Agility venues?

[mum24dog]

My opinion with footing (even though it took me a while to get to the point) is that the more you work your dog (and yourself) on different footings and help to teach them to handle their bodies they will learn to adjust themselves.

 

This.

 

Our outdoor training ground is rougher than most shows we go to. Where I exercise my dogs there are deep channels, changes of level, hidden holes etc. Neither my dogs nor my daughter or myself have sustained an agility related injury (if you don't count the time I tripped over a ring rope or the achilles tendon problem I got from walking around all day with flat feet and unforgiving footwear on hard ground).

 

Most of our shows here are outdoors and in a variety of locations so we either live with that or give up agility. Excellent running surfaces are very rare, but so are surfaces that are too difficult to run on easily.

 

Mud is the biggest danger - or being taken out by your dog.

 

Essential of course to have suitable footwear for the conditions.

[SS Cressa]

I think one of the only problem we had while trialing outside was when we had a dry spell. The ground was very slick and was causing issues for handler and dogs.

 

I always ask other competitors about the surface at a unfamiliar place. I know one place supposedly got better floor but i havent been back after the last time. Bad flooring, and bad set up.

 

I have never had to experience it yet but i know i hear other people complain when the trial is outside or in an arena the big dogs leave craters from tearing up the course.

[SecretBC]

Training in my back yard more or less has me prepared for about anything I might run into at a trial, footing wise. Let's just put it this way -- I have a big pile of dirt that I use to go around and fill in the divots that Secret digs around the yard. I've gotten to the point where I don't bother to fill anything until I set a course that is in that area of the yard (otherwise she'll just open it up again).

 

In addition to the holes, voles & chipmunks have done a fine job of making my yard pretty uneven over the years. Honest to god I'm pretty surprised I haven't broken an ankle yet. The dogs don't seem to have ANY problem -- they all run great at home.

 

We don't have a ton of outdoor trials around here anymore. One club stopped using a particular park because they refused to change their "Monday mowing" schedule -- this meant that come the trial weekend the grass was like 8" tall. Seriously, it was pretty bad several years in a row and the small dog handlers in particular were very vocal in their griping. Not to mention the goose poop & feathers that covered the park every year.

 

I know another trial venue stopped getting used after tow trucks had to come rescue several vehicles from the mud & muck -- and apparently this had happened several years in a row.

 

Unfortunately for me, the facility that is local to me has some of the worst footing in the area. They used to have super craptastic mats (old & slippery) and then they built a new arena and put in turf -- but with sand mixed in, not rubber. It gets very slippery and all three of my dogs have wiped out on it. I tend to run my dogs more conservatively there because of this. I will not stop going there, though, because it's 30 minutes from home (vs. 3 hours for all the other trials).

 

I do find myself not trialing outdoors much, if at all, anymore -- but not because of footing. The weather is too insane and unpredictable around here. I can't afford to pay $300 in entry fees to have a horrible weekend in the rain or temperatures above 90. My dogs don't run well in either -- So I send my $$ to trials with indoor venues. Example: I skipped a huge trial this coming weekend with all of my friends (outdoors) and instead traveled across the state to an indoor trial where I didn't know a soul. And hey, the dogs ran great, so I feel I made the right choice. And I'll continue to do that all summer, choosing the indoor venues over outdoors. I'm lucky I have that choice, as the majority of trials in the upper midwest are now located indoors -- either in facilities built for dog sports or indoor soccer arenas.

 

I just wish we had more dirt trials, but they are few and far between. I love dirt. Except for the dirt we ran on at NADAC Champs in 2009. Worst experience of my life. That's where I learned not all dirt is good!

[mum24dog]

One club stopped using a particular park because they refused to change their "Monday mowing" schedule -- this meant that come the trial weekend the grass was like 8" tall. Seriously, it was pretty bad several years in a row and the small dog handlers in particular were very vocal in their griping.

 

I can understand that. We had a tiny yorkie training with us a few years ago that was virtually invisible in the grass.

 

Not to mention the goose poop & feathers that covered the park every year.

 

Sheep and deer poo here - one of mine has done whole runs with a lump in his mouth.

 

I know another trial venue stopped getting used after tow trucks had to come rescue several vehicles from the mud & muck -- and apparently this had happened several years in a row.

 

We can get that several shows in a row, like last "summer". It would take a week to get everyone off if we had to wait for tow trucks so those with big enough 4x4s tow out those who are stuck, and we all push if need be. I wouldn't swap my old 4x4 for anything - well until it dies at least.

 

One September show had to cancel because of heavy rain and mud 2 out 3 or 4 years and this year changed to May at a different site and guess what - it rained and got very muddy, although not bad enough to cancel. The following weekend was hot and sunny.

 

I do find myself not trialing outdoors much, if at all, anymore -- but not because of footing. The weather is too insane and unpredictable around here.

 

It must be very difficult. What passes for extreme and unpredictable here is nothing like what you get. We're very used to mud though and are prepared for it.

[alligande]

Mum24dog, there is also just a resigned British attitude to the weather: Years ago I was in Cowes for the start of an Ocean Race, everyone but me was American and they were amazed at the conditions people were out sailing in, just for fun no racing.... just a nice afternoon on the Solent, in the wind and rain. I had to point out what is obvious if you are British that the weather might never improve. Living in New England it gets cold in winter but we know that we will have nice sunny summers and if it is bad one weekend the next should be nice.

[mum24dog]

I had to point out what is obvious if you are British that the weather might never improve.

 

Can't disagree with that.

 

Indoor shows can't cope with the demand here so we just have to put up with the weather thrown at us.