Front Matter

Chapter 2 Locomotion and Athletic Performance 27

the thoracic limbs and pelvic limbs are never

assisted in bearing weight by the contralateral

limb. Thus, when a dog is experiencing pain or

lack of stability in one limb, it is more clearly

revealed by a head nod (most obvious in tho-

racic limb lameness) or asymmetrical motions

of the pelvis (pelvic limb lameness). In addi-

tion, the trot is a gait that is symmetrical and is

slow enough for the experienced human eye to

observe stride length and foot placement.

The canter

The canter is a somewhat complex gait, made

more so by the fact that dogs use two different

styles of canter, the transverse and the rotary

canter. Dogs preferentially use the rotary canter

whereas horses should always use the trans-

verse canter.

The order of footfall for the transverse canter

is as follows: RR, LR and RF together (the tho-

racic limb actually strikes the ground a little

after the pelvic limb), and LF (Figure  2.8A).

When cantering or galloping, the second of

either the thoracic or pelvic limbs to strike the

ground is called the front or rear lead leg, respec-

tively. It is referred to as the lead leg because

(A)(B)

Figure 2.6 (A, B) When viewed from the front or the rear, the limbs should be straight and should converge on a center point
under the dog’s body for the best biomechanical efficiency. This prevents the dog’s center of gravity from shifting from side to
side, allowing the dog to use all of its muscular energy to drive the body forward. Source: Illustrations by Marcia Schlehr.

Figure 2.7 Some breeds, particularly herding breeds,
have pelvic limbs with internally rotated tarsi, sometimes
referred to as being cow hocked. Source: Photo by
George Brown.