How Height is Affected by Shoulder Placement

There is no mention in the standard of where the height measurement should take place. AKC rules say it should be “at the highest point over a dog’s shoulder blades”. If a dog has poor shoulder angulation, it is conceivable that the highest point over a dog’s shoulder blades could reach quite a ways up the neck. That means that a dog with good shoulders can actually be an overall larger dog and still measure within the 12-14”.

The above dogs are the same height, but because of the second dog's more vertical shoulder blades, it must be overall a smaller dog in order to measure the same height. The dogs with very poor layback of shoulder must also have much lower back height than those with good shoulders, since the well laid-back shoulders are more at a level of the back. In comparing two dogs of equal height, the one with better shoulder layback will look bigger.  They are not measured at the back height, but the distance from the top of the shoulder blades to the ground.

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