Posture 101

Proper posture is essential for a dog's overall health, well-being, and fitness. This guide aims to educate handlers on achieving and maintaining good posture in both a sit, down and stand positions.

The Importance of Good Posture

Correct posture is important for every activity a dog does as it affects their form in every movement. Standing up from a sloppy down or sit position will apply greater or incorrect bending forces to joints that should not typically have to work that hard for those transitions. Beyond just standing up, this can impact their form running, jumping, and any other activity. The correct muscles may not be activated, decreasing performance while also increasing the risk of muscle imbalances, injuries, and even affect mobility as they age. In a sporting or working dog, poor posture increases their risk of injury, crate rest and rehab of said injury, or even early retirement. Plus, they will not be performing at their full potential!

Good posture in a sit, down, and stand is the foundation of all other exercises. If you know what to look for in these positions, you will have a great idea of what to look for in proper form in more advanced exercises.

Why do dogs sloppy sit?

There are a couple reasons why a dog may have what we call a "sloppy" sit, down, or unbalanced stand. Usually, this is just a sign of weak musculature of their hind end and core. They may have never been asked to do anything differently and it just became a habit, similar to us slumped over in our desk chairs or lounging on the couch. There can be other reasons for a sloppy sit including musculoskeletal malformations or injuries that can alter range of motion and prevent your dog from attaining these positions. If your dog can usually have a nice square posture position and then one day starts to seem off, this can be a sign of injury and that something may be painful.

Do NOT force them into a position. They may not physically be capable of getting into that position or it may be painful. If this is the case, a specialized orthopedic or sports medicine veterinarian or a certified canine rehabilitation professional would be the best to identify if this is the case and design a plan personalized for your dog's needs.

What does correct posture look like?

Correct posture can vary from breed to breed based on conformation. Angulation of their limbs at the shoulder and hips, topline, length of back to leg ratio, and other conformation differences can make “correct posture” variable, but typically, things we are looking for in a down or a sit with correct posture include:

• Legs close and almost perpendicular to the floor

• Hips are level and rocked forward with core engaged.

• Toes pointed forward with hocks and knees aligned both from the front and the side

• Knees either directly over or slightly behind toes

• Symmetrical positioning on both legs

• Neutral spine and head position

Things we are looking for in a stand with correct posture include:

• Front legs and hocks are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground

• Weight distribution is typically 60% in the front limbs and 40% in the hind limbs The front feet should appear to have even distribution as well as the hind feet

• Topline (spine) appears flat with a neutral head position

• Hip position appears symmetrical

Note Foxy's proper sitting posture here. Her knees are over toes,  spine is straight, head is in a neutral position, front legs are perpendicular to the ground, toes are pointed forward and hocks are on the ground. Note the piece of wood placed in between her hind feet and front feet to help communicate with her proper front feet placement.

Notice the square hips, knees over toes, and legs parallel to her body. Also notice reward placement allowing her to elongate rather than be hunched back. 

Notice how Foxy's hocks and front legs are perpendicular to the floor. Her head is parallel to her spine.

Left: Sloppy down with her knee behind her toes.

Right: posture down with her knee directly over her toes.

Left: Sloppy sit; Her hind feet are pointing away from her midline and her front feet are not evenly placed underneath her.

Right: Posture sit; her legs are all in line with each other and pointing forward.

Left: Sloppy sit. You can see she is putting little to no weight on her left front foot, her right hind foot is pointed out and her spine is rounded. 

Right: A little bit exaggerated posture sit, where she is lured just too far past. Her knees are a little more forward over her toes and her hocks may be just starting to rise off the floor. Also notice a little too much weight shifted forward.

Considerations for Correcting Posture

1. Surface

Sometimes, the surface you are working on may just be too slippery for your dog to maintain perfect posture in a sit, down or stand. Working on their posture on a non-slip surface such as carpeting, grass, dirt, etc allows your dog to maintain a better grip with the ground.

2.  Position of reward can affect weight distribution

You may be affecting their posture with your positioning of the reward. If you put the reward too close to their face they may have to flex their back and rock back onto their hips to take it. Instead, lure them to stretch forward just enough to have a neutral spine and bring their knees forward inline with their toes. A continuous reward may be helpful for building endurance of posture so that they can continuously stretch forward to lick something rather than take a treat and slouch back again. On the other hand, you do not want to pull them forward too far either. Just far enough that their knees are over their toes.

3.  Use a smaller surface

We want a surface that is just wider than their hocks so that they have no choice but to keep their legs close to their body. You can also have them sit or down between objects to achieve this.

4. Use different cues

Consider using different cues for a position with perfect posture versus if you ask them to settle and lounge on their place mat. For example, “down” could be used for a posture down while “settle” could be for lying down on their hip.

5. Your dog’s conformation

Depending on your dogs conformation, you may not be able to achieve correct posture without additional props. In breeds where their back is longer than their legs, their sit will consistently have a rounded (kyphotic) back as they are unable to fully elongate their spine while their legs are on the ground. See pictures below for an example of conformational kyphosis, and what you might need to do to assist in correcting it. ( Think about a Dachshund sitting). Additionally, sometimes the presence of testicles, or even how high or low your dog’s tail base is can affect the ability to execute a posture sit or down.

Even with Luther's front legs straight (they should be 1-2 inches further back to be perfectly straight), his knees over his toes, and hocks on the ground, he still has a curve to his back. Luther’s back is longer than his legs and he cannot correct this curvature without raising his front feet on a platform.

At first proper posture might be difficult for your dog since this is something they have never been asked to do before. Be patient, and eventually you can start to add on a few seconds at a time. Consistency is key! Every time you ask for a sit or down whatever the reason, enforce proper posture.