Take some time - lots of time - and park yourself ringside. Try to find a spot where you can watch the dogs gait down and back; that way you'll be able to see all aspects of movement being judged (coming, going and around). Ideally, choose larger breeds without hair. I used to spend all day, literally all day, at dog shows doing just this! If there's no larger, smooth coated breeds, then pick something with hair or smaller or whatever. Larger, smooth coated breeds are easiest to see movement, but watching any breed will further your 'eye'.

 

'Coming' means watching the dog's movement when it's gaiting straight at you. Notice what the elbows are doing. Is the dog throwing its elbows outwards at it moves? How much width is between the front legs? Really wide? Really narrow? Now, notice how the front feet land. Is the dog crossing its paws? Are the paws landing really wide apart? Watching those two parts is sufficient for now.

 

'Going' means watching the dog's movement when it's gaiting away from you (or back towards the judge if you're positioned at the end of the down-and-back mat. Watch the dog's hocks which is the area between the ankle joint and the first joint towards the hips. Is the dog moving cow-hocked? That means from the hock joint down the legs form a V when moving (those dogs will usually stand cow-hocked too - its not uncommon in younger dogs, especially larger younger dogs). Is the dog moving wide? That means the legs seem to come straight down from the hips with no tendency to converge at the pads. For most breeds proper rear movement, proper use of that dog's anatomy viewed 'going away' is for the legs to converge on the ground. Imagine a V. The top of the V is the rear legs coming out of the hips. The bottom of the V is the dog's feet hitting the ground. When the dog has reached appropriate spend, the legs should look like a V.

 

The third thing to watch in this homework assignment is on the go around. Watch the topline. Is it still...i.e. could you put a glass of water on it and the water wouldn't spill as the dog moves around the ring. This is ideal in mature dogs of most breeds.

 

Focus on what I've highlighted. It will all come together with future lessons. There's a link to an excellent graphic visualization on the Anatomy page within my website. First go to the Breeding Apsos section; within that section hit the Anatomy link. Scroll down to websites in the left column to Canine Lameness Learning Module and hit Begin. Click Skip to Normal Walking. Across the top, notice the tool bar. Click trotting. Now notice the options available in the light blue toolbar. Explore all of those. Frontal means 'coming'. Posterior means 'going'. Side is going around. I encourage you to study the four perspectives with both motion capture and video. For now don't focus on details; just let it flow through your eyes and brain.

 

And for extra credit in this homework assignment  spend some time in the booths looking at books on anatomy. You don't have to purchase any yet, just familiarize yourself with what's available.