Structure: the foundation for health and function What sets apart the average dog enthusiast from the expert? Often it’s an in-depth knowledge of the anatomy of the dog and a solid understanding of terminology used in the world of dogs. Do you know what a judge is talking about when he mentions “stifle let-down,” “shallow brisket,” or “excessive angulation?” K-9 Structure and Terminology defines and illustrates these and hundreds of other terms in easy to understand language so you can train your mind and eye to evaluate dogs. All dogs need sound structure for health, show, work, or sport, and, by learning to see beneath the skin the reader will be more able to work with, understand, and appreciate canis familiaris. Gain a better understanding of: • Breed Standards including breed variations. • How the original purpose of the breed is expressed in the structure of the dog. • Terminology used in veterinary care and dog sports, especially Conformation. • How to identify what is right and sound in any dog you encounter. Bonus! A 31-page glossary of words including common and less common terms. What experts are saying about K-9 Structure and Terminology: "If you wish to significantly improve your knowledge of canine conformation, K-9 Structure and Terminology provides a…comprehensive description of the details…of canine variation. And it does so with a clear focus on the importance of establishing a common terminology that can be understood and applied." James W. Edwards, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Emeritus, Salem College; AKC, Director, Judging Research and Development "All of us in the dog world should strive for perfection…We need to train our eyes and our hands to recognize the strengths in a dog’s structure and movement. This book is an excellent guide in our unending quest of applicable knowledge." Pat Hastings, author of Tricks of the Trade. From Best Intentions to Best in Show, AKC Judge and noted lecturer Edward M. Gilbert is a multiple breed and group AKC judge, lecturer, and writer. His engineering and technical writing background makes him especially well-suited to the task of explaining canine structure and terminology. He lives in California with his wife Pat and their retired Champion Afghans and Salukis. Thelma Brown, AKC Emeritus judge, worked side by side with her husband Curtis Brown breeding and showing dogs beginning in 1937. She is retired and living in California.

Have you ever been stumped trying to understand what a judge, breeder or dog fancier is saying about a dog? Or been utterly confused when reading a Breed Standard? What is meant by “butterfly nose,” “fish hook front” or “crabbing?” Encyclopedia of K-9 Terminology to the rescue! Veteran AKC judges and breeders Ed Gilbert and his wife Pat Gilbert have pulled together every conceivable term applied to dogs to aid experts and amateurs alike to help all understand and correctly use the language of the sport.

A guide to canine terminology. It features explanations of words related to dogs, and is illustrated with drawings.

What's Your Angle is made up of two parts: The first part consists of the author's six step method that teaches the reader how to easily see canine angles. This unique method takes the reader through a step by step process to identify and mark each important point on the dog. This will help train the reader's eyes to see the angles. With practice, this process will become second nature, as will the ability to analyze canine structure at a glance. The second part of What's Your Angle explains what the angles mean and how they singularly and in combination, affect the way a dog moves, jumps, turns and accelerates. Whether you want to know more about structure before you start a search for your next dog, or just want to know more about the dog you have now, What's Your Angle will open your eyes to a whole new world of seeing structure for the performance dog.

Insights into the world of dog shows and showing dogs from a complete beginner who now proudly calls herself a "Dog Show Junkie." Revealing, humorous and realistic, this may turn you into a junkie too!

Legendary breeder and world authority on canine movement Rachel Page Elliott’s classic volume Dogsteps has been the definitive manual on canine movement for four decades. Dog show judges and breeders around the world have relied upon this straightforward text and its “cineradiographic” illustrations to gain a more complete understanding of canine gait. Even with the passing of its famous author in 2009, no other volume has stepped in the path of Dogsteps. Upon its publication in 1973, the Dog Writers Association of America bestowed upon Dogsteps its highest award “Best Book of the Year.” More than an analytical look at canine gait, the book teaches the reader about canine anatomy and how each body part contributes to a dog’s correct movement. In the show ring, judges evaluate a dog’s movement to determine whether or not the dog is correctly structured: Dogsteps explains what the judge is—or should be—looking for in lay man’s terms, making this book essential for all breeders, judges, exhibitors, and students of purebred dogs. The book begins by explaining the terminology commonly encountered in describing canine anatomy (e.g., stop, occiput, withers, hock, croup, etc.) and showing three comparative skeletons (dog, horse, and human), pointing out critical similarities and differences between each. The author describes the eight natural gaits of dogs and how each is accomplished in specific dogs; these include: walk, amble, pace, trot, hackney gait, suspension, canter, and gallop. Individual chapters are devoted to the topics of angulation, toplines and tails, front assemblies, and shoulder assemblies. Each chapter is illustrated with “moving x-rays” to give the reader a clearer picture of how each anatomical region affects the dog’s gait, pointing out common flaws, the importance of correct structure, and how balance and ease of movement are achieved in a properly put-together dog. In an effort to provide dog breeders with a manual for breeding sound dogs, Rachel Page Elliott makes a case for correct structure as the most important aspect of keeping a breeder’s line going strong. Recognizing faults in movement and structure, while not the primary intent of the book, allows the reader to be more aware of the many structural pitfalls that threaten the quality of many purebred dogs today. Beyond having a great breeder as a mentor, Dogsteps is the single best source for learning all there is to know about canine anatomy, structure, and movement. The author concludes, “Experience is a good teacher, but knowledge—with a little luck!—steers the shortest way to lasting success.”

Many people probably think that all the fuss that breeders and fanciers make over their purebred dogs how they look, how they move is unnecessary. Why do the teeth need to be just so? Why does a judge do such a thorough hands-on evaluation of twenty dogs that to most of us look so much alike? The answer lies in the fact that purebred dogs are bred for a specific purpose and that the structure of the dog impacts its ability to do what it has been bred for be it retrieving game, guarding livestock, tracking lost people, or pulling sleds full of supplies to a snowed-in village.