Page 122 - ShowSight - September 2020

Form Follows
FUNCTION
Figure 1. The Seven Cervical Vertebrae
BY STEPHANIE HEDGEPATH
THE CANINE NECK
Short neck, long neck—all dogs have the same neck, right? That is true only in that all dogs (and almost all mam- mals) have seven cervical vertebrae that comprise the neck (see Figure 1).
Knowing that every dog has the same number of vertebrae, we also know that standards for individual breeds call for a variety of neck lengths and thicknesses. A few examples are as follows: Italian Greyhound—“Neck: Long, slender and gracefully arched.” (See Figure 2.); Golden Retriever— “Neck: medium long, merging gradually into well laid back shoulders, giv- ing sturdy, muscular appearance. (See Figure 3.); American Staffordshire Terrier—“Neck: Heavy, slightly arched, tapering from shoulders to back of skull. No looseness of skin. Medium length.” (See Figure 4.); Bulldog— “Neck: The neck should be short, very thick, deep and strong and well arched at the back.” (See Figure 5.)
Figure 3. Medium Long Neck Figure 4. Medium Length Neck Figure 5. Short Neck
Figure 2. Long Neck
120 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2020