Deep thoughts, Deep In The Heart Of Texas, Deep Set Eyes, Deep Water, Deep State, Deep…..you get the idea…
But “deep flanks?”
For those just starting out “in dogs,” flanks are the part of the dog between the last rib and the hindquarters; Edward M. Gibert Jr. and Thelma R. Brown define it as the space where a dogs’s intestines are thinly covered with skin and muscle, the distance between the last rib and the hindquarters, the area on the side of the dog that is free of ribs.
When there is hardly any “tuck up,” or none at all (tuck up being the profile of the underbelly), the flanks extend downwards and are “deep;” Such a dog is described as having “deep flanks.” Broadly speaking, the opposite of this would be a breed like the Greyhound which has a definite tuck up of the underline and is well “cut up” in the flanks.
Several breeds have “deep flanks, and it’s mentioned in their AKC breed standards: From the Australian Cattle Dog standard: Body – The length of the body from the point of the breast bone, in a straight line to the buttocks, is greater than the height at the withers, as 10 is to 9. The topline is level, back strong with ribs well sprung and carried well back not barrel ribbed. The chest is deep, muscular and moderately broad with the loins broad, strong and muscular and the flanks deep.
From the Scottish Terrier AKC standard: “The body should be moderately short with ribs extending well back into a short, strong loin, deep flanks and very muscular hindquarters.”
Images: Australian Cattle Dog/Deposit Stock photos; Greyhound by ©Isselee/Dreamstime