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I would love to see more emphasis put on structure and movement in judging the American Bulldog. It would be a disaster to give precedents to cosmetics. Movement and proper type should weigh at least equally in a judge's decision. It should be just as incorrect to place an excellent-moving dog with no type. Notice that I said NO TYPE. That's right, I feel it is less detrimental to the breed if a dog with superior movement and not quite as typey is placed over a dog with great type and weak movement.
To describe ideal movement in an American Bulldog, The dog must move deliberately, powerfully and smoothly with muscular, super-athletic ability. He must be extremely quick and agile for a dog of his size and thickness. His gait should be vigorous, balanced and free, covering the maximum distance with the minimum amount of effort. By this I mean there should be no wasted motion with every bit of expended energy used to propel the dog forward. Vigorous means that there should be drive in the hindquarters. Balance means that both quarters should work in harmony with each other, both give power but never outdoing each other. Free means that the dog should not be encumbered by faulty thrown-out shoulders or weak or cow hocked hindquarters. Rather, he should have a spring, elastic and unencumbered quality of motion. It takes far less effort to cover a distance with a few long, smooth strides than to cover the same distance with shorter, more numerous strides.
In the interest of endurance and the prevention of strain that leads to deterioration, the back must not teeter up and down, but should be iron-hard while gaiting, although the whole dog may rise and fall to some degree; the back must stay parallel to the ground. In addition to a correct skeletal plan, you must have strong musculature and tendons both in the legs and body, but also in the neck. In the interest of the American Bulldog's value as a working dog, he should display agility in every movement, be able to turn on a dime, change his stride on a moment's notice, come to a screeching halt and start right back up with a burst of power. A problem I've seen on a few American Bulldogs are weak pasterns, and typically these weak pasterened dogs throw their front paws up to high, loose and sloppy, and then they pound down on the ground hard in a waste of power and a detriment to the front legs.
The other major problem I've seen is weak, cow hocked and stilted hindquarters that just trail behind the larger, more powerful front ends. This big front and weak rear is a sign of weakness, for a balanced dog has more power and spring which translates into better, more efficient movement. Often times people ``ooh" and ``ahhh" over the big, muscular front end, big shoulders often thrown out, while almost every time it is because the dog has built himself up having to compensate for a faulty hindquarter. An ideal American Bulldog should move powerfully, swiftly and effortlessly, therefore any wobbling, twisting, choppiness, interference or other oddities that decrease power; speed and efficiency should be severely faulted.
In conclusion, when we evaluate a dog, whether we are judges or breeders, we need to ask ourselves what should we look at first, Type, Temperament, Structure or Movement. For me, it's a no-brainer; the American Bulldog is a working dog and he must move well and be structured correctly or type and temperament mean nothing. I am not proposing that structure and movement should be the only thing that matters, but we should not overlook it for type and temperament. As breeders, we should strive for everything: movement, structure, type and temperament. We should not justify our dog's shortcomings but eliminate them and only breed dogs that meet the highest criteria. |
