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 Curtis M. Brown December 16, 1908 - March 4, 1993 |
Check Points For Dogs In Motion
by Curtis M. Brown
About the author…
Mr. Brown is the author of the unprecedented 1986 book “Dog Locomotion and Gait Analysis” which covers the basics of locomotion at dog shows, the desirable structures for locomotion with the source of power for such locomotion and its dynamics, and the correct movement of different breeds of dogs based on his extensive and unique knowledge of engineering principles and purebred dogs and for which he was acclaimed as the foremost student of canine structure, function and movement in the world .
Graduating with honors in Engineering from The University of California, Berkley in 1933, Curtis and his wife Thelma began showing purebred dogs in 1938: first Beagles and later Poodles and Dachshunds. Along with his wife Thelma R. Brown, a leader in judges education and a well respected Judge, they co-authored “The Art and Science of Judging Dogs”, published in 1954 and a winner of a “Best Book” Award. They held many seminars all over the world on this subject.
from “The American Dachshund” — March, 1969
~ submitted by Elaine Hanson
Engineers are taught to arrange everything in scientific order. Facts are reduced to rules: the sum of two plus two is always four. Why can’t the fundamental rules of dog motion be reduced to an exact formula? Each rule could then be checked off one by one, and all judges would be in agreement. Why not classify the parts of a dog into a lever system, a motor and a fuel system?
The artist will, of course, violently disagree with this approach. The dog has legs, not levers. The dog has a heart, not a pump. Besides a Pekinese is cute even though it has bowed legs, a pushed in face, rolls as it walks and violates all scientific principles of motion. Furthermore, a dog can be structurally perfect, scientifically correct and entirely wrong as to type and symmetry.
As is usual, the truth lies somewhere in between these two viewpoints. The following rules, based more upon engineering principles than upon artistic desires, are check points for dogs in motion, so as to determine whether scientific rules are being violated.
Rule 1: When observing the dog from the side view, look for up and down motion at the withers.
If you placed a glass of water just behind the withers of a gliding German Shepherd, not a drop should spill. They are the smoothest moving of the many breeds. Others jounce or bounce at the shoulders to varying degrees, hopefully a minimal amount. Exceptions to this will be such breeds as Pekinese and Bulldogs, who are supposed to roll as they move. Digging dogs with short legs will have some side to side roll (see rule 7) because of inability to single track. In those breeds where up and down motion is a fault, the common causes are: too steep shoulder blades; moving with the front feet too far apart. If you don’t believe that walking with the feet too far apart causes an up and down motion as well as a roll, try walking slowly towards a full length mirror with your feet about a foot and a half apart and at the same time watch your shoulders. Except for distorted or special purpose dogs, those moving with their front feet too far apart (not single tracking) are wasting energy by excessively moving the body up and down. The scientist objects! No running dog with this type of motion can have endurance.
Rule 2: Look for bouncing hair on long-coated breeds.
Bouncing hair indicates a rough gait. When the dog is posed, look for the problem in either the front or rear assembly. Common causes of the fault are: too steep shoulder blades, straight stifles, steep croup (as indicated by a low tail set).
Rule 3: Look for reach when observing the side view.
Does the dog move with short choppy steps? Does he reach well in front of his chest? Does the leg follow through on the back stroke? Are forward and back reach about equal? Be certain to check the backward thrust of the rear legs. Common causes of unequal reach and poor reach are: shoulder blades so steep that forward reach is restricted; steep croup or straight hocks that limit rear leg extension.
Rule 4: Look for padding (not paddling).
When a dog’s front feet swing too high on the forward reach, it is paddling. This is not the same as the hackney gait of horses, where the toe is kept pointed downward. In padding, the toe and foot flop upward (some call this flapping). Cause: the shoulder blade and the arm stop their motion too soon; the forward momentum of the leg causes the foot to swing further forward than needed. It is a fault often seen in Dachshunds.
Rule 5: Look for a dip in the back (a depression immediately behind the shoulder blades).
Some dogs have a dip in their back when in motion but not when posed (especially when the dog has a clever handler).
Rule 6 : When the dog is coming straight on, look for paddling: i.e. similar to that of a canoe paddle in motion.
This is a rotating motion of the front legs. It is caused by loose muscles or by shoulder blades being too far forward on the thorax. Look further when examining the dog posed.
Rule 7: When the dog is coming straight on, look for the center of the shoulder blade moving up and down, or for a rolling motion.
This is lateral displacement, usually caused by the front feet being too far apart. For lateral stability the bulldog is supposed to move with his front feet far apart; thus he is designed to roll while moving. The opposite is true for speedsters; they single track. The Dachshund, being a short-legged, digging dog, cannot single track well and will have some lateral displacement or roll from side to side, but it should be at a minimum.
Rule 8: If the handler is moving his dog on a tight lead or hustling him along make him use a loose lead with the dog going at a moderate trot.
Nine out of ten chances the handler may be trying to hide a poor front. The tight lead will take enough weight off a bad front to make the dog move better. A very fast trot will cause the feet to move at such a rapid tempo that the legs will appear as a blur and faulty action will be less easily detected.
Rule 9: When the dog is moving away, look for straightness of motion and cowhocks.
Dogs with wide rears will move with a roll and may have a straight drive, that is, the bones are aligned straight. Speedsters at a trot usually single track and properly so. From an engineer’s point of view, it is a severe fault for a speedster to move wide. Slow moving draft animals (work horses, sled dogs. etc.) move wide in the rear. When this rear movement is too wide, a rolling motion results. Since the rolling motion does use excess energy, it is scientifically undesirable except where the purpose of the dog requires the wide rear as with the Bulldog.
Many dog standards are silent on what is proper and correct movement. This poses the question, should the motion be judged on the basis of (1) what is scientifically correct, or (2) what is artistically pleasing? The hackney gaited horse never won a race, but it is most pleasing in a parade!
Some people prefer to think that if a given type motion creates the greatest efficiency, and if the standard is silent on that point, the scientifically correct principle should be the basis for judgement. I tend towards this concept. On the other hand, the artist will look at form, symmetry, and eye appeal as being the yard stick to apply. Haven’t we seen prancing, almost hackney gaited Poodles win? Is type and balance more important than a scientifically correct leverage system? What if the dog is a little cowhocked, as long as it looks graceful? So goes the argument, the scientist versus the artist.
In judging Dachshunds, is it proper to view this dog as a scientifically designed hound or one designed to meet the fancy? Compare the Dachshund and the Pekinese, both short legged dogs.
The Pekinese was designed as a companion dog whose purpose was to satisfy the ego of an Oriental royal family. The peculiar roll as it walks, its long coat, its distortions are all to create real dignity befitting a king. The form of the underlying structure is unimportant; it can be modified to produce the most pleasing effect from the artist’s view point.
The Dachshund was scientifically designed to dig and bring out animals from a burrow. This required special adaptation of feet and legs for digging and a head and neck for fighting. The composers of the standard did a masterful job. They showed insight in choosing a most efficient design of levers, of engine, and of the head and neck. On this structurally sound framework they then provided for an artistic, pleasing exterior.
This is like an architect taking a structurally sound building and adding an eye catching exterior. The essential structure is not modified to please the eye; the best exterior possible is put on the necessary structure. This is the fundamental difference between an exclusively artistic approach and a teamwork approach by both the scientist and the artist.
In the Dachshund, it is my opinion that the fundamental framework cannot be altered from the scientifically correct design, but the exterior can be modified to make the most pleasing appearance. Scientific reasons are more important in the Dachshund than in most other breeds. Certainly more so than in the Pekinese, Boston Terrier, most toys, and other dogs designed to please people’s fancy rather than to satisfy a working purpose.
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Horswell's sketch of the Dachshund running and in a burrow
Related Article:
The Logic of Dachshund Structure
by Laurence Alden Horswell