SINGLE TRACKING

A well built and properly structured collie is a natural born trotter. They move efficiently, with a smooth gait that seems effortless. Their gait is balanced and designed to save energy,  and they almost appear as they float over the ground they are covering. As the collie picks up speed from a walk to a trot, he will single track. He will bring his front legs inward in a straight line from his shoulder to the centre of the body, while the hind legs move inward from the hip to the centre of the body.

If you watch closely from the side view, or better yet, take a slow motion video and replay it, you will notice the left front and rear legs are under the dog supporting their weight, while the legs on the opposite side are both fully extended. The back foot will land in the same spot as the front foot. This is called single tracking, and the footprints of a collie who is single tracking will leave a single line of only one track  in the snow. This effortless gait is inherited in collies, and allows them to quickly change their direction of travel, which is very useful in a herding breed. 

If a dog is poorly structured, they will not display this beautiful, fluid movement as they should. Short steps taken with the front legs, or a lowering of the head while moving, both indicate a weak front structure. Watch too, for the front leg to be extended from the shoulder, not from the elbow, which would show a poorly structured front end which will prevent the dog from moving as it should.