To Tip or to Run/Ride?

[FundyBorder]

A friend brought up an interesting topic this morning. They were asking about starting a new pup and the discussion came up about the teeter. When I taught our two boxers I've always had running contacts BUT they were taught to tip the fulcrum than continue onward. I'm seeing alot of people having their dogs run and ride the board. I'm curious if this however can be hard on their structure as alot appear to be slamming down on the board. How do most work the teeter and how do you ensure that if they're riding the teeter they're not flying off which seems to be the biggest problem I'm seeing.

 

Thanks,

Christine

[Kat's Dogs]

I know that however the dog does the teeter, it is hard on their bodies. All of Agility is.

 

Littler dogs (like papillons) need to ride it down, so most small dogs (even if they don't need to) are taught to ride it down like that, my shih tzu does it like that.

 

 

I know a lot of dogs (about BC size and even a bit bigger) around here that do it like that. Its faster if the dogs slams it down like that rather then waiting, so a lot of hard competitors teach that to bigger dogs. If so, I don't think that it can be that much harder on the dog.

 

Most serious competitors look out for their dogs safety on the equipment to keep their dogs in the best of shape.

 

Basically, if you got all that, I don't really know. But, if done right, it can cut a lot of time off your runs. (which most of us wouldn't mind every now and then )

[airbear]

Originally posted by Kat's Dogs:

I know that however the dog does the teeter, it is hard on their bodies. All of Agility is.

I'm not sure if this is true. Sure, agility involves some physical exertion, but I'm not sure what you mean by 'hard on their bodies', if we're talking about the average agility dog. I mean, my dogs probably suffer more wear and tear in their morning ball sessions. And I've seen a lot of very speedy 11 year-olds zipping around the course. I love the grey muzzled wonders!

 

But back to the point, I have a 'tipper' and a 'rider'. Not surprisingly, my Bear (he of the moderate pace and drive) is a tipper. One reason is that he really doesn't know the difference between a DW and teeter, so I tell him to 'wait' at the pivot point. Once it tips, he strides off briskly.

 

Weirdo, I mean Wick, who took a very long time to learn the teeter, is a rider. She knows that when I say "teeter" she is to run pretty close to the end of the board and rock back to ride it down. If we're doing NADAC, I might get her to slow down a bit as her teeter is borderline acceptable in NADAC (they want to see the board stationary on the ground before the dog places a paw down). If we're doing AAC or USDAA I don't, since they have a different interpretation of acceptable performance. Regardless of venue, Wick does a 2o/2o.

 

The reason I chose the ride method is because she rocks back, which allows her to take the impact on her rear, rather than her shoulders. How this is taught is a wee bit complicated. There were some good articles in Clean Run in past months, though. That would be a good starting point.

 

We haven't had a problem with fly-offs, even in Touch n Go, where she's moving pretty fast. No missed contacts this year, and only one last year (her baby year) when she wasn't sure which was DW and which was teeter. I think my proudest moment with her this year is when she did the teeter in a gamble, working away from me. Hurray!

 

From an obstacle execution time, the last time she was timed, it was about 1.5 seconds from ascension to her 2o/2o. Honestly, though, I don't think one wins or loses on individual obstacle performance times. It's all that time spent getting from obstacle to obstacle!

[Kat's Dogs]

When I say "hard on their bodies" I mean that if you don't stretch/warm up/cool down and so many other things, it is a lot of pressure on a dog's body.

 

They wouldn't usually go slamming their shoulders onto an A-frame, banging down a see-saw, flying over jumps and comming to really abrupt halts/turns ect.

 

Most Agility dogs are very healthy its just that Agility IS dangerous. Without taking percausions and realising the risks, it can have very bad results (I say this becuase I have seen so many bad things happen on a course). That said....

 

About old dogs:

 

Just yesterday at a trial, I heard some people behind my talking about NATCHs and how many points they have towards them. For an unrelated reason, I turned around. They dog that they were talking about was obviosly old (grey and everything, even a bit slow). As they continued talking, I heard that the dogs was 12 almost 13!! That very same dog took 1st place in touch n' go elite moments later.

 

Wow! way to go veterens!!!! Those dogs can really fly! I guess no one ever told them that they are supposed to slow down as they reach old age. They seem to speed up!!!

[Barb Scott]

One (out of 7) of our agility dogs ruptured her ACL on an agility course. That was our only agility related injury in over 15 years of training and competition. Our mixed breed (sheltie/BC?) who never did an agility obstacle in her life tore both cruciates (two different incidents) just being a dog. My Aussie did permanent damage to her neck playing in the yard with one of the BCs. I wouldn't say agility was exceptionally hard on dogs' bodies.

Barb S

[Shetlander]

Originally posted by FundyBorder:

I'm seeing alot of people having their dogs run and ride the board. I'm curious if this however can be hard on their structure as alot appear to be slamming down on the board. How do most work the teeter and how do you ensure that if they're riding the teeter they're not flying off which seems to be the biggest problem I'm seeing.

I'm going to train my pup to ride the board because it's so widely promoted among instructors and top competitors. I taught my previous 3 dogs to tip. Two developed problems with the teeter, which I'm not necessarily blaming on the method of training. I'm sure it was their trainer My first agility dog (who never had any equipment issues) taught himself to ride the board. The first time he did it, I was totally shocked and didn't know what to make of it. Another case of the dog knowing more than his doofus handler . For a while, we did have some issues with missing contacts and fly-offs. Basically he needed to relearn the obstacle, which he did, and he ended up with a great teeter performance.

 

That's a good question about whether that riding method is harder on the dog's structure though the top competitors have every reason to keep their dogs in the best condition and that seems to be what they all do. However, recently, I read (can't remember where or who wrote it) an opinion that the teeter was often painful for dogs and that's a main reason so many dogs develop teeter issues. The writer felt that the teeter needed to be re-examined as far as what dogs were experiencing. I thought that was a very interesting perspective.

 

Liz

[Northof49]

Teaching dogs to go to the end of the teeter and ride it down to the ground is very hard on the dog's body. The entire body is taking the full slam of the teeter onto the ground, and it doesn't matter the weight of the dog - it's relevant to its size. As most of the dog's weight it in it's front end, this execution of the teeter is hardest on that part of the body. Sooner or later, it is going to take it's toll on a dog's body, regardless of well it is built.