AKC Agility folks - have you seen this?

[bdj]

http://www.akc.org/news/akc-agility-suspends-use-of-the-collapsed-tunnel/

Effective tomorrow.

Will be interesting to see how this affects course design (not to mention how courses running in the next few weeks run, since those have already been designed/approved with chutes).

I’m not a fan of the chute, and I was really happy when AKC decided that it couldn’t be longer than 6’, but I didn’t see this coming at all!

I’m hoping that nothing terrible precipitated this, because I don’t recall ever seeing AKC enact anything this fast before! There’s usually a period of at least a few months before changes go into effect.

[Night_of_Songs]

Unfortunately there is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4Rnch1BFb8&sns=fb

[bdj]

I know bad stuff happens, but let’s face it - it’s been happening for years (as evidenced by that video - lots of shots that were taken when the chutes were 12’ long) - I’ve seen dogs get rolled/tangled up in chutes at trials before - I’m just wondering why the change is happening so abruptly.

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

Are there more accidents/injuries at the chutes than there are over jumps, dog walks, A-frames, etc.?

I think it would be easy to put together a video highlighting accidents at different obstacles. I’d want to see some hard data.

I didn’t watch the whole video closely, but the beginning shows the dog sliding sideways out of the chute, then running toward the next jump, when the video cuts out. Did the dog complete the course? The “crash” was in August 2015, and the next shots show the dog in February 2016 with symptoms of a hidden spinal cord injury. What does that mean? Was the dog fine throughout September through January? How can they be sure it was that particular crash that caused the injury?

I’ve seen dogs roll worse than that when chasing a ball, so I’m just wondering if the symptoms can definitively be blamed on the crash at the chute.

It seems we take risks with our dogs (and ourselves … one of the clips was a woman falling over her dog coming out of the chute, but I’ve seen that happen in the middle of a floor with NO obstacles) every time we take them out, even more so if we engage in athletic activities.

So I’m curious why the chute might all of a sudden be considered more dangerous than other obstacles.

[Sswor]

I just got the email from my agility group and was going to ask questions as to why at the next class when I saw this thread. I too wonder what the incident rate is at different obstacles.

My dog has a tendency to bound with excitement when he runs, always has. As a young pup he resembled a rabbit, never ran flat out, always hopping and bounding. They never liked him jumping “up” in the chute and made a big deal out of me timing a treat roll to get his nose down and him running flat out but it hasn’t ever really worked. He has so much fun with chute that he still always bounds up in the chute first and then dives his nose at the opening. So I guess maybe this change works for me and my dog.

[Sswor]

Just watched the video. Glad they removed the chute. Holy cow, I had no idea…

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=bdj;8820678]
I know bad stuff happens, but let’s face it - it’s been happening for years (as evidenced by that video - lots of shots that were taken when the chutes were 12’ long) - I’ve seen dogs get rolled/tangled up in chutes at trials before - I’m just wondering why the change is happening so abruptly.[/QUOTE]

I think it happened so quickly thanks to social media and venue options. Some venues never had it, already got rid of it, or shortened it. People were voting with their entry fees. Organizations saw the trend, petitions were signed, and voila! It was fast. And USDAA joined in! :yes:

[Miss_Anne_Thrope]

I’d still like to know if the chute really is more dangerous than all the other obstacles. Not that I’m a fan of the chute. My little dog has just about gotten lost in there.

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=Miss Anne Thrope;8821789]
I’d still like to know if the chute really is more dangerous than all the other obstacles.[/QUOTE]

Like which ones? You’re probably only going to collect anecdotal evidence. I don’t think there’s a national registry of injuries incurred on the agility course in all venues.

I’m curious to see how judges replace it besides a tunnel. The chute did present handling challenges.

[Sswor]

Likely no registry, no, but experienced trainers would probably have some good opinions on the matter.

I got done watching that horrific video and then had class last night where the chute was part of the course. I was so rattled by that video that I protested doing the chute with my dog. Trainer tried to explain that when used at obstacle 1 and on a straight away, the dog doesn’t build the speed combined with the anticipated turn that causes the incidents to occur. I continued to protest, I have a fast dog that reaches mach 10 in 1.2seconds, trainer pushed back; it’ll be fine. While we were discussing, my dog wandered over and offered the chute, fast, like he does, and got a little caught up, and that was it. I asked trainer to hold the chute open for us the remainder of class. She begrudgingly complied.

I was so rattled by that chute video that my handling was abysmal the remainder of the evening. Gah.

[D_BaldStockings]

Injuries in Agility
https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm/feature/65/a-survey-of-injuries-occuring-in-dogs-participating-in-agility.htm

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=D_BaldStockings;8822248]
Injuries in Agility
https://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm/feature/65/a-survey-of-injuries-occuring-in-dogs-participating-in-agility.htm[/QUOTE]

Seems that chute injuries would be harder to keep track off, since some don’t seem to show up right away?

I never did like the chute either, because as the dogs were running in the higher classes and faster, it seemed to confuse them for a bit coming out of the chute and at times miss the next jump or two, why we taught the handler to slow the dog right after the chute, but it is hard when you are running for time.

Similar on the pause table, but at least you could train for that better than for the chute run and exit.

Interesting to see what they come up with next.

[Night_of_Songs]

http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/press-releases/2016/august/collapsible-tunnel-suspended-with-immediate-effect/

Too late for one competitor I know though…her dog was injured through the chute on Sunday…

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=Miss Anne Thrope;8821789]
I’d still like to know if the chute really is more dangerous than all the other obstacles. Not that I’m a fan of the chute. My little dog has just about gotten lost in there.[/QUOTE]

I have seen multiple FAST small dogs get really tangled up. Just anecdotally it does seem to me to cause more problems. Teeter being #2. My dog is large and loves the chute. I think the obstacle works so much better with large dogs