The Amazing Adventures of Archibald Esq.

Royal Dorgis and the Power of Pipkin!

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Her Royal Highness the Queen - daughter of King George VI and Elizabeth, the Queen Mother - was educated at home, speaks French, and during WW II passed vehicle mechanics exams and qualified as a driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during World War II. Needless to say, she’s a woman of fine breeding (doesn’t get better!), great skill and intelligence, who also happens to have impeccable taste. Awoof!

HRH lives at a variety of Royal residences (as you do if you’re the Monarchy incarnate), including Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse (Scotland), Windsor Castle, Sandrinham House and Balmoral Castle. In addition to being the Head of State in the UK (and Commonwealth countries such as Canada), she is also the Head of the Church of England, the Royal Navy (yes m’am!), Royal Army and Royal Airforce. Whewh!

Despite all these houses to keep in order, countries, armies and navies to oversee, and parliaments to open, she maintains a rather healthy work/life balance, and enjoys riding, walking in the countryside, horseracing, and Scottish country dancing. But perhaps her best-loved pasttime is to spend time with her collection of hounds.

Unlike Queen Victoria who did not breed her own dogs, the Queen is well known as an affectionate breeder of Welsh Pembroke Corgi dogs, and most of the pups she keeps from litters are female. Her late sister Princess Margaret had a male Miniature Long-Haired Dachshund called Pipkin who seemed to love Corgis in his own Pipkin way. Despite logistical difficulties, Pipkin overcame problems of height differences, and a litter of seven Dachsund/Corgi crosses were born to one of the Queen’s dogs. As Saint Exupery has it, love inspires more love, and Elizabeth found them appealing enough to christen the type “Dorgi” and arrange for more to be born. (This is occasionally spelled “Dorgie”.)

In 1975 the Kennel Club of England commissioned a portrait of its patron, Queen Elizabeth II. This work shows Her Majesty surrounded by some of her dogs. Centred in the portrait is the cross-bred ‘Tinker’, whose dam was a Pembroke Corgi, his sire a Dachshund. The mix is now a breed the Royal Family calls the “Windsor Dorgi.”

It has been reported that the Kennel Club had been a little miffed by the inclusion of a dog that was not a ‘pure breed’ and pointed out rather sniffily to her Majesty that there was not a single cross-breed dog depicted in any of the portraits hanging in the club. Not suprisingly HRH said that if Tinker were not allowed in the portrait, then she would not sit for it, so the club relented.
Mixed Breed Dogs Gain in Popularity
Sought-after mixes, some of which can fetch up to $4,000 in America, are becoming all the rage in doggy circles. Examples of these inter-breed mixes include the labradoodle, a cross between the Labrador and the poodle; the schnoodle, a schnauzer-poodle mix; the goldendoodle, a golden retriever-poodle mix; the cockapoo, a cocker spaniel-poodle match; and the yorkipoo, a cross between a Yorkshire terrier and a poodle. Even Britain’s Queen is in on the mixing trend. She has owned more than 30 Welsh corgis since she was 18 years old and has bred several dorgis - dachshund/corgi mixes. Many of the mixes are said to be desirable as they are more resistant to disease than their pure-bred brethren. Sadly, not all these mixed types are so lucky as to live in palaces. For example, websources report that the ‘bagel’ - a mix between a basset hound and a beagle - is typically found in animal shelters.
Tinker, Berry, Brandy, Cider, Harris, Pickles, and Chipper and others of the same mix lived happy, pampered lives among their pure-bred relatives, though the Queen’s enthusiasm has not really led to a rush by other breeders to make more Dachshund-Corgi crosses. The Secretary of the Kennel Club at the time of the portrait conflict is supposed to have remarked, “The Dachshund was evolved to chase badgers down holes and Corgis to round up cattle. If anyone loses a herd of cattle down a badger hole, these are just the dogs to get them out.” Obviously the Kennel Club is more snooty than any other blue-blood around, and perhaps they need a dorgi or two to find the heart that they’ve lost down a deep dark hole!

According to the information available on the ‘Royal Collection’ website, the Queen presently keeps company with a whole bevy of snazzy dogs. Woof! Dear Elizabeth (if I dare to be so familiar) keeps five corgis, called Emma, Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly. She also has four ‘dorgis’ called Cider, Berry, Vulcan and Candy. In addition to this roster, she also keeps company with not less than five cocker spaniels called Bisto, Oxo, Flash, Spick and Span.

Previous dorgis include the now departed Tinker, Pickles, Chipper, Piper, Harris, and Brandy. Though Tinker and Pipkin (and others) have gone to the Great Dog Spirit in the Sky, the dorgi line continues. Long live the Dorgi! Long live the Queen! Hip Hip Hoorah!

Happy Birthday your Majesty! Well done and a big Superwoof to the Power of Pipkin and the Royal Dorgis! Archie.

PS. If any houndish souls out there know of the infamous portrait commissioned by the Kennel Club in 1975, please do bark in with more stories or leads on how to view the portrait… I’ve done a quick search online for images of dorgis and/or an image of the above portrait, but have found nothing to date…

Posted 21 Apr 06