Clean Run - November 2017 - 11

point prior to his takeoff zone. This can happen whether the
dog is jumping in relative collection or extension. Handlers
of dogs prone to ETOs often report that their dogs do not respond appropriately to collection cues; that is, they do not add
a stride and jump with a closer takeoff distance and rounder
arc as would be expected. Some dogs that have taken off farther back from the jump than they should will apparently recognize their error after they become airborne and do their best
to clear the jump. To help prevent a knocked bar, the dog may
flex his hips quickly, drawing them forward prematurely; which
adds some propulsion from the recoil of the muscles. The flexion of the hips may be misinterpreted as physical discomfort.
Whether shortening his stride or omitting it altogether, the dog
will tend to overjump, jumping higher than necessary in order
to try to clear the bar. This is particularly true if the dog is jumping higher than his shoulder height. Sometimes overjumping
is mistakenly interpreted as jumping prowess or scope (see
"What Is Scope" in the December 2014 issue of Clean Run).
Depending on the course design, omitting strides can actually
result in more efficient turns and faster times, so a dog with
this tendency may indeed be very successful early in his career.

The feet on this tire base extend forward of the tire, which can
exacerbate the dog's misjudgment of the location of the actual tire.

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November 17 | Clean Run

Dogs prone to ETOs seem to focus on the forwardmost element of the obstacle and use that to gauge where to take off
and center their jumping arcs. Obstacles with components
that extend forward of the highest jumping element (such as
the base of the tire frame or front bar or front edge of the jump
standard of a triple-bar spread) tend to exacerbate the dog's
misjudgment of the location of the actual jump. See Figure 3.
Although single-bar jumps can often be cleared if the dog is
able to compensate by overjumping, the tire and triple-bar
spread can present a problem. If the dog lifts off prior to his
takeoff zone, he will be unable to clear the obstacle, which can
lead to an unfortunate accident.
Fortunately most tires today are breakaway; in previous years,
however, most competition tires were not displaceable and
some frightening crashes resulted when the dog misjudged,
took off early, and landed on the tire. See Figure 4.
© DogsPortsPhotos.Com

However, depending on the underlying cause of the ETOs, the
problem may worsen over time with gradual increasing of the
frequency of the ETOs and/or the degree to which the dog's
jumping efforts are affected. This can lead to limitations in the
dog's performance as time goes on.

This dog misjudged the tire; however, this tire is designed to split apart
if it's hit.

Select the jumps
to change, right click
to display the dialog box,
select Jump Properties,
and choose the new
jump type.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - November 2017