Plastic vs. Metal jump cups

[TrulyReady]

I know a lot of clubs are switching to plastic jump cups rather then the metal cups due to issues with injuries. I had heard from a fellow competitor that dogs can also be injured by the plastic jump cups and that some types of metal cups were just as safe as the plastic versions (we are specifically looking into Launch the Dog jumps) all new jumps are of course a huge investment and we are looking at risk vs. benefit. We have some small V cups on our winged jumps that I feel are unsafe but we also have thicker rounded metal cups on our wingless jumps that don't seem sharp that I'm unsure of. I know there are articles on this topic somewhere but I can't seem to find them. I know there is a huge push to switch to plastic cups but after hearing of possible injuries from those also we want to research the possibilities.

[mum24dog]

In nearly 15 years I've never come across metal cups in the UK. Plastic are the norm and safety isn't a matter of concern.

 

Do you have fixed cups at all heights though? In competition we only have the cups that are in use for the pole on the wings and they are moved up and down as required. It takes longer but is worth it for safety. Even so we manage to get through up to 450 dogs per ring in a day at 3 heights.

 

Having said that, we do have a few jumps with fixed cups in our club and have never had an injury problem because of them.

[wildo]

I don't believe that all metal jump cups are bad, and I definitely don't believe that all plastic ones are good (though I'm not sure anyone is making that claim). I have metal cups from D & K Agility Equipment, whose website seems to be down. Hopefully they are still in business because I'd like more of these cups. They have no pointy corners and all edges are sanded smooth, not sharp.

 

[Root Beer]

You know, I just saw something about this somewhere, but I can't remember where. If I come across it again, I will definitely let you know.

[gcv-border]

I just saw this topic posted on the AGILE list (maybe last week?). Most people thought the metal jump cups were very dangerous. After seeing the metal cups that Wildo posted, I can believe that both metal and plastic cups can be either good or bad depending on how they are made.

 

Someone noted that using jumps with moveable cups would help reduce the danger of injuries to dogs who wrap a jump standard very tightly. I have never seen those (the moveable cups) in my area, but they sound like a good idea. I saw a photo on someone's blog that showed their JRT wrapping a jump, and you could see that he was brushing the side of his face against the jump cups.

 

I have seen the 'Launch the Dog' jumps. They are very cool-looking and are very expensive, but look like they would last for many years - so maybe a good investment for a club? I do not know if they use multiple cups or a moveable cup.

 

Jovi

[JerryG]

Agility Nerd http://agilitynerd.com/blog/agility/equipment/ban-metal-jumps.html has an article and some pictures about this. This is a new issue for me, but I have only been doing agility for a year. After reading this article I noticed that all the clubs here have jumps with fixed metal cups.

 

Jerry

artandorchids.com

[MrRipley]

The Launch the Dog jumps are very cool -- there is a venue near me that uses them pretty much exclusively. One negative though, is that I don't think you can store the jumps outside in a location exposed to sunlight. I was told it would make the plastic brittle.

 

It does take longer to change jump heights frequently at a trial. Usually they help deal with this by using only 1 set of jump cups on the jumps where a dog is slicing or wrapping the jump, and leaving extra cups in the jumps that the dog is approaching straight on to expedite the height changes.

 

I have also heard that if you go with non-movable jump cups, it's best to use ones that are spaced every 2 inches (like the clip-n-go jump strips) as opposed to every 4 inches. The more jump cups there are, the more visible they are to the dog.

[gcv-border]

The Launch the Dog jumps are very cool -- there is a venue near me that uses them pretty much exclusively. One negative though, is that I don't think you can store the jumps outside in a location exposed to sunlight. I was told it would make the plastic brittle.

 

 

Wow - you can't store these very expensive jumps (do I remember an ~ $200 price tag per jump/) outside? For that price, I would certainly not expect to have to baby them. Maybe they aren't as great as I thought. I guess I will just stay with my Lowe's PVC jumps.

 

Jovi

[mum24dog]

I don't think you can store the jumps outside in a location exposed to sunlight. I was told it would make the plastic brittle.

 

We don't have the extremes of temperature that you get in many parts over there but I have some wooden jumps with plastic cups that have lived outside up in the North Yorkshire Pennines for over 6 years in temperatures ranging from -10C to 30C+ and the cups are fine. (I've had my contacts chewed by sheep though before we fenced off part of the field.) And our club equipment is outside all summer exposed to sea winds and sun (or mostly rain as this year) also without deterioration. We haven't had to replace any in my memory. Weave poles are more prone to get a bit brittle I find.

 

Plastic jumps are a relative recent introduction here and haven't been tested as harshly over such a long period so I can't comment but I imagine it depends on the type of plastic used.

 

It does take longer to change jump heights frequently at a trial.

 

I know you have more jump heights than we do but you also have many fewer dogs to get through in a day I believe so it should balance out to some extent. A couple of minutes or less is all it usually takes to move a single set of cups up or down for the whole course but obviously it takes longer if only one person is doing it. Many hands and all that....

[MrRipley]

Yes, it's actually SUNLIGHT that causes ordinary PVC plastic to become brittle -- you can protect it from UV rays using paint.

 

I looked at the Launch the Dog website again and it says their jumps are UV stabilized, so maybe they are ok outside. Maybe it's their contact equipment that I was told could not be stored outside... sorry, not trying to start rumors here ;)/> but yeah I'd still be a little wary about storing expensive plastic jumps outdoors for extended periods. They ARE great jumps though - especially the newer design where the cups lift up and out so they are easier to change.

 

Not to change the subject, but I do NOT like the LTD seesaw -- the design allows for way to much "side-to-side" motion that is especially bad if the dog is approaching on a turn. Hopefully they are working to fix this flaw.