CAVALIER MOVEMENT
IS IT SOMETHING SPECIAL? IS IT SOMETHING UNIQUE?—BY NO MEANS!
by Jeanie Montford (A version of this article was originally published in The Royal Dispatch.)
T he Cavalier King Charles Span- iel is quite normal—one could almost say their structure and proportions are generic—there are no extremes of proportions or conformation such as we find in the Dachshund or the Pekingese or the Bulldog, for example, which will dic- tate specialized and distinctive gaits. How important is it to consider Cav- alier movement? Where do we put movement on our list of priorities among head and expression, temper- ament, coat, and markings, etc.? Do all breeders consider good move- ment anessential goal of theirbreeding program or are they more concerned with pretty faces and lots of coat?Why do we want our dogs to move well both in and out of the show ring? If a dog is moving with all of its bones and joints in proper proportion in relation to one another, it will move
more efficiently with less wear and tear on the joints, expending less en- ergy to get from A to B. Hopefully the dog will live well into a comfortable old age without developing arthritis or other joint inflammations. Our Standards for the Cavalier are mercifully clear and to-the-point when describing movement: Country of Origin, UK Standard: “Free-moving and elegant in action, plenty of drive from behind. Fore and hind limbs move parallel when viewed from in front and behind.” US Standard: “Free moving and elegant in action, with good reach in front and sound, driving rear ac- tion. When viewed from the side, the movement exhibits a good length of stride, and viewed from front and rear it is straight and true, resulting from straight-boned fronts and properly made and muscled hindquarters.”
I do not believe there is any difference in the essential meaning between these two standards. I interpret “move parallel” to be essentially the same as “straight and true.” Some of the factors that affect move- ment are, firstly, structure andconfor- mation. In order to produce the ideal movement described in the Standard, the dog needs to be well-angulated in both fore and hind quarters. If the angulation is balanced front and rear, then, ideally, at the trot, the hind foot should step into the place of the fore- foot as it is lifted. Ideally, in a well-angulated front as- sembly, the point of the elbow will be directly beneath the highest point of the shoulder blade when the dog is standing. If a dog is straight (upright shoulder blades and steep upper arm) in the front assembly and is over- angulated in the rear, the dog has too
True and Parallel Movement in Front, with the Leg Forming a Straight Column of Support Under the Body
True and Parallel Movement Behind
Close Movement Behind
44 • T op N otch T oys , D ecember 2021
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