Clean Run Magazine - November 2009 - 24

By Toughynutter, World’s Slowest Agility Dog Speed is not something easily gained but it is something easily lost. here are three basic areas that affect any dog’s speed on course: physical ability, training, and his handler’s ability. To be realistic, it is not generally possible to get an average-speed dog to run insanely fast— simply because he can’t, just as you can’t turn a backyard softball player into a world-class sprinter. Cross training, specific exercises to build speed and strength, and conditioning to maintain that speed through an entire course can make a difference, but in the end it is actually only minor compared to what can be accomplished by focusing on other areas. At best, with prolonged and dedicated physical training, we can expect an improvement of a couple tenths of a second in our maximum yards per second (yps) speed. For most, improving our training and improving the handling by our partners can realize a much bigger overall performance gain. When it comes to saying a particular dog is fast or slow on course, I prefer a comparison not in absolute terms of the dog’s actual speed but rather how fast the dog runs an agility course compared to his physical ability; for example, a dog that runs a Standard course at 3.20 yps, but his top speed while chasing a squirrel is 3.40 yps is fast. By comparison, a dog that runs a course at 3.5 yps but has a max speed 6.5 yps is slow. When running courses, fast dogs are close to their maximum top speed. How close is relative to the dog’s height. Short dogs, like me, with low centers of gravity can run a turn almost as fast as a straight line; but for dogs with a high center of gravity, tight turns are a killer. It’s simply physics. An object with a higher center of gravity going around a corner is going to tip over at a lower speed than one with a lower center of gravity. Every time a tractor-trailer rolls over and closes the exit ramp reminds us of this fact. It’s one of the benefits of the BC crouch, which allows these dogs to lower their center of gravity to maintain speed. For those dogs with a high center of gravity that don’t have a BC’s ability to crouch and still run, the much offered advice to racecar drivers can work wonders, “Slow entering the corner, glide through, and accelerate out.” In other words, use collection properly on the takeoff side, before the jump, and turn. Obstacle training is one of the biggest areas where performance can be improved. More often than not, a slow performance is the result of the poor execution of only a couple of obstacles. We can take forever on the down side of the contact because we are confused about where and when we should perform a two-on/ two-off contact. We stop at the pivot point of the teeter because it is how we were taught and don’t know running to the end is faster. Take an objective look at our trial obstacle performances to see how we stack up against the competition. Take the time to retrain those obstacles that need it. One popular refrain is “he only does this at a trial; he’s great in training.” Provided our performance has been proofed and generalized to other locations and equipment, the difference in performance must be related to the differences in the conditions at a trial versus training. Some common differences are large numbers of strange humans and dogs, more noise, and more handler anxiety, all of which create stress. Giving us the tools to deal with stress effectively or desensitizing us to stress-inducing conditions can unleash an agility star. Clean Run | November 09

Clean Run Magazine - November 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2009