Fall 2017  Saber Tails 37    

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

HOW TO MEASURE YOUR DOG’S HEIGHT

Equipment:

• 

Spirit level (or you can use an app on your phone – see below!)

• 

Flat, non-slip surface next to a blank wall or doorframe

• Pencil

• 

Measuring tape or long ruler

• Assistant

Step 2:   Ask your helper to get your dog to stand square on a flat 

surface next to the wall. This is the same position used when show-

ing. Your dog should not be crouched or stretched, and his/her 

head should be in a natural position.

Step 3:   Place the spirit level across the highest point of the dog’s 

withers (shoulder blades). Apply gentle pressure so that the spirit 

level is touching the skin and not resting on the hair (the hair on 

some PBGVs can be quite thick!).

Step 1:   If you don’t have a spirit level, you can download a free app 

so you can use your phone instead. Search for “i Handy Level” on an 

iPhone, or “Bubble level” on an Android. You might need to tape a 

ruler to your phone to make it long enough to use for measuring. 

Make sure the ruler is level with the edge of the phone.

Step 4:   One end of the spirit level should touch the wall. The bub-

ble should be in the middle of the level indicator.   Use the pencil to 

mark the wall underneath where the level touches the wall. 

Step 5:   Measure the distance from the mark on the wall to the 

floor.  The distance is the height of your dog.

This method is more accurate than simply holding a measuring 

tape next to the dog, because if the tape is not perfectly straight 

you will get errors.

Email your dog’s height, name, date of birth, gender and DNA sta-

tus (affected, carrier or clear) to emily.jeanes@aht.org.uk 

Thank you for helping us with our research!