Conformation in dogs refers solely to the externally visible details of a dog's structure and appearance, as defined in detail by each
dog breed
A dog breed is a particular strain of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing around 450 globally ...
's written
breed standard
In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...
. A dog that ''conforms'' to most of the items of description in its individual breed standard is said to have ''good conformation''. Unlike
equine conformation
Equine conformation evaluates a horse's bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other. Undesirable conformation can limit the ability to perform a specific task. Although there are several faults with universa ...
, there are no fixed rules for dog conformation, as dogs are the most variable in appearance of any animals ("Phenotypic variation among dog breeds, whether it be in size, shape, or behavior, is greater than for any other animal"). Instead, conformation in dogs is based on the
dog type
Dog types are broad categories of domestic dogs based on form, function, or style of work, lineage, or appearance. Some may be locally adapted dog types (or ''landraces'') that may have the visual characteristics of a modern purebred dog. In c ...
from which the breed developed, along with many details that have been added to the breed standard for purposes of differentiation from other breeds, for working reasons, or for enhancing the beauty of the animals from the viewpoint of the fanciers who wrote the breed standards.
Breed standards
The breed standard for each breed of dog details desirable and undesirable attributes of ''appearance'' and ''temperament'' for an individual breed. Due to the great variability in dogs, there is no one standard of good conformation. What is good conformation for a lapdog will not be good conformation for a guard dog; good leg structure for a dog that must travel long distances will not be the same as good leg structure for dogs whose conformation requires short bursts of speed.
Breed standards are designed solely to describe the breed's history and purpose, temperament, and appearance. The breed standard is ''not'' a checkbox list of requirements, but rather a description, giving a detailed "word picture" of an ''idealized'' dog of that breed. Requirements for documentation, genetic testing, health testing, testing for particular styles of work or fitness for particular dog sports or requirements for training are beyond the scope of a breed standard, and are instead developed as breeder guidelines by breed clubs, kennel clubs, or even by national agricultural department rules. ''Conformation'' refers solely to the externally visible details of a dog's structure and appearance, along with the dog's expected temperament, which varies for each breed or
type of dog.
For details about contents of a breed's ''breed standard'' and what is considered ''good conformation'' for a particular breed, see the article about that specific breed of dog.
See also
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Canine terminology
Canine terminology in this article refers only to ''dog terminology'', specialized terms describing the characteristics of various external parts of the domestic dog, as well as terms for structure, movement, and temperament. This terminology is n ...
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List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on genomics, dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines m ...
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Breed Groups (dog)
Dog types are broad categories of domestic dogs based on form, function, or style of work, lineage, or appearance. Some may be locally adapted dog types (or ''landraces'') that may have the visual characteristics of a modern purebred dog. In c ...
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Breed type
In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...
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Dog anatomy
Dog anatomy comprises the anatomical studies of the visible parts of the body of a domestic dog. Details of structures vary tremendously from breed to breed, more than in any other animal species, wild or domesticated, as dogs are highly variable ...
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Fault (dog)
In animal breed standards, a fault is an aspect of appearance or temperament that is considered detrimental to the breed type of the animal's breed. In dogs, faults have to do with the externally observable qualities of the dog such as appearance, ...
References
{{Dog nav
Dog shows and showing
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