sheena Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) At an agility trial today, my young dog who has lately been sooooooooooo good with the weaves, got bitten by static electricity on about the third last pole. He was going through at a speed & suddenly pulled out & looked back startled at his tail, then refused to go back in The weather was very dry & windy & someone said it looked like he had got a static electric shock from the poles. It wasn't an injury, as he quite happily finished the course in good time & then went on to do other courses without weaves no problem. It's something I have never thought of before but apparently it can happen with the nylon chute as well. He has a very "gossamer" coat, so it makes sense & could be an explanation why some dogs suddenly have a fear of certain obstacles. Any one else had this happen ???? Edited July 22, 2014 by sheena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Can't comment on the agility side of it but the static has been BAD here lately, much worse than normal. Every time the dogs touched one of us in the car this morning, we got a zap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 sheena, there was a discussion on Clean Run Yahoo Group recently particularly with indoor comps. Several solutions were put forward so it might be worth doing a search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Charlie flat out refuses to go through a chute as he gets a static zap from it. We have actually seen the flash of light from the zap when training at night. Its supposedly quite common with the ACD coats, but most of them are pretty hard headed dogs and don't notice :laugh: Charlie on the other hand is a sensitive soul and isn't happy about it. He will go through for a toy etc but now that the chutes look just like tunnels I just withdraw him from any runs with a chute. He may go through it with the adrenaline of a trial, but he will then refuse tunnels for the next few months worth of trials and it just isn't worth it. A few years ago the organisers of the Canberra Royal Agility were told that they couldn't put anything metallic directly under the powerlines after someone got a zap from their gazebo. We had to alter the courses so that the AFrame (and other obstacles the dog physically touched) were not under the powerlines anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaCharlie Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I was actually advised over by someone in WA before the Perth Nationals to rub talc powder over his back before a run to stop him getting a zap from the chute which seemed to work as he happily did the chutes he came across over there. That was before they looked like tunnels though. I will still put him through the ADAA chute (sometimes he refuses, sometimes he doesn't I don't make a fuss either way) as they look different and are a heavier canvas material. I am sick of getting 1 fault runs in ANKC from refusing the first tunnel on a course though! Besides, I'm obviously not going to force my dog to do something he isn't comfortable with. If he is prone to zaps, the talc powder may be an idea though. Charlie was too chute-savvy by the time we realised to be able to convince him they won't hurt anymore, but if doesn't happen often it could be worth a try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Thanks everyone. It could be the reason why he went shy of the weavers a while ago & it took ages to get him confident again. Very interesting DC what you have found. When I brush him his hair will often stand on end, so now I wipe him over with a baby wipe first. I can't spray him with anything when grooming...he would freak out. I was wondering about rubbing him over with one of those anti-static things you put in the clothes dryer. I will have a search on Clean Run too. I noticed that one of the competitors who runs a lot of BC's has coats on her dogs before & after a run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 I've tried to negotiate around the Clean Run Yahoo Group, but without any success....must be doing something wrong I have found the subject, but can't find the replys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 No more suggestions :confused: I tried the Yahoo Group but got inundated with emails every time someone made a post so I unsubscribed I will try the talc powder idea, but it might look a bit funny on him :laugh: I googled the use of dryer static cloths but they are not very dog friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 What about an anti static spray for dogs like this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0012GN85A?pc_redir=1405444426&robot_redir=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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