Part I of Finnish Agility Dog Survey: Training and Management of Competition-Level Agility Dogs

Autor: Leena Inkilä, Heli K. Hyytiäinen, Anna Hielm-Björkman, Jouni Junnila, Anna Bergh, Anna Boström
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Animals, Vol 12, Iss 2, p 212 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2076-2615
DOI: 10.3390/ani12020212
Popis: Knowledge regarding training, competition, and management routines of agility dogs is lacking. Through a retrospective online questionnaire, Finnish owners and handlers of 745 competition-level agility dogs provided information on training routines and management of these dogs during one year free of agility-related injuries. Competition routines were collected from the national competition results database. Most dogs trained agility 1–2 times a week, with a median active training time of 18 min a week. Dogs competed in a median of 2.1 runs per month at a speed of 4.3 m/s. Common field surfaces were different types of artificial turfs and dirt surface. Warm-up and cool-down were established routines, and 62% of dogs received regular musculoskeletal care. Moreover, 77% of dogs underwent conditioning exercises, but their frequency was often low. Additionally, dogs were walked for a median of 1.5 h daily. Pearson’s chi-squared and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to evaluate the association between a dog’s competition level and training and competition variables. A dog’s competition level was associated with competition (p < 0.001) and training frequency (p < 0.001); dogs at higher levels compete more but train less than dogs at lower levels. This study provides information on training, competition, and management routines of competing agility dogs.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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