Please Note: I have added additional links: Ratbones Rescue, the OFA and Volhard puppy testing. Another Addition: Both the UKC and AKC breed standards have now been added for quick reference for your conformation studies.
ASSESSING FRONT ANGULATION & CONFORMATION:
1. The length of the shoulder blade, upper arm, and forearm should approximate the same length. 2. The distance between the shoulder blades on top of the withers should be approximately 1/4 to 1/3 the length of the shoulder blade, upper arm, and forearm. 3. The depth of the chest should extend at least to the point of the elbow or (better or more desirable) slightly below the elbow. 4. The chest in profile view should extend forward past the upper leg to a visible point (called the prosternum). This point should not be much higher than the depth of chest or the chest will appear too shallow. 5. The angle of the shoulder blade and the upper arm should approximate a 90 degree angle. 6. The pasterns should be straight when viewed from the front, but should be slightly angled in a foremost direction when viewed from the side. 7. The elbows should be tucked in close to the side of the ribcage.
ASSESSING REAR ANGULATION & CONFORMATION:
1. The length of the croup, the upper thigh, and the lower thigh should approximate the same length. 2. The croup should fall away from the point of the hip bones where they tie in to the backbone at an approximate 30 degree angle. 3. The tail should be an extension of the backbone, neither set-on too highly (as in the typical "gay" tail of the Toy Fox Terrier), or set-on too low. 4. The angle of the upper thigh to the lower thigh should approximate a 90 degree angle when the dog is standing naturally. 5. When viewed from the rear, the hocks should be parallel to one another and placed vertically when the dog is standing naturally. 6. The dog's rear angulation will neither be too extreme or too shallow if, when in profile view an imaginary vertical line is drawn from the base (rear) of the tail to the ground, the hocks line up perfectly with that imaginary line.
ASSESSING THE BACK, NECK, SHOULDERS & RIBCAGE:
1. There are four sections of the back, and each section should approximately be the same length: A. Withers B. Back C. Loin D. Croup 2. The topline of the back should be fairly straight with a very slight rise over the loin permitted, but not preferred (an arched loin is called "roached-back"). 3. The neck should approximate the same length as any one of the back sections. 4. The neck should blend into the shoulders smoothly, and it should ascend in a straight line to it's tie in with the head. 5. The profile view of the neck should show tapering from the body up to the head, with no evidence of arch ("bull neck") or curvature ("eweneck") 6. The shoulders should gradually evolve into the musculature of the dog. If the frontal view of the shoulders appears to evolve too greatly the dog's appearance will be overdone. If the shoulders appear to evolve too slightly the dog's appearance will be underdone. 7. The ribs should be well sprung, neither too rounded (which will make the elbows protrude and the front legs turn in), or too shallow (which will make the chest appear too narrow), and should extend well back. 8. The dog should present a moderate tuck when viewed in profile (too extreme and the dog will look like a GreyHound; too slight and the dog will look like a Bull Terrier).
by John Chance of Lone Oak Kennels
Date(s): June 19, 2004. Album by Vicki Lauer. 1 - 24 of 37 Total. 16093 Visits.
Just looking at your site again. You've done good job :-) - Darla, Tue, 24 Jan 2006 11:42AM
Good morning Viki, your site is outstanding. I'm currently building mine and was wondering if I could copy the basic info on your conformation site. I have quite a few of the same diagrams etc but you have a few I don't and didn't want to copy paste with out asking even though they are probably out in cyper space somewhere :>) I absolutely love the logo Electra did for you also. - Randi, Thu, 10 Feb 2005 6:57AM
1 Canine Structure
2 United Kennel Club Breed Standard for the Rat Terrier.
3 AKC Breed Standard for the Rat Terrier.
4 Glossary of Canine Terminology
5 Glossary of terms contd.
6 Here are some definitions of diseases in dogs
7 The red line shows that the hip bone falls away from the spinal column at a 30 degree angle to produce the slightly rounded, well filled out croup
8 The dog on the left while having proper shoulder angulation does not have the proper depth of chest that the dog on the right does. "The depth of the chest should extend at least to the point of the elbow or (better or more desirable) slightly below the elbow."
9
10 4 Sections of the back. By Darla of KND Kennels
11 "moderately short loin" Should be 1/3 of the total body length
12
13 HEAD
The head is proportionate to the size of the body. When viewed from the side, the skull and muzzle are of equal length and joined by a moderate stop. Viewed from the front and the side, the Rat Terrier’s head forms a blunt wedge shape.
Fault: Abrupt stop.
Moderate: Being within reasonable limits; not excessive or extreme (loosely translated medium approx. 45 degree angle for stop)
Blunt: Having a dull edge or end; not sharp
Wedge Shaped: Having the shape of a wedge
14 Here is my analogy on the "slight dome". In reference to " muzzle and head must be on the same plane"....k loosely translated in order for two lines to be on the same plane(can only use straight lines) they must intersect at a point and create the SAME angle. So line from A to back of the head(straight) and line from B to end of the nose. Intersecting line would be the stop. We should then have parallel lines and the angles created are equal. Now I didn't get out my protractor and ruler so all is approximate for visual purposes. THEN you add in your slight dome.
15 In Rat Terriers, the shoulder should be well laid back and at an apparent right angle(90degrees-meaning the humerus and the scapula should form this angle) This angulation would be considered too upright or straight shouldered.
16
17 Angulation
Angulation is the word used to describe the angle formed by the shoulder blade (scapula) and the upper arm (humerus)
18 Frequently, you will hear references to a "Terrier" front. This term should, more properly, be described as a "Fox Terrier" front, since it is by no means the correct front for all terriers. Above are illustrated three types of fronts. Front A is a "Terrier" front.Note the very short upright, humerus bone. Front B is a fairly non-specialized canine front. This would be correct for a Rat Terrier. Front C is a Scottie front. Notice that all three fronts have about the same amount of layback and angulation. The "Terrier" front is distinguished by the shorter upper arm and the almost upright pastern.
19 Layback
Layback is the word used to describe the placement of the shoulder blade or scapula. It is normally described by the angle formed by a vertical line drawn through the point of shoulder and a second line drawn from the point of shoulder up the ridge of the scapula to the tip of the scapula.
20 ASSESSING REAR ANGULATION & CONFORMATION: The length of the croup, the upper thigh, and the lower thigh should approximate the same length. The croup should fall away from the point of the hip bones where they tie in to the backbone at an approximate 30 degree angle. The tail should be an extension of the backbone, neither set-on too highly (as in the typical "gay" tail of the Toy Fox Terrier), or set-on too low. The angle of the upper thigh to the lower thigh should approximate a 90 degree angle when the dog is standing naturally.
Small Diagram upper right shows a dog with a straight rear and a tailset too high.
Small Diagram lower right shows how if you draw an imaginary line from the point of the croup and the dog is standing with his rear pasterns perpendicular to the ground, his toes should barely touch that line.
21 Ratio of bone length
Although the upper arm is slightly shorter than the scapula, it appears nearly equal in length when examining the dog. This illusion is caused by the fact that the point of the elbow is included in the visual measurement of the length of the upper arm.
A long upper arm is required so that the front leg is set down well behind the dog's forechest. If the upper arm is too short, the front legs will be too far forward. (Fox Terrier front)
In a Rat Terrier, the scapula humerus and upper arm(radius&ulna)should all be approximately the same length.
22 Rear Angulation The angle of the upper thigh to the lower thigh should approximate a 90 degree angle when the dog is standing naturally. The length of the croup, the upper thigh, and the lower thigh should approximate the same length.
