Dogs have four main gaits (each with a specific pattern of footfall and rhythm) that range from the slowest (a walk) to the fastest (a gallop); in between are the amble, trot and canter.  In the show ring, dogs are shown at the trot, a dog’s most efficient gait, and the only gait that necessitates each side of the dog’s body to work equally hard.

The trot, however, isn’t every breed’s working gait, and a good example of this is the Norwegian Elkhound.

Compared to breeds that master the trot, the Elkhound is at a disadvantage in the ring because hunting moose in thick brush isn’t done at a trot. The Elkhound’s working gait is sometimes a canter, sometimes a half-bound, and the breed’s squareness gives her the endurance and stamina to easily travel for many miles over different types of terrain this way. Once the dog has found and approached a moose, she annoys the animal by barking increasingly louder while darting, and only a short-backed and compact dog can dodge the irritated critter’s hooves and antlers. Elkhounds were bred to hunt moose, not bring them down, and to do her job efficiently, she needs to be an athletic mover. It’s not always done at a trot.

Norwegian Elkhound by Raymond Pease from “Hunting Dogs,” published in 1964. This print is available on Ebay here.