ToplineKlink

"He picks them, as they walk in the ring," is a comment often heard to describe a judge's method of choosing a dog. An Irish with a good natural topline has such eye appeal that the all important walk into the ring may be the deciding factor in the choice for the blue ribbon.

A good strong back is of such importance that many faults dwindle in comparison to a poor backline. According to L. Hollenbeck, Dynamics of Canine Gait, "The angle of the spines deserve careful study, because they denote directions in which support, propulsive effort, and other forces start and end."The spine is the link between the front and rear structure of the body. The force of movement travels along these bones and anv deflection of energy robs the dog of powerful movement. The spine carries such a dynamic as well as functional burden, it is easy to understand that any weakness in backline is extremely faulty.

It is imperative that one understands the structural terminology of the backline before the words of the standard can be superimposed over the skeleton. The spinal column is divided into several sections, each serving a specific purpose. There are:

7 vertebrae of the neck
8 vertebrae of the withers
6 vertebrae of the back
7 vertebrae of the loin
3 fused vertebrae of the croup
26 vertebrae of the tail

The course of the spinal column is revealed by the topline. The Irish standard requires the topline from withers to tail to slope slightl downward without a sharp drop at the croup. It should be noted that nowhere in the standard does it ask for a perfectly straight backline from shoulder to tip of tail. The standard does ask for "loins of moderate length, muscular and slightly arched."The backline cannot be straight and still have slightly arched loins, however, if we consider the back as the six vertebrae prior to the loin, and the backline as the total spinal column, the back can and should be straight while the backline will slope slightly downward with a slight arch of loin.

The arch of loin should not be confused with a roach or camel back. The camel back describes an arch that starts near the shoulder blades, while the roach starts further back and arches over the loin into the croup.

The soft or sway back is also faulty. A sag in the six vertebrae area of the backline makes the spinal column drop down into the thoracic cavity thus taking room from the lungs. The sag, as well as the roach deflects thrust of movement resulting in a loss of energy. Both conditions give the dog a topline that sends handlers scurrying to the sidlines to get the dog stacked so "the all important first impression" will not show the dog at a disadvantage.