Filling Station

By  Lisa Dubé Forman

Yes, pun intended, I mean filling station. My play on words is tailor-made for this discussion about dogs, particularly on their fill and station. Many hobbyists who are unfamiliar with the phrase ‘station’ are shaking their heads but then so is the notion about filling this station — filling what with what?

In ‘dog speak’ it may help to know the origination of many expressions and anatomy parts we use in describing dogs was appropriated from horsemen. The characteristic language such as station, withers, forehand, fetlocks, pole, ‘standing over a lot of ground’ are just a common few. Suffice to know that we just did not make this stuff up but the terminology has been in use for centuries.

Let us begin with the station a dog must have before we discuss fill. A station is the description we apply to a dog’s depth of chest or specifically, the measurement of distance from the top of withers to the elbow as compared to the length of the dog’s leg. The distance determines if a dog is of low or high station. Rather, if this distance largely eclipses the length of leg, we consider the dog ‘of low station’. A length of leg that is decidedly longer than the distance from withers to elbow is ‘of high station’. Ideal examples ‘of high station’ are sighthounds such as the Ibizan Hound and Saluki. Both have appreciable length of leg with a shorter distance from their withers to elbow. The Ibizan is both lithe and racy with deer-like elegance and the Saluki brings down Gazelle, the fastest of the antelope family. In fact, the galloping sighthounds are to have extraordinarily, long legs and will have, for the most part, longer ratios of leg length as compared to station. As a result, in general they are appropriately of high station.

Low station dogs such as the Basset, Dachshund and Dandie Dinmont — the latter being that he is uniquely low in the shoulder — are obvious. However, one should also consider the Bull Terrier and the Pug as other fitting examples. Occasionally, a long-serving judge may comment that a dog has either excellent or poor station. To illustrate, if a judge faults a Rottweiler with a shelly appearance, then the judge has noted the dog is lacking the appropriate depth or also width of chest. The correct station for this working cart and drover breed should be 50 percent of the height of the dog. If the dog is too leggy or high in station, then he lacks the necessary chest depth and width measurements for desired exercise and work tolerances.

One breed standard who refers to a decidedly filled chest or accentuated ‘spread’ is the Bulldog. Indeed his spread is so valued and emphasized that when viewing the dog head-on, the rear legs are visible from the front. That is to say if one were low enough to have an unobstructed view! At least, beginning in January 2014, the AKC announced that the Bulldog and Basset Hound judging will take place on the ramp in breed, group and best in show competitions so this may be of advantage to judges.

Function and performance demand quantity and quality fill in a dog’s station. Inasmuch as fill is not just skeletal parts, particularly the prosternum and sternum (breastbone), but the muscling that protects the vital organs. The fill, more specifically the musculature collection which is both plentiful and very productive, surrounds the bow or keel. I speak of the serratus ventralis muscle, which is the sling and stabilizer of the thorax, the deltoids and brachial muscles, the descending and transverse pectorals, which advance the forelegs and draws the limbs in towards the axis or center line of the body, along with the deep pectoral muscle which stabilizes the forelegs. When a dog lacks the proper breed constitution, such as not being well-let down in the chest — shallow — or he is narrow — lacking chest width and rib spring — the result is limited fill space. Often these faults also unmask concave or hollow chests, but all affect heart and lung capacity as well as gait. Pinched fronts are a definite fault as stated in the Giant or Miniature Schnauzer standards. As a result of this unique front, there is inadequate fill and a shallow brisket.

For the hunting breeds who dispatch game, poorly designed stations lacking fill put the hound at great risk. Consider the Irish Wolfhound’s chest was also developed for impact and is part of the dog’s mass. It is another tool provided to injure the prey, but importantly, it is imperative to prevent injury to the wolfhound’s frontal portion of his skeletal structure. In this giant breed, a prominent but never excessive prosternum with a well spread chest and quality fill operate as a shock absorber. All of this indubitably affects gait which is for another discussion on another day.

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Posted by chesliepickett on Dec 20 2013. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.