Croup - definition of croup by The Free Dictionary Croup - definition of croup by The Free Dictionary Related to croup: whooping cough croup 1 (kro͞op) n. A pathological condition of the larynx, especially in infants and children, that is characterized by respiratory difficulty and a hoarse, brassy cough. [From dialectal croup, to croak.] croup′ous (kro͞o′pəs), croup′y adj. croup 2 The rump of a beast of burden, especially a horse.

[Middle English croupe, from Old French, of Germanic origin.] croup (kruːp) n (Pathology) a throat condition, occurring usually in children, characterized by a hoarse cough and laboured breathing, resulting from inflammation and partial obstruction of the larynx [C16 croup to cry hoarsely, probably of imitative origin] ˈcroupy, ˈcroupous adj (Zoology) the hindquarters of a quadruped, esp a horse [C13: from Old French croupe; related to German Kruppe] croup1 any condition of the larynx or trachea characterized by a hoarse cough and difficult breathing. [1755–65; n. use of croup to cry hoarsely (now dial.), b. croak and whoop ] croup′y, adj. the highest part of the rump of a quadruped, esp. a horse.

[1250–1300; Middle English croupe < Middle French, Anglo-French crupe, Old French crope < Germanic; see crop ] croup I will have been crouping you will have been crouping he/she/it will have been crouping we will have been crouping you will have been crouping they will have been crouping Past Perfect Continuous Noun 1. croup - a disease of infants and young children; harsh coughing and hoarseness and fever and difficult breathing angina - any disease of the throat or fauces marked by spasmodic attacks of intense suffocative pain 2.

bird - warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings quadruped - an animal especially a mammal having four limbs specialized for walking haunch - the loin and leg of a quadruped body part - any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity Translations 1 [kruːp] N (Med) → crup m croup 2 [kruːp] N [of horse] → grupa f croup [ˈkruːp ˈkruːp] n (MEDICINE) → croup m croup n no pl (Med) → Krupp m, → Kehlkopfdiphtherie f croup n (of horse) → Kruppe f croup [kruːp] n (Med) → crup m croup n. crup, pop. garrotillo, síndrome respiratorio visto en los niños, causado gen. por una infección o una reacción alérgica; spasmodic ___ → ___ espasmódico.

croup n crup m; ronquera y dificultad para respirar producidas por irritación de la laringe o de la tráquea, generalmente debida a un virus Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: View in context Percy Northumberland Driscoll, brother to the judge, and younger than he by five years, was a married man, and had had children around his hearthstone; but they were attacked in detail by measles, croup, and scarlet fever, and this had given the doctor a chance with his effective antediluvian methods; so the cradles were empty. View in context which was rarely and seldom the case) they themselves carried everything in cunning saddle-bags that were hardly seen on the horse's croup, as if it were something else of more importance, because, unless for some such reason, carrying saddle-bags was not very favourably regarded among knights-errant. What does croup mean?

the part of an animal that corresponds to the human buttocks Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Croup(noun) the hinder part or buttocks of certain quadrupeds, especially of a horse; hence, the place behind the saddle Croup(noun) an inflammatory affection of the larynx or trachea, accompanied by a hoarse, ringing cough and stridulous, difficult breathing; esp., such an affection when associated with the development of a false membrane in the air passages (also called membranous croup). See False croup, under False, and Diphtheria Origin: [Scot. croup, cf. croup, crowp, to croak, to cry or speak with a hoarse voice; cf. also LG. kropp, G. kropf, the crop or craw of a bird, and tumor on the anterior part of the neck, a wen, etc. Cf. Crop.] Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Croup Croup is a respiratory condition that is usually triggered by an acute viral infection of the upper airway.

The infection leads to swelling inside the throat, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classical symptoms of a "barking" cough, stridor, and hoarseness. It may produce mild, moderate, or severe symptoms, which often worsen at night. It is often treated with a single dose of oral steroids; occasionally epinephrine is used in more severe cases. Hospitalization is rarely required. Croup is diagnosed on clinical grounds, once potentially more severe causes of symptoms have been excluded. Further investigations—such as blood tests, X-rays, and cultures—are usually not needed. It is a relatively common condition that affects about 15% of children at some point, most commonly between 6 months and 5–6 years of age. It is almost never seen in teenagers or adults. Once due primarily to diphtheria, this cause is now primarily of historical significance in the Western world due to the success of vaccination, and improved hygiene and living standards. Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Croup krōōp, n. a severe disease in the throat of children, accompanied by a hoarse cough.—v.i.

to cry or speak hoarsely.—n. Croup′iness.—adjs. Croup′ous, Croup′y. [A.S. kropan, to cry; Scot. roup, croup, hoarseness; from the sound.] Croup krōōp, n. the rump of a horse: the place behind the saddle.—n. Croup′on (obs.), the croup: the human buttocks. [Fr. croupe, a protuberance; allied to Crop.] U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: Croup Inflammation involving the GLOTTIS or VOCAL CORDS and the subglottic larynx. Croup is characterized by a barking cough, HOARSENESS, and persistent inspiratory STRIDOR (a high-pitched breathing sound). It occurs chiefly in infants and children. Numerology The numerical value of croup in Chaldean Numerology is: 8 Pythagorean Numerology Cowboy's Glossary of Horse Terms - Cowboy Showcase Cowboy Showcase Mexico Cowboy Glossary - Horse Terms ALAMAR KNOT: decorative knot used to tie a mecate around a horse's neck.

In traditional Old California horse training, when a horse had graduated to become a finished bridle horse, the alamar knot was tied from two coils of a mane hair mecate draped over the horse's neck and the knot worn on the horse's chest to denote him as a bridle horse. Link to a site showing how to tie the Alamar Knot Bell Mare: generally older mares wearing a bell, used as leaders in pack trains or put in a remuda to locate where horses are grazing at night. Bell: To trim an animal's tail into a distinctive bell shaped pattern. Often used on mules. The pattern is used for identification, for instance to show where a horse or mule should be in a pack string. Bronco: an animal that has never been broken to saddle or harness use. Also bronc. (Spanish: rough) Bronc: Rodeo term used to designate the bucking horses that are ridden with a saddle. Rough string: saddle horses that buck every time they are saddled. Some never become gentle. (Caballada): Spanish for a band of horses. Saddle horses maintained by a ranch. Also see remuda or cavvy.

Cavvy: (caviada) Buckaroo term for a ranch outfit's saddle horses. The cavvy horses are gathered by a horse wrangler and brought "to the ropes." This is a rope corral, sometimes temporary, at which the "day horses" are roped. The jigger boss, second in command, does the roping. The buckaroo calls out which horse he wants based on the instructions the cow boss has given for the day's work. Term used mainly in the Great Basin and northwest. Parada: a relay of horses and the place the change is made. Similar to cavvy. Group of broke horses. Remuda: all saddle horses on a roundup that are thrown together and constitute the remount horses for the cowboys. The remuda is in the charge of a cowboy whose duty is to herd and bunch the animals when the cowboys want a fresh mount. This term is used most often in the southwest and Texas. North of U.S. Highway 50 the term most often used is cavvy or cavvietta. Also see 'caballada', cavvy. Cold-backed: A horse that has a tendency to buck when initially mounted in the morning.

Sun fish: when a bronc bucks and twists its body into a crescent, and throws head alternately to right and left...looks as though he is trying to sun both sides of his body. Swap ends: when a bronc is bucking and goes up facing one direction but lands facing the opposite direction. Croup: The croup is the rump of the horse, the top of the hind quarters from the tail to the kidney area (loin). Rafter-hipped: horses with a low tail set. Mustang types lacking a rump often show this fall-off from the hipbone to the tail. Arabs and Tbreds have a straight topline (flat croup), but some Quarter Horses show a lot of slope from the loin down to the tail. Donkey: common name for a member of the ass family. The Spanish brought donkeys, called "burros" in Spanish, to North America beginning in the late fifteenth century. They were the favored beast of burden used by prospectors in the desert Southwest of the United States. A male donkey (jack) can be crossed with a female horse to produce a mule.

A male horse can be crossed with a female donkey (jennet or jenny) to produce a hinny. Rocky Mountain Canary: a burro, also sometimes called a Colorado Mocking bird. Mule: cross between a male ass and a female horse (mare) Sure footed and hard working animal. Photo shows a mule with its horse mother. Gouch eared: Having ragged or cropped ears. Sometimes a horse will lose part of an ear to frostbite or an accident. Ground-Tie: The horse is taught to stand still with the reins dropped on the ground rather than tied to an object. Handy, but not fool-proof. Hazing: Rodeo term referring to bulldogging. The bulldogger rides his horse on the left side of the steer. The hazer rides on the right. When the steer is released from the box, the hazer attempts to keep the steer between his horse and the bulldogger's horse so that the bulldogger has a better chance to get off on the steer and throw it down. The word "haze" is used to mean push or herd the animal.

Rim-fire: When a cowboy gets his rope caught under his horse's tail, usually while roping cattle. This can cause a severe wreck when the horse takes exception to the position of the rope. Rollers: "blowing rollers" A snorting, rattling sound made by a horse when he is spooked. Stray: an animal found strayed away from its owner or from the range where it belongs. String: A group of several horses designated for use by a cowboy. Each horse has a different athletic ability and disposition. A cowboy chooses his mount for the day according to the work to be done that day: corral work, big-circle, gather, etc. String: a cowboy's rope or a line of pack-animals. War Bridle: a type of head control that just uses a loop around the lower jaw of the horse. There are other types that include nose bands and a loop over the poll. Those types are often used as training aids for problem horses. As shown here, the war bridle is not severe, is used very lightly, and much is communicated to the horse using the rider's legs and body. At the ropes: horses are gathered at a ranch into a rope corral.

They are trained to stand with their heads facing the rope and and are roped by the jigger or cowboss for the cowboys from behind using a hoolihan loop. The cowboy asks for his horse for the day according to the work to be done. (Caballo): Spanish for horse Cow horse: a horse that is trained to roping, cutting, working out a cow-herd. Cow sense: What a horse has when it has a natural ability to use for roping, cutting and general cow work. Cutting horse: certain cow-horses used at a round-up in cutting out cattle for ownership and brand; today, a whole branch of horsemanship and horse use. Critter: often in speaking of cows or horses a cowboy calls them a "Critter." Other animals can also be critters. Bangtail: Mustang mare, (not necessarily limited to mares). In older days, uncombed tails were a sign of an unbroken horse. Broom-tail: a class of range horses that are considered not worth much. Cayuse: a range-bred horse. Owl-headed horse: A horse that looks around a lot. Mustang: (MESTEÑO) a feral horse.

From the Spanish word mestizo meaning mixed blood. Buckskin: a tan or yellow colored horse with black mane & tail. Dun: "Dun factor doesn't not mean dun color, it's a type of gene inheritance. Dun factor acts on the base coat color and usually lightens it a shade or two. Also, many dun factor horses have a stripe down the back and lines on the legs, neck, and ear tips, etc." courtesy of Kathy Kadash-Swan Flaxey: Blonde colored or flaxen mane or tail on a horse. Grulla: (pronounced groo-ya) a mouse colored horse, a mousy-dun. The dun version of a black horse. (Mexican: grullo) Note the dark dorsal stripe, tiger striped legs and white ear tips. Palomino: a golden colored horse with a light or white colored mane and tail. Pinto: a paint or spotted horse. Glass-eyed: Blue or white eyed horse. An old-wives' tale says blue-eyed horses do not see well or are night blind, but most see as well as any other horse.

Gelding: it is a range custom to let a male colt run on the range until he becomes a 2-year old. He is then castrated and becomes a gelding. Horses are gelded to help ensure good temperament. The old way was that only geldings were used by cowboys. Mares were turned out with a stallion in stud bands to raise a new crop of colts. Locoed: horses and cattle become addicted to the eating of Loco weed, thereby causing the victim to become thin; with injury to eyesight, muscular control and brain; causes an abnormal growth of hair on the mane and tail of horses - on cattle an extra increase of hair on flanks.malnutrition, often effecting an animal's thinking. Weedy: same as above, but caused by eating too much black sage or other plant instead of a normal diet and causing Re-ride: To ride again, such as to check a pasture or allotment for cattle not gathered the first time. Also with reference to riding a bronc or bull in a rodeo, if the animal does not buck as should be expected, the rider is given a different horse or bull in the hopes they can score their best.

Stallion: an adult male horse. Usually kept mainly for breeding purposes although many are shown and ridden. Another term is "stud." Stud Band: a group of mares turned out on open range with a stallion. In the days before Taylor Grazing and lots of fenced deeded ground, most horses and cattle were run this way. Two-rein horse: In the vaquero tradition, the "two-rein" is a step in the horse's training progression. The horse goes from snaffle bit to hackamore to two-rein to bridle. A "bosalito" or thin bosal, used with a mecate goes under a second headstall that uses a half-breed bit with California-style rawhide reins and romal. Tattoo on a thoroughbred horse. These numbers are tattooed on the inside of the upper lip and registered with the Jockey Club. This is a permanent manner of identification, however not easily seen. War Knot: tail knot used to keep the horse's tail out of the way while working. Used by buckaroos and vaqueros.

Wheel Team : first team attached to a wagon that requires more than one team, such as in a "four up" or "six up". - The German Shepherd Dog The German Shepherd Dog The Croup of the German Shepherd Dog ​ SV Foreign List German Shepherd Dog Judge, Working Dog Judge & Breed Surveyor ​Publlshed February 2015 FCI/SV standard No 166 states; 'The croup should be long and slightly sloping [approx. 23 degrees to the horizontal]’. This article begins by defining the pelvis and the croup. The pelvis is defined because it is the croups underlying skeletal framework. Experienced dog enthusiasts will not have a need for these definitions but for people who are new to dogs there can be some uncertainty in regard to the croups definition. Specifically exactly where does it start, where does it finish and what’s included within it. The pelvis needs defining because its relationship to the croup in contributing 'primarily but not solely' to determining the croups length, contributing to forming the croups angle and the significant part it plays in the dogs locomotion is not always understood by newcomers to dogs and if it is, it tends to be only understood in quite basic terms.

The Pelvis: The pelvis consists of four parts; the ilium, the pubis, the ischium and the acetabulum. The ilium, the pubis and the ischium are separated at birth but fuse together as the dog matures and this fusing process is complete by about 4 to 5 months of age. In broad terms the pelvis is best described as a basin shaped large bony frame connected to the base of the lumbar spine. Its function is to contain and protect the bladder, rectum and reproductive organs and to transfer energy generated by its attached hind limbs to the dogs body. The following diagrams show the pelvis, its parts and its relationship to its primary skeletal components as viewed from different perspectives. It is worthwhile familiarising yourself with these parts as it will allow you to better follow this article and to understand what part they play in the dogs locomotion. Lateral view of the pelvis. Dorsal view of the pelvis Pelvis in relation to its interconnected and attached bones.

The Croup Many canine terms and component parts originate from the horse and that is why for example many dog standards [not the German Shepherd Dog] refer to the back and loin as separate sections of the topline, but even though these terms are often the same their actual function and their definitions can vary, sometimes significantly and this can lead to misunderstanding, disagreement and sometimes argument. In horse terminology the croup starts at the Iliac crest and ends at the tail root, the 'dock' of the tail in horse parlance, the place where the coccygeal [tail] vertebrae join the sacrum. The croup is the highest point of the horse topline, its rump. In dogs the croup refers to the topline of the dog’s hindquarters. Traditionally it too starts at the iliac crest or the more common term pin bones and includes the immediately surrounding musculature. Unlike the horse the croup of the dog goes past the tail root and ends at about the end of the pelvis, specifically the ischium tuberosity. This is a significant difference and this difference in varying forms is reflected in many dog standards, dog articles and peoples interpretations and opinions of exactly what constitutes the croup.

Quite often people tend to view the croup in a one-dimensional sense, how they see it from the side as an overline, but because the croup includes the immediately surrounding muscles it extends across the rump not just along it. This and the relevant component parts is important to know if you want to have the correct definition of the croup and to understand locomotion in dogs. The pelvis should be 'long' because length is important in affording an ample area of attachment for the muscles of the upper thigh and the loin. Something that tends to be disregarded is that the width of the pelvis is just as important as its length. This means that the croup should be viewed not just from the side but from above. The width of the pelvis directly affects the standing and stepping positions of the rear feet. When the pelvis is viewed from above it should be a little wider on females than males and this means that the acetabula are further apart in females. By the way I said ‘should be wider in females’ and that is because sometimes its not wider!

The croup includes muscle covered caudal [tail] vertebrae, some connecting lumbar vertebrae muscle at the sacrum, the gluteus medius, gluteus superficialis, coccygeus muscle, ligaments and overlaying all of this is fat, dermis tissue, skin and hair. To the sides of the croup are the upper attachments of a number of upper thigh muscles, the quadriceps muscle group: the sartorius muscles, tensor fasciae muscles, vastus laterus muscles, quadratus muscles, semimembranosus muscles, abductor muscles and the semintendinosus muscles and they are shown in my diagrams both laterally and on plan. By seeing them laterally and particularly when seen dorsally the width of the croup and how it is comprised becomes better understood. The semitendinosus and sartorious muscles determine the upper thighs outer lines and therefore they determine the upper thighs width. Is there an ideal angle for the croup? To answer this question it is best to apply the question to the pelvis first and this is because the pelvis 'primarily' underlines the croups angle.

One of the primary functions of the pelvis is to absorb and then direct the energy from the hind limbs both vertically and horizontally and the angle of the pelvis is fundamental to determining the latter. How is this generation of energy, absorption of energy and direction of energy initiated and then dispersed? An electrical impulse from the dogs brain travels through the spinal cord to tell retractor muscles in the hind limbs, primarily the biceps femoris, the semimembranosus and adductor magnus to contract. Muscles can only contract, they can’t push, and for those who are not familiar with muscle function this may sound contrary, but this contraction creates a 'push against the ground' through the dogs rear feet. I did say it would sound contrary! As the dog 'pushes' against the ground, and this can only happen after the hind foot is directly under and or past the hip joint, the ground gives an ‘equal and opposite’ push to shift the dogs centre of gravity forward. Understanding that locomotion, that forward movement can only happen once the hind foot is under or past the hip joint and that locomotion and forward movement is all about the shifting of the dogs centre of gravity is fundamentally important to understanding movement per se.

Through the principles of levers, that push, that force of energy is factored up via the dogs metatarsus [generally called the hock] and transmitted through the hock joint and on through the tibia, from there it continues on into the knee/stifle and on through the femur to the dogs hip. From there the energy is transmitted into the sacroiliac joint which also acts as a shock absorber and via the sacral vertebrae and influenced by the angle of the Ilium and the dogs weight, the energy is sent horizontally through the dogs spine with a percentage going in a vertically spread to give the dog lift. The angle of the pelvis, specifically the angle of the ilium is important to achieving the optimum balance of uplift for the hindquarters and forward thrust to the forehand which in effect is activated to 'capture' the forward shift in the centre of gravity. An angle of 27 degrees which equates to about 23 degrees over the croup offers the optimum in this respect. The angle of the pelvis tends to remain fairly static during a dogs development but having said that, in a fair number of cases the angle can change as the limbs develop.

I refer here to puppies that are overbuilt in the rear and as they achieve their final development the forelimbs get longer, the withers get higher and the angle of the pelvis can change all be it only slightly. A good way of looking at the pelvis is to see it corresponding to the shoulder blade. A steep pelvis directs too much energy upward and not enough forward. The steeper the pelvis the more energy is required for propulsion and the lower is the dogs endurance. This is because on the forward swing of the rear feet the steep incline of the pelvis causes the rear feet [footfall] to go too far forward under the body and with this the metatarsus [to varying degrees] goes too flat to the ground bringing the knee/stifle closer to the ground making it less effective. A steep pelvis allows too much energy to be absorbed by the sacral joint and the knee/stifle and addition to all of this the abductor muscles that are attached to the ischium tuberosity and femur are restrained and this restricts the rearward extension of the rear foot. As a consequence the metatarsus does not fully open/extend back far enough on the rearward swing.

This can be seen in a later diagram. As you can see in the following diagrams because the upper thighs width is determined by the sartorius and semitendinosus muscles a steep pelvis reduces the width of the upper thigh and reduces its muscle mass thereby impeding hind thrust. Long well angled pelvis = broad upperthigh Long but steep pelvis = narrow upperthigh A small footnote; when the pelvis gets steeper ‘in breed frequency terms’ i.e. when developmentally a much higher proportion of the show dog population have a steep pelvis, the tendency consciously or unconsciously is to select/breed with dogs that have more body length. This is because extra body length removes the problem of the fore and rear feet limiting/impeding each other in its many varied forms. If one is oblivious to the increased frequency in the German Shepherd Show Dog of a steep pelvis because of the bend in the lumbar spine, and many people new to the breed and even some not so new are oblivious to it, the inclination will be to say that the developmental shift to more length of body has resulted in far better ground cover at the trot than once existed.

Body length is a factor in movement, but in this context by not being aware or not having an understanding of the impact on movement by the croups shift in angle its not an apples for apples observation or conclusion. Relative to its degree a steep pelvis impedes hind thrust and reduces rear stride. As a consequence the forehand reach is impeded even if the forehand is well constructed.This is because the forehand is regulated/limited in its reach by the hindquarter [and vice versa] In symmetrical gaits the length of the rear step equals the length of the fore step. Ideally this equal rear/front foot fall is achieved by a perfect balance between the corresponding rear and fore hand bone lengths and their angles but of course in most cases they don't have perfect balance, in the context of show dog population only a relatively small number of dogs possess this. There are various ways in which a dog deals with this such as crabbing and by passing, but the most common way they deal with it when trotting is to leave a foot on the ground a fraction longer then the corresponding one i.e rear to front.

For the human eye this is virtually impossible to see when a dog is trotting but it manifests itself in something that the eye can see, and that is a less effective movement when compared to the better constructed better balanced dogs, specifically less effective ground cover. A very significant development in the breed since about the late 1980's has been the increased frequency of a 'downward bend' to the lumbar spine, and an increased frequency in the numbers of dogs that have a lumbar spine that is 'generally slightly curved but occasionally straight'. Because of this bend to the lumbar spine, slight bend if you prefer it, the majority of show dogs today have a more inclined pelvis and as a consequence of that increased inclination they have a lower hip and lower knee configured hindquarter. This in turn has created a lower hip and knee configured hindquarter action and lower rear pivot point. The higher the hip position the longer the stride, the lower the hip position the shorter the stride and the more the angular articulation that is required by the tibia and femur.

The increased angular articulation and increased distance that is required of the femur and tibia in the lower hip position is to the detriment of endurance because it consumes more energy and impedes manoeuvrability. A lower hip position creates a lower rear pivot point and this increases the hip joint angle to cover the same stride length as with a high pivot point. The hip joint extension is 15°-20° higher in the „show“ line (low pivot) than in the „working“ line. [high pivot] ref; Prof. Martin S Fischer I think it would be fair of me to say that the majority of German Shepherd show dog enthusiasts have accepted this development especially when it is combined with a powerful drive but too few understand what the implications of those changes are, especially in regard to the dogs locomotion. It can look look impressive seeing a dog with this steeper and lower hip configuration, particularly when it is walking and particularly when it is being encouraged in some way, enthusiastically driving hard whilst at the same time pulling against a firm lead and in that process accentuating the hindquarter and the topline.

This accentuation is seen as being spectacular, but spectacular as it may look, in inherently fundamental terms this accentuation is more characteristic of a sled dog than a trotting dog and whilst more and more this trend for the German Shepherd show dog to be a walking dog where powerful to even extreme drive has become an infatuation, the German Shepherd Dog is fundamentally and inherently an endurance trotting dog. By the way I make the comment that I use the word ‘German Shepherd Show Dog’ to separate them from ‘German Shepherd Working Dogs’, not all but many of which have remained pretty well unchanged since the 1950’s and this static structure still holds great appeal to many people. Example of a German Shepherd Working Dog Is a steep pelvis of any value? If you want more energy directed toward lifting an animals body weight than propelling it forward, to facilitating it going up a hill, to facilitate it jumping and galloping, to simply giving it greater agility the answer is yes, and in regard to the first comment relating to body weight that is why very large heavy bodied animals such as the elephant have a steep croup.

Yes an elephant can certainly cover a lot of ground when it 'runs' but that is more to do with its size, specifically its limb length and that’s because the most influential part of any animal’s construction for maximising stride distance is the length of its forelegs. This can be seen and appreciated by looking at the diagram of the elephants locomotive related bone lengths and their angles, particularly those in the forehand and specifically those of the shoulder blade and the upper arm. Elephant Then we have the reverse of a steep pelvis, a flat pelvis. If the pelvis is laid too flat the muscles that are attached to it and the femur, the sartorius, and tensor fasciae muscles are constrained and as a consequence the rear feet do not come forward far enough under the body. This reduces uplift, and whilst logic says the rear feet and metatarsus should then be able to go further back on the rear swing thereby increasing the thrust, and this certainly does occur in some dogs with a flat pelvis, if there are forehand limitations, typically a short and or steep upperarm, the rear feet tend to either lift too high in the air to disperse energy or they stop prematurely of their full extension.

A flat pelvis also impacts negatively on the effectiveness of the metatarsus and the hock joints and there is too much energy, too much force being applied to the hip joints and this has its own implications. Whichever of the above variables applies, because of the relatively deep hind angulation that now exists in many German Shepherd Show Dogs, there is a negative impact too on arguably the most important joint in the dog in regard to movement’, the dogs knee joint, the stifle. Depending on the variable factors I have mentioned and to varying degrees, if you look closely at dogs with a flat pelvis during the trot you will see to varying degrees a lack of co ordination between the rear hand and the forehand. The dogs movement can be energetic and dynamic but at the same time you will see a sort of mild disconnection, a lack of rear and forehand co ordination, its seen as something that you can’t quite put your finger on, you see it but can’t quite work out what it is! As you can see, in regard to movement there are quite a number of variables that apply to a flat pelvis, its not clear cut. Is a flat pelvis of any value?

If you want more speed than lift even at the expense of endurance the answer is yes, and that is why an animal like a Cheetah which is a light bodied animal that requires great speed, maximum forward thrust to catch its prey, has a flat pelvis. The following two diagrams demonstrates examples of the fore foot step down position, the rear foot step down position and the stride distance attained as the pelvis angle changes. The angles showing the variations to the ideal - green - are relatively moderate, they are not excessive and in critiquing vernacular would be prefaced with the word 'slightly'. The black dotted line on the rear foot of the dog in the second diagram represents a dog with a slightly flat pelvis 'in the event' that it lifts the rear feet high to disperse excess energy.' Ironically when these rear hand restrictions exist, 'for balanced enduring movement' a dog with a rear hand restriction is better off with a slight forehand restriction.

This will be of detriment if a judge is infatuated with seeing dogs running as fast as they can go over a short distance because when that happens the reduced ground cover will become very apparent to the judge – and everyone else - but this all comes back to the fundamentals of seeing the German Shepherd as an enduring energy conserving trotting dog or as a short distance ‘’first to the post is the winner’’ sprinter. A simple way of understanding even mentally experiencing the part the angle of the pelvis plays in regard to facilitating lift and forward motion is to imagine yourself lifting a wheelbarrow by its handles. Picture that you are standing with the wheelbarrow on the ground, and you are standing bolt upright, standing with arms at your sides and a vertical straight back and pelvis. Standing bolt upright 'and keeping your back dead straight and vertical', you bend your knees lowering yourself toward the ground and wrap your fingers around the wheelbarrows handles. You then rise by straightening out your knees, still with your back and pelvis in a dead straight vertical position, and you are now bolt upright having lifted the weight with relative ease.

By adopting this steep position of your spine and pelvis you have no problem at all in lifting the load because the steeper the angle the greater the vertical direction of energy and because this limits the direction of forward energy you will find that you really can’t push the load forward, not while you keep your back and pelvis relatively vertical. If you try and lift the wheelbarrow and this time you have your back and pelvis laying at an angle to the bricks at an angle that gives you a nice balance between lifting the wheelbarrow off the ground and pushing it you have captured what a dog experiences. This is not quite but 'in some respects sort of the same' principle as rocket trajectory. The steeper the trajectory and the more power applied the higher the rocket will go but the less it will travel in a horizontal sense, and of course vice versa, the flatter the angle of trajectory the less the height but the greater the horizontal distance. What did you do to move the wheelbarrow forward? What did you do to get the right amount of lift and the right amount of forward motion?

When you bent your back and being a biped along with it your pelvis, when you inclined it to a ‘sweet spot angle’ you found a balance between lift and forward motion. Whist there is some minor variance that ideal angle has been historically determined in trotting breeds by many notable and respected experts, two that come to mind for me are McDowell Lyon and Dr Walter Gorrieri. That ideal angle determined off the horizontal plane through the pelvis is deemed by most dog experts to be in the range of approximately 27 degrees [Gorrieri] and 30 degrees [McDowell Lyon]. The angle in the standard which as can be seen in the following diagram incorporates a number of tail vertebrae and their overlaying muscles equates the 27 degrees allowing for the tail vertebrae to approximately 23 degrees across the croup. I have written an article on how people generally actually determine angles of the shoulder blade and upper arm and how they should determine them. That article explained that the angles change depending on how you do it, and this applies to the angle of the pelvis too. Sometimes people argue about angles when their way of determining them is not the same.

If someone argues with you about an angle then its worth your time asking them how they work it, you might find you actually agree! This variation in determining the pelvis angle is shown in the following diagram. The 30 degree dotted line is McDowell Lyon’s 'angle determinate', the 27 degree red line is Dr Gorriere’s and indirectly the standards 'angle determinate' and the other 35 degree solid line is how many people actually ''see it'', which is by looking at the over line, by looking at the outer line of the pelvis which in this example at 35 degrees would make the croup very steep when in fact its not. By the way, if you are seriously interested in dogs and don't know who McDowell Lyons is you should. Pelvises don't come out of a factory. Putting aside size the point being their shape is not identical, some dogs will have a longer ischium than others, [and for abductor muscle attachment and leverage the longer the ischium the better] the angle of the pelvis also changes as the dog shifts its feet position and even when dogs are standing the same way the angle of the lumbar spine can be quite different from one to the other.

The point I wish to make is that notwithstanding the way you determine the pelvis angle as covered in the previous paragraph, when you add these various factors together a couple of degrees is neither here nor there. If a dog has a relatively straight and level to the horizontal plane lumbar spine and correct hind angulation, when stood with the metatarsus plumb the ideal angle of the pelvis for a trotting dog relative the the standard is about 27 degrees which equates to a croup angle of about 23 degrees. Because I have stated that the angle of the pelvis is based off the horizontal plane and not the dog’s spine a bit of relevant breed history is worth a comment. Around the mid 1960’s the SV decided in its wisdom to increase the frequency of dogs that had a ‘slight downward bend’ and ‘increased curve’ to the lumbar vertebrae and today probably something like 90% of all ‘’show dogs’’ have this characteristic and as such this is now the norm and as a result of being the norm, for most people its not just accepted, its considered to be desirable.

Prior to the 60's most dogs had a relatively straight and relatively level lumbar spine and I say ‘relatively straight’ because the lumbar spine always required a very slight rise over it to allow a smooth transition into the croup. Contrary to 'the spine must be lazer straight brigade' a dead straight lumbar spine ‘regardless of whether its level with the ground or with a downward bend’ will not allow a smooth flowing line from the ‘back’ to the croup nor will it allow a smooth attachment to the tail set. Downward bend and slight curvature to the lumbar spine Straight lumbar spine The relevance of this to the croups angle is because the lumbar spine in most show dogs now has a slight downward bend to it this has increased the angle of the pelvis off the horizontal plane. Relative to the horizontal plane the pelvis [and the croup] on the vast majority of German Shepherd Show Dogs is now steeper in its angle to the horizontal plane by an average of about 5 degrees but not uncommonly as much as 7 or 8 degrees and this brings the hip joint [and knee] closer to the ground.

Both of these changes have implications, and putting aside the impact this has on the head of the femur and acetabulum interface and drive efficiency [to be included in a future article related to the hindquarters and movement] these will be covered here. Relatively straight and just slightly sloping lumbar spine Fairly typical slight downward bend and slightly curved lumbar spine inclines the pelvis. Significant downward bend and curve to the lumbar spine. This quite pronounced curve to the lumbar spine is only made possible by some degree of compression to the underside and opening of the upper side of the lumbar vertebrae intervertebral disks seen in pink below. This underside disk compression increases as the vertebrae get closer to the pelvis. Lumbar vertebrae and intervertebral disks Pelvis height We refer to ‘withers height’ but not to ‘pelvic height’, specifically the height of the pelvis’s iliac crest. Actually we do refer it, just in different reference terms.

We know that if the iliac crest is higher than the 'true back' or worse still, higher than the withers pivot point, [the withers pivot point is the point within the withers where the energy that has been delivered through the dogs spine from the hindquarters is received in the forehand] the dog will fall heavily on the forehand. This relative height configuration where the iliac crest and therefore the lumbar spine is higher than the back is referred to as the dog being ‘overbuilt’ in the hindquarters. For anyone that is experienced in the breed they know that it is not unusual for young puppies to be overbuilt in the hindquarters. This is because of uneven growth specifically of the forelimbs, and ‘in most cases’ this corrects itself when all growth of the limbs is complete but once a dog has stopped growing this overbuilt condition will not change. Desired high wither position relative to the thoracic back and iliac crest Rear and fore pivot points In the above diagram the the dog is just moderately overbuilt - the iliac crest is just above the true back Is there an ideal length for the pelvis? Keeping in mind the need for balance of all parts i.e.

a larger dog requires a longer croup/pelvis than a small dog, if one refers to the standard, its reference to the croup being 'long' is stating the pelvis should be ‘long’, not slightly long, but 'long' and that the hindquarters should be ‘well muscled’. One impacts on the other and this is why the two are mentioned together in the standard and this is also an example of why standards and judging is subjective not objective i.e. what is the definition of ‘long’? In the context of the standard the majority of pelvis's are inclined toward being a bit short and as such a slightly short pelvis [and croup] is the norm. Because of this 'norm' most people especially those new to the breed see a slightly short pelvis [and croup] as being of a good length. The muscles of the hindquarter certainly all the big ones that impact on drive and leverage are in the upper thigh. The broader the upper thigh the greater the muscle mass and putting aside muscle development, the greater the muscle mass the greater the power, the greater the energy that creates the drive and the leverage.

Conversely the narrower the thigh the less the muscle mass and the less the power and drive. If you study my earlier diagram showing the muscles of the upper thigh you will see how the pelvis length impacts on the muscle mass. You will see that the semitendinosus muscle forms the rear outside edge of the upper thigh and the sartorius muscle forms the front leading edge of it. This is how you can best determine pelvis length [and croup length] not by having to feel it and to feel for the exact length of the pelvis which is not easy to do but by looking at the width of the upper thigh. A narrow upper thigh equals a short pelvis and a wide upper thigh equals a long pelvis. So it would seem to be a no brainer, the longer the pelvis the better, but that is not the case! As stated earlier, everything must be in harmony; everything must be in proportion and in balance with all its corresponding parts for the dog to attain optimum movement, to cover the greatest amount of ground with the least amount of energy and effort. If the pelvis is too long or if its too short, optimum performance can't be achieved.

Like most things, optimum performance is achieved somewhere in the middle and not in the areas of extremes where human beings love to venture and impose their preferences over the laws of engineering and even nature. Optimum performance in the context of an endurance-trotting dog can only be achieved when the hind hand and fore hand are at their optimum configuration and by that definition, when they are in balance. The next best thing to having 'ideal fore and hind hand assembly is to have a less than ideal but balanced 'fore and hind assembly'. What I mean by this is that its better to have a fore and hind hand assembly where they both have some 'equating limitation', in this context of 'next best' I am not talking about a large limitation such as 'very deep' hind angulation or a 'very short' upper arm, and in that equating limitation during movement whilst there will be some degree of stride restriction there is balance, not one hand taxing and or impeding the other.

An overlong pelvis, subject to degrees of muscle development, can provide energy that cannot be fully utilised in the forehand, and whilst this is not such an issue over a relatively short period such as in the show ring the excessive force will exhaust a dog particularly in the region of its forehand over a period of some time and distance. On the other hand a pelvis that is too short reduces the width and mass of the upper thigh muscles and as such it does not provide either short or long term term power required of a well constructed forehand. My observation is that dogs with a very short croup are inevitably also steep in the croup and in these cases the gluteus muscles are reduced in their volume and this gives the croup a fairly straight sharp outline as opposed to a nicely curved one. Does a medium size German Shepherd Dog have the same length of pelvis as a large one? The answer is yes, the pelvis should and often [not always of course] does get longer and increase in its mass the larger the dog, and there are two primary reasons for me saying yes.

The first is related to the 'principle of similitude’ which in relation to dogs states; as a dog increases in size the relationship of all its parts must change in order to maintain similar forces and mechanical properties. The second is that the bones mass, the skeleton mass of large dogs is ‘proportionately larger’ than small dogs but these proportions do not increase in simple percentage terms, they are subject to ‘allometric scaling’. If you believe that the pelvis does not get longer and larger in its mass as a dog gets larger/taller this is worth thinking about: The length of the pelvis dictates the width of the dogs upper thigh i.e short pelvis = narrow upper thigh and vice versa. If the pelvis did not get longer as the dog gets larger/taller then small dogs i.e bitches in relativity/proportional terms would on average have a much broader upper thigh than males, and this is just not the case. Finally I might add that if you want a visual comparative guide of the pelvis length that can be applied to the dog itself then in a well proportioned dog the pelvis should be 'about' the same length as the Radius, but it varies.

Long well angled pelvis = broad upperthigh Short well angled pelvis = narrow upperthigh Second worst case scenario - short and steep pelvis/croup = narrow upper thigh and therefore a lack of sufficient hindquarter thrust. First worse case scenario - the above associated with an overangulated hindquarter. ​Is there an ideal length for the croup? The standard states that the croup should be ‘long’ and this is determined ‘not solely but primarily’ by the pelvis’s length The same issues that apply to the pelvis apply to the croup other than in quantifiable direct line terms because the croup starts at the iliac crest not the point of the ilium the croup is a little shorter than the pelvis. The section on the pelvis addresses this matter Is there an ideal angle for the croup? To my knowledge very few breeds of dog actually quantify the angle of the croup in their standard, they tend to leave it at words similar to ‘slightly sloping’ or 'not too sloping'.

For the readers interest this was the case with the German Shepherd Dog standard until the standards amendment of 30/8/1976 when the SV decided to define ‘slightly sloping’ as being an angle of approximately 23 degrees to the horizontal. This is when the actual angle was added to the standard. A further point of interest given the breeds development is that the previous standard of 25/3/1961 said the croup should be ‘not steeply sloping’. and audacious as some people may consider my opinion, this wording would have been best left in place. The wording change is slight but it is also significant.

This angle of 'approximately 23 degrees' is based on two things: Firstly, that the pelvis is at an angle of ‘’approximately 27 degrees’’ to the horizontal and secondly, just as the standard states; the topline merges into the base of the tail without interruption that is, the caudal [tail] vertebrae come off the sacrum in a downward direction and not at an upright angle as it does in breeds such as the Fox Terrier and as such these early caudal vertebrae become part of the croup not a projection off it. In all breeds of dogs regardless of their tail angle or tail length the croups angle be it quantified or described is determined by starting at the Iliac crest, the pin bone, and following the outline downward to the ischium tuberosity, visually the rear of the upper thigh. This means that breeds that have an erect tail, docked or long will have a croup angle pretty well mirroring their pelvis.

In effect in relative terms those breeds will have a steeper croup than breeds with a long and therefore inclusive hanging tail, and as an aside the ‘croup line’ in the former will be relatively straight and not curved. The definition of ‘croup angle’ does not change with the type of tail or tail set a dog has. There is only one definition and because in the German Shepherd Dog the tail should ideally follow a downward line this can create some ‘visual confusion’ when it does not come off the pelvis at the desired smoothly integrated downward angle. What is the relevance of the tail set to a German Shepherd Dog? It relates to dogs with a ‘high set tail’. In a hypothetical case if the pelvis was at 27 degrees to the horizontal plane but the tail was coming off the sacrum at a relativity horizontal angle, looking as though it had been stuck onto the pelvis not flowing down from it, the angle of the croup would no longer be approximately 23 degrees because you can’t follow the topline of the projecting tail as you might otherwise do.

I say this because If you followed the overline of the tail you would start off with a short run angle of approximately 23 degrees then at the tails root, were the tail vertebrae join the sacrum, this would quickly change to an angle of about 10 degrees and just as quickly change to a vertical drop of about 90 degrees. So what do judges say/critique when they have a dog with a well laid pelvis but high set tail, a significant one? The standard requires the tail to be included in determining the croups angle. When judges are determining if the croup is well laid or not on a dog with a prominent high set tail they do a mental correction for the high tail set. If the pelvis is well angled they either say 'well laid croup' or err toward saying 'slightly steep croup' and the latter because of the underlying visual line they are then focusing on. So what’s my point? I comment on this because it relates to the topic at hand, the croup and it gives the reader an insight into the standards wording and the wordings reasoning.

What is more important than any of these reasons though is that when it comes to angles the angle that really matters, the angle that impact on the dogs locomotion as opposed to its aesthetics is the angle of the pelvis not the angle of the croup. So what creates a high set tail? A high set tail can be created by quite a number of things and none impact negatively on movement, therefore a high set tail just like a nick behind the withers is categorised as an ‘aesthetic undesirability’ and not something to be penalised per se. The cause of a ‘true high set tail’ is the caudal [tail] vertebrae coming off the sacrum at an angle as opposed to coming off it in a downward direction. The sacrum position does not alter in any significant way from one dog to another, not even in dogs with an erect tail carriage, what can change is the angle the tail vertebrae come off the sacrum.

True high set tail - In the above diagram when you compare it to previous diagrams you can see there is a depression from the iliac crest to about the 3rd/4th caudal vertebrae, that depression is a natural one but in this case its accentuated, its deeper, its a depression that's created when the tail comes off the sacrum [sacral vertebrae] at a relatively horizontal angle. All that exists in this area of depression is a limited amount of fat, dermis, dermis tissue, skin and hair. Other than caudal and sacral muscle as can be seen in previous diagrams the only muscles that are in this region are the gluteus superficialis muscle and the muscles that are attached to the lumbar and caudal vertebrae. This is why there is an accentuated depression and the tail looks as though it has been stuck on.

Without getting into giving angles of degrees, if the tail is carried ‘very erect ‘as in say the Fox Terrier the depression is not there because the depression that you can see in my diagram is markedly reduced in its length, the dermis, fat, tissue, caudal and lumbar muscles compress and fill the space and even when the tail set is a ‘bit lower’ as in say the Labrador, in not all but most cases the depression wont be there either for the same reasons. Its, only when the tail joins the sacrum at that lower horizontal angle and when the tail is long and hangs downward that the depression that creates that ‘stuck on look’ is created. As a matter of interest when the angle of the pelvis is at about 30 degrees the point of projection of a true high set tail will be in an approximate vertical line with the hip. Superficial high set tail – a visual but superficial high set tail is created when the body hair/coat is inherently short but the tail hair is full and this gives the jutting appearance at the tail root. In effect if the tail hair was trimmed the tail would no longer be ‘visually high set’.

Transient high set tail - When dogs get excited, and that excitement can be created by many things including aggressiveness toward one another the tail will rise at its root and immediately just beyond this as the dog puts pressure on its anal glands to exude scent. In this moment the tail is high set as the caudal vertebrae rise at the sacrum but this is no more than a passing normal physiological event. I mention this not just for interest but because a photo taken of a dog at that moment of excitement can give a false impression of the croup line as can be seen here. Age induced high set tail - As dogs get old, just as it is with humans the muscles loose their tone and fat diminishes [in humans enter Botox!] and in some dogs the void this creates can manifest itself as a high set tail. ​Low set tail - is there such a thing? - Visually yes but in German Shepherd Dogs technically not really.

From my research the attachment of the caudal vertebrae to the sacrum is pretty well in the same location in every dog but when the pelvis is 'very steep' the the sacrum is also lower, closer to the ground and therefore its harder to get a good flow on of the tail and visually the tail root falls behind the vertical line to the hip joint. Straight lumbar spine induced tail set - This is created when there is a downward bend to the lumbar spine and the spine is dead straight not curved. It is more apparent if the 'true back' is straight and level with the highest point of the withers as it is here. If the 'true back' has a slope to it, it will be much less apparent. The straight line of the lumbar vertebrae running into the pelvis from quite a high elevation causes the 1st caudal vertebrae where it joins the sacrum to be 'slightly raised', not coming off horizontally as in a true high set tail but still slightly elevated and this creates a 'slightly raised tail outline' at quite a high point in the croup. In these cases the tail root 'appears to be' ahead of the vertical line to the hip.

This can mask a steep pelvis. A final comment regarding tail sets. My observation is that there are just as many dogs today with less than perfectly smooth tail connections as there were say 10 to 15 years ago but around the early 2000’s photos of dogs with a less than smooth tail connection disappeared. From the aspect of marketing photoshopping [amongst many other things] fixed untidy/high set tails. What is the worst case scenario for the pelvis/croup given all the above variations? It's a short steep pelvis/croup. Notwithstanding the degree of length and steepness varies greatly from dog to dog, in many countries outside Germany a short steep croup, often described in those countries as 'slightly short slightly steep' is the norm or bordering on being the norm, and because of this for many people it is seen as less short and less steep than it really is, hence the previous comment 'slightly'. The diagram below shows the impact of a short steep pelvis on the upper thighs muscles, consequently the upper thighs breadth and consequently the hindquarters inability to generate effective thrust.

Many people will think this seems 'very narrow', that its exaggerated to make my point, but when you add coat and trouser feathering especially in LSH visually the upper thigh looks much wider. Like many parts of the dog, you have to have the ability to see the skeleton, to see the bones and understand the impact the bones have on muscles and their attachment points, and this only comes from education and understanding. ​Louis Donald

Question: What is the croup of an animal, such as a horse?
Answer: Rump