FE238: Structure and Movement

 PACE - as the dog goes faster, having three feet on the ground starts holding her back so she gets a little better coordinated using the same motion of having the left legs move forward together and then the right legs. Sled dog teams use the pace as a resting gait in the middle of races because it has two feet on the ground all the time but can move them along at a pretty good speed. In a pace, the right back foot and right front foot take off and land at the same time, as do the left feet. While you're watching the video, notice how Syn's ribcage swings back and forth as she paces. That's because it's supported on one side or the other.

If you're having trouble remembering what a pace looks like, consider pacing racehorses, which frequently wear hobbles so their right legs cannot move separately as they would in a trot (next).

TROT - this is the standard show gait.  In a trot, diagonal legs move forward together - that is, left rear and right front. It's easier for me, however, to think of legs on the same side moving apart and together. With real solid support under the dog's torso, there is no swinging from side to side. The topline is strong and level. There are 2 feet on the ground 90% of the time.

Getting back to the idea of speed not equalling gait, take a look at the trots of Syn (brown) and Stitch (black). Syn has plenty of angulation front and back and takes large, smooth strides. Stitch is old and has little angulation and less reach or drive. Rather than being smooth, her strides are short and choppy. When Syn is still walking, Stitch has to trot to keep up. Now go back to the first video in this lecture and watch the horse's legs as it TROTS. 

GALLOP - that's easy, right? Galloping is running. Well, not quite so simple. 

Most of us kids pretended we were horses, "galloping" around the lawn. 

This kid is on her LEFT lead. That means her RIGHT leg lands first, but her LEFT leg is mostly out in front. Try this yourself. On your left lead, it's easy to turn to your left but scary trying to turn to your right. Now try it on your RIGHT lead with your right leg out in front. Turn a right circle, then turn a left. Those of you in agility know that a dog is always running in a circle with you at the centre. It could be a tight circle, or it could be a big loose circle, but if the dog is running this circle with you on her left, she's on her LEFT lead:

 and if she's running clockwise around you with you on her right, like this:

she's on her RIGHT lead. And now you know about leads.

Other than the left and right LEADS, here are two categories of gallop, with different styles in each. 

First, the pattern of footfalls:

*TRANSVERSE GALLOP - this is the "regular" gallop - the horse gallop. Once you know the pace, you can see how easy it would be to transition from a walk to a pace to a gallop, since all three gaits have the legs on the right side going back and forth together, and the same for the left. In the transverse gallop, the dog's front AND back end are both on the same lead. 

*ROTARY GALLOP - this one seems to be a deep dark secret. It took me years of asking other presenters, horse people, and vets about "why my dogs run funny" before I got a name for this and was able to research it better. In the rotary gallop, the dog's front end and back end are on different leads.

The rotary gallop is a NORMAL gait for predators, including dogs. Your dog will likely use a rotary gallop at least half the time, and change back and forth between transverse and rotary on a random basis. 

Even though the rotary gallop is arguably the fastest gallop, for horses, the rotary gallop (AKA "disunited gallop") happens rarely because the horse isn't built for it, and when it does happen, it's a sin because it's difficult and uncomfortable to ride.

Second, how much time is spent in the air:

*ZERO SUSPENSION GALLOP - giraffes, being very large and pretty darn delicate, always have one foot on the ground, even when they're galloping. Giraffes go THROUGH lions, not OVER them!

*SINGLE SUSPENSION GALLOP - big dogs, short dogs, heavy dogs - indeed, most dogs - do a single suspension gallop. That means that there are four footfalls and then a "mighty leap" where there are no feet on the ground at all. 

In the next video, note that a jump is nothing more than a bigger, broader single suspension.

*DOUBLE SUSPENSION GALLOP - this is the famous sight hound gait. They have the standard mighty leap with the legs stretched forward and back, but they also have a distinct moment of free flight with the front legs back and the back legs forward:

 *AMBLE - Amble is often called a pace by dog people, but it's really closer to a walk. It's faster than a walk, and that can make it difficult to see that the right back foot is landing BEFORE the right front foot, not at the same time. This is a very common gait for big dogs such as Mastiffs, and it's a gait that's correct for Old English Sheepdogs (though never seen in the show ring any more). Rumour has it that "all" dogs amble on occasion, but I only have three at my disposal. The Giant Schnauzer puppy is either trying to catch birds out of the sky or rolling in the snow. My old Portuguese Water Dog only remembers how to trot, and my middle-aged PWD is one of those rare dogs who actually paces, so we're going to look at elephants:

*STOTT - Because you deserve it, let me introduce you to the STOTT, a guardy or joyful gait used occasionally by llamas, and often by some African gazelles:

Finally, a quick video of Syn demonstrating some of the previously-discussed gaits.