I have a puppy who likes to pace for her gait. She will trot if I give her a pop with the leash or if I really increase my speed. But she would rather pace if it was up to her.

What causes a dog to pace? Is it structure, laziness?

I don't have much time now so will just copy something I wrote previously.

...."I wouldn’t worry unduly. Lots of healthy Labs pace on occasion. There can be a structural reason and dogs that are ultra short coupled or high on the leg are more naturally prone to pacing. While trotting, it is the fact that the phase of the front feet is fractionally ahead of the rear that prevents the feet on the same side from hitting each other and the dog from stumbling. Poorly balanced dogs with torsos too short to accommodate leg length cannot trot well.

Pacing is the most economical gait from the standpoint of energy – the centre of gravity changes from a diagonal one (as in the trot) to a lateral one. This is visible even in the human when the body is tired. When our muscles are in full swing, the centre of gravity falls between our feet and leg movement is accompanied by the arm opposite but, when those muscles tire, we tend to adopt a swaying gait shifting our centre of gravity over the leg on the ground so that the bones take over the effort. Camels – those wonderfully economical movers – naturally use a pacing gait, even at high speed and the walking pace is used by giraffes and cheetahs. However, the obvious disadvantage of the pacing gait is reduced lateral stability. Just as horses can be trained to pace, most Labs can be trained to trot.

I love it when my puppies use the trot as their natural gait from the time they start moving. It's one of the attributes I look for. However, one pup here started to pace when she was about six months old. I came to the conclusion that a sudden growth spurt had left her unbalanced and, thank goodness, her torso caught up shortly afterwards. It gave me time to do a lot of research with an osteopath...."

STRUCTURE

Also - Tension can cause pacing as well as not moving according to the dogs natural gait...which can also cause tension for the dog. A naturally big, powerfully moving dog might start pacing if it is hampered by a handler who is not allowing it to move out. You can get the dog to slow down and trot/not pace but it takes finesse.

Dogs who are tense situations might pace or tend towards pacing...and then stop once relaxed.

A

Great answer JP. Sometimes dogs, especially growing boys need to learn how to use the the correct muscle groups it takes to trot. The pace and amble are the most efficient ways for a dog to cover ground.

I, like you, love to see my puppies trot everywhere they go, because it is one indicator that they are built correctly. It's hard for a dog that's not built correctly to trot naturally. However, it is not always, bad structure that makes a dog pace.

A lot of dogs that are moved into a trot too slowly will pace. That's why handlers will give them that "pop" to start them out. I still remember my equatation instructor's saying "first step, like the rest". In other words, start them directly into a trot, don't move through a couple of other gates to get there.

Of course, sometimes is structure.

Mike

I have one who has been pacing since she was a pup.
she pretty much is structurly sound.And when she is relaxed is when she paces.Bout the only time she does this.Out in the field she covers alot of ground trotting.

In our case, it's structure. My girl prefers to pace as she's rather steep in front and better angulated behind. We're training right now for an endurance test. She's athletic and very sound, and really pulls into the harness, but prefers to pace.


I guess we're going to look like Bret Hanover at the test this autumn.

Cathy M.