Front Matter

Chapter 1 What Is a Canine Athlete? 13

Some breeds of dogs have been bred for
extreme pelvic limb angulation. One of these is
the German Shepherd Dog of which many
specimens have such extreme angulation that
they must be placed for examination in confor­
mation shows with one pelvic limb in the stand­
ing position with the metatarsals perpendicular
to the ground but the other pelvic limb placed
under the body so that the feet are placed in a
tripod configuration for better support. This
extreme pelvic limb angulation causes the pel­
vis to be placed closer to the ground, so that the
dog’s vertebral column is extremely sloped
from cranial to caudal. This extreme angula­
tion often cannot be compensated for by mus­
cular strength, leaving these dogs to swing their

tarsi lateral to medial each time the feet are

planted. To the best of our knowledge, this

extreme angulation provides no advantages in

function. Any potential advantage in function

is offset by instability. This breed tends to have

laxity in many joints, which may reflect an

inadvertent genetic drift toward increased

extensibility of the tendons and ligaments.

At the other extreme are breeds with very

straight pelvic limb angulation. These tend to

be breeds derived from dogs whose original

purpose was guarding, such as the Shar‐Pei

and Chow Chow. Biomechanically, having an

angle at the stifle that is closer to 180 degrees

when the dog is bearing weight on the pelvic

limb tends to increase the potential torque along

(A)(B)

Figure 1.8 Two Golden Retrievers – one with abundant pelvic limb angulation (A) and one with minimal pelvic limb
angulation (B).

Figure 1.9 Dogs with very angulated pelvic limbs sometimes lack stability in the rear. Source: Illustration by Marcia Schlehr.