Page 112 - ShowSight - February 2020

Form Follows Function: Foot Timing BY STEPHANIE HEDGEPATH continued
“BUT ANALYZING SIDE GAIT IS ESSENTIAL TO EVALUATE COORDINATION AND AMOUNT OF ENERGY EXPENDED IN FORWARD MOTION. IT ALSO GIVES THE OBSERVER A VERY GOOD IDEA AS TO THE DOG’S ABILITY TO PERFORM THE DUTIES FOR WHICH IT WAS BRED IN AN EFFICIENT AND LONG LASTING MANNER.”
A dog that is out of balance front to rear must make adjustments under the body in foot timing in order not to trip over his own feet. Being out of balance in front to rear angulation forces the dog to waste motion on one end or the other in order to not accelerate the wear such unbalance can exert on the opposing parts of the dog’s body. The most common lack of balance is caused when the dog’s front assembly (artic- ulation of the shoulder blade and upper arm) is more upright when compared to the hindquarters (pelvis to femur articulation) and the front legs cannot reach forward as far as the hind legs can extend rearward. This unbalanced angulation—with more in the rear than in the front—will often result in a dog that kicks up behind in order to keep from pounding the shortened front step into the ground.
When we are assessing side gait at the trot we should be observing the coordinat- ed movement of diagonal legs—right front and left rear or left front and right rear. These paired diagonal legs should strike the ground together in a coordinated timing of foot analyzing movement from the side at a trot is far more complex than doing the same coming and going. But analyzing side gait is essential to evaluate coordination and amount of energy expended in forward motion. It also gives the observer a very good idea as to the dog’s ability to perform the duties for which it was bred in an efficient and long lasting manner. A dog that is bal- anced in lack of angulation (example: both ends have 110 degree angulation instead of
the commonly called for 90 degree angu- lation) will expend more energy to cover the same amount of ground than one of the same breed that is correctly angulated front to rear. This is a better scenario than a comparison to a dog that is out of balance on one end or the other. The unbalanced dog will eventually break down in the weak- er part (most commonly the front assem- bly) while the dog that has the “balanced lack” of angulation will be more exhausted at the end of a work day but will live to work another day. The unbalanced dog will most certainly have a shortened useful life, even if his only work is to move from the couch to the food bowl. When observ- ing a class of Veteran dogs at my national one year, I could not help but notice how many of these grand old dogs were higher in the rear than at the withers. The realiza- tion that the dogs were actually sagging in the front made a lasting impression on me. Knowing that the front assem- bly is held to the body with only muscles and ligaments, unlike the sturdier attach- ment of the pelvis to the spine via the sacroiliac joint, makes this scenario more easily understood.
A judge is appointed the task of evalu- ating movement as a part of the overall breed type of the dog. We only need to recognize that the movement is either cor- rect or faulty and to what degree the faulty movement could affect the ability of the dog to perform its duties. As a breeder, we must learn to assess not only that the dog is not moving correctly, but why he
is moving that way so that we may strive to correct that fault in the next genera- tion. Often the fault in movement appears in the faulty limb, such as a dog who has shortened front reach due to a more upright shoulder blade. But a dog with a similar front construction could also lift those front feet higher off the ground in order to keep them in the air long enough for the more angulated rear assembly to com- plete its motion from foot strike to fol- low through. Another dog with the same unbalanced front to rear may seem to reach forward with the front foot close to the ground (but in reality not very far in front) and the hind leg can be seen kick- ing up in the air behind the dog with flashy, but wasteful motion. This dog is doing the same thing the first dog did: automatically trying to find some sort of balance to avoid any interference or collision of the feet underneath the body. If the front foot hits the ground before the rear assembly is finished with its drive, the forward motion produced by the rear will act as a sledge hammer actually pounding that front foot into the ground with the shock wave seen all the way up the fore assembly end- ing in a vertical bounce in the coat over the withers.
Again, there are many ways a dog can evade this interference of feet and legs underneath their body while in motion. It is up to us to determine why it is happening.
If you have any questions or comments or to schedule a seminar, contact me via email: jimanie@welshcorgi.com.
110 • ShowSight Magazine, February 2020