When dogs race are all four of their feet ever off the ground at the same time?
Posted by Dog Supplies Advice in Dog Supplies Q&A, Dog Supplies Tips, tags: dog feets, dog Q&A, dog supplies advice, Dog Supplies Q&A, Dog Supplies Tips, dogsWhen dogs race are all four of their feet ever off the ground at the same time?
Yes, as long ago as 1887 the photographs of Edward Muybridge showed that this is so. The extent to which it happens depends on the exertion of the animal, but when a Greyhound is moving rapidly (in the so-called light lateral or rotary gallop) it occurs twice during each cycle of movements. The first occasion is when the thrust of the hind limbs pushes the dog forwards in a great bound, so that its front legs are stretched forwards and its hind legs extended backwards, just like a horse clearing a fence. The second time comes after the dog has landed again on its front legs and uses them to push itself forwards. Then front and hind legs are crossed for an instant, with all of the feet clear of the ground; hind legs pointing forwards and forelegs in between them pointing backwards.
The great flexibility of the spine of the Greyhound (and similar breeds such as the Whippet) allow these movements to be more exaggerated than in other dogs, so that the length of each stride is markedly increased. This enables racing Greyhounds to achieve speeds of 40 mph (64 km/h) over short distances. The forces acting on the skeleton at such a speed are considerable but the properties of bone (85 % of the tensile strength of cast iron for only a third of its weight) enable it to withstand them.
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