A
Almond eye: eye shape in which the tissue surrounding the eye is elongated
Amble: a relaxed, easy trot in between the walk and the show ring gait
Angulations: the angles formed at the meeting joint of two bones
Anterior: the portion carried foremost in normal locomotion
Apple head: a domed or rounded top skull
Apron: the longer fur and the chest and lower neck
 

B
Balance: term used to describe the similar characteristics of the dog's parts: proportions
Bandy leg: a leg that bends outward in an arch
Barrel chested: describes overly-sprung ribs: a very rounded rib cage
Basewide: wide footfall in gaiting
Bat ear: an erect/prick ear with a broad base and rounded top
Beard: long hair on the under jaw
Beefy: over development of the hindquarter muscling
Belton: a color pattern seen in several breeds (i.e. English setters)
Bitchy: usually used to define an overly-refined male
Bite: the position of the jaws and all teeth when the mouth is closed
Blanket: the coloring on the back and upper sides of the dog between the neck and the tail
Blocky: cobby/square-shaped body
Bloom: the sheen of a healthy coat
Bodied up: mature looking, well-developed, lacking puppyish conformational characteristic
Bone: pertaining to the substance and girth of the dog's bones, usually referring to leg bones
Bossy: overdeveloped shoulder muscles (equivalent of beefy, only in the front)
Brindle: another coloration pattern, broken tiger striped
Brisket: thoracic area (inc. chest, rib cage)
Broken coat: a rough but sparse wire coat
Brush: the feathering on the underside of the tail
Bull neck: a thick, stout, well muscled neck
Butterfly nose: partially non-pigmented nose leather (part black and part white)
Button ear: an ear type in which the base of the ears is erect, but the top tips neatly forward

C
Camel back: general term used to describe an arched back
Carpal: largest bone in the pastern (wrist)
Cat foot: describes a tight-knuckled foot in which the toes are well arched
Caudal/cockerel: the vertebrae that make up the tail
Cervical vertebrae: the vertebrae that make up the neck
Cheeky: too much fill in the skull cavities, bulging sides of face
China eye: blue or clear eye coloration
Chiseling: pertaining to head structure, the outline and smoothness of the facial region
Chops: jowls, thick, heavy flesh on the lips and jaws
Clipping: a gaiting fault in which the rear feet actually knick the pads of the front feet when in a full trot
Close-coupled: a short loin in comparison to other proportions
Coarse: lacking refinement
Cobby: very compact all over
Conformation: term describing the physical structure of the entire dog
Coupling: the loin
Cow-hocked: hocks bending inwards when in a natural stance
Crabbing: gaiting fault in which the front and rear legs do not line up when viewed from behind or in front
Crest: the arch on the top of the neck in some breeds
Cropped ear: an ear that had been surgically altered or trimmed to stand up erect
Croup: the region on the top of the dog between the hip bones, extending to were the tail is set on

D
Dentition: the number and placement of teeth in the mouth
Depth (of chest): an indication of the volume of internal room for the heart, lungs, etc: referenced to the elbow
Dewclaws: extra toe or toes on the inside of the pasterns or hocks: commonly removed in most breeds
Dewlap: loose hanging skin under the neck
Dish face: a concave top of muzzle or slightly upturned nose
Divergent hocks: hocks that turn outward when at a natural stance
Dock tail: a tail that has been surgically shortened or removed
Double coat: a two layered type of coat, the first thick and plush, the outer one consisting of coarser guard hairs
Down face: pertaining to the planing of the head, the slope of the muzzle plane being steeper than that of the skull plane
Down in the pastern: weak pasterns
Drive: referring to the amount of thrust from the rear when gaiting
Drop ear: an ear folded or creases in at least one place
Dry neck: taut skin on the underline of the neck (opposite of wet neck)
Dudley nose: flesh colored nose leather 

E
East-west: front structural fault in which the legs and feet point outwards, away from each other
Elbowing out: the elbows out-turned, away from body
Even bite: meeting of upper and lower incisors with no overlap
Ewe neck: a concave neck line
Expression: general appearance of the look in the eye
Eyeteeth: upper canine teeth

F
Feathering: fringe of hair on the underside of the tail, brisket, and backs of legs
Femur: main bone in the rear legs
Fibula: one of the bones that make up the lower thigh
Fiddle front: elbows turned outward, pasterns turned inward, toes pointed outward
Flag: a long feathered tail, carried high
Flat croup: a croup with insufficient slope or taper from the hip bones to the root of the tail
Flat sided: lacking proper spring of ribs
Flews: inner corners of the upper lips
Flewsy: too much flews
Flying ears: erect/prick ears on a breed that should not have prick ears
Flying trot: a very fast gait where all four feet are off the ground for a brief moment
French front: see "fiddle front"
Frill: see "apron"
Full dentition: refers to an adult dog with all its teeth in and fully developed
Furnishings: see "feathering" 

G
Gait: the pattern of footfall: when used in a show ring setting, it describes the dog's movement at a trot
Gaskin: lower second thigh
Gay tail: a tail carried high and slightly curved over the back
Goose neck: a long tube-like neck (opposite of bull neck)
Goose stepping: a gaiting fault with an accentuated and seemingly careless lift in the forelegs
Grizzle: a mixture of three or more colors on one hair
Guard hairs: the coarse outer coat on a double coated breed 

H
Hackles: hairs on the back and the back of the neck that the dog raises when alerted
Hackney gait: a fault in all but two AKC recognized breeds in which the front legs are lifted high with an arching wrist
Hard knuckled: a tight foot with prominent arches in each of the toes
Hare foot: an elongated foot with little arch in the toes
Harlequin: color pattern usually piebald (bi-color splashes)
Haw: the third eyelid: membrane on the inner corner of the eye, seen in wet faced breeds
Height: measured from the ground to the point of the withers
Hock: the collection of tarsus bones on the rear legs: the true heel
Hocking out: see "divergent hocks"
Hucklebones: top of hip bones
Humerus: bone of the upper arm 

I
Incisors: the smaller row of teeth between the two canines; present on both upper and lower jaws 

J
Jowls: flesh of the lips and jaws

K
Kiss marks: tan spots on the cheeks and over the eyes in some breeds
Kiss of Ala: a small snip of differing color on the center of the top of the skull
Knuckling over : a universal fault where the carpal (wrist) bones flex forward under the weight of the dogs standing 

L
Layback: term used to describe the dog's front or rear angulations
Layon: the angle of the shoulder blade from the nearest vertical axis
Leather: outer flap of the ear
Level bite: see "even bite"
Level gait: no rise or fall of the withers or top line when at a standard show ring gait
Liver: a color; deep brown
Loaded: pertaining to over-development of certain groups of muscles
Loin: sides of the dog in the lumbar vertebrae region
Loose front: loose attachment of muscles to the shoulder, producing a gait in which the front is slung all about
Lumbar vertebrae: the vertebrae running over the ribs to the tail
Lumber: an awkward, uncoordinated looking gait 

M
Mandible: lower jaw bone
Manubrium: frontal area of the chest
Mask: dark shading on the face
Merle: color pattern; dark patching upon a lighter background, as seen in some breeds like Australian Shepherds
Metatarsus: smaller bone that makes up the hock
Milk teeth: puppy teeth
Mismark: a specimen with highly undesirable coloring or markings for its breed
Moving close: when viewed from the rear or front, the legs move toward the centerline of the body while gaiting
Moving straight: describes a dog with little reach and drive in gaiting
Muzzle: foreface; head in front of the eyes 

N

O
Oblique eyes: outer corner of eyes placed higher than inner corners
Occiput: point of the skull bone, back of head
Otter tail: thick rooted, tapering tail with parted hair on the underside
Out at elbows: elbows turn outward, away from body, at a natural stance
Overdone: refers to a dog whose angulations are extreme; too much
Overhang: a heavily pronounced brow
Overreaching: a gaiting fault in which the rear legs must reach to one side or another to avoid clipping
Overshot: an overbite; upper incisors project beyond the lower ones 

P
Padding: a gaiting fault in which the front feet flip up and outward to avoid clipping with the rear
Paddling: caused by and east-west or in at the elbows front; front feet are slung stiffly outwards when gaiting
Pads: the thick leathery projections on the souls of the feet
Paper foot: an overly flat foot with thin pads and little, if any, arch to the toes
Peak: see "occiput"
Parti: variegated patches of two or more colors
Pastern: region of the front leg between the carpus and the foot (the wrist)
Pelvis: hip bones
Penciling: thin lines of black between otherwise tan colored tows in some breeds
Pigeon toed: feet (front or rear) pointing inwards, towards each other
Pig mouth: see "overshot"
Pincer bit: see "even bite"
Planes: referring to the head, the plane of the muzzle and the plane of the top skull
Planing: the comparison of the angles of the two planes of the head
Plume: see "feathering"
Poke: neck carried low and outwards when gaiting
Popping hock: gaiting fault describing an accentuated lift of the hock portion just after full extension of the rear
Pounding: gaiting fault;  front stride is shorter than the rear, front feet pound the ground in an ungainly manner
Prick ear: an erect or upright ear
Puppyish: immature in overall conformation (i.e. no spring of ribs, or loose front action: typical traits of puppies)

Q

R
Racy: tall and of a lithe, slight build
Ragged: muscling appears rough and ragged, instead of smooth
Rangy: disproportionately tall, long, and of a lighter build than is desired
Rat tail: thick root covered in curly hair, tapering to a sharp point with little to no hair
Reach: describes the length of forward stride taken by the forelegs when in motion
Refinement: pertaining to the amount of raciness
Restricted: a gaiting fault caused by under-angulation where either the front or the rear appears painfully constricted
Ribbed up: a long rib cage
Ring tail: carried up and in a semi-circle over the croup
Roach back: a noticeable arch over the thoracic and lumbar regions
Rocking horse: refers to a dog who braces (or rocks backwards) while in a stack rather than lean over its front
Rolling: a gait in which the rear seems to be swaying and ambling along
Roman nose: a down faced dog with the addition of a further sloping tip of nose plane
Rubber hocks: a gaiting fault in which the hocks flex and twist both ways to bear the weight of the rear
Rudder: another term for the tail
Ruff: the thick. lush hair growth around the neck in some breeds 

S
Saber tail: tail carried in a semi-circle
Sable: color pattern; silver, gold, tawny, or grey hairs tipped in black
Sacrum: vertebrae of the pelvic girdle
Saddle: large black marking over the back
Scissors bite: a bite type; the outer surfaces of the lower incisors touches the inner surfaces of the upper incisors
Screw tail: a twisted, kinked tail
Self: one solid color
Semi-prick ear: ears carried erect with the tips leaning forward
Shelly: a shallow, narrow body lacking proper fill and spring of ribs as well as being fine boned
Sickle hocks: straight, restricted hock joints resulting in the inability to fully extend hocks while gaiting
Sickle tail: carried out an in a semi-circle
Single tracking: all footprints falling upon a single, central line of travel while gaiting
Skully: a very broad top skull
Slab sides: flat, under sprung ribs
Slew foot: general term for feet turned outwards
Smooth coat: a very short, tight fitting and slick single layer coat
Snipy: a pointed muzzle lacking proper fill and under jaw
Splay foot: a flat foot with toes spread apart from each other
Spring: refers to the amount of roundness to the rib cage
Spread: the distance between the front legs
Standoff coat: a heavy, somewhat long coat that stands out from the body, rather than lying flat
Steep: used to denote incorrect angles
Steep croup: a croup which makes a dramatic slope from the hip bones to the root of the tail
Stern: another term for the tail
Sternum: breastbone
Stifle: kneecap
Stilted: a gaiting style; very choppy with lots of up and down bounce due to straight angulation
Stop: the indentation between the eyes; the step up from the muzzle plane to the skull plane
Straight front: too little angulation in the front
Straight in the pastern: not enough give in the pastern area when in a natural stance
Substance: pertaining to the amount of bone
Sway back: a noticeably concave top line 

T
Thoracic vertebrae: the vertebrae that make up the spine over the rib cage area
Throaty: excess amount of loose skin under the neck
Thumb marks: black splotches on the backs of the pasterns
Tibia: the smaller of the two major bones in the hock
Tied at the elbows: see "paddling"
Topline: the horizontal made by the top of the withers through the bottom of the croup
Tuck up: the shallower depth of body beneath the loin area
Tulip ear: carried erect with only the edges turning forward and in
Twisting hocks: see "rubber hocks"
Type: the characteristic physical qualities that distinguish one breed from another
Typey: a specimen with outstanding breed type

U
Ulna: the smaller of two major bones in the forearm
Underline: the contour of the underside of the brisket and the abdominal floor
Undershot: an underbite, opposite of overshot
Unsound: a dog with one or more severe conformational or health faults that would render it incapable of working

V
Varminty: a keen and piercing expression 

W
Walleye: a bluish eye
Webbed: a thin but solid membrane between all toes
Weedy: rangy and with insufficient amount of bone
Well let down: having short hocks
Wet neck: see "throaty"
Wheel back: see "roach back"
Whip tail: a long, straight, evenly tapering, smooth coated tail
Winging: a gaiting fault in which one or both front limbs twist outward
Wirehair: a coat of hard, crisp, somewhat kinked hairs
Withers: the region between the neck and the back
Wry mouth: a cross bite where the upper and lower jaws do not line up 

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