Daisy clipping, also called “daisy cutting,” is another term inherited from the equine world; it refers to feet in motion just skimming above the ground. A good way to remember the term’s meaning is to imagine that if a dog said to be “daisy clipping” was running through a field of daisies, his or her feet would “clip” the flower heads off their stems.
The term applies to dogs who lift their front paws from their pasterns (wrists), and when evaluating dogs while they’re gaiting, the elevation of their feet is another important thing to consider. If the dog lifts her feet too far above the ground, she’s wasting energy better spent reaching forward, not upwards. The closer her feet stay near the ground, the less energy she has to expend.
This shouldn’t be confused with shuffling. Dogs don’t shuffle. If an adult dog is dragging the tops of his paws or toenails when he walks, there’s any number of reasons for it, from poor conformation or conditioning, to something as serious as DM, or degenerative myelopathy.
Irish Setter by Terry d. Chacon
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I was with you until the line, “applies to dogs who lift their front paws from their pasterns”. Now I’m confused. Do you mean at full extension the pastern and paw are in line with the leg, or that there is a “break” at the pastern with more lift in the leg, like the Ibizan Hound?
Chris, we mean that the front pastern hardly flexes, but as you said, there is that wee “break”
If the Pastern and paw are in a straight line from the shoulder at onset of moving forward which is more like a ‘goose step’ it is very hard on the shoulder as it hits the ground. The Daisy Clip as I understand it is a more relaxed forward motion with a slight break at the wrist/pastern that straightens out before contact with the ground giving that clipping a daisy head appearance and also appears to reach out a little more before contact.