Page 134 - ShowSight - September 2019
P. 134

                Form Follows
FUNCTION
PART 9
BY STEPHANIE HEDGEPATH
  When observing the dog in motion, it takes more than just one lesson from your mentor and far beyond one session of watching dogs in motion before one can truly understand exactly where the feet are taking the leg and thus the dog. Please read that sentence a second time! It takes many hours of watching many dogs from many dif- ferent breeds in motion to even begin to understand movement. The best place to teach yourself how to follow movement is by sitting ringside during the groups–all of the groups! At this level of competi- tion, you will see more correctly moving dogs than those with faults and the faults will most often than not be minor ones. By seeing correct movement, you will find it easier to spot deviations in movement that are wasting time and energy in order to put the dog in some semblance of balance.
Begin by observing the side gait of the dog. Find a place to sit where you can observe the dogs in motion from the side. I often sit in a position where I can see the dogs being moved down and back by the judge, whether on the diagonal or one of the outside mats, but I am so positioned that I will see their side gait. Even though the judge is evaluating the move- ment coming and going, by sitting in this position one can use this vantage point to study the side gait of the dog. Start out by watching the feet. Only the feet. From the side, watch the front foot reach out in front of the dog. Does it reach out at least as far as the dog’s nose? (See Figure 1)
Figure 1. Good Front Reach
 132 • ShowSight Magazine, SepteMber 2019



























































































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