Lack of Drive, Little Flexion of Stifles and Hock Over-Reaching, Causing the Dog to “Crab”
“Sound driving action” at a phase of the trot that shows flexing of hocks and stifles, good reach of hind feet well-forward under the body, and cor- rect topline.
“Free moving and elegant in action.” This dog shows wonderful reach and drive, correct topline and tail carriage.
much “drive” behind and the hind feet will have to pass the front foot to the side (over-reaching), leading the dog to move at an angle to the direction of movement—i.e., crabbing. Tomove “true,” the dog needs tomove both feet on each side in the same plane. If the feet are tracking prop- erly, then the dog will move “parallel” or “straight and true.” I believe that if a dog is coming towards me, I should only see “two legs” as in a horse com- ing down the center line in dressage. Cavaliers should not single track when viewed from in front or be- hind—they have a low center of grav- ity and they should not be moved around the show ring at great speed. There should not be any tendency for the feet to converge! The legs should provide a straight column of support under the dog. Any deviation such as cowhocks, bowed hocks or crooked fronts will lead to excessive strain on the joints and ligaments. The conditioning and musculature should not be underestimated—no matter howperfect a dog’s bone struc- ture might be. It will be unable to move, as its structure would suggest, if it’s unfit and lacking in strong and responsive muscles and ligaments. It is these ligaments and muscles that
You know that they will show this just as easily in parks and gardens as in the ring. Watching our Cavaliers move with joy and animation forms a great part of the pleasure we derive from our dogs. It’s our responsibility to breed and develop the whole Cavalier: the melt- ingly beautiful expression; the ame- nable, loving temperament; and the silky-coated beauty, but also one who can live a long and active life, free from pain and discomfort because of its correct conformation and ease of movement. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeanie Montford, Elvenhome Cava- liers, a founding member of ACKCSC, has a long and successful history in our breed. She started breeding Cavaliers in the early 1970s and has bred and/ or owned over 100 Cavalier Cham- pions and has over 30 All-Breed BIS and over 30 Specialty BIS winners in Australia and internationally. She has been a licensed judge since 1980 and has judged in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, US, Peru, Sweden, Finland, and Japan. She is one of only three judges who have had the honor of being asked to judge our National Specialty twice! T op N otch T oys , D ecember 2021 • 45
enable a dog to move its bones from place to place! These begin to develop early in life, and growing puppies, if given too little exercise or confined to a puppy pen, may never develop strong ligaments. Too much or prolonged ex- ercise and encouraging fast develop- ment with high protein foods may lead to malformed bone growth and prob- lems later in life. Steady growth gains and free exercise (when and for as long as the puppy wishes) are best and will hopefully result in a good-moving dog when mature. Conditioning and the sensible development of fitness and muscles can make dramatic improve- ment to the movement of a dog with basically good structure but who is slack and soft in muscle tone. And last, but not least: the dog’s tem- perament, attitude, and training. You can have the best-constructed and best-conditioned Cavalier, but if the dog doesn’t want to move with drive and enthusiasm its virtues will never be revealed to the judge in the show ring. Some wonderful dogs drive their owners to distraction through active or passive non-cooperation (I speak from experience here) while others show with flair and joie de vivre, demonstrating glorious, easy, ground-covering and true movement.
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