Page 120 - ShowSight - July 2019

Form Follows Function: The Straight Column...Part 7 BY STEPHANIE HEDGEPATH continued
“...let us not fall into the trap of putting too much emphasis on any ONE part of the dog. We must always look at the dog as a WHOLE. WE SHOULD NOT DISCARD ALL OF HIM
JUST BECAUSE WE DO NOT LIKE ONE PART OF HIM, unless that one part is so faulty as to make him so unsound,
that he is unable to fulfill his original purpose.”
compensatory actions for an out of balance dog to take, often for the same mechanical problem. Therefore, it can be quite confus- ing to determine exactly why the dog is tak- ing these wasteful motions. One dog will paddle; one dog will flip his front feet up before placing them on the ground, another will wing the foot out to the side in a circle. This often makes it difficult for the new- comer (as well as the old pro!) to understand exactly what is causing the faulty motion.
After many long years of study, and the evaluation of thousands of dogs, I have come to the conclusion that any dog that can make it around the show ring with a reasonably balanced side gait—one that actually covers some ground with each stride—is usually the dog that is the sound- est and most balanced overall. I look for the soundest dog only after determining that the dog has the proper outline and atti- tude for the breed. A dog that is perfectly balanced in lack of angulation is usually a very clean mover coming and going, but must take many more steps to cover the same ground as a well angled dog. These are often the dogs who lack flexibility in motion and have the bunchier muscles and a stuffier appearance because of an apparent decreased length of neck and shorter overall body proportions—due to the lack of angu- lation in both shoulder and rear assemblies. Proper angulation front and rear contrib- utes breadth to the area of the shoulder and thigh, making the dog longer overall from the chest to furthermost part of the rear. At the end of the day, the less well angled dog will be tired, but because of the balance in angles, they will not put undue stress on the area(s) that are not in balance with the rest of the dog. Over time, the unbalanced dog may well break down, unable to work any
longer, whereas the balanced-though-lack- ing-angulation dog will be very tired at the end of the day, but will be able to recover with a night's rest and "live to work/hunt another day". Movement is the proof of the dog’s true structure.
Let me now state that while we are dis- cussing a particular feature of the dog— gait—let us not fall into the trap of putting too much emphasis on any ONE part of the dog. We must always look at the dog as a WHOLE. We should not discard all of him just because we do not like one part of him, unless that one part is so faulty as to make him so unsound (either in physique or temperament) that he is unable to fulfill his original purpose. If the whole dog paints the proper picture for the breed and overall the dog in motion is equal or nearly equal to the picture the dog presents to us when standing still, then that dog is to be highly prized. If we do not reward or at least some- how recognize the dog in the show ring that presents to us some magnificent feature or features even when accompanied by a glar- ing fault or two, then we will often wind up with a dog as the winner that has no outstanding faults, but neither does he pos- sess any outstanding virtues. What is left is mediocrity. Fault judge only when you are preparing to breed a dog, so that you know what it is you need to correct in the breed- ing. Look for the outstanding features of the dog when you are evaluating them in the show ring. It is the outstanding features that we want to perpetuate, not the faults! I can still remember the day when a good friend, pointing to a dog I had recently awarded BOB from the classes over several specials, asked me, "How could you put up that topline?!" In reply, I asked, "Did you
look at the REST of the dog?" This dog so exuded type in areas in which the breed (my breed!) was lacking, I was willing to forgive his easily seen soft topline and its accompa- nying faults in movement in order to reward all that was good about this particular dog. Just something to think about and why we should always look at the dog as a whole.
I hope you will think about the things brought forth in this article and how they can relate to your breed. Both of these prin- cipals dealing with balance and the column of support are vital to understanding the basics of the dog in motion. Even in those breeds that are so different from the 'aver- age' dog we are discussing here (the Bull- dog, for example)—those breeds still need to move with purpose and drive, in balance and with straight columns of support, even if those columns are more perpendicular than slanted. The entire purpose of these articles is to get you thinking about your own breed. Next time, we will discuss how to train your eye and what you should be looking for when you are watching a moving dog, no matter the breed. We must under- stand the basics and how each of the areas of the body work individually before we can truly understand how the whole should appear in motion. Again, please remember if the dog does not look like its breed—if there is ANY suggestion or thought that they look like another breed—so they do not have the vital breed characteristics that define type, then it doesn't matter HOW they move. Until next time, if you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at jimanie@welshcorgi.com I would espe- cially like to hear from those of you who may have one of the non-typical breeds and what you look for when evaluating them.
114 • ShowSight Magazine, July 2019