I agree with post #30, I think Susie would have had problems regardless of whether I did Agility with her or not. She could have just as likely done it jumping over a log. She has a Bernese mother and the father probably was a Border Collie x Lab so she is not the best built dog.

Do you all to big stuff agility?

We moved on to it from obedience training. We practice inside, and on small stuff. One reason obviously that the floor is hard, but our trainer has said repeatedly, that they will not be allowed on the BIG stuff, until they have mastered this for their own safety. A dog that cannot do a small A frame could be seriously hurt turning and backing off a large one, whatever the flooring.

Curious, do you all do the big stuff?

lol yes we do the BIG stuff but we didnt start right on the big stuff
Started with the jump poles on the floor, the dog walk just on the floor, then on lowered tressles, the A frame lowered

Of course accidnets could happen anywhere but I have (touch wood) never yet seen any dogs injur themselves from the contact equipment - even so I have seen some crazy jumps off of them. The only injury I have heard of on the contact equipment has been an occasional shoulder injury from really fast dogs doing 2o2o contacts (which is why I dont do that)
But the only injuries I have seen so far has been dogs slipping when handlers dont give them clear enough instructions about when they are turning after a jump

Thank you Ben. I have assumed we are being mollycollded for a while. I don't mind though, I'd rather be that than thrown into stuff we (the dogs) may struggle with.

Yup mollycoddling is good

the dogs learn the obsticles really easilly actually, the biggest thing is for you to learn how to handle and direct your dog. So dont worry about trying to rush to full height things - thats not what agility is about
Having fun with your dog - thats what its all about

We do the big stuff but all at lower heights until the dog knows what it is doing. I assume your big stuff is on a different (not hard) surface?

Yes, it's in a field. We are inside atm.

The big stuff is not as big as it used to be. It has, very sensibly, been changed considerably since 2000 when I stopped.

I think there are far more agility injuries and conditions which are not helped by it than anyone ever admits to.

Arthritis in front legs is common and I know of dogs on metacam and still competing.

My vet at the time said that for everything we do with our dogs to turn them into athletes there is a payback. It is our decision on that payback being worth it. I wouldn't change what I did and the fun the dogs and I had but I would love to change the pain afterwards.

rune

The point is that ALL impact activities cause minute damage to the bones and this combined with age means that dogs which have active lives are more predisposed to develop arthritic conditions.

this is also true of human athletes.

There may not be ACUTE injuries in most sports, but we are talking about the chronic often low grade conditions which all athletes, equine, canine and human are prey to.

Nothing in life is without risk and if you went to get x rayed tomorrow I expect you would find lots of little bone spurs as would yoru dogs.

In most cases this is not a "dealbreaker" but all impact activities cause "damage" of some sort.

If I was x rayed tomorrow I'd probably be pts afterwards!!

rune