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THE FRONT LINE OF ATHLETICISM
Cherie Hunchak
As breeders, we simply cannot do justice to our breed if we don’t understand the
purpose that brought it into creation. In fact, if we don’t have a grasp of this, we can
do a lot of harm. We see that whenever a poorly constructed animal is put into the
gene pool.
I don’t believe any of us who do a breeding do so with any mal intent. But certainly
poor quality dogs get bred on a regular basis. If you love borzoi enough to go through
the trials and tribulations of breeding them, you would never purposefully want to
harm the breed. But, whether blinded by our love, or our void of knowledge, it
happens.
The Borzoi was created and developed to be one of the ultimate athletes of the
canine world; a hunting machine. The opening comments of the breed standard
makes this crystal clear:
“The Borzoi was originally bred for the coursing of hare, fox and wolves on more or
less open terrain, relying on sight rather than scent. To accomplish this purpose, the
Borzoi must be courageous, powerful, and capable of great speed. Special emphasis
is placed on sound running structure, strong neck and jaws, keenness to game, and
agility combined with proper condition.” CKC Borzoi Standard
Yes, I know they’re pretty and sweet. But if you love this breed enough to propagate
it, get a fix on the athletic history and purpose that necessitates their structure - the
whys and wherefores of borzoi. There are many volumes translated, researched and
written on the history of the borzoi to chronicle this. I recommend you access them if
you haven’t already done so. The structure and form of borzoi today must continue to
reflect this athletic hunting dog, as that is what they are. Full stop. If you love them,
you must love them for what they are, not for what you wish them to be.
The entire structure of a borzoi is meant to be a well-knit, efficient machine, with each
part supporting the whole. I’d like to focus here on one of the most difficult aspects of
athletic structure - both to understand and to manage in a breeding program - the
front assembly.
In a breed developed for athletic hunting prowess, a proper front assembly is
essential. Seeing the lack thereof in the gene pool, it’s obviously a tough nut to crack
- both cognitively and genetically.
So what is a good front assembly?
Think about a triangle laid over the dog. You want a deep triangle shape. The well
laid back shoulder is the top part of a triangle (with the point towards the front of the
dog.) This allows for a wide base for the neck muscles to attach on to, and gives that
well-set neck we hear about – a neck that’s attached well back on and into the body,
instead of being tacked on at the front end. Thus it has a deep base. This gives you a
very strong neck, the kind a wolf would rather not experience the power of.
(Remember: borzoi = hunting dog.)
The bottom part of the triangle is formed by the upper arm. This should be long, and
well “returned” back, so that the dog’s elbow will lie underneath the point of his
shoulder up top, giving strong structural support right where it is needed: underneath
the animal’s center of gravity. This upper arm will fit neatly to the body, having the
ability to slide smoothly along the rib cage with fluidity and ease. The back base of
this triangle will be an imaginary line that runs from the top of the shoulder down to
the back of the elbow.
This large, deep triangle will allow maximum space for muscle attachment. Having full
space for proper attachments gives them their full potential for use. A front triangle
that is altered by shorter/straighter bones will affect how the muscles are able to fit in
and attach. While the bones can come in different sizes, the number of
muscle/ligament attachments remain the same. Short, straight upper arms or
shoulders often come with bunched up muscles - all those attachments jammed into a
shortage of space.
Another aspect of a good front: it will not be too far forward on the body. A front set
too far forward leaves the chest and topline hanging without support, and has about
as much strength as it will need to support the dog’ ears – because that’s where it sits
under.
Can you get a front set too far back? I suppose you could, though I have not seen
one in my experience. Elements of that would be a too prominent forechest, etc. And
that would be a detriment to the borzoi function as well.
Now, let’s put this dog in motion. Not just a show trot, but the full force of the gallop it
was meant to do as a hunting dog. Yes, that fabulous rear provides the power to
explode that dog off the mark. However, the front assembly, which even at rest is
supporting more than half of the dogs’ body weight at its center of gravity, is
accepting that full weight multiplied by the force provided by that strong rear engine
(get out your calculators all you mathmaticians).
Now add the fact that this dog at some point is going to turn while moving at full
speed. At that moment, the front will not only be accepting the full force of
acceleration and body weight, it will now add the strain of pivoting, generally on one
leg, to change direction. This calls for a physics degree to figure out, but the rest of
us can agree that incredible forces are being put upon the front half of that dog.
If our dog has it’s front set where it should be, his pivoting leg will be set well back
under his chest, where his center of gravity is. As he pivots, he will have most of his
weight over his pivoting leg, and his lighter back end will swing around quickly and
neatly.
Compare this efficient use of power and weight to the poor creature with a front “hung
out to dry.” That straight-fronted hound is going to have to go into a turn with
everything from the ears back to swing around. The stress on his spine will be
horrible – being winged around like kids playing “snap the whip.” Everything this dog
does is going to be more punishing to his body, and less efficient.
This turning photo above is a good example of how a well placed, long upper arm
positions the dogs’ pivoting leg right under its center of gravity as it turns. When they
change direction, they plant their front and pivot their rear. When they are able to
plant their front leg well back (because of that good long upper arm), there is less
weight behind the planted leg to have to pivot around, making for a faster, cleaner
turn. This kind of turn will place less stress on the front end, as well as the spine as
mentioned above. The farther forward the pivot point – as found in a straighter front -
the more stress it will have to bear in trying to support the body weight, and in
swinging more of the body around it.
Examples such as these are a reminder for every breeder, whether we course, do
obedience, or exhibit our dogs in the show ring, that this is what we must keep in our
mind’s eye: the borzoi as an athlete, first and foremost. In every day living - whether
playing in the yard, coursing, doing obedience or agility – borzoi are landing on their
fronts countless times a day. Even getting off the couch! Do not ever underestimate
the importance of the front assembly in your breeding program, and how it impacts
not just the original function of the dog, but it’s ability to live a healthy, vigorous life.
This will help guide our breeding decisions beyond what is pretty or what wins, to
what is functionally correct and athletic. Because that is Borzoi.
Photo copywright 2005 Dave Hutchinson.
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