Educational articles regarding structure found here
documented; suffice to say that straight stifles are undesirable and produce the all too common stilted action and invariably are a cause of knee and hip joint problems. Over angulation is also detrimental and places undue stress on the knee and hock joints, and results in the bobbing up and down action and crabbing movement….
The easiest way to explain this is to compare the Stafford hock to that of a rabbit. A rabbit must have an overlong hock because it must be able to quickly and purposefully get away from its prey. It does so by a very long and quick hopping motion so that it removes itself from…
Sideways, the foreface is about as deep ast is wide. This type of head, with a good stop and set with neat rose ears, is the ideal. It can be quick to punish, with ease of movement. The circumference of skull should be about the approximate height at the shoulder. This should also coincide
A slipped hock will fold forward with virtually NO pressure, and the dog will be unable to resist it. To determine a slipped hock, place several fingers on the back of the hock lightly pressing forward until the dog either picks up the foot and steps forward or the joint collapses forward . …
… meantime we can use the drawings from Alan Mitchells book (with hispermission) to explain what we are looking for in photography. Dish-faced – A slight concaveness of foreface, the tip of the nose is higher that the stop, when viewed in profile. Down-faced – where the muzzle inclines downward from the skull to nose .
I make this statement at the expense of being tarred and feathered but increasingly, the best dog youll ever breed may be the hardest dog you will ever finish. It will be the odd man out and look different from the majority of dogs represented in the ring. Why? Some judges, insecure in a breed…
When people refer to the top line they mean the vertebrae of the spinal column from the base of the neck to the beginning of the tail. When judges critiques mention that a particular dog has a level top line, they dont, or at least shouldnt mean a perfectly level one as this would be…
Your article on bite was very good; however, in spite of the AKC’s breed description as to bite and the acceptability of a “level” bite, you indicate that the “level” bite is undesirable. It may be undesirable in England but in the US, it is acceptable. This leaves judges and others who are not familiar…
The muzzle should start wide and deep. The depth is achieved by a powerful underjaw which can be compared to a familiar object. Make a fist of your hand and look at the shape produced when you look at the thumbside by the second joint of the first finger down to the back of the…
Imagine a class of fifteen dogs entering the ring. Twelve are similar. Three are different. Those who do not fit in are excused in the cut. The other twelve are again judged. Puzzled, observers question why outstanding individuals walked. Does being different translate as being incorrect to the standard? Why does a judge choose from…
Owing to the different angles of the spines of the vertebrae from the withers to the tail, it will be seen that the top-line could never be absolutely level. Obviously, since the spinal processes are in four distinct areas and in each area they incline in different directions, where they do meet there has …