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I wanted to speak about another common misconception that is being promoted in the breed: excessive rear angulation. The following is my opinion, I may very well be wrong, but that's how i came to understand it after the little time i spent in the breed.
On the picture above there are some random show dog pics i picked. At the right there are the some of the best moving dogs i know. None of them have fancy angulation that many consider beautiful.
The purpose of siberian husky is to be able to quickly cover vast distances (i'm not talking sprint racing here) carrying a light load. So everything in the dog's structure must respond to that. Vast and quickly means that the dog needs stamina. Stamina for me screams moderate (and balanced of course). The dog that has huge levers on the rear will spend more effort folding and unfolding those levers than doing something useful. And said dog also needs pull some weight and do it quickly and for a long time.
A lot of rear angulation can produce an impressive look and a flashy (it may be correct, but most often it's not) gait though, which means that you will be more likely to win under a judge that doesn't know the breed well Ps. Excessive rear angulation also often creates the sloping topline and standard is calling for a level one.
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This is another little tip on seeing the dog. I've even scribbled couple of sketches on how i see it (hope they are not terribly wrong lol). They are a bit exaggerated to make a point. I think that this problem flourished partly because the 45 degree shoulder angle was eliminated from the standard in 90s. This angle is almost impossible to come by, yes, but it gives non-experienced breeders/judges a better idea of what to aim for in the front assembly. Anyway. When the dog is getting it's head up - it's cervical vertebrae is getting back up to the point where it meets the top part of the shoulders and only then it starts to bend if the dog keeps pushing. So if we don't have a good shoulder angle - it means that the blades are slanted forward, if they are slanted forward - the neck will start bending earlier creating an U shape and preventing the dog from getting it's head up. If the dog has a nice shoulder layback, - it should be able show what i call "a parakeet neck" (pics on the right and the bottom drawing) and not an U neck (pics on the left and the top drawing). It should be able to do it on it's own in a free stack without being adjusted by handler's hands. AND doing that dog's upper arm must remain angled and not straight. If it is straight (ish) - the upper arm angle is not very good. Necks like those on the left usually result in lack of reach and a turtle neck in movement (when dog's neck just sticks forward without forming any arch). #выставкасобак #husky #siberianhusky #conformation #dogshow #хаски #eduhusky
This is another handy tip on how to see flaws in dog's structure and it is miraculously overlooked by A LOT of owners/breeders/judges. There's a line in sh standard that i'd made in bold underlined font. Here it is: ☞ While the dog is gaiting, the topline remains firm and level ☜ It means that if the dog is built properly, then it's topline MUST be firm and level STANDING AND MOVING. It should not roll from side to side. Correctly built dog's topline never rolls. If it does - then something is wrong (most likely in shoulder assembly, but not necessarily). Being "rich-coated" is not an excuse - fur flops slightly at most. Being overweight is not an excuse, fat can't create an obvious roll. Being a puppy is not an excuse either, though in this case a slight (slight!) roll can be present which will be gone as dog matures, but if the puppy has an obvious roll - it will have it later too. A rolling topline also creates the impression that dog has to work to get around the ring, which kinda ruins everything to me - for a long-distance runner some silly ring must be something insignificant. The dog must look like it doesn't put any effort into it. There's a great line from Alice Watt in her analysis of sh standard: "A well-structured dog gives the illusion you could set a water glass on his back and run him around the ring without spilling a drop." Many breeds' standards specifically mention rolling topline as a fault and i wish sh's did the same since effectife movement is essintial for this breed. ps. Firm and level topline doesn't always mean that the dog is built correctly, but a rolling one always means that something is wrong. pps. It doesn't mean that topline musn't move at all, it is attached to dog's muscles after all, look at the dogs at the bottom: topline "is working" but it doesn't roll and is firm and level. (4th dog from the beginning of the top vid might have an okay topline too btw) #husky #eduhusky #dogshow #хаски #сибирскийхаски #siberianhusky #gait #conformation
This one is not a misconception, more like a little hint on seeing if dog's front assembly is wrong. If you could drop an imaginary line at the center of the shoulderblade all the way to the ground, - right in the middle of the shoulderblade when you hit the ground that's the area where the heelpad will normally be. That's how dogs find balance and stand on their feet comfortably. Given that you have a proper upper arm, when you drop this line you will notice that there's a slight slant in the pastern. It's a slight thing, but it should be there. So if you see straight pasterns (like those on the left) - you should look closely what's wrong with dog's front assembly. It also can be created by handler's attempt to "fix" dog's apperance by slanting it forward, but either way something's not right if the pasterns are straight. ps. Dog's front may very well be wrong even if it has slanted pasterns, but I've never saw a dog with a correct front and straight pasterns. pps. 2nd and 5th dogs on the left also have a flat feet, which is like a car with no wheels when it comes to work. #husky #хаски #dogshow #eduhusky #conformation
http://www.primalpaws.com/primal-paws/2015/5/crossing-over-to-the-dark-sideA bit of boring stuff: Stumbled upon this article again and thought i'd post it: primalpaws.com/primal-paws/2015/5/crossing-over-to-the-dark-side There are so many breeders who are advertising (and with great success!) their dog's great movement with the pictures that show it crossing(over-reaching). It actually shows dog's imbalance, - a correctly built dog never crosses, however fast it trots. Looking at all of the posted pics I honestly thought it's a correct movement until i learned a (tiny!) bit on the subject. If you claiming to know something about the breed - you should know at least that. #husky #хаски #dogshow #conformation #gait #eduhusky
I have spent many hours at dog events. Be it dog shows, agility, obedience and herding trials, flyball competitions or family fun days. As a result I have watched a lot of dogs move, in all sorts of different situations. This has exposed me to the great, the mediocre and the crippled. I’ve spotted a lot of canine movement that is worth talking about, and we will start off at the trot. Specifically, this point in the trot.
Trotting is a moderate gait where the dog brings alternate legs forward at the same time (eg. the front left and back right legs move forward together). It is very economical and a great work out for the dog as it requires even balance between the left and right sides of the body to stop the dog face planting.
In many breeds, dogs will bring their legs closer to the midline as they increase speed, giving them increased balance called single tracking. This gives them the vague outline of an ice-cream cone when they are coming toward you. With the legs tracking closer together on their contact with the ground.
This means that in many dogs, as the front left foot comes off the ground, the back left foot drops into the same place, creating a V-shape from the side, like this.
This means that the feet do not interfere with each other while the distance traveled is maximised. The dog uses the biggest stride possible without getting itself tangled. In balanced dogs that understand and know how to trot this is what happens. As a photographer these dogs made my job easy. Every photo I took looked amazing.
Other dogs however bring their back feet around and down in-front of their front foot, causing them to cross over. This is often missed, undervalued and not well understood. It looks like this:
The dog is doing this because the angulation between its front and rear is unbalanced. I am referring to the angulation of the shoulder compared to the angulation of the hind legs. This leads to the rear legs being effectively ‘too long’, forcing the dogs to move the rear legs out of the same track as the front foot to allow it to swing forward unimpeded to its full reach. It is very common in puppies who are going through random growth spurts and this is the time when I start to train them how to trot, to ensure that they mature and learn to move correctly. Some dogs who have uneven angulation do not learn how to trot at all, because their back foot is impeded by the front leg. These dogs may avoid trotting, look uncoordinated or resort to pacing.
http://www.primalpaws.com/primal-paws/2015/7/trotting-just-two-beatsLong term crossing over puts stress on the back and spine. Over years of repetitive stress it is likely to cause compensation. This can lead to complications and pain later in life. For canine athletes this is especially a problem as they are often under higher stress. Happily this is a condition that can be both prevented, if puppies are taught to trot properly, or managed with conditions exercises if your dog is older and has already developed a bad habit.
Knowing and understanding canine structure is essential to treating problems and getting great outcomes. So I consider my time at the side of a show ring well spent and apply it to get the best results for your dog.