Agility training method

[lehughes]

Hello Laurie, I have recently been looking at Susan Garrett’s Handling 360 agility training method.  You probably know it.  It focusses on pre-emptive verbal cues so the dog knows well in advance what is coming up next.  I’ve only seen a few introductory videos so far but I wondered what you thought on the impact on injuries of this training method. I had a couple of thoughts -Allowing the dog to use feedforward modes of muscle control will hopefully help avoid injury but on the other hand the increases in speed and tightness of turns achieved may increase the chances of injury.  Would be interested to hear of your experiences and what you think.
 
Kay
 
Kay Webb MCSP
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Hi Kay,

Sorry, I'm behind in my replies.  I'm swamped with getting ready to go away to Hawaii... (punished before you go and after you come back from a holiday!!)

So, I think that feedforward would be better than land then learn where to go, or have to adjust mid-air.  I think there is a greater risk of injury with the latter, as compared to the former.
Additionally, there is some 'learning research' that shows as dogs are learning, they first do it by listening to / interpreting signals, then as they get better, they start to guess what will be coming up next.
In the period where they are going from 'listening' to "guessing' they make more mistakes.  So, I'm thinking that if they get info ahead of the need to know, then they will get the best of both worlds - they will know what's up ahead, & they will have guessed it... 
I think fast and tight would have to be better than slower and poor form (due to lack of communication).

Great question!

I should ask for feed back from others...  Hmmm - I've got an idea for that!  Hang on!

Laurie

[PawsLearning]

A great first discussion for the Sports and Conditioning forum, Kay.

As this sport becomes faster and more competitive, our job becomes more and more important. The "early warning system" style of information is what many instructors teach. This is key in the One Mind Dog crowd as well, for example. And certainly true with any of the seminars I've been to. I want my dogs to know EARLY what they're going to have to do. Not only does it result in faster times, but it also results in much more body control and safer execution.

I video everything - training and trialing. I go through and watch in slow motion especially when things don't go as planned and it is nearly ALWAYS because my dogs got late information. And the stress on their bodies is much greater because, as Laurie said, they're executing one thing and changing what they're doing midstream.

That said late information is always going to be some component of training and trialing. It's even more so for the really fast dogs and for the ones that start trialing early. (Most of them these days.) Which means that, again, our job is so critical - not just making sure the dogs are in good shape for their job and remaining comfortable and functional but also providing good conditioning plans for our clients. Now getting them to understand they need that... different topic!

Wouldn't it be great if we could do studies to see what results in best injury prevention?
Best regards and thanks for the forum Laurie!!
Rachel

[Kay Webb]

Thanks Rachel, It would be great to see injury prevention studies. I've found studies on which injuries are prevalent and in which breeds but struggling with evidence base for specific conditioning techniques or programmes. Do you know of anything? Doing my MSc this year but seems a very daunting topic for a rookie.

[Stella]

I think I remember Susan Garrett saying something crazy like her dogs have never missed an event due to injury? If this is true I'd say it is certainly good anecdotal evidence for conditioning your dogs to prevent injury. She does so much off-field conditioning with her dogs, they are incredibly fit and conditioned for their job. One of her dogs (I think it was Encore) was found after she retired to have hip dysplasia, no one had any idea through her very successful agility career as she never showed any signs, she was so incredibly conditioned and ran with such a good handler.

[Bwood]

Silvia Trkman (Slovenia) is known for her dogs having long and injury-free careers. Her dogs consistently compete in regular height World Championships up into their teenage years. Her conditioning program includes 2 hours of off leash running a day, one all-day hike a month, strength/balance/coordination conditioning 2x a week, and she is strict with her warm-up/conditioning bout/cool-down protocols. Her dogs have squats, no-support handstands, and other acrobatic tricks on cue. Trkman also has her puppies participate in more impact-loading activities than Susan Garrett allows. I enjoy Trkman's DVDs on conditioning and agility training. Looking forward to more discussion on this topic!

[David Lane]

I had the privilege of treating Susan’s dog (Feature) at the WAO in Spain a few years ago. At the time, I was surprised at how many of the team’s dogs had significant undiagnosed issues that needed resolving while they competed. However, Feature had nothing. Zilch. Nary a sore muscle.

As part of treating the dogs, I asked each handler what their warmup protocols were, and received various vague answers from everyone but Susan. She was the only one who had a specific protocol and understood the physiology behind why she was following that protocol. I always suspected that those 2 pieces of information were not coincidental

David Lane