far-reachingchangesintheoutput.Forinstance,
youcanturnoffalargepartofyourown
posturalstabilitybyclenchingyourhandsina
fistwiththetipsofyourfingerstuckedinagainst
yourthumb.Getapalandtrythis.Stand
neutrally,withyourhandsatyoursidesinafist,
andthenaskafriendtotryandpushyouoff
balancefromfrontorbehind.Feelyourbody’s
responsestoresistingtheexternalforcesand
thinkaboutwhichmusclesyouareusing.Now
switchyourhandpositionsothatthepadsof
yourfingersareflatontheheelofyourpalm.
Tryagaintoresistyourfriend’sattempttopush
youover.Again,feelyourbody’sresponse.Quite
different!Inthesecondinstanceyouaremore
stable,abletoresisttheforceofbeingpushed
withverylittleeffort.

Thisisanexampleofhowour“forefeet”are

programmedtogiveinformationtoourbrain
aboutthegroundsurface.Ifwehadfourlegsand
thepadsofourfronttoeswerestretchedflaton
theground,liketheflatfingeredhand,ourbrain
wouldconcludethatwehadcontactedaground
surfacethatwasappropriatetosupportour
bodies.Thissetsoffacascadeofreflexesto
enablestanding:Theextensormusclesofthe
legswitchon,makingitstraighttostandon;
thetrunkmusclesswitchon,holdingthetrunk
andspinefirm;andtheheadisheldinan
appropriatepositionforstanding.Ourstance
stabilizersareatwork.

Whyareallanimals,includinghumans,

posturallyprogrammedtostandupstraight?
Becauseitisthemosteconomicalwaytostand.
Dogs,likehumansandhorses,arelarge,fast
animalscomparedwithmostvertebrates.
Comparativebiomechanicshasshownthat
thelargerananimalis,theloweritsmetabolic
rate.Thismeansthatlargeanimalshaveless
metabolicenergyperpoundofbodyweightto
devotetobodymaintenance.Largefastanimals
havesolvedthis“problem”byminimizingthe

metabolicenergyrequiredtosupporttheirownweight
throughanatomicadaptations.Theyhavelong,straightlegs
thatsupportbodyweightinaverticalcolumn.Whenthe
limbsareinpositioncorrectlylikethelegsofatable,the
onlymusclesworkingareslowtwitchposturalmuscles,
whicharestrategicallyplacedtostabilizejointswithoutalot
ofcostlyenergy.However,whenthelegsaremisplaced,or

areverycrooked,manymusclesmustberecruitedtokeep
thedogstanding.

Normalneutralpostureindogsislikeatable,witha

limbateachcorner.Dog-showcompetitorsareveryfamiliar
withthisposture;itis“stacking”thedogforthejudgeto
examine,withitsforelegsandhocks-to-the-groundvertical.
Thereasonthisposeisused,historically,isthathigh-quality
dogswithgoodneurologicresponseswillstacknaturally.

Sowhataresomeofthereasonsourdogshavetrouble

standingor“stacking”correctly?Andhowdoesthisaffect
everythingtheydo?Wewilldiscussthisinlatersegments.
It’samazinghowimportantsimplystandingproperlyis!

I

Thisarticleisthefirstinafourpartseries.Comingupin
thisPosturalRehabilitationseries:

Oh,thatflexibleneck!Inthissegmentwelearnhow

theneurologicfeedbackfromtheupperneckiscritically
importanttopostureandbalance,andhowdailycanine
activitiesthatincluderestraintandconfinement,aswellas
athleticfeats,cancompromisethissystem.

Feetontheground.Forallterrestrialanimals,essential

informationabouttheirgroundsurfaceistransmittedbythe
feet.However,ourmodernman-madeenvironmenttendsto
obliteratethesensitivityofthisfeedbackloop.Evenmore
critically,dogscangetverylargedistortionsinground
perceptioniftheirtoenailsscrapethegroundindailylife,
leadingtoposturaldistortionsthatarepunishingtotheir
joints.Howdoesthismechanismwork,andcanwefixit
whenitgoeswrong?

It’smorethanjustbite!Didyouknowthatmore

thanhalfofAKCbreedstandardsallowforabiteotherthan
ascissorsbite?It’snotjustaestheticsweareworriedabout
—malformeddentitionanddistortedskullshapeshavea
profoundeffectonpostureandbalance.Somesimple
juvenileinterventionscangoalongwaytohelpingyour
dogsgetabetterbite.

ToretrievethesearticlesinDr.Shoemaker'sPostural

Rehabilitationseries,gototheAmericanKennelClub
CanineHealthFoundationlibrary(www.akcchf.org/
news-events/library/).IntheSEARCHboxontheupper
right,typeinShoemaker.ThePBGVCAHealthCommittee
hopestoseeyouatDr.Shoemaker'sCanineAthleticSeminar
atthe2014PBGVCANationalSpecialty!

KarenGellman,DVM,PhDandJudithM.Shoemaker,DVM,
areworkingtogethertoprovideposturalrehabilitationcontinuing
educationforveterinariansinadditiontoavarietyofother
specialclinicalskills.Dr.Gellmancanbereachedat
equinesportsmed@mac.comformoreinformation.

SaberTails

IMarch2014

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