FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION BY STEPHANIE SEABROOK HEDGEPATH PART ONE OF A SERIES
a German Shepherd Dog. I foundered for years trying to relate how my dog resembled his Standard, without the benefit of mentors with any real depth of knowledge on the breed. I started attending the German Shepherd Club of America’s national specialty each year where I had the great fortune to be befriended by Patricia Parsons and Scootie Sherlock of Caralon German Shepherd/Pembroke Welsh Corgi fame. They introduced me to Dr. Charles Kruger of Schaferhaus (also founded in German Shepherds and then deeply involved with the Pembroke Welsh Cor- gi) and my canine education began. Sit- ting ringside between these three peo- ple throughout all of the huge classes as they discussed in depth the attributes and faults of the dogs standing and moving before us in the ring gave me a foundation from which to begin my studies. At that time, there were very few publications devoted to the study
of the canine and I quickly learned that reading something and thinking that you understand it and then watching it with someone there to explain exactly what I was seeing, were two vastly dif- ferent experiences. With help from my mentors and attending any and all seminars on the dog, no matter what the breed, it all began to make sense to me. That is why I have devoted so much time, effort and energy into writing articles and pro- ducing DVDs on the canine in order to pass on what I have learned. I am not an authority on canine anatomy. I cannot name all of the muscles that cause the skeletal structure to move. What I hope to accomplish with this series is to get each of you thinking about your breed and what really makes it unique. This series on form and function and will emphasize skeletal structure and move- ment and balance in the dog. Before we get into how form follows function, I do
INTRODUCTION I have found that the more I study other breeds, the better I under- stand my own breed. I began my lifelong journey in 1969 with the purchase of my first “show” dog,
“AT THAT TIME, THERE WERE VERY FEW PUBLICATIONS DEVOTED TO THE STUDY OF THE CANINE AND I QUICKLY LEARNED THAT READING SOMETHING AND THINKING THAT YOU UNDERSTANDING IT AND THEN WATCHING IT WITH SOMETHERE TO EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT I WAS SEEING WERE TWO VASTLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES.”
98 • S how S ight M agazine , J anuary 2019
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