As Robert Cole writes in an “Eye for a Dog,” all dogs are capable of one period of suspension where their legs fold up under their body. How much their legs fold up varies from one dog to another depending upon the speed and the dog’s conformation. Sighthounds in particular have a second period of suspension that resembles a horse at a gallop, and this is a double suspension gallop.

In a double suspension gallop, there are two times when the dog has all four of his feet off the ground with continued forward momentum.  In the first phase, the dog’s front and back legs are fully extended (the front legs reach fully forward, and the hind legs extend fully backward).  After this first phase of extension, the dog grabs the ground with his front legs and pulls his body forward. The front legs push off the ground rearward for a period of suspension before the rear legs reach forward and grab the ground.  He again pushes off with his rear legs to launch himself over the ground. In the second phase the dog is fully collected, with both front and rear legs underneath the body.

Why a sighthound can manage this because of how he is built: An “S-shaped” body, a flexible back over a loin area, the tuck up; powerful forequarters for the upward thrust, and a strong neck. A skinny “waistline” allows the dog to flex his back from an outstretched position to an arched one that brings the rear half of his body into front half. Long narrow, hare-like feet gives the dog maximum leverage, and because they are well knuckled and compact, the dog gets better traction and requires less energy to lift them.

A fine example of this “form following function” is the Whippet. In terms of body size to speed ratio, the Whippet is the fastest breed of dog in the world able to reach a breakneck speed of 36.04 mph. The video below offers an up-close and personal view of a Whippet exhibiting a double suspension gallop. We highly recommend watching the video twice, once at normal speed, and then again in slow motion, a setting you can adjust in the settings bar under on the video (we chose the 0.25 playback speed). The slow speed allows you a great look at what we’re talking out:

Whippets were originally used to catch small game, such as rabbits and rats, and how they were built gave them the speed and mobility to catch their prey. Their structure was their superpower.

Image:Running Whippet free vector from Vecteezy