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The interactive dog atlas · Exterior and regions · Head

Stop no anatomical term

The stop is the step between the forehead and the nose, between the eyes. The word comes from the world of dog shows, not from anatomy.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Exterior Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Stop
  2. Forehead
  3. Muzzle
Stop on the atlas drawing, "Exterior and regions" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

The step between the forehead and the bridge of the nose, between the eyes.

System
Body regions
Region
Head

What it is and what it does

The stop is the depression between the eyes, where the nasal bones meet the skull. It is a term from the show-ring vocabulary, defined by the Kennel Club glossary, not from anatomical nomenclature: the anatomy pages consulted do not use it. Anatomically, the area corresponds to the junction of the nasal bones with the frontal bone, where the frontals form a central depression.

Worth remembering

Pronounced in short-muzzled breeds, almost absent in sighthounds; the FCI standards describe it for each breed.

Names

  • Latin term: no anatomical term.
  • In Romanian: Stopul (Romanian page).

In the atlas lessons

The head: what you see, what is underneath (6 min).

Guides it appears in

From the same region: Head

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: exterior and regions