Hidden dangers of the chute

Wow. I wonder if this will be banned completely. Certainly can see why they would ban it. Cleo has not hurt herself on it. In fact she loves the chute. But yes, the faster speed of dogs now does make this a serious issue.
 
Really good to hear that these decisions being taken. I watched that video a couple of days ago on another site - just heartbreaking. There are so many videos being posted recently of dogs in the UK having issues with the chute. Crufts was one such where multiple dogs were getting tangled in it. Many of our judges are not using it now, so while I've trained Angus for it, I'm not going to do any more with it. Epic has always been fine, but having seen, just today, serious problems with this piece of equipment even with a straight entry and exit I've pretty much decided to 'run past' or probably withdraw from courses where this is included. (Difficult to run past when he has a long history of taking the tunnel). I had a course the other week were there was a 180 turn from the chute into another tunnel - thought hard about whether to do it but it was actually a straight run through and the turn was achieved by a fc. Had there been any potential for the dog coming out of the chute on an angle, I would have scratched the same as I have if too windy for the dog walk or similar concerns with course.
However, Epic is now Grade 6 so I'm paying a lot of attention to how this situation develops with the UK KC because it is a COMPULSORY inclusion in Championship classes (Grade 7), both in agility (Standard) and Jumping qualifying rounds and in the final. Our KC have pended some changes to the design but there are a large number of competitors calling for it to be suspended until the changes have been made or preferably, excluded. Dogs are just so much faster now and from what I've seen, it appears any size of dog can have problems. Just hoping that the more organisations banning it, the more the pressure will increase on those holding out.
 
Once UKI stated they were removing it from their list of usable obstacles last week other US agility organizations followed faster than I expected. AKC and TDAA announced it today. (TDAA decided quickly; they started discussions with their judges and trial hosts yesterday and the response was overwhelming.) I've heard USDAA is also getting rid of the chute but I can't find any announcement backing that up. That leaves just CPE and ASCA with the chute as a usable obstacle in the US.

I know, internationally, there have been differences in agility standards and levels of difficulty. Here's hoping this is one time where all agility organizations, worldwide, can come together and agree on something as important as the health of our dogs.
 
Silaria said:
Once UKI stated they were removing it from their list of usable obstacles last week other US agility organizations followed faster than I expected. AKC and TDAA announced it today. (TDAA decided quickly; they started discussions with their judges and trial hosts yesterday and the response was overwhelming.) I've heard USDAA is also getting rid of the chute but I can't find any announcement backing that up. That leaves just CPE and ASCA with the chute as a usable obstacle in the US.

I know, internationally, there have been differences in agility standards and levels of difficulty. Here's hoping this is one time where all agility organizations, worldwide, can come together and agree on something as important as the health of our dogs.
Click to expand...
Link to USDAA announcement today
://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=3333
 
Okay. I'm sure dogs have been injured in the chute. And I'm no agility expert, maybe some of you know of really bad experiences with this obstacle. But every time I've seen this posted, I see a majority of comments from people who had no idea this was a problem. And a search for common agility injuries brings up studies that talk about the dog walk, A-frame, etc...no real mentions of the chute. Maybe there is some new study that I'm missing, I don't know...

So, I'm questioning why the chute is being deemed more dangerous than say, the A-frame or the dog walk? Why single out this particular piece of equipment? If you look at it, none of the obstacles are "safe". Especially at the speeds at which many agility dogs are expected to compete. I've seen videos of dogs tumbling over jumps and bailing (or falling) off the dog walk that scared me more than the chute videos. It makes me wonder if there are other variables that need to be looked at more than this one obstacle. Like uneven surfaces, for instance.

I mean, yes, the safety of the dogs is of utmost importance! But I guess I'm wondering whether any agility obstacles are any safer, especially at such high speeds. There is an element of risk in any athletic endeavor, that's why structure and conditioning are so important. Out of all of you agility people on here, are chute injuries something you've experienced firsthand?

Anyway. On a positive note, I guess I'm glad that I didn't buy a chute for my new puppy to practice on! :)
 
The issues with the chute are a combination of things, and if you watch the video Cheryl posted you can get a good idea of the issues that have developed over the years with the chute. The video actually shows a Sheltie who ended up experiencing siezures after an incident with the chute and it took a long time to determine they were being caused by something humans are well aquainted with, whiplash. Honestly, just because people haven't personally witnessed or experienced an issue doesn't mean it's not there. Agility competitors have been petitioning for the removal of the chute for a number of years now.

I've personally witnessed a large Bernese Mountain Dog, who was not moving very quickly, get entangled in the chute during practice with straight on approaches. My club has rubber flooring and the dog still got tangled up.

All that said, what you state is true, the contacts are dangerous also. My Edan fell off the peak of a 6-foot (USDAA height) a-frame in practice once. Thank goodness for well padded floors, he was able to get up and actually went back over the a-frame like nothing happened. However, there HAVE been safety improvements to the contacts in the form of rubberizing them. Rubber gives the dogs more grip than sand did. Does it solve the problem completely, no, but it is a great improvement over sand. The break away tire, 24 inch weaves, and platic jump cups were also improvements in the name of safety.

Part of the onus for safety is on the handler to set a good approach line for their dog to ALL obstacles. Sometimes, in the intrest of shaving those fractions of a second we neglect to do that. It's also on the handler to ensure their dog is physically fit and understands their job (how to perform the obstacle) before entering any competition. There are many who rush young dogs into competition before they are completely ready which increases the possibility of injury.

No sport is without risk and agility is no exception. It's up to us to make it as safe as possible and to speak up when we see something wrong.
 
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I'm glad it is gone. I have always hated the chute. Way back an Aussie that was a rescue from the group I adopted mine from was practicing. Its handler went in to get the phone or something. It was only a matter of about 10 minutes and when returned the dog on its own had entered the chute, got tangled, and suffocated. Granted the dog shouldn't have been left alone with the equipment, but I have always disliked it. After working with Melli on an agility class and watching some of the televised ones it's not a good idea to have the dog rushing blind through a slippery surface (chute material) at the kinds of speeds they do. I am glad to hear it.
 
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