Length of Leg

Length of leg. A topic that frequents multiple Siberian groups across Facebook, only to discover the dog that inspired the question is a juvenile...I always try to caution people from looking at a juvenile with too much of a critical eye. As juveniles go through a wide array of development, and not all of it is pretty. What you may be looking at now might not be a true reflection of how the overall dog will end up.

​Below you can see how the dog in photo one is all leg, awkward, gawky...a summer juvenile coat didn't help the overall picture. Yet he developed into a nice dog upon maturity. (all be it not everyone's cup of tea). You can see here how a developed chest, mature full adult coat, and how things have balanced themselves out in the development process of maturing have really changed the overall picture of the dog. This dog is my "why I don't critically evaluate juveniles" reminder! Things change, and can change a lot over the course of 2-3 years.

The length of leg for the Siberian Husky, should be 50-60% of the total height of the dog, measured to the highest point of the withers. The leg is measured from the ground to the elbow. 

Legs longer than 60% of the height, tend to create a top heavy dog, which affects the workability. Dogs with too short of legs make the dog have to work harder.

When visually evaluating length of leg, one must consider several factors. A dog with a well laid back shoulder, and a well angulated rear to match, will tend to look shorter on leg. 

Conversely, a dog that is straighter in the shoulder and rear will appear to be more up on leg. Shorter coat, fluffed up coat, out of coat will all alter our perception. 

The way a photo is cropped will also make a dog appear to have longer or shorter legs, as will the camera angle. When evaluating a dog from photographs, I prefer shots where the dog is level with the camera, with the center of focus at the dog's shoulder.  This gives a more realistic view of the overall dog being evaluated.  
​*Exerpt courtesy Susan Parraga Zuska Siberians*

Sometimes, seeing the proportions in action is helpful. Ideally a dog who is balanced should exhibit balanced motion. A correct Siberian gait is one where reach and drive are equal. The front paw should fall no further than the nose, the rear paw should be kicked no higher off the ground than the length of the hock. High kicks and over reach together are wasted movement. Wasted movement is wasted energy. A reach that's over taking the drive or a drive that over works reach are movements that lack balance and take away from the efficiency of the overall dog- neither works well for what is supposed to be an endurance distance covering sled dog.