Abstract: Different animals have learnt to adapt to different environments.

Some have adapted to become faster, others more agile (jumping etc,), and some to push endurance to the maximum capacity. This is usually reflected in their locomotion, and the anatomical structure of their body allows for it. Man has selectively and intensely bred domesticated animals for centuries for the same attributes that the wild animals express. This has allowed us to identify key features to different locomotive gaits. In summary, for swift speed, the animal requires long lean features to allow the longest possible stride which in turn will also allow for the leaping gallop, known as the double suspension gallop. The agile quadrupeds require specialised muscles that are adapted to increased force, while the endurance survivors have adapted highly efficient gaits that come from an anatomy that has evolved to absorb the shock impacts of locomotion and with a conformation that allows the minimum expenditure of energy with a travelling speed (trotting). Emerging techniques have allowed more in depth knowledge of the gaits and has helped to take in key breeding foundations.

Introduction: Anatomy is the structure of the body, which allows locomotion to occur. Different species that have adapted to survive in their environment will have different structures

from one another, which in turn will produce different forms of locomotion. The anatomical structure is what allows for specific movements, and this will depend on the function and purpose that is required. For centuries, man has selectively bred dogs for different purposes, such as speed, agility and endurance. By analysing the different breeds that are used for these specific roles, and by comparing them with existing animals that also include these features, it is possible to pinpoint which anatomical structure allows for a specific form of locomotion. Thus, the locomotion of an animal can be accurately predicted from its anatomy. Tetrapods: All mammals have the same basic body design. This consists of the head, spine, legs and feet. And while animals overall have a similar structure, their leg attachments and locomotion techniques varies greatly. Gait Analysis: McDowell Lyon states that dogs have many different gaits. They can walk, trot, and at times pace or amble. They also have three forms of the gallop; the canter, the suspension gallop and the double suspension gallop. These gaits have been specially enhanced in different breeds, and are similar to other species of animals adapting to their environment.

Basic Anatomy: Before the different gaits can be analysed, it is important to study the basic anatomy of most quadropeds so that it can be put into context into the types of locomotion that can be produced by different body conformations.

Basic Muscle Anatomy: It is important to remember in muscles that it is the muscles that contract that moves the bones in the body. As shown in the photo in the left, muscle lengths Biceps Brachii Long Head of triceps muscle is naturally dependant on the length of the bone. Usually, the size of the muscle is proportionally related to the size of the bones. Thus, large bones are usually accompanied by large muscles, while small and fine bones follow through with a reduced size.

Lateral Head of Triceps Muscle Fore Leg

Functional Trade Off: Studies have shown that broad heavy muscles will not respond to reflexive actions as quickly as smaller muscles of the same length. The smaller muscles also expend less energy, thus heavy muscles will reduces the maximum potential speed in an animal, but it does add to its strength, (Pasi and Carrier, 2003). The study showed that while greyhounds can attain a much greater locomotive speed than the pitt bull type dogs, it does create the disadvantage of reducing applied strength. This can be observed in nature. The cheetah, while capable of attaining a speed of over 60 miles per hour, when it has finally caught its prey, it is often incapable of defending it against other predators and will often lose its essential kill to slower but stronger creatures, such as the lion or hyena. This functional trade-off portrays the disadvantages that come with greater locomotive speed.

Analysing Gaits: The Walk: The walk is a four time movement where all four legs move one after the other. At least two legs support the body at all times. This gait is the least tiring of all and all animals will use this for leisure travel. Some like the elephant, with its large body mass, will solely use this gait to move around. There are three types of walk, and they differ in the lengths of the strides. The factors that affect a walk are conformation of the animal and angulation of the fore and rear hand assemblies. The Normal Walk: This is the least energy consuming of all gaits. In dogs, it has a stride which just about covers the front pad with the rear. The stride in any animal will depend on the length of the legs, body and angulation.

Figure 1:

The short stride/power walk: Suitable for animals which draws a weighted load. It is seen in domesticated animals such as horses, oxen and cart dogs. They are adapted to their jobs by being stocky, heavy and low set with strong shoulders and hips. Their legs are usually short and muscular, with a short neck. This locomotion is best analysed when the animal is in use. The Long striding walk: This produces an overreach unless the animal has a comparatively long body or short legs. One of the best examples of this is the Tennessee Walking Horse. It is not often seen in dogs, but is seen in some German Sheperds and other dogs that possess acute angulation in both front and rear assembly.

In general, in the walk, the feet strike the ground first and thus are the first to feel the impact of the force being applied. Thus, different animals have evolved to adapt to such trauma, such as foot pads that absorb the shock. The Trot: The trot is a faster gait than the walk, and is two-timed gait and is the simplest gait of all. It involves a sequence of one diagonal after the other, and usually always with support (unless in the flying trot). Similar to the Walk above, the Trot has stability with alternating diagonal bracing where the legs work more closely in unison, thus strides are longer and the forward lean is greater. During trotting, a net braking force is exerted by the forelimbs and the hindlimbs exert a net propulsive force. For steady speed locomotion to take place, the braking and propulsion must have equal magnitude(Lee et al., 2004). The trot is a very energy efficient trot as the body weight is always shared between two legs, thus no one leg ever has to take the full force of momentum, unlike in the faster gaits. Advantageous Anatomy: The trot is a natural foraging gait for most animals, thus the best trotters are usually scavengers, such as the fox. All gaits produce a shock to the front assembly, so poor conformation and upright shoulders will make the gait rougher and less energy efficient. If the animal has correctly placed shoulders, this shock will pass through them with minimum effect, thus producing effective locomotion.

One of the best trotters is the coyote, which has been known to cruise at 20 miles per hour using only the trotting gait. This locomotive gait is ideal for animals that specialise

in endurance of energy. Scavengers are usually constantly on the search for food and thus have an adapted anatomy that is not necessarily built for speed but more for endurance. In general, animals with longer legs, compared to torso length, do not trot well. The Canter: This is a three timed gait with specific supports. The front leg which is not part of the diagonal locomotive movement is said to be the leading leg. It is important to consider the leading leg in both the canter and the gallop, as it is the leg that bears weight for a longer time than all the other legs. The dogs body is propelled over the leading leg like that of a pole vaulter (Lyon et al), and has to support the body weights force. This gait is faster than the walk, but slower than the normal gallop.

Normal Gallop: There are four different phases of support to this gait, and is a high energy consuming gait. However, studies suggest that although a bound or half-bound would allow the maximal forces from the limbs, a gallop may generate higher speeds because it is more energy efficient economically overall. It seems to be more efficient to gallop than other gaits involving sagittal bending if the increased number of ground contact intervals either decreased the decelerating forces applied at the onset of ground contact or the vertical motion of the center of mass, (Walter et al). In other words, it is more energy efficient to gallop in order to attain a maximum possible speed than to use any other gait due to the fact that the gallop will attain longer

strides, and in doing so will travel further than the other gaits, with increased acceleration. The Double Suspension Gallop: Figure 2: The double suspension gallop is a leaping style that is employed by fast and agile animals such as the cheetah, Indian buck, antelope and canines but to name a few. This is the only gait where all four legs appear fully extended or contracted, and is only seen in some breeds of dogs, and some quadrupeds.

In these photo frames, the third image shows the dog fully extended, and contracted in the fifth frame. The double suspension gallop not only increases the stride distance due to increased suspension period, but it also accelerates faster due to the hind legs pushing the body off with greater force. Anatomical Requirements For the Double Suspension Gallop: Unlike the Normal Gallop, this gait requires certain physical conformations. The animal must be able to get the hind feet under them in order to propel the body forward. The rearing muscles, the muscles responsible for straightening the back legs and the back line must be as powerful as possible in the animal. When the hind feet take over the job of supporting the animal, it is these muscles that are taking on the whole weight. Both the front and hind legs must have great freedom of movement and action in order to allow for maximum extension and contraction. Agility and Turning: Torque about the Hips When sprinting at a bend, this increases the body weight due to the displacement of the centre of gravity and centripetal acceleration, (Usherwood et al., 2007). The maximum speed that an animal can reach is limited by the force and flexibility that the limbs can withstand. At high speeds, an animal turning at a bend that doesnt change their footing

contact have to withstand a 65% increase in limb forces. However, unlike humans that need to slow down when turning, quadrupeds have no need for this through torque about the hips. The cheetah displays this form of locomotion, and proves itself to be an agile hunter that can hunt down equally agile prey. Emerging Techniques: In the late 19th Century, still cameras started to shed light on locomotion. Prior to this, artists and veterinary books sometimes depicted gaits with leg actions in impossible positions. One of the simplest forms of analysing gaits is done with the video camera. The test subject is filmed as it moves, usually on a treadmill, and the results can then be analysed, frame by frame. This has been useful in identifying angulation, stride frequency and flexion etc. By placing markers on key areas such as the head, withers, hip and feet, each individual frame can be analysed to assess the position of each limb. However, there are new and more in depth techniques that are shedding more light on locomotion. Three Dimensional Muscle Morphology: Using two-dimensional B-mode ultrasound imaging, combined together with motion tracking has been used to produce a three-dimensional reconstruction of the medial gastrocnemius, (Fry et al). Acceleration-time curves This fits a device on the feet of a horse that measures the impact of the hoof hitting the ground.

This has been used to assess whether the type of ground will affect locomotion in gallop. This is particularly useful as it helps to take into account the environment in which the animal is subjected to, and therefore allow for a better understanding of why an animal has a specific conformation or anatomy. Conclusion: In conclusion, anatomy dictates the types of locomotion in animals. But this will depend on specific conformation of the animal, as well as the adaptation of the animal, whether it is for speed, agility, endurance or all three. Emerging techniques have allowed for a more detailed knowledge of the various forms of locomotion, and analysing the gaits that have evolved naturally is a key process to better breeding foundations. Glossary:
Angulation: Angle made by bones at a joint, as shoulder angulation or hock and stifle angulation. Apple Head: Rounded or domed skull. Brisket: The chest or rib cage between and just behind the front legs. Close-Coupled: Dog with a short loin and back. Conformation: The structure and form of a dog as defined by its standard. Cow-Hocked: Said of a dog whose rear pasterns and paws point outward with the hock joints close to each other. Croup: The area of the back where the tail joins the body. Dock: To shorten or remove a dogs tail. Down In Pastern: Said of a dog whose pastern is weak, making a pronounced angle between the paw and front knee. Fiddle Front: Bowed front legs, with elbows out from body, knees close together, and toes pointing out. Front: Said of the chest and legs of the dog when viewed from the front. Gait: Method of walking. Used as a command, as gait your dog. Hock: Joint formed by second thigh and back pastern. tibia and femur. Loins: The sides between the ribs and hipbones. Muzzle: The jaws, lips and nose. Occiput: Bump at the top rear of the skull in most breeds. Out at Elbows: Elbows turned out from body. Pad: Horny cover of the paw cushion. Pastern: Part of foreleg between knee and foot, or between the hock joint and paw of the hind leg. Shelly: A flat, narrow body and insufficient depth of chest. Snipy: Narrow, short muzzle insufficient to balance skull.

Stern: The tail. Stifle: The joint formed by the upper and lower thighs. Stop: The area between the eyes and between the skull and muzzle. Straight Shoulders: Poor angulation of shoulder bones. Sway-Back: A concave top line between withers and hips. Tuck-up: Abdomen drawn up tight to loins.