Are the chute tunnel and tyre jump dangerous?

[ClantyreSheltie]

And seriously, I sprained an ankle, a knee and suffered a broken rib in an agility fall, so maybe we should wrap ourselves in bubble wrap...

(I still get made fun of at trials. "Rachael, you going to stay upright today?")

 

[Sharon]

Tire and Chute

Chris Zink once wrote about our dog, Shadow. He crashed a single bar jump, taking the bar with him, rolling it up under his chin. He suffered decent bone bruising and a lot of soreness in his upper arms. That was the last time my brother ever ran a dog. And thankfully Chris was there to stabilize him before going to the emergency vet.

If a dog can crash a simple bar jump, then the rest of it must look really dangerous.

My friend's Golden got tangled in the tire and broke a leg.

 

[labgirl]

Thank you. Rachael I can't fathom why the dog was pts either.

I agree that any obstacle can be dangerous and to try and make them entirely safe is impossible.

I like BAA because they are more sensible with jump heights than KC. In KC Merlin would have to jump at the top height, which is ridiculous! However, I do feel people get irrational about things. Dogs will get injured at agility and it is natural to want to prevent it happening again. But I sometimes think people go too far, rather than ban an obstacle completely I would like to see steps taken to improve the obstacle and make it safer.

I had never heard of a breakaway tyre, but that seems a logical alternative.

On the whole BAA is very good, just on this occasion I felt they were being over reactive.

 

[melbell]

And seriously, I sprained an ankle, a knee and suffered a broken rib in an agility fall, so maybe we should wrap ourselves in bubble wrap...

(I still get made fun of at trials. "Rachael, you going to stay upright today?")

you sound like me in the ring.. I tend to trip and fall a lot too.

 

[HopeShelties]

Maybe you need to introduce them to the break away tire
http://www.marksagilityequipment.com/dog-agility-jumps.html
and the shorter chute
http://www.marksagilityequipment.com/dog-agility-tunnels-and-chutes.html

 

[celloyogi]

This woman put the dog down after that? Seriously?

I'm no agility expert, but yeah, why was the dog pts? He's wagging his tail and shimmying in her arms all the way out of the ring. Maybe covering some of his pain with excitement, but still. I've seen worse just running around the yard chasing squirrels.

 

[Mignarda]

I'm no agility expert, but yeah, why was the dog pts? He's wagging his tail and shimmying in her arms all the way out of the ring. Maybe covering some of his pain with excitement, but still. I've seen worse just running around the yard chasing squirrels.

I'm wondering if he needed some major surgical repair and the owner didn't want to pay for it?

 

[JLSOhio51]

Perhaps I misread or misinterpreted the comments of the original poster, but I did not get the impression that the video shown was of the dog that had to be put down. The way I read the post was that the video was of an accident that illustrated the type of incident that precipitated an animal being put down. What was written in the original post was (the emphasis was mine):

"Then I saw they are banning the chute tunnel from competitions, again saying they cause too many injuries. A video was posted of a dog injuring itself in the chute to demonstrate this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL-dh...J-Wyaw&index=1

Apparently this dog tore its ligaments and hurt its back and was put to sleep. Its not clear how it injured itself, whether it caught a foot in the tunnel or something else."

I guess I agree with those who question the efficiency of the proposed changes (relative to elimination of risks), but on the other hand, those in charge of any competition have a duty to do whatever they feel reasonable to protect competitors, handlers, judges and spectators. It then falls to those who wish to enter the competition to either accept the changes, work to change them or move on to other outlets.

 

[Caro]

I don't agree that it's a sport so too bad if it's not safe. It's an activity that people do with their dogs - the majority do it for fun, not to see their dog injured. How is having an unsafe piece of equipment showing a dog's agility, it isn't. Let the people who are willing to risk their dogs create a seperate sport. And I will point out that in human sports the rules and equipment are always being reviewed and changed for safety reasons. And if you don't think it's unsafe - just read all the discussions on dog injuries in Clean Run.

There was a major safety review of equipment here and many changes introed last year. As we run outside we probably see more injuries (no soft landings here).

They do not allow the tyre jump, for instance, at any competition as they believe it a high injury risk.

Tyre jumps can be dangerous. And do they really show any agility to do? We use the breakaway tyres here. There is probably a reason BAA didn't go for them - cost maybe?

Then I saw they are banning the chute tunnel from competitions, again saying they cause too many injuries.

I hate the chute. Sick of seeing small dogs twisting around in them stuck, including my Tully. I've been DQ'd a couple of times by releasing her from the chute. It's not the bottom but the loose fabric on the top that's a problem. Even pegging the ends down the dogs get caught. Our chutes were also shortened in the review (2m) and the front end is flexible rather than hard (still hate it tho).

Despite all the whinging when the changes were made here, it was hardly a hiccup in the running of courses. The best change was the reduction in the seesaw (people called it the weesaw), but the reduction in injuries and problems was so immense that people's views changed.

 

[Silaria]

I don't agree that it's a sport so too bad if it's not safe. It's an activity that people do with their dogs - the majority do it for fun, not to see their dog injured.

I think you misunderstand us, Caro. It's not that it's a sport and too bad that it's not 100% safe. It's that no sport is ever going to be 100% safe - and that includes animal and human sport.

We train and condition to reduce the chance of injury but you are never going to eliminate it entirely. Every athlete, and that includes dog handlers who enter there dogs in agility, herding, flyball, or any other sport, accepts those risks when they enter the event.