or the breed club.

Condition	Body system	Inheritance	Gene variant known
Degenerative myelopathy^[1]	Nervous system	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Exercise-induced collapse^[1]	Nervous system	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Ichthyosis, ASPRV1-related^[1]	Integument (skin)	Autosomal dominant	Yes
Muscular dystrophy^[1]	Muscle	–	–
Muscular dystrophy, Duchenne type^[1]	Muscle	X-linked recessive	Yes
Myoclonus epilepsy of Lafora^[1]	Behaviour / neurological	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Narcolepsy^[1]	Behaviour / neurological	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Nephropathy^[1]	Renal / urinary system	–	–
Steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis, predisposition to^[1]	Nervous system	–	No
Tail, short^[1]	Skeleton (incl. short stature & teeth)	Autosomal dominant	Yes
Von Willebrand disease I^[1]	Haematopoietic system	Autosomal	Yes

What this list means

“Documented in the breed” means at least one published case or study – it says nothing about how common the condition is.
Many of these conditions are rare. A responsible breeder can tell you which health tests the parents have had.
Where the gene variant is known, a DNA test may exist – ask your vet or the breed club.
If your pet shows signs of illness, contact your vet. This page cannot tell you whether your pet is ill.

About the breed

Origin: Wales
Height: 25–30 cm
Weight: 9–12 kg
FCI number: 039

^[2]

If your pet is struggling to breathe, has collapsed, is having a seizure or can't stand up: go to the nearest vet now.

Not sure how serious it is?

OkPaw asks a few quick questions about your pet and tells you in 30 seconds whether it can wait. Free on Google Play for Android.

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Sources

How this page was made: the list is taken directly from the sources below; nothing on it was written by AI. Names of conditions may be machine-translated. It is information, not a diagnosis. How we write our pages