Does your dog have an “east west” front? Or maybe it’s a “ten to two” front? These terms actually mean the same thing, which is to say that the dog’s front feet and toes point outward while standing and/or moving. Put another way, they “toe out.”

Is it a fault? It depends upon your breed, the degree to which the feet point out, and, as far as we can tell, who you’re asking.

In the book, “Structure In Action,” is the suggestion that dogs competing in sports that require lateral stability or strength compromise structural integrity if the placement of their feet is improper.

In, “Coaching The Canine Athlete,” the author, Dr. M Christine Zinc, DVM PhD, suggests that there’s no performance related reason why dogs need to have front facing feet, and that even if they do, it doesn’t mean that the feet won’t point forward once they move.

Several breeds touch upon feet aspect. From the Cardigan Welsh Corgi standard: “The feet… point slightly outward from a straight-ahead position to balance the width of the shoulders. This outward point is not to be more than 30 degrees from center line when viewed from above.” From the Pekingese breed standard: “Front feet are turned out slightly when standing or moving.” There are others, is your breed one of them?