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DPCA Judge's Education Page

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ILLUSTRATED STANDARD

AKC Standard

HINDQUARTERS

The angulation of the hindquarters balances that of the forequarters. Hip Bone falls away from the spinal column at an angle of about 30 degrees, producing a slightly rounded, well filled-out croup. Upper shanks at the right angles to the hip bones are long, wide, and well muscled on both sides of thigh, with clearly defined stifles. Upper and lower shanks are of equal lengths. While the dog is at rest, hock to heel is perpendicular to the ground. View from the rear, the legs are straight, parallel to each other, and wide enough apart to fit in with a properly built body. Dewclaws, if any, are generally removed.  Cat feet as on front legs, turning neither in nor out.

Commentary  

The correct tail carriage is only slightly above the horizontal.  When the dog is alert, the tail carriage is between 3 o'clock and 2 o'clock .

The ideal hip bone falls away from the spine at an angle of 30 degrees.  An angle less than 30-degrees can create a flatter croup and a “gay” tail.  An angle greater than 30-degrees results in a more pronounced rounding of the croup and a lower tailset than is called for in the standard. An improperly angled hip bone will affect the silhouette of the dog, which diminishes his conformity to breed type.

The angle of the Doberman’s croup is very important as it influences the dog’s gait.  A flat croup does not allow a correct driving motion with feet close to the ground.   A steep croup results in insufficient drive and follow-through of the hindquarters when trotting.  

 The standard calls for the hindquarters to be in balance with the forequarters. This statement can be taken to mean that the forequarters and hindquarters must be similarly angulated.  However, given the standard’s overall emphasis on the ideal Doberman, the statement’s intent more accurately means that the hindquarters and forequarters should both be correctly angulated.  The two must be judged in relation to each other but always with the ideal in mind.

The upper shank (1^st thigh) and lower shank (2^nd thigh) should be of equal length.  The upper shank is the bone between the pelvis and the knee; the lower shank is the bones between the knee and the hock. The lengths of the upper and lower shanks should also be equal to the lengths of the shoulder blade and upper arm.  A common deviation is a long lower shank.  

Muscling on the upper and lower thighs is very important. You should be able to feel the well-defined muscling on both the inside and outside of the leg when running your hands over the hindquarters.  Inadequate or unbalanced muscling on the upper and lower thighs creates some measure of instability in the hindquarters and therefore is a significant deviation from the standard.  

 The stifle (or knee joint) is clearly defined, which means the stifle should not be overangulated or straight.  More or less angulation is a deviation from the standard.   When viewed from the rear, the rear legs should appear strong, well-muscled, parallel to each other and wide enough to balance the width of the body.  

The length of the rear pastern, while not addressed in the standard, should be relatively short and perpendicular to the ground. The rear feet are the same as the front feet — well-arched cat feet that do not turn in or out when the dog is standing or moving.

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