Time to paws-move it to the right....

This post kind of got stuck on the back burner and I finally have gotten around to finishing it up. Enjoy!


Reach, drive, form, function. How do they all relate to each other and what makes a cardigan different then the rest? And why is the least talked about subject around?


I have a beef. A big beef. Or how about a small duck, medium ewe or even a wayward toddler? In our breed we hear so much about fronts, tail sets/carriage, heads, shoulders, etc but very rarely do we actually put all those parts together and understand how many of those parts work together to make a correctly, efficently and beautifully moving dog. Each part of the structure affects a dog's movement. With a herding dog, it is very necessary to have one that moves correctly to not waste energy in movement, to not have a dog that can't move all day, think and not get tired easily with attempting to do it's job or function. Unfortunately, many people overlook the simple fact of correctness, including many a judge, for a pleasing outline, a correct head or gorgeous coat. Well a dog can herd all day with a little wave in their coat, or a head plane off just a little and an outline that isn't cookie cutter. So what makes up movement.


Reach and drive. Two words used a lot by people that really have no understanding of what it means. The best way to look at it is during an easy trot. Not a flying trot, a suspended trot or a run. At an easy trot. Reach is a term that's hard for people to understand. A correct front and shoulder on a cardigan allows for a dog with a free moving leg to reach out in front of them with a full extension. They don't fling their paw up at any point, but grab at the ground in front, pulling it back towards themselves. I have been agast at a recent judge commenting on a dog-"who uses himself so well" who in fact has a stilted front gait that covers no ground and moves barely a few inches with each step. Too much leg, too little length in upper arm, too forward of a shoulder, or not enough angle in the upper arm, can all cause shortness of movement in front. Heck, even seen dogs with too much angle in the front, which when moved at a correct speed, they fling thier paws up to the sky. All in all, it's not attractive and it's definately not effecient for working.

Drive-that's the rear. Just as in horses, dogs use the rear to propel themselves forward. The majority of their turning as well as the push and weight of their movement comes from their rear. Now I won't go into hips at this point, but it is a fact that hips, angles of the rear bones, length and curve of the stifle, hocks and let down all contribute to correct drive. Unlike one person's description of drive in a photo of their dog, it's not about the extension of the rear feet in a flying running gait. Drive is the aspect of the dog reaching(there's that term again) under themselves, planting that rear foot underneath themselves to then propell themselves forward. With a well let down hock, good length and curve of stifle a dog can also use that foot to plant under themselves and rotate and turn. Watch a cutting horse some day and where they plant that pivot foot. Dogs do the same damn thing. As the dog pushes off that foot underneath themselves, as the with a golfer and the follow through being so important, the follow through for a dog should show a foot that comes off the ground, paw facing towards where the dog has been. The other factor is how far that dog reaches under themselves to plant that foot. A dog with too much length of the middle can't get balanced enough under themselves to push or turn correctly. A dog that is too short in the middle has to compensate with their stride as to not over step on to the front foot. Horses do that a lot and you hear them click the shoe in front. It causes a shortness in their stride and stilting gait. So many parts make up the whole. It's not all about a beautiful shoulder or front, it's the front, the middle and the rear.

What is also at issue is the size of our dogs and the sluggishness that I see in many. They aren't clean in their moving, shuffling their feet. No briskness in their stride. We have an alert breed that should be looking for something to do, not dragging it around the ring. Which also gets me back to the whole flying trot, suspended trot or what ever crap you want to call it. Seems we have two extremes-dogs that can't move or dogs that move too much. I have spent hours watching my dogs out in the front yard. I have a beautiful German Shepherd. He's a rescue. And he should be in the show ring with the wonderful gait he has. He flys across the yard, covering ground like no other. It's effortless, it's smooth and it gets him where he needs to go while still allowing him to pivot and turn to try to catch those darn birds. The cardigans-two speeds, an easy trot which serves to take them from point A to point B. Or a ground covering gallop. The trot is energy efficent and works well for them to turn, pause and change their mind as needed. While the gallop is just that, get me there as fast as you can. The whole flying trot we see in the ring is for display purposes only. Not once have I seen my dogs do that on their own while working unless they are on ground similar to cavalletes in horses and they are required to not trip. Otherwise, it's not worth it to them and I can tell they think it's a foolish waste of time.

So my point, movement in our breed sucks. I see very few dogs in my neck of the woods that have movement worthy of working outside all day long. We have worried too much about having a perfect front, yet it might feel right on the table exam but somethings missing when that same dog moves for me. We have lost our rears for the success of the fronts. Dogs with stilted gaits, tight rears, no angles so they can't properly drive from their rears. And guess what, the pretty pictures or the right color is winning over a functional cardigan that can do what it's bred to do-work in and out of the yards all day long, hunt a few mice, chase off unwanted intrudors and be willing to do it day in and day out. I almost find it funny hearing the-he uses himself well, or wow look at that drive-most of those people haven't a clue what correct movement should look like and how a dog should be put together in order to have it.

Ugh, that was long and well, it might seem a little short to some but the thing I hate the most is being beat by a dog that can't move!

Later gators...
C