It's interesting you think Homer is still young. He'll be 4 years old in May. He's long and lean, quite athletic.
I can't really tell from the photo whether Homar's back is too long - my dog's back is too long and I'll do some photos of him later so you can see. The ratio of length to height is important - a dog that is longer than taller will be worse at jumping that s/he otherwise would be. I can see this in my dog, he positions himself quite carefully to jump. It doesn't mean he can't jump though, he still hops up on to quite high walls with ease - but he is worse than dogs with a better ratio jumping at speed. I could help him by training but it hasn't been a priority for me so far.
This is super interesting. I need to get me some post-it notes to stick on my dogs. Unless food dye would do? A cursory glance tells me that Shadow's rear legs are way too straight. Other than the obvious "not looking like a Labrador" faults he has! Still, as long as his mum thinks he's beautiful... I'm interested to see how the two of them stand up in the length to height ratio that you mention, because Shadow is a natural jumper and Willow really isn't.
It would be a really, really interesting thing to see whether you can explain that. It could be all sorts of things - for example, if you look at sight hounds they are often very straight at the front, good runners (which is about much more than being straight at the front) but often not the best jumpers.
I'll try to get a couple of side-on shots later with dots. I feel the roast chicken might be coming out again. We're going for a walk with their sister, too, so will see if I can get her as well.
It might also simply be that it's a personality thing. Shadow is just bouncier and a bit more loco in general
Oh yes, of course. But it's interesting all the same - unless Helen Grindell King (the author of the book) swings by we are hardly going to get it right anyway - but by having a go, we all learn a bit.
Not being of a scientific frame of mind I'm still struggling to find the relevance of a dogs angulation for performance if it is not a working dog or in agility. From a blog of Helen's I read earlier even she says that poor angulation won't stop a good working or a good agility dog, it may reduce the time that they can perform. So I guess I'm saying on a day to day basis what difference does it make to my companion dog's legs if they are a little too straight etc.
Interestingly, if I google Dog Angulation Performance I get a link to this thread and 8 links to articles about Helen Grinnell King’s book! However There is also a link to a PDF by Christine Zink in which she claims There is also an interesting discussion on rear angulation though she is less specific on the ideal parameters for a dog. She talks about GSDs and the pay off in terms of stride length and jumping ability, in exchange for stability, and vice versa. It would seem that the 'ideal' is not cut and dried, but depends to some extent on the kind of performance you want from the dog. Interesting stuff.
Nothing if not trend setters. Sorry, I was very much in a hurry earlier, and then on my phone on the motorway (I wasn't driving!). "Canine angulation" brings up a wider set of results - some seem dubious as always on the internet. Yes, it's right that there isn't an 'ideal' for all breeds and all activities - although, like the GSD, there is plainly 'unsound' I think. Some angles, the angle of the shoulder to the horizontal seem to be contested but in a range, it's not like any angle is acceptable. There must be advantages and disadvantages to different conformations. Clearly, Greyhounds are built differently from Border Collies, and they will be better at different activities as a result. For me, for my Labrador, I'm not interested in having the fastest dog but I don't want him to be a slow coach so I want him to have powerful hind quarters and decent thighs. I'd like him to be strong enough to carry heavy things in his mouth, have a lot of shock absorption at the front and robust against repetitive stops in retrieves. I want him to be able to lift things from the floor with ease, and jump a reasonable height safely. I want him to be a really good swimmer. When I look at what I want, against what the author of the book wants for agility, it's not at all that far out. She doesn't cover swimming though! There is of course much more in it than just angles. Length of bone, the arrangement of the angles in the dog, the length of pelvis, height, weight, muscle.... I think it is interesting. I think it's interesting for even pet owners to understand what their dog will find easy, and what their dog might find a bit more difficult.
Okay here goes.. this is the best we could do (post it notes went out the window) he looks ready to pounce but hubby was in front with treats He'll be a year on the 5th of April
Ooo - nice doggie! Oh well done! That's a really good effort! I think he looks good at the front. Is that rear dot on his knee? You should be looking for the join between the femur and tibia. It's a bit difficult to tell, because I think that angle might look different if his leg was in a different place (he looks to be stood a bit off centre). I think his pelvis looks good - but I only read that chapter once!
Yes he moved slightly just as i was taking it, this was the best one out of the hundreds we took to get it I think that leg is slightly stretched as he was just about to take off for a treat. Interesting thread
I think you did a good job to get him stood like that! I doubt I'll get such a good photo of Charlie!
I failed miserably at getting photos of the three on our walk. I've a feeling Annie has far better conformation than my two, but it was hard to tell, what with all the zoomies I'll get W&S tomorrow and Annie next time we see her
