Movement and Gait

As a novice to conformation (but not to dogs and the work of dogs), I have become increasingly aware of form, structure and movement and how it relates to my breed. Up till now, my focus on movement was purely from a medical standpoint, and involves scrutinizing gaiting dogs for signs of lameness and structural disease.

Our eyes give us a lot of information on animals in motion before radiographs are even taken. Radiographs are obviously very helpful and do show us loose knees, shallow hip sockets and bad elbows, but loads of information regarding the animal's overall soundness and workability can only be obtained by actually watching the dog in action.

Consequently, I can't help but spend a great deal of time observing my own dogs gait and move, and there have been some good and bad things I thought might be interesting to share:

Beebe is Pacing Again

Beebe paces, description of gaits in dogs, as in, the legs on one side swing forward and backwards in unison, like a giraffe or harness racing horse. She does this for several reasons. She has a roached back and very low set tail which further angles her hips down. As a result, she would step on herself if she were to try moving correctly at a trot (which she can't). When she is forced to stop pacing, she crabs sideways with her rear feet moving off to the side of her body to help her avoid stepping on her front feet. The crabbing is also intensified by her longer legs in the rear.

When I look at her body type, it seems to be similar to that of a whippet. She looks spring loaded like a sight hound with her sprung up back. Unlike a sight hound, however, at a walk and trot she wastes a lot of energy with all the bouncing and trying to avoid tripping on her front legs. She therefore prefers to either pace, lope or run. For some strange reason, she physically excels at Flyball and Agility, when everything about her conformation tells me she ought to be lame.

A wonderful book on gait and movement is Dog Steps by Rachel Page Elliot

The Holistic Vet

Beebe and Ike (and I) have a consultation with Dr. Sodhi, at the Animal Wellness Center http://www.holistic-pet-care.com/ This will be my first experience consulting with a Holistic Vet, so I'm fairly excited.

I spoke at length with the receptionist just to make sure our goals jived. They seem knowledgeable, friendly and on board with raw feeding and the use of alternative medicines for total body health. They also mentioned vaccine titers when I asked about shots. I am specifically seeking some assistance with formulating a good diet for the dogs using fresh real food instead of kibble.

For Beebe, I want to learn how to better manage her immune disorder and keep her at a good working weight. I also want to establish a good relationship with a vet having knowledge of sports medicine, rehab and acupuncture/pressure as she will be working more in Agility/Flyball and I worry about any potential injuries she might sustain. For Ike, I am mostly seeking general raw vs cooked diet counseling and which would be best for him and his gentle tummy. The consult promises to be interesting no doubt.

Fishing for Shibas

I know it's silly, but they love it. Prey drive games are a great way to provide mental stimulation and exercise for dogs of all breeds and mixes. Games like this can be shaped into extremely useful and directed behaviors, like retrieving, hunting, and tracking. Ike particularly gets into the game to the point one can hear his snapping little jaws. The lure at the end of the flirt pole is an old, very old, fox tail salvaged from an antique store. I'm not a big fan of people hunting anything that looks like a dog or cat, even if it's a pest, so when this wears out I will be using the quail wings and rabbit hides left over from their meals.

Flyball Announcements and Spam

Hear ye, hear ye! Beebe the Shiba Inu has graduated flyball training in a short course of 14 weeks. We will be doing a demo day with the team in May, so if there are any fans, please feel free to come and watch in person. Here are the videos I promised from today. I rev her up on the first clip, and in the second, a dog jumps her lane and she goes off track but recovers on the retry:

Re-evaluating Dominance

http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/the-concept-formerly-described-as-dominance/

Ike and Beebe are Ratters

So, I guess the Shiba Inu does retain some of that hunting instinct, even though the breed is mostly kept as a companion and house pet. Ike guards the Quail area religiously when he is outside, and today it paid off! They caught some rats (and ate the tail off of this one before I could toss it away).