Walking and Trotting Gait of Domestic Dogs: A Scoping Review of Markerbased, Inertial Measurement Units, and Markerless Methods

Objective: We mapped and compared marker-based optical motion capture, wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs), and markerless video-based techniques to quantify walking and trotting gaits in domestic dogs, and identify evidence gaps that hinder clinically acceptable implementation.Design: A scoping review was conducted.Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CAB Abstracts, VetMed Resource, and Google Scholar were searched for studies published between January 1, 2015, and July 31, 2025.Eligible studies reported kinematic, kinetic, or temporospatial outcomes during canine walking or trotting using marker-based motion capture, IMUs, or markerless video/pressure-walkway systems.Two reviewers independently screened each record, extracted the data, and descriptively summarized the results.Results: Thirty-one studies (marker-based = 8, IMU = 16, markerless = 7) showed that marker-based systems deliver full 3-D kinematics but require laboratory setup and up to 18 % soft-tissue artifacts occur.Multi-sensor IMUs replicate sagittal kinematics to within 2.5° 3.5° (CCC 0.95), and single-sensor units detect stride events to within 0.05 s.Markerless pressure walkways ≥ measure ground-reaction forces precisely but cannot discriminate early osteoarthritis, while video or depth-camera pipelines yield 6 10 mm joint errors and are not broadly validated across diverse breeds.-Conclusions: Objective canine gait analysis is rapidly expanding beyond laboratory research.IMU systems already deliver clinically acceptable accuracy, and markerless video methods appear promising.At present, protocol standardization, diverse breed validation, and consensus outcome sets are required before these technologies can be widely adopted for primary veterinary care.