Questions Re. Structure and Jumping - Page 4

Blitzen, none. They were German show lines. And I've heard other posters on this board remark that the GSLs sometimes have difficulty with the jumps. Not all of them by any means, just like I wasn't trying to imply all American SLs can't jump. I just wanted to quote what the best known GSD handler in N. America had observed.

I think it has a lot to do with the overly long thigh. It has weakened the rear structure of the dogs. I wish I remembered more of my university and H.S. physics courses so I could explain logically why this is so. I think it has to do with a longer lever being weaker, unless you increase its diameter significantly.

I find it very interesting what posters have reported so far. The dogs they've know that are the best jumpers have short  backs and are very upright, without a lot of angulation.

I'd say the best jumper in my club is a doberman. He'd never make an agility dog: he likes to take flying leaps almost from the top of the A-frame!

Working right now: will come back later and catch up on those links.

I'm not sure it's not mostly about attitude. The dog whose photo I posted about was not at all short in body or straight. He just loved to jump from the time he was a puppy. He used to climb out of his 6 foot xpen when he was 8 weeks old. When he got older he would jump in and out of his 6 foot kennel before I put a cover on it.  In my experience, dogs that like to jump, want to jump and do it because they can. And once a dog knows it can jump in or out of a kennel, they will do it until they get too old.

"Structurally and functionally, the dog's front end takes the greatest stress of jumping and thus needs to be sound, strong and flexible. With every landing, there is a moment where one front foot supports the full weight of the dog and then some; every ounce of the dog's body weight is multiplied by factors such as the height of the jump and the dog's speed. (Handlers with overweight dogs need to keep in mind that every extra pound on the ribs translates into many more on the paw when the dog is jumping.)

The front end is designed to absorb the force of landing. Any stiffness in the joints of the front leg (right down to a jammed toe) will impact the dog's jumping. To get a sense of how the rest of the body is affected if the front cannot flex and absorb force as it should, step onto a small bench, lock your knees and jump off onto one foot. Ouch!"

Susan Clothier

To also support my stance on the straight front vs the "correct" gsd front, the breed of dog I have seen which can not only outrun all others, but can arguably also out jump any other breed is the Greyhound. The greyhound also has considerably straight front and rear compared to the "correct" gsd.

Blitzen, a sibe has a short back in comparison to a GSD! They also have a squarer build.

That's a Malamute and they are supposed to be longer than tall - "The length of the body from point of shoulder to the rear point of pelvis is longer than the height of the body from ground to top of the withers". Not a square dog. 

I think another very important thing F. Lanting points out in his books is the ratio of muscle to total weight. The higher amount of muscle mass to total weight in a dog is a good indicator for hip issues. High bone mass to total weight is a negative. i would think it also pertains to this thread. 

 

Gsdstudent, is that muscle mass to weight ratio only pertaining to the gsd? Because the Greyhound probly has the highest muscle mass to weight of any breed, since they have "no skin" ( fat) and they have no hip dysplasia.

There seems to be a very big interest in canine sports medicine. I think some of it stems from the number of dogs participating in agilty and the number of injuries they suffer over the long term. Most agility people warm up their dogs before trialing them using stretching exercises and massage. We will probably know more and more about how structure/temperament relates to canine extreme sports. Interesting topic.