Agility Dog Association of Australia Ltd

From the ADAA Chair ... February 2010

I am taking the opportunity with this month’s report to provide you with some thoughts on considering/treating our dogs as the athletes that they are and how to take that into consideration with their training, especially in jumping. So I asked Susan Salo, whom I think has much to offer us in Australia with jumping, and she generously wrote back to me. It doesn’t really matter whether or not you follow her jump training methodology/system, she has a great message for us all. Susan also passed my question onto Cindy Di Franco DVM (a licensed veterinarian with 20 years clinical experience treating canine soft tissue injuries and an Agility competitor).

From Susan Salo:

Cathy, you are so correct, there are MANY opinions on this subject! I will happily share with you mine, since you have asked and it is a subject near and dear to my heart.

For all dogs, growth plates for the smaller attachments are not complete until 18 months of age. Their neurological pathways are not complete early either so for me I would always proceed with caution. While I say this, there are many skill sets to be put into place so it really should not be a problem for anyone. For most of us, a dog would not be competition ready prior to at least 2 years old.

I am a firm believer that the dogs should begin early with their jump skills in a problem solving way, meaning that they are working through drills to find path, read distance etc which can and should begin early however only with stride regulators and NOT jump bars. They then "begin" to transition to full height starting at approx 10 months but then only with the set point exercise where it is set up for the dog to have maximum success as there is not forward speed or motion from handler. They work this process only once each month as the height begins to go up to full height so by the time the dog is of age they have worked up to full height to learn that angle of elevation. Once that is in place and sequencing begins, I would keep those sessions VERY short with jumps at varying height with brightly marked bars.

I feel there is a danger in those that want to hurry on with the process and therefore feel the dog will be fine at lower height only to shock the dog with real height at some random point! For all these reasons plus the fact that repetitive stress will and does take its toll on all dogs, they only have so many jumps in them before they begin to suffer the consequences of hard work on less than perfect footing, etc all of which is simply a part of agility. The real tragedy to me is that the dogs will all too willingly give themselves to us for this sport and will work until such time as they simply cannot any longer. Where does proper management of the athlete come into play in that scenario?? The human factor is the only one who actually CAN see down that road and know for certain what the outcome will be for years of abuse whether we do it knowingly or simply from ignorance it is the animal that pays the price.

From Cindy Di Franco:

I can't begin to agree more with you on this point. Take a human athlete. No one takes an 18 month old baby and starts training him in hopes that he will be the best baseball pitcher or quarterback the world has ever seen. What would be the use? An 18 months old human is going to pitch very differently than an 18 year old adolescent, than a 28 year old adult. So many factors influence a growing body and so much change is occurring during the rapid growth phase that when one stops to actually think about what they are doing, it seems mad to think you can teach a puppy any type of consistency during such times of rapid growth. Combine this with the fact that not only is the animal still developing mentally/psychologically, his body is never the same long enough to develop any sort of consistent or useful skills for maturity. As noted, in an effort to please, the pup will start doing bizarre things physically to achieve the desired result (pleasing the handler). These physical things the dog does to compensate, I believe, can have serious impact on the rest of the dog’s physical life.

As with all things, one must use common sense. Dogs MUST be allowed to mature and develop as nature intended. Just as the process can't be rushed (and jumping a 10 month old puppy IS rushing), it shouldn't be allowed to lay fallow either. You can't just say "let the dog be a dog" for 18 months then all of a sudden groom it for agility in 3 or 4 months. This is a gigantic set up for injury. Simple cross training that exposes the puppy to a variety of conditions which allow him to both develop maximally physically AND mentally AT HIS OWN PACE combined with more structured exercises like the ones you outlined (slowly over time in very brief sessions) are not only optimal but in my opinion necessary for each individual dog to achieve his maximum potential with regard to comfort, athleticism and most importantly, quality of life as the dog approaches retirement UP TO AND INCLUDING THE VERY END OF HIS LIFE SPAN.

As you noted, our dogs only have so many jumps, twists and turns in them. Wild canids only expend energy like this when playing (a developmental strategy for becoming an efficient hunter) defending territory and hunting. They do all they can to avoid injury, wear and breakdown in an effort to live as long as they can in order to distribute their DNA. I don't care about my dogs' DNA. I simply want them with me, in physical and mental comfort, as long as possible. Abuse of the physical body over time leads to break down, pain and limited range of motion, just to name a few. We've all witnessed the 12 year old agility dog gimping around a veterans course because, as the owner notes, "he just loves it". I couldn't disagree more. That dog would be just as happy and very much more comfortable taking a leisurely stroll on the beach because what the dog 'just loves' is being with us. Not what we ask of him physically.

It's all about balance, common sense and education. Sadly, many people are deficient in all 3 categories. This is ubiquitous across all aspects of life. Teachers and trainers can't do a thing as far as imparting balance or common sense to the people we come in contact with. Instead, we can only help these dogs through education of the owners. And that's just the ones that want the information. I am often saddened and frustrated by the small numbers of those seeking to educate themselves. But we have to start somewhere. We may never reach most of the people we need to, but by reaching those that WANT to be, we can make a difference.

Thanks for forwarding this to me.

I hope Susan and Cindy’s thoughts are of benefit to you, but more importantly to your dog(s). I feel so lucky that we have people like them who are so willing to give of their time and experience.

May you enjoy your training with your dog and achieve your goals.

Cathy Slot
ADAA Chair

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