Page 114 - ShowSight - October 2020
P. 114

                Form Follows
FUNCTION
 BY STEPHANIE HEDGEPATH
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CANINE FRONT
SHOULDER ASSEMBLY, PART 1
   As in all things “dog,” the correct shoulder assembly varies from breed to breed. This variation depends upon the tasks the different breeds were developed to perform.
In a quick review, every dog has the same number and kinds of bones. What varies are the length of the bones and the angles at which they join, which differ from breed to breed—and also from dog to dog within each breed. Bones are the building blocks of structure. Bones are classified according to shape and function. One of the functions of the skeletal structure of the dog is to supply a sufficient area for the attachment of muscles. This is especially important with the shoulder assembly! Smooth muscles account for approximately one-third to one-half the total body weight. Ligaments hold bones together while tendons attach muscle to bone. Tendons are considered to be a part of the muscle structure, ligaments are not.
Since 60-75% of the weight of the dog is concentrated on the front (due to the head and neck), the front assembly
of the dog is of vital importance to the function of the dog as a whole. Most of this weight is flexibly carried by the forelimbs, using muscles and tendons ONLY.
THE CANINE SHOULDER ASSEMBLY
The shoulder assembly is a complex interaction of bone, muscle and connective tissue, which includes the tendons and ligaments. I do not want to get into the controversy of the degree of angulation required in many standards; angles vary from breed to breed. As many have demonstrated with radi- ography, the true angulation of many (if not most) breeds isn’t the 45-degree layback or the 90-degree angle formed with the juncture of the shoulder blade to the upper arm—but this is what we have to work with—and I cannot change the termi- nology. What I believe we need to do is leave the measuring devices at home so that we can train our eye to see the balance in the standing dog, and [learn] how to apply that to move- ment. What we should all have in common (no matter the breed) is the goal to produce a dog that can acquit its duties with the least amount of energy.
Figure 2. German Shorthair Pointer showing skeletal overlay of the fore assembly.
  Figure 1. The German Shorthaired Pointer
112 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2020
     




















































































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