Clean Run - November 2020 - 38

Finding Their Footing

The Need for Research

on Optimal Ground Material
in Canine Agility
© cleAn run

By Isabel A. Jimenez, DVM, Sherman O. Canapp Jr., DVM, MS, CCRT, DACVS, DACVSMR

Flooring composition at athletic
events is well-established as a factor contributing to both the quality
of performance and risk of injury in
equine, canine, and human athletes.
Substrates used for training and
competition must promote adequate musculoskeletal loading to optimize performance and to minimize
injury. Joints that experience acute
excessive force can sustain injuries,
including fractures, luxations, muscle
sprains, or tendon strains. Chronic
overloading of joints (wear and tear)
can lead to chronic injury or osteoarthritis, and secondary degeneration
of other joints due to increased compensatory weight-bearing.
The diversity of sport-related injuries
is a result of the sport itself, and the
joint that undergoes the most cyclic
work in each. In humans, shoulder
injuries occur in baseball players and
swimmers, while ACL injuries occur
in soccer players. In equine athletes,
jumping horses injure their shoulders while sport horses and racehorses tend to injure the suspensory
ligament. Racing greyhounds have a
propensity for injury to the right tarsus (ankle), the joint responsible for
propelling them forward on a counter-clockwise circular track. Canine
agility dogs that frequently extend
38

their shoulders while jumping, sprinting, and navigating obstacles have a high
incidence of Medial Shoulder Syndrome (MSS).
Canine agility is one of the fastest-growing canine performance sports in the
world. The American Kennel Club (AKC) held 3,996 agility trials with over 1.2
million dogs in 2019, and dogs from over 30 countries participate annually at
the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) Agility World Championship.
Canine agility training and competition take place in both indoor and outdoor arenas, on various substrates, including natural grass, artificial turf, sand,
dirt, and a variety of foam and rubber matting. Despite this variety in ﬂooring
types, anecdotal evidence that individual dogs seem to do better on specific
substrates, and research that demonstrates that approximately one-third of
agility dogs will experience a performance-related injury, no research has
been conducted on the effect of ﬂooring type on athletic performance or the
risk of injury.
Racetracks are composed of two layers: a superficial absorptive layer that acts
as a cushion during landing, and an underlying traction layer which provides
grip for turning and jumping. If the top layer of the track is too deep or too
moist, hyperextension, loss of footing, and slipping may occur. Performance
may also be impacted. Softer substrate has been correlated with shorter stride
length in horses and lower peak forward acceleration in racing greyhounds.
A shallow absorptive layer will conversely fail to suﬃciently absorb the force
of impact as the foot strikes the ground, transferring more energy into the
bones and joints of the dog. This is also the case in harder ﬂooring, which has
higher impact resistance. Natural grass track, for example, transmits almost
nine-times more force into the hind limb of racing greyhounds compared to
synthetic rubber, which has a lower coeﬃcient of stiffness.
The preparation and maintenance of ground material also inﬂuence its consistency and reliability. There are no guidelines in canine agility as to the optimal
frequency of turning over sand or dirt to prevent compaction throughout the
day, or the proper material used to clean a matting surface without causing
a breakdown of the material or leaving a residue that can result in slippage.
Turf that is not maintained by replenishing rubber infill, or in which overuse
results in uniform directionality of artificial fibers, can result in inconsistent or
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Clean Run - November 2020

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