Jumping style

[Panzerotti]

Originally Posted by Shai

Waaaay too early to think that, and I didn't see anything other than an exuberant young dog. Relax


I really wish I could find a 3-vid series an agility trainer posted a while ago...with the question to analyze the dogs' jumping styles...they were such perfect depictions...

Thanks. After watching some of the vids I feel a bit better, she doesn't do the lowering of the head, stutter stepping, or hesitating at 16-22". She's not as confident at 26", but she's still young and hasn't jumped it often at all.

And don't worry Laurelin, it's good to be aware of possible issues.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by Dekka

There is always performance or what ever USDAA calls it. JRTs have a pretty moderate body type, neither light nor heavy. But yes there are dogs that will fall out of moderate canine morphology that were not built to jump. But then again should we make course times really slow for the heavy dogs? There has to be SOME level of physical proficiency required... And there is always an option to move your dog down anyway.

I think having breed exceptions for jump heights is reasonable. A JRT jumping 16" is a lot different than a corgi of the same size jumping 16" which would be closer to a leggier 12" dog jumping 20". Breed exemptions wouldn't really be lessening the challenge.

Originally Posted by Dekka

OT though.. I wouldn't say your friends JRT is tiny if its over 12 inches (even if barely) Dekka, Seren and Kat all measured under 12. (Seren is bang on 11 inches) the breed standard is split into overs and unders.. with the dividing line being 12.5 inches. Scandal was barely in breed standard at just over 10 inches. JRTs can be quite small and still within breed standard.

She definitely is tiny, they get asked if she's a Chihuahua sometimes LOL. She is really petite, much finer boned than most JRTs. She looked rather out of place jumping 16" compared to the other dogs. They only competed in CPE with her after they found out she had pretty bad luxating patellas, although they never gave her trouble in agility.

Originally Posted by Shai

Waaaay too early to think that, and I didn't see anything other than an exuberant young dog. Relax

I agree...too early to worry with Pan. She's still a pretty inexperienced, still-in-training dog. Don't panic!

Originally Posted by Laurelin

Ack, sorry! I didn't mean to make anyone worried.

There's not much you can do though is there? I mean for ETS. I've been looking at the videos of the breeders I'm interested in. Youtubing as many agility clips as I can. But none of the breeders are breeding specifically FOR agility so there's only a small sampling of the dogs to look at.

No ETS is not generally "fixable". Sometimes it can be very manageable, especially jumping at a lower height.

[AdrianneIsabel]

Are there any breed exemptions in any venue? Like my friends Swiss Mnt Dog measures into 20 but she looks ridiculous jumping that height, she's so much cleaner and safer looking at 16.

[Laurelin]

So much to worry about. I think I'll cry if my next dog ends up with structural issues too. I already worry so much about Mia's knees although she hasn't had an issue in real life or agility yet.

[Panzerotti]

Originally Posted by Laurelin

So much to worry about. I think I'll cry if my next dog ends up with structural issues too. I already worry so much about Mia's knees although she hasn't had an issue in real life or agility yet.

I hear you! I so wanted Pan to be a French Ring dog, that got put on hold. Now she absolutely loves agility and it would break my heart if she couldn't do it any more. At least there's always tracking and nose work left.

[Shai]

Originally Posted by Panzerotti

I hear you! I so wanted Pan to be a French Ring dog, that got put on hold. Now she absolutely loves agility and it would break my heart if she couldn't do it any more. At least there's always tracking and nose work left.

Apparently I'm behind the times...why can't Pan do French Ring?

In any case I hope agility Pans out (bad pun). You guys are going to have so much fun!

[Psyfalcon]

Originally Posted by Laurelin

So much to worry about. I think I'll cry if my next dog ends up with structural issues too. I already worry so much about Mia's knees although she hasn't had an issue in real life or agility yet.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

I just repeat that to myself (my joints are much worse than my dog's joints )

[Flyinsbt]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Are there any breed exemptions in any venue? Like my friends Swiss Mnt Dog measures into 20 but she looks ridiculous jumping that height, she's so much cleaner and safer looking at 16.

NADAC has some breed height exemptions, but NADAC is batshit crazy. Sorry to any NADAC fans. I did a little NADAC when I started out (before they really went off the deep end), and I always felt a little guilty running my Staffords at 12", where they were so much taller than the other dogs in the class.

On the ETS topic... I've seen video of a Dobe with ETS which was really sad. Sorry, it was a while back, so I wouldn't be able to find the link. Some of us have discussed this, and it appears to be a vision problem, which makes depth perception difficult for the affected dogs. And yes, as we know, vision problems tend to be inherited. But there's no real way to diagnose them in dogs.

Sadly, the bitch I bred and placed (a Stafford) appears to have ETS. I don't think any of her family that I know of have it, though her dam sometimes jumps early, I think in that case it has to do with the dog trying to turn more tightly without being able to collect easily. If she takes off earlier, she lands closer to the jump. Also, Staffords tend to think if they add more power, it will solve anything, so they take off early and jump long and flat. In this video, you can see this girl almost hits the triple because she takes off so early for it. She jumps spreads better if she comes at them from an angle so that she can actually see where they are... straight on, she tends to think she should jump earlier and with maximum power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsfIM-vYK8
She's running 12" Preferred, because of her jumping issues, it's safer to have her jump lower. She can compensate a little better, and less likely to land on the jumps. She won't be running USDAA, because she does measure over 16". She may not run for long at all.

I'm sad about the issue, but I'm hoping hers turns out to be an isolated case. Though it will be so long before I can breed again, maybe by then someone will have come up with a vision test that works on dogs.

[Panzerotti]

Originally Posted by Shai

Apparently I'm behind the times...why can't Pan do French Ring?

In any case I hope agility Pans out (bad pun). You guys are going to have so much fun!

Well, her temperament as a pup was not great for bite work. She was taking things way too seriously, and not knowing any better at the time I let decoys work her much too strongly, causing her to have some major issues with strange men. We did get back into it this summer with an amazing decoy and she was making nice progress but it's a 6 hour drive each way, which gets rather expensive. I still have hope that we can trial one day though.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Are there any breed exemptions in any venue? Like my friends Swiss Mnt Dog measures into 20 but she looks ridiculous jumping that height, she's so much cleaner and safer looking at 16.

ASCA, NADAC and CPE have exemptions, all different though. Not sure what they would have your friend's Swissy jumping. CPE actually has a lot of choices for jump heights with their Early Veteran, Veteran, Specialist and Enthusiast catagories. Veterans/Early Veterans compete for regular titles, Specialist and Enthusiast compete for separate titles.

A friend of mine had Berners when AkC was the only real option here and before preferred. The jumps were a real struggle and even with the youngest when Preferred started, 20" was still too high for her. That dog was actually really into it but the bar knocking was a constant issue.