The Agility Advantage: Health and Fitness for the Canine Athlete

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A. HOW DOGS LOOK

From Top to Toes to Tail: How Dogs Are Built for Performance

QWhy is it that Border Collies and Shelties dominate agility? Is it their temperament or something to do with their structure? Is there an ideal agility body build?

Signed,

Wondering

Dear Wondering,

Picture Bulldogs running around a racetrack, chasing a stuffed bull instead of a rabbit. Think of a Harlequin Great Dane with his nose in a 9 by 9 hole, pawing at the dirt and whining in his frustration at being unable to reach the rodent quarry at the end of the tunnel. Next imagine a Papillon emerging from a muddy pond, with a shot goose in her mouth. If you are smiling, it is likely because you cannot imagine those breeds in such out-of-place circumstances. Bulldogs don't have the physique to steam around a racetrack as Greyhounds do. A Great Dane might want to get the rat at the end of the tunnel, but only his muzzle will fit in the hole. And that goose probably weighs twice what the Papillon does. There's no doubt about it. Not every dog can do every job. And not every dog can do agility at a world-class level. A Pekingese or a St. Bernard will find negotiating weave poles, jumps, and tunnels far more challenging than a dog with a more moderate structure, built for speed, endurance, and turning on a dime. In figuring out whether there's an ideal agility body build, it's helpful to think for a moment how—and why—dog breeds evolved.

There is no species on the planet more varied in structure than our best friend, Canis lupus familiaris. One reason for dogs' assorted anatomies is because they are capable of so many jobs. In the distant past, dogs were bred to herd hoofed stock, kill vermin, guard the mistress's palace, and retrieve the master's shot birds. Their appearance was secondary to their job. So Irish Wolfhounds ended up with narrow but deep chests to allow the front legs full range of motion while retaining the ample lung capacity needed for chasing prey. Dachshunds had wide front feet to increase their digging efficiency. And retrievers had dropped ears that would be less likely to collect water and mud from the duck pond in the fall. Those anatomical features evolved because dogs with those characteristics were better at their jobs.

The first formal dog shows were held in the late 1800s, when British hunters decided to transport their hunting dogs to one location and compare notes. You can picture a gentleman we'll call Robert saying, William, I see that your dog has a thicker coat than mine. Is he able to hunt all day in freezing weather? Together they decide that a thick, double coat is a definite advantage for cold weather hunting and when the next litter is whelped, Robert keeps the pup with the thickest coat for his breeding stock. And so dogs' appearance evolved.

A critical point in our dogs' development seems to have occurred when the concept of winning was introduced to dog shows. Judges were asked to examine each dog and decide which dogs were superior—which would win fame and recognition for their owners and breeders. Since the judges didn't actually evaluate the dogs' working abilities in the show ring, they depended on their knowledge of the dog sport to pick the most appropriate dog. Soon a written description of the ideal dog of each breed was devised to help provide uniformity of judging. But over time, breeders and judges gave less consideration to the sport for which the dogs were bred and placed more emphasis on appearance. Dogs with flashy colors, long, luxurious coats, a particular shape to the face (there are dogs specifically bred to look like monkeys, foxes, and lions) or ear position were bred with a desire to win and were rewarded in the conformation ring. In addition, with the urbanization of the Western population, many dogs lost their jobs, and some dog jobs disappeared altogether. The early gatherings of hunting pals had become true dog shows. And so the gap between form and function grew wider.

Today, with greater disposable income and more time for people to pursue hobbies and passions, there has been a resurgence of interest in dog jobs, or rather in dog sports that attempt to capture the essence of the original dog jobs. Now sighthounds chase white plastic bags over fields to simulate the hunt, terriers run through underground tunnels to find and worry a rat in a cage, and thousands of dogs have fun running, jumping, and climbing obstacles in the agility ring.

Once again, competitors are watching dogs perform and discussing dog structure in an effort to identify the anatomical characteristics that contribute to success in dog sports. The sport of agility, which is one of the most physically demanding of those sports in which dogs of all breeds and mixed breeds compete, helps clarify the relationship between structure and function in dogs. One place to start is to examine the physical characteristics of the most successful breeds that compete in the AKC National Agility Championship. To qualify for this competition in 2005, dogs needed to be competing at the highest level of competition (Excellent B) and had to have completed approximately 20% of the requirements for the AKC agility championship. Thus, all dogs entered in the nationals were experienced competitors that had worked their way to the highest level of agility. In the 2005 competition, three breeds dominated the list of competitors in each height category. These breeds are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Most Frequent Breeds Competing in the AKC National Agility Championship

Next, look at the breeds that placed in the top 10 of each class (top 6 for the 8 " class) at the AKC Nationals shown in Table 2. No single breed dominated the 8 class. But single breeds clearly dominated the top positions in each of the other height categories. In fact, just two breeds—Shetland Sheepdogs and Border Collies—dominated those four height categories. In the 12 and 16 classes, while 44% of all dogs competing were Shetland Sheepdogs, 60% of the top 10 winners were Shetland Sheepdogs. In the 20 and 24 classes, Border Collies eclipsed the field of winners. They represented 40% of the dogs starting, but rose in the ranks to a whopping 85% of the top 10 dogs in both classes, including 100% of the winners of the 24 class. Although Golden Retrievers and Australian Shepherds together constituted 28% of all dogs competing in the 20 and 24 classes, they were almost completely shut out of the winning positions—just two Australian Shepherds placed in the top 20 for those two classes.

Table 2 Breeds Garnering Top Awards at the AKC National Agility Championship

*Only the top 6 dogs were recorded in the 8" class

What structural differences might account for the success of the Shetland Sheepdogs and Border Collies as compared to the Golden Retrievers and Australian Shepherds? How well a dog moves depends a lot on how well-angulated he is in the front and rear, which we'll discuss in greater depth in Knowing All the Angles, page 6. Within each of these breeds, there were bound to be some individuals with well-angulated front assemblies and others with weaker, straighter fronts. In fact, as a breed, Shetland Sheepdogs have some of the straightest fronts of any breeds. Likewise, there are individuals with abundant rear angulation and others with straighter rears. So angulation alone may not be the prime reason for the astounding success of the Shetland Sheepdogs and Border Collies.

The most obvious difference between the two groups is the amount of weight each dog carries in relationship to his height. To simplify the comparison, compare the structure of a typical Australian Shepherd and a typical Border Collie of approximately the same height as shown in Figure 1.1. The Australian Shepherd breed standard emphasizes substance: Solidly built with moderate bone. Structure in the male reflects masculinity without coarseness. Females appear feminine without being slight of bone. The Border Collie standard, in contrast, prefers light to heavy bone: Bone must be strong, medium being correct, but light preferred over heavy. It is not unusual for an Australian Shepherd to weigh 25% to 40% more than a Border Collie of the same height at the withers. We shouldn't be surprised then that Border Collies tend to be more successful in a sport that requires dogs to run fast, clear jumps, and turn sharply.

Figure 1.1 These two dogs are the same height at the withers, but the Australian Shepherd weighs 20% more than the Border Collie. This provides the Border Collie a biomechanical advantage in all activities involving jumping, acceleration, deceleration, and sharp turns. Photos: Debra Gorfine (I) and Monica Percival (r).

Structure is only one component of success in canine competition. Of equal importance are fitness and drive. That is encouraging, because fitness and to some extent drive can be altered by appropriate conditioning and positive training. A dog with less than ideal structure that is very fit and has extraordinary drive can rise above his better-built peers and excel. That is one of the most exciting features of canine sports. The results are never predetermined.

Knowing All the Angles

QHow can you tell whether a dog has good front and rear angulation?

Signed,

Wants to know all the angles

Dear Angles,

When dog people talk about how a dog is put together, they're usually referring to the angles formed by the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee joints. If you consider the mechanics of motion, how these various leg bones articulate largely dictates how much reach, balance, and stability a dog will have when she moves, whether she's calmly trotting, galloping flat out, whizzing through weave poles as in Figure 1.2, or wrapping a jump. In evaluating a dog's angulation, stand the dog so that her forelimbs between the elbow and carpus (wrist) and the lower hind limbs from the hock to the foot are perpendicular to the ground as in Figure 1.3 and spread apart as wide as the dog is across the chest. You may have seen dogs stand in this position when shown in conformation. Nothing is special about this position; it just provides a uniform way to evaluate and compare dogs.

Figure 1.2 Good shoulder angulation and a proper length humerus provide this dog with the muscularity to single-step through the weave poles. Photo: M. Christine Zink.

The first and most important structural characteristic is front limb angulation, because good front limb angulation is so critical to a dog's ability to turn sharply, to weave quickly, and to jump smoothly. In addition, abundant shoulder and elbow angulation provide better impact resistance, helping prevent chronic injuries. Front limb angulation is determined by both the shoulder angle (also called shoulder layback) and the length of the humerus (also called the upper arm). Figure 1.3 shows the ideal shoulder angle as 30° off vertical, despite the fact that 45° off vertical (a mechanical impossibility) is the angle often touted in books and publications by those who haven't objectively measured shoulder angulation.

Figure 1.3 The ideal shoulder angle is 30° from perpendicular. Illustration: Marcia Schlehr.

The humerus (upper arm) should be long enough to place the lower leg well back from the shoulder joint, producing greater angulation at the elbow and shoulder. A good rule of thumb to use on a dog stacked (standing) as for examination in the conformation ring is that the distance from the top of the scapula (shoulder blade) to the greater tubercle of the humems (point of the shoulder) should be equal to the distance from the point of the shoulder to the olecranon process of the ulna (point of the elbow) as in Figure 1.4. A quicker way to assess length of humerus is shown in Figure1.5. Draw an imaginary line perpendicular to the ground up through the center of the radius and ulna. If the top of your line intersects with the dog's topline at the area of the shoulder, as in the dog on the left, then the dog has the correct length of humerus. If, however, the line meets the neck or intersects even farther up the neck near the ears, as in the dog on the right, the dog has a short humerus.

Figure 1.4 The humerus (upper arm) is a correct length if the distance from the top of the shoulder blade (A) to the point of the shoulder (B) is equal to the distance from the point of the shoulder to the point of the elbow (C). Illustration: Marcia Schlehr.

Figure 1.5 An easy way to determine whether the humerus is long enough is to draw an imaginary line perpendicular to the ground through the radius and ulna. That line should intersect the dog's topline at the withers as seen on the left. The dog on the right has a short humerus, which moves that line forward so that it intersects with the topline high on the neck. Illustration : Marcia Schlehr.

The front end of the dog is only part of the equation. The rear end provides much of the power that drives the dog forward, so evaluating rear angulation is also critical. The easiest way to evaluate your dog's rear angulation is to stand her so that her rear pasterns (the bones from the hock to the rear foot) are perpendicular to the ground. Now, draw an imaginary line perpendicular to the ground (along the back of your dog's rear pasterns and extending up into the air) as in Figure 1.6. Next, find your dog's ischium, the posterior-most bone of the pelvis, just adjacent to the base of the tail. The distance between the vertical line and the ischium gives you a subjective idea of your dog's rear angulation. The longer that