ANATOMY OF THE DOG— 6 



, The facial framework comprises the eye 

 sockets, nose and jawbones, which carry the 

 teeth. Behind these and forming the peak 

 of the forehead are the parietal bones, with 

 the occipital crest running thru the outer 

 middle backward toward the base of the 

 skull in raised line, more noticeable in some 

 breeds than in others. 



The upper jaw (non-movable) is formed by 

 the bone containing the upper teeth and the 

 lower jaw or lower mandible by the bone 

 containing the lower teeth. 



The Backbone of the Dog 



We next consider the vertebral column or 

 the backbone, which includes the neck. This 

 extends from the base of the skull to the tip 

 of the tail and is composed of individual verte- 

 brae. They are divided into groups according 

 to their position or region. 



Each group contains a definite or standard 

 number regardless of the species of animal 

 life, whether dog, man, goat, horse or what. 

 20 to 22 Bones in Tail 



In the dog we have the following groups of 

 vertebrae : 7 cervical or neckbones ; 13 dor- 

 sal or thoracic (above the lung cavity) ; 7 

 lumbar, above the abdominal cavity ; 3 sacral 

 or pelvic, above the pelvic cavity ; 20-22 

 coccygeal, constituting the bony part of the 

 tail. 



The vertebrae or sections of backbone are 

 joined together by fibro-cartilaginous discs and 

 these form a central canal, in which the 

 'spinal cord is carried. 



The Ribs of the Dog 



The ribs and the sternum are the other two 

 portions of the axial skeleton. The rib struc- 

 ture is often termed the thoracic skeleton, the 

 thorax being the chest cavity which contains 

 the important organs heart and lungs. 



The sternum is the breastbone or front pro- 

 jection of the central line formed by the 

 lower ends of the ribs thru the costal car- 

 tilages. 



The dog possesses 13 pairs of ribs or 26 

 ribs. Nine of these are sternal, being at- 

 tached to the sternum or breastbone; four 

 asternal. The last pair of ribs are floating 

 ribs being unattached at the breastbone. 



The Pelvis 



The pelvic skeleton is a bony circular cage 

 inclosing in the male the bladder, rectum and 

 prostate gland and in the female the uterus 

 (womb), bladder and rectum. See sketches of 

 sexual organs, page 14. 



It is attached on the top to the sacrum and 

 consists of three bones, which when united ak 

 in the adult animal are known as the innomi- 

 nate bone. 



Causes of Caesareans \, 



The size of the pelvic cavity is of much 



concern to the breeder, particularly of ^ 



breed which has a large head as the puppV 



may not pass thru the opening, particularly 



in an older dog, whose bones have lost the 



"give" of early days. \ 



The Legs of the Dog 



We come now to the appendicular skeleton, 



which consists of the bones of the forelegSs 



and hindlegs. 



We begin with the scapula, a large, flat, 

 triangular bone attached to the upper side 

 of the chest wall and the backbone by mus- 

 cles. The scapula or shoulder blade is ex- 

 tremely important in judging a dog's gait 

 for its angle of direction and the firmness of 

 attachment determine the movement in great 

 measure. 



The general shape of the blade may be rep- 

 resented as that of a pear with a tapering side 

 downward and at this down end a ball-and- 

 socket joint connecting with the humerus, the 

 bone which in turn connects the shoulder 

 blade with the elbow. 



Hazy Ideas abont Shoulder 

 There is a hazy understanding of phrases 

 concerning the shoulder blade. Ofttimes a 

 breeder refers to a dog as possessed of long, 

 sloping shoulders. 



The shoulder blade is flat and yet its outer 

 surface, which one may feel with the hand, is 

 divided into two by a raised line running down 

 the center. 



There is a small irregular plate embedded 

 in front of the oval ball-and-socket joint, 

 which is known as the clavicle or collar 

 bone. It is "one of its own," not moving 

 with the rest of the skeleton. 



The shoulder blade is attached at its taper- 

 ing or bottom end by the ball-and-socket joint 

 and underneath by muscles against the outer 

 wall of the chest. Every freedom of move- 

 ment is thus permitted. 



Not Much Slope 

 Just what is meant by sloping shoulders, a 

 common phrase, is difficult to determine. The 

 top of the shoulder blade, that is, the outer 

 edge of the large end of the pear shape does 

 not quite reach the top line of the backbone. 

 The shoulder blade is in front and at the top 

 of the chest and the angle at which it runs 

 backward is slight, perhaps in the average 

 dog not more than 35 degrees out of line with 

 perpendicular. 



The space between the tops of the two shoul- 

 der blades is the withers. 



The Front Running Gear 



We come now to the front running gear of 

 the dog, comparable to the arms of the human. 

 Humerus, Radius, Ulna 



The humerus, already mentioned, is a long, 

 stocky bone with a slight twist, and extend- 

 ing downward and at the lower end backward 

 from the shoulder to the elbow. At times it is 

 referred to as the upper forearm. 



It has a pulley-like joint at the bottom and 

 this runs into the two bones of the lower fore- 

 arm, namely the radius and ulna, long thin 

 bones which are separated from each other by 

 very narrow space. They articulate or move 



