cross gaiting gsd - Page 6

http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/chapter_91/91mast.htm#normals
 

The link above was authored by a vet expert on animal locomotion. He used to diagnose diseases by watching how the animal walked, gaited, and used itself at different speeds. He was well known in at the Penn vet school and New Bolton Center. He offers his opinion of why dogs pace.

I used to live near the Hanover Show Farms, the largest standard bred farm in the US. Their pacers race under the name of "Hanover" which would be familiar to anyone who follows that sport. The farm was open for self tours and some of the literature did say that some trotters will become pacers as they age.

vk if you know any pro handlers. breeders of larger breeds like Siberians where size deviations are DQ's or if there are any conformation shows coming up in your area, you could try to find out if they have a wicket and would be good enough to measure your dog for you. A GSD breeder might have one too. That way you can get a correct measurment of your dog. The dog's height is measured with its standing naturally on a flat, hard surface the wicket placed at the highest point of its withers.  It's hard to measure a dog by yourself, but you can come pretty close by standing the dog next to a wall. placing a level object like a ruler on his withers and marking that point on the wall  using a pencil. Make sure the ruler is parallel to the ground. I've had a 28", 126 male GSD out of 2 standard sized parents; is it is possible your dog is that tall.

Blitzen answered you, vk. It's possible......he just doesn't "seem" that big. But sometimes they don't. My new boy is every bit of 90lbs...he's been guessed by pics to weigh 70 and be medium sized. He's pushing oversized. Just curious..............

From the vet site blitzen listed, I high lighted what I find relevant.

There is very little available data that describe the force parameters of the pace. The pace is also seen in dogs that are tired, out of condition, or have a diagnosable orthopaedic problem. This gait may allow the animal to change ground-reaction forces and maintain the same efficiency of motion but with a different type of effort, resulting in a more comfortable position for the dog.

If your breeding an animal for conformation that wants to pace you have to wonder how the above statement comes into play.

They have proven definitively that trotting and pacing ability in horses is related to a gene mutation in the spinal cord. 

When you breed an animal for one purpose(to trot), other abilities must suffer.

foreversolucky, I'm going to guess that your dog tends to pace because has long legs, a shorter body and is moderately angulated. His structure reminds me a lot of a dog I bred that was also a pacer. In your dog's case, I think that pacing is his way of avoiding crabbing to prevent his legs from interfering with one another.  His good length of neck suggests his has a nice shoulder layback as Ibrahim has indicated in his very correct critique,less rear angulation that probably contributes to his pacing. Your handler should be able to break him out of  a pace as long as he or she can run fast enough and give him a well timed lead correction. The handler may even be able to move him out fast enough from the start to keep him from beginning to pace in the first place. Pro handlers are used to dogs that pace, so he may have some other "tricks" learned from experience. I wouldn't expect to see your dog move out with a visible flying trot, so he will most likely appear "shorter gaited" than most of the showlines, that will be a minus for him under most show judges.

I believe your dog should easily get a V or SG  rating at an SV show (what class?). Good luck, he's a very attractive dog that looks like he could tend a flock 24/7. That's what it's all about .

My big dog was a coat and he looked like a small pony. I'm guessing most would have guessed his weight at 150. Even the oncology vet was surprised at his weight, she thought he weighed a lot more. When I was a tech most every dog we weighed was well under what the owners thought (or hoped) they were. I believe my dog grew so large because of his early neutering and puppy illnesses that required steroid use.

Like I said MK we could all argue about hind assembly for ever.

FWIW, me I've seen dozens of dogs who ambled, over the years - some had what most might regard

as 'normal' angulation, others were well short in it, yet others over-angulated, sometimes in the extreme.

One thing they DID seem to have in common is that it was never a permanent fixture ;  some did it a lot,

some only did it occasionally, some seem to do it when they are tired, & others not so.

VK's thred was about the gait he described.  MAYBE under or over angulation is a factor in THAT,  but, it would

appear,not necessarily, from the spread of views here.  It may or may not be that over angulation contributes

to a lack of power lift in jumping ability ... but then, not sure the dogs in the video show signs of being very

over-angulated, or at least in terms of what I usually see as over-angulated.  And yes I did watch it again -

very closely, stop-framing it, to be sure of what I saw. 

foreverlucky's dog can only get an SG at best because he is untitled.

When he's older and titled I think he will still be a low SG dog depending on the show and the competition.

(even though I like his rear angulation better than most SL)

I guess the GSL female whose photo I posted above would be considered over angulated by some. However it never seemed to hamper her in any way. She was  HOT Sch3 and IPO3 with every agility title avalable at the time, herding titles, advanced OB including, a UD at 91/2 years, etc plus V rated 2 times at  German Siegers, once in puppy class, once in the working class. A high V at the 2005 NASS and outstanding bite work. To be clear, I didn't own her at that time, I gave her a retirerment home. She was my heart dog.

Angulation like hers might have caused a problem for another dog, but not her. She earned her TC, CGC, and a rally leg less than 2 weeks before she died from breast cancer.  She never quit on me even when she was terminally ill. Also I think some dogs simply use themselves better than others. Looking at Dingo's still photo, who'd have ever thought that dog would move as cleanly and efficently as he did? Not me for sure.

Hund,

Watch enough SL and WL dogs jump over the years and you'll see the difference.  Back on topic, the push for trot brings the pace with it is my belief which is why the judges don't penalize it.