Conformation Critique

GoingNowhere

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#1
Okay, so Boo is most definitely a mutt, but I'm a bit curious as to her conformation - especially in her legs. I was noticing the other day while walking her that she seems to have especially straight back legs. Am I right?

I know little to nothing about conformation, especially in dogs (this summer had me panicking as I attempted to learn a bit of horse conformation, but that's the extent of my knowledge base). Boo has no idea what it means to stack, but seeing as I have about 5,000 photos of her, I did my best to pull out a few that show her from the side.

Also, if she does have straight back legs, what does this mean? Need I be concerned as she gets older? Thanks in advance!

SIDE



she's leaning back here, but she's all wet so it's easier to see where the fur stops and the leg starts






3/4 ANGLE



MOVING









BACK



FRONT

 

SaraB

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#2
She is lacking in rear angulation, however a lot of breeds have standards that are like that. Chows are one of them.

Biggest thing I would watch for is any ACL injuries. Otherwise, keep her fit and she should be fine!
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#3
Yeah, it's hard too see and I think she looks good for a dog that has a lot of chow in her but its not exactly ideal in the rear. Arnold has terrible rear structure, I'll fish out photos if Boo wants to feel good about her legs. ;)
 

GoingNowhere

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#4
huh interesting stuff. What exactly IS a dog supposed to look like in the rear legs?

Clearly it's dependent on breed (are purebred chows supposed to have "bad" (straight) leg structure?), but for a dog to be the most physically sound for moving, what is ideal?
 

SaraB

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#5
It is really dependent on breed, however you want enough rear angulation without it become extreme.

Here's a shot of Zuma so you can compare. I like her amount of angle, she is a bit cow-hocked in the back but you can't see that in this picture.

 

Shai

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#8
Just as a note, the term "conformation" refers to whether a particular dog conforms to his/her breed standard.

Structure refers to how the dog is physically put together.

So a dog can have excellent conformation (adherence to the breed standard) while still having poor structure for a given job, or excellent structure for a given job while not matching the breed standard very well. Or good on both/bad on both.

Just a terminology thing.

As to what is ideal for the dog it just depends on what they are doing, while avoiding extremes. The most important thing when it comes to injury avoidance is balance. It's hard to tell but from the pictures I would guess that Boo has more angulation in the front than the rear, but I have a hard time seeing through the coat and mane. I agree with you that her rear is straight and I would hesitate before doing major sports with her but for daily life it's just a matter of keeping her reasonably fit and at a good weight, which you would want to do anyway :)
 

BostonBanker

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#10
Gusto wants Zuma to have his babies in an alternate universe. They'd compliment each other nicely. And they would be the bounciest puppies on the planet :D
 

Aleron

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#12
What others have said - she has a very straight rear. The Chows and Shar Pei standards call for straight rear angulation.






Even historical photos of Chows show this trait:



Both show type and the more traditional "bone mouth" Shar pei have straight rears:








I definitely see a lot of mixes of those two breeds with straighter than average rears too.

Here's some further info on structure, rear angulation, etc:

http://pennvetwdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/9-Zink.pdf





http://www.worldwideboxer.com/movement3.html
 

Toller_08

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#18
:eek: Chows come in smooth coat? (Or used to?) Interesting, I never knew that!
Yep, they do. Not quite as smooth as that Chow anymore, but one of our members here has a really pretty smooth Chow named Goose. It's still a pretty thick coat though. Not really 'smooth', more of a thick double coat. The dogs pictured above that photo are today's smooth Chows.
 

Aleron

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#19
I think it's straight, but the muscle is throwing off the appearance of angulation. That and the other rear leg positioned behind it as well.
It's pretty straight I'd say.

:eek: Chows come in smooth coat? (Or used to?) Interesting, I never knew that!
All the Chows I posted are Smooth coats. Can't see angulation so well on the hairy ones. For contrast a rough:



The old picture was from a Retrieverman article that discusses the close relation of Chows and Shar Pei. I don't think you ever see Chows that smooth anymore.
 

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