Gaiting/trotting vs pacing in the conformation ring

[JanS]

The thread in the running post and horse leads reminded me of this.
The other day I brought Elroy to my friends to practice since she's going to take him in the ring for me. I told her I just can't run fast enough anymore and they pace with me instead of gait. She asked me what the difference was and it was hard to explain and the closest thing I could think of at the time is almost like a horse being in the wrong lead since she's a dressage person. Of course that's not accurate either but I found a couple examples of gaiting vs pacing with our dogs in the last few years.

This was Phoebe gaiting/trotting with our trainer a few years ago. Left front food leading and right rear foot leading to get that gait.


And this was me with Olive last year pacing. Both left legs in the forward position and both right legs in the rear position.

 

[GennyB]

She asked me what the difference was and it was hard to explain

It is hard to explain but you can feel it when it's right.

 

[Two Dobes]

Great examples Jan, they almost feel like they are 'rocking' when they are pacing...and you can see their bodies tilt back and forth sideways as opposed to that smooth motion when they gait. I don't know alot about horses, but remember when I rode many years ago (english) you could feel it if they did not canter properly. Wow, can't believe I remembered the word canter

 

[JanS]

remember when I rode many years ago (english) you could feel it if they did not canter properly.

Oh you can most definitely feel it if they're in the wrong lead or something.

 

[Ravenbird]

I have excellent videos of pacing/trotting of Asha. I'll get them on YouTube and share them, give me a day or two. Asha will pace after a long hike if she's hot and tired and I got a pretty good recording of it.

 

[Ravenbird]

I posted the videos in its own thread - sorry, for some reason I couldn't find this thread until right now. My noggin is not working this morning.

Thread 'Trotting vs. Pacing'

Jul 15, 2025

Trotting the two diagonal legs move & land together, Pacing the two legs on the same side move and land together. Asha has only paced after an extra long hike and usually on a hot day. We were on the last mile going home when I noticed she kept alternating between trotting and pacing.

Trotting:

Pacing:

• Ravenbird
• Replies: 4
• Forum: Doberman Pictures and Videos

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[Katyusharocket]

This is all really fascinating to me! I had to look back at this photo to see what Z was doing. Should I be taking from this that a judge would rather see trotting vs. pacing in the show ring? Do I have Z doing it correctly in this photo?

 

[Ravenbird]

Should I be taking from this that a judge would rather see trotting vs. pacing in the show ring? Do I have Z doing it correctly in this photo?

yes and yes. You can see that Z's diagonal legs (front left and back right) are in sync moving forward together and the opposite diagonal legs are both moving together... I don't know enough about confo rules or if it's even a fault to pace, but I know it's one of those things that is highly discouraged if your dog tends to pace rather than trot.

And perhaps they don't call it trotting - I know they use the phrase "gait your dog"? So do they use that word instead, and never say trot? Someone who knows could educate me here... Again, from the horse world, the movement I see in Z is "trotting" in the horse world, and a gaiting horse would be one of several other movements with the legs, but not diagonal pairs in sync. So I just called it trotting in my dog. I do like to use proper terminology, but I don't know if gaiting is a show term or a dog term. ??? And now I wonder if other dog breeds are suppose to pace rather than trot? Whole new can of worms, LOL.

 

[Katyusharocket]

And now I wonder if other dog breeds are suppose to pace rather than trot? Whole new can of worms, LOL.

Yes, never had I known before the day that photo was taken that different breeds have different standards for how they stack, so nothing saying it couldn't be the case for gait as well.

 

[Rits]

In conformation, you will always want your dog to trot so the judge can observe proper gait. They can't observe this in a pace. Pacing happens when a dog is either tired to conserve energy, improperly built (again to conserve energy because they aren't built right), or sometimes when they are young and are in a weird growth period.

If you plan on showing in conformation, its a valuable tool to read the breed standard to help you show your dog to the best and to not enhance any faults they may have with poor handling. Sometimes when we "lose" it isn't our dogs fault but ours for making our dogs look bad. My husband has lost a number of times due to poor handling as he's learned along the way. A hard and expensive lesson learned.

 

[JanS]

In our case it's my poor handling since I just can't go fast enough. Last year both of these dogs paced with me and when I handed them off to someone else they gaited nicely. Two judges commented that if I could move out a little better, they could too.

 

[StateOfMine]

Flint pacing... with me. He trots so nicely with other people. We just got out of a conformation class and he paced the whole time. Anyone know how to fix this? I have three different ladies who show their dobermans there and they can't get him to trot with me either.

 

[Katyusharocket]

A judge asked me to try again after a pace around the ring, and gave me the advice of either slightly pressuring the show lead to the left, or, gently bumping her shoulder with my knee at the beginning of our run around the ring. I tried it but I wasn't successful at it in that ring. After another ring with a different judge, that judge recommended that I lengthen my own stride, and bingo, that did it for us.

 

[Ravenbird]

I just can't go fast enough.

judge recommended that I lengthen my own stride, and bingo, that did it for us.

When I walk on hikes off leash, Asha is always in front of me, usually by 10 - 20 feet. I've noticed she paces more when she's tired or bored, but all I have to do is start jogging and she starts trotting. She just hears my footsteps picking up and she instantly switches to a long trot. So what they said: lengthen your stride, pick up your own pace and I think your dog will follow suit.

 

[JanS]

I have three different ladies who show their dobermans there and they can't get him to trot with me either.

That's interesting; especially in a conformation class. Maybe try lengthening your stride as suggested?

 

[Rits]

Flint pacing... with me. He trots so nicely with other people. We just got out of a conformation class and he paced the whole time. Anyone know how to fix this? I have three different ladies who show their dobermans there and they can't get him to trot with me either.

Move faster or pull his head and body into you before setting off, then push him back out over himself by making his front right leg cross over his left leg (think side pass for a horse). This usually helps them pick up the correct lead into the trot. A less nice way to correct it if you catch that he is pacing while you are actively moving is to lift up on his lead to lift his feet slightly off the ground. You can also achieve this by baiting the head up.

 

[remy]

I was going to comment what Rits said about the head thing. Sometimes before taking off to trot I’ll put my hand under Remy’s chin and very lightly lift it up.

You can also try doing cavaletti work with him. It makes them really think about their foot placement and it’s very hard for them to pace while going over the poles. It’s also great exercise!