Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover Die ontogenetische ...

Summary
trunk from a cylindrical shape in the puppy to a more conical shape in the adult dog.
These changes, together with the elongation of the hindlimbs due to postural
changes and the described allometries of the inner organs led to a net-cranial shift of
the center of body mass. In contrast to primates, the location of the center of mass
was always situated cranially. The more caudal position of the CoM in puppies could
be advantageous for their maneuverability; to avoid the risk of pitching, however, a
net-cranial location is beneficial. The changing limb proportions together with the shift
of the body’s center of mass and other triggering factors could be a cause for
orthopaedical problems in growing dogs. A good indicator for a dogs’ growth is its
weight development. Compared to smaller-bodied Beagle lines and other breeds, the
growth period to reach the final weight as well as the period of the most intensive
weight gain seems to depend on the final weight. Thereby, relatively heavier dogs
need more time for growth. The body size relationships amongst the Beagle siblings
remained unchanged during the study period and their duration of weight increase
did not differ. Whether the data collected in this study are representative for dogs
remains to be tested in future studies, which should include breeds of varying builds
and body sizes.
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