Lately, having returned from a specialty breed show, as well as an all-breed dog show, I am now, more than ever, flummoxed with the quality of purebred dogs. I will add more conversations and thoughts on several other topics, but this post is concerning the forequarter assembly. I am speechless about the condition of front ends on dogs.

I ask myself over and over again, the same questions. Do breeders not understand what comprises a correct, faultless, forequarter detailed for their breed? Do breeders not care about a front assembly? What's more, the judges themselves, ignore or are unable to recognize an unsound, faulty, just-plain-wrong, front end! For longtime fanciers who read this, they will recall the comprehensive conversations among hobbyists and judges, in all-breeds, which took place a decade and more past about forequarters. It was an ongoing hot topic issue. Magazines abounded with articles on the defective, bad front assemblies of purebred dogs at our conformation shows. You could not get away from it. Whenever you joined a conversation at a dog show, inevitably, the conversation turned to bad fronts. Still, here we are today with the same old issue. But, I believe it is even more pervasive now than 10-20 years ago.

I just don't get how a major anatomical abnormality has been neglected, disregarded and overlooked, to such an extent that, it has been deemed acceptable and has frequently been rewarded? Have we rewritten all the science books and literature on canine anatomy and I missed all the book signing events? Why didn't anyone tell me!?

Here I include an edited article I wrote several years ago that was published in the Canine Chronicle magazine, titled, "The Front End." It is not just a tedious discussion on shoulder layback or stuck-on fronts but rather; it talks about the outcomes of 'breeders' lacking anatomy education or concerns who are producing litters of puppies which they place into companion homes. A poorly informed, undiscerning breeder affects new pet owner’s lives. A breeder may be cultivating a bloodline of dogs that are structurally unsound and incorrect, or that have congenital defects such as poor muscle development. Due in large part to their lack of schooling, in some a willful lack of concern, the breeder is unaware of their dog's engineering problems, and the importance of the musculoskeletal system which affects, by way of perpetuation in their breeding programs, future quality of life. Incorrect angulation and poor assembly cause additional stress to tendons predisposing dogs to increased injuries to their bones, joints, muscle, tendons, ligaments, and feet. Inferior muscling or unbalanced muscling increases susceptibility to injury as well.

The repercussions, in almost all cases, are that the defects cause pain making it necessary for pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medications over the course of a dog’s lifespan as they age and break down, due to poor conformation. I can only hope that my article makes a difference somehow and with someone.

The Front End