The term "sickle" hock, means a sloping hock, as seen in the first illustration below. Because of a steep pelvic angle, the hindquarter is thrust under the dog, making it uncomfortable to stand with the hindquarter extended. The hock is not vertical to the ground, as is desirable, but sloping under the dog.
The second illustration shows a poorly angulated hindquarter, with resulting sloping angle to the hock, opposite of "sickle", with the slope to the rear of the dog.

Body length:

This illustration shows how the angle of the pelvis and/or the shoulder assembly can affect the visual appearance of length of back. "Backline" refers to that section of the back from the withers to set-on of tail. "Topline" refers to that area from base of skull (occiput) to set-on of tail. "Body length" usually refers to the distance between the point of shoulder and ischium (green line on drawing to left).

Taping the ears:

The illustration to the right shows our method of taping ears. Before you begin to tape, make sure the ear is shaved with a surgical blade so no hair interferes with the taping, and coat the ears with a solution of surgical glue or Benzyl Benzoate and let dry thoroughly.
1. Cut two strips of silk tape 3 inches long, and tape across the base of the ear, with the folded side outward toward the edge of the ear.
2. Cut a long strip of silk tape 6 inches long, and with the puppy facing away from you and the ears placed closely together (excess tape overlapping), place the tape across the front of both ears, with the end on the left folded over the left side.
3. Bring the long end of the tape around the ears, over the other tape, and back to the front.
4. Wrap any excess back toward the front. This gives a sturdy support for the ears. Other puppies will not be able to pull this off, so can be used on a whole litter.