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 type 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 upward of 360 globall ...

'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 phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...

. 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 univers ...

, 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, 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 cont ...

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 Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

, 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 Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

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.

References

{{Dog nav Dog shows and showing *

Breed standards

See also

References