Please show me your WL gaiting! - Page 8

bravo,
Otis, Nelson and Erik are all three "Gaiting"= a Flying Trot. Jenni's are also demonstrating same.
Erik has all four feet off the ground in both pictures, the quintessential "Flying Trot". Otis and Nelson were captured a moment after the suspension and so forward hind foot has landed.
I don't see any dogs pacing in any posted pics.
Koots' pup is in flying trot. The pace is when the limbs on the same side move together, the trot is when opposite limbs move together. Look at my first dog, Otis, his left hind and right fore legs are at the same angle, while the Right Hind and Left Fore legs are also at the same angle. The same can be seen in my other two dogs. There are other posted pics demonstrating the same Flying trot. Dogs with three legs on the ground, one foot lifted are not in the flying trot, but a slower trot.

A gait (the noun) is any manor of movement, walk, trot, run.... amble, pace, lope...

Gaiting (the verb) is a taught movement that excentuate the noun form of gait, mainly for judges.

So when the poster said "please show meyour WL gaiting, it was used in the verb form.

 

 

Sitas, that´s what I think ( translation is not always that correct, though... )

gaiting = moving
gaits = different possibilities of movement ( walk, trot, pace, career, gallop, canter, lope ...and so on)

pace = we don´t want to see this in a German Shepherd
trot = a floating, ground covering trot is the gait we want to see

Some dogs tend to pace naturally, but out of my personal experience this are mostly dogs with too straight angled and/or short shoulders.
A lot of the proper gaiting you are able to teach the dog on command - keeps the handler in good shape .

I trained several working lines to "gait" ( trot ), against any rumors, trained well they are able to do it .
 

On the package of stuff that make up a dog how important do you think this gaiting trait is?

You as in anyone.

Dogs don't necessarily need to be faulty to pace. I'm guess that every Sieger paced at one time or another in his show career.  Many dogs of all breeds will pace if they aren't moved out fast enough; as speed increases they will break out of a pace and move with a trot (or whatever we are calling it today- a matter of semantics and personal opinion). This is especially true with a big dog. And a dog that is not in good shape or a fatigued dog will also pace. Sled dogs pace when they are asked to slow down; dogs running the Iditarod will pace from time to time when they tire. Doesn't meant the dog is faulty. It's a resting gait.

If you want a true picture of how ANY dog  moves from the side, it's all about snapping that shutter at the right split second when  the dog is at full extension and moving in a straight line. Better yet, take a video and stop it at different frames and analyse the gait that way. Look at the famous Dingo video. Before stop action video, every dog expert said that the GSD was the only dog that could move with a flying trot where all 4 feet leave the gound at the same time. We now know that almost every dog alive does that, even a bassett, but it is more exagerated in the GSD than any other breed. Another unique feature of the breed.

Sometimes I look at movement photos that are posted advertising stud service or a litter and shake my head wondering why anyone could possibly think it was correct. I agree that a good trainer can teach and condition most dogs to use themselves better, but the dog still has to have the right angles and flexibility to move correctly.  The joints must be constructed to that they open fully and close fully. You can make a bad mover better, but it will never be a great mover

VK that is a loaded question for this board .

The following quotes are from the article Blitzen referenced from the blog acmecanine, article on "trotters and pacers"- (dear God, no copyright infringement intended, cross my heart)-

"A pace is a type of gait in which either side of the dog’s body moves in unison, which is called a lateral or ambling gait.  The front right and rear right leg move in unison, then the front left and rear left leg move in unison." 

Whereas:

"A trot is a type of gait that uses alternating legs that form diagonals.  The front right and left rear legs move in unison, then the front left and rear right legs move in unison." 

And so, Joanro, it is in this context I made my comment regarding your Koots. 

:)

 

 

 

No,it´s no problem.

At least for me:

1. Character and temperament ( my kind of working ability included )
2. Health ( I really don´t know what to keep in front, 1 or 2, it´s both very important for me )
3. Structure
4. Gait
5. color

Blitzen, every dog on earth will pace once in a while, but the better the structure ( angles and length ) the easier it is for the German Shepherd to trot in a floating, ground covering way.

Funny, you mentioned Dingo  - although far away from perfect and no looker in reality, he became another dog when he was gaiting  - no rule without exception...

" So if I understand gaiting correctly as per Blitzen's article, so far EVERY PIC on this thread has demonstrated the "pace"- all except ONE.

Joanro's first pic of her boy Koots demonstrates the more coveted "trot". "

You switched the words - all the pics are showing trotting dogs, Joanro´s first pic of Koots shows him pacing ( only the first pic, in the following pics he is trotting ).

So in the case of the judge who awarded Dingo the Sieger title, it can be said that he preferred movement over type?

It's the same with AKC judges, some will dump a perfect mover in favor of a dog whose type they prefer more and vice versa. It's an old debate - which is more important, movement or type and, in the case of the GSD, there's is also performance to consider. We expect so much from our GSD's. They must not only look good and move well, they must also perform to our expectations. I wouldn't want to be a GSD.