One of the smallest bitches I possess has the correct formation of hindquarters, and also of forehand, and consequently her body is placed really low to ground, and I find when she is out with me she never needs to break out of a trot up to at least a rate of eight miles an hour. W. L. McCandlish |
The 1947 Scottish terrier standard said that the Scottie had a gait that was "peculiarly his own." The was eliminated in the 1993 standard because too many judges read "peculiar gait" and judged accordingly. Thanks to the work of Rachel Page Elliott, we now know that, regardless of breed, all canine movement has some commonality. Among these is a tendency to single track as the dog moves faster. The angle of inclination begins with the shoulders and hips. This angle may vary, depending on the structure of the breed, but the natural laws of balance always apply. As a long-legged terrier moves forward at moderate speed, his feet will be roughly the same distance apart as his elbows. His feet will incline inward only as he accelerates. Because of the Scottie's broad, deep chest and short legs, the laws of balance require that he reach inward almost as soon as he starts moving forward.
Consequently, at moderate speed, when a Fox Terrier's feet will be the same distance apart as his elbows, the Scottie's feet will be closer together than his elbows. This "reaching inward" is the source of the so-called Scottie roll. It is not really a roll, but is rather the slight motion caused in the front as the dog shifts its weight from side to side during the trot. This lateral motion is caused because the Scottie's physical construction (short legs and wide, deep chest) prevents him from single tracking, even when he is trotting as quickly as he can. Rear movement is what drives a Scottie forward. The hind leg swinging forward contacts the ground at approximately mid-length of the body, the foot strongly pushing back, effectively thrusting the body forward. Viewed from behind, the rear legs should move in line with the front legs. The hocks should turn neither inward nor outward and should be the same distance apart as the feet. The pads of the dog's rear feet should be visible as he moves away from the observer.
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