Body Awareness And Rough Terrain

[sidoney]

I was watching my dogs bolt at top speed through the planted areas along the local creek. There are trees and shrubs, fallen branches and branches that are low, open areas and banks of varying steepness.

They negotiate this at high speed, jumping fallen branches, ducking under other branches, swerving and turning around trees and shrubs, jumping up and down the banks.

As I was watching, I was reminded of the equine truism that horses raised on rough ground are more surefooted than those raised on flat ground.

I thought that this kind of exercise must surely help my dogs' agility and body awareness, particularly at high speed.

What do you think? Do you think it would increase their agility, body awareness, and so on?

And if so, do you incorporate it into your exercise routines, if you do not, would you?

[poodlefan]

Coming from an equine background Sidoney, I'm a great believer that running over rough ground does improve balance and coordination - in dogs and ourselves.

I am lucky enough to be able to give me dogs free range over hilly tracks and rough ground every day. I really do think it would benefit your girl as I think it did and does wonders for Darcy and his siblings.

There is definitely medical research around to say that it benefits us to have to work on core balance and use all our ligaments etc.. it staves off the impact of old age.

Use it or lose it applies to all species I think. A friend who has recently started joining our morning rambles with her dogs says her vet has commented favourably on the increase in muscle condition in her girls.

ETA: Nothing like rough ground to sort out 'hind end awareness' in a dog.

Edited March 22, 2007 by poodlefan

[jesomil]

I definately think it increases body awareness and agility.

I purposely run my dogs over rough terrain from a young age for that purpose. We have access to bush, hills and a creek where they gallop through at high speed.

I have noticed friends dogs that arent so used to it being a little more clumsy in the same terrain.

[Lablover]

I thought that this kind of exercise must surely help my dogs' agility and body awareness, particularly at high speed.

And if so, do you incorporate it into your exercise routines, if you do not, would you?

Intertesting thread to ponder, on this once again warm day.

I do not compete in agility, but can see your point regarding body awareness, as Australian retrieving trials are held normally (nearly always) in the significant cover which include fallen trees, sometimes steep banks, and long swims, which may be dangerous and the "straightest" to the retrieve/s either on seen retrieves or hidden are training and physical requirements.

As a result I have found puppies and young dogs find their feet. As I like fast dogs, a few somersaults in their quest, has me holding my breath.

I think I am very proactive with health care as well, having my dogs checked at various canine health centres, from time to time, to keep them in top form. Warming up and stretching helps too, which takes time, but well worth it.

I thought I was on a particularly good streak regarding my 4 labs health wise. Then last week, one of my labs, ripped a toe nail bed while training. Healing up nicely.

[Arya]

I agree Sidoney. My two cents' worth - I think it is important to work your dog on different terrains to increase body awareness, within reason. I do it with my shepherd bitch. I take the precaution of putting exercise bandages on her hind legs when working her because when she twists and turns to catch a ball or twists about when running full tilt she goes down on her hocks a bit but totally think it's good to work on all terrains. In fact, when I have a client with a pup, I get them working the pup on the lead walking across boards, grates, up and down all terrains (within reason of the pup's abilities and taking care of their legs etc as far as no jumping for, say, a growing young shep). Especially little dogs who can be fussy about where they walk. Without being too dramatic, a more surefooted larger dog might just save a cruciate injury one day when running over rough ground if they are more agile and less prone to stumble. It's a good point you bring up!

[Erny]

Would be similar effect to the exercises people do to improve hand-eye co-ordination, wouldn't it?

[sidoney]

Not sure, since I don't know what those exercises entail.

I'm thinking that in some ways the dog would receive instant feedback about the way it balances and moves its body and places its feet, since if it is in balance and moves its body and places its feet correctly it moves unimpeded.

If incorrectly, it treads on something or knocks itself or its balance is off and it loses the line it needs or face plants or something like that. Maintaining a precise line in thick cover at high speed would require a delicate control of balance, body and limb movement IMO.

It would also need and develop an ability to think quickly, choose line, respond to sudden challenges such as a tree branch around a blind corner and things like that.

That's the way I'm seeing it ATM.

[poodlefan]

Sidoney I also think it benefits a dog's confidence in it's physical capabilities.

[Vickie]

Definitely beneficial. I have done a walk at Blackman Oval a few times with the girls, it's a good one for this type of thing. I could see the difference between my 2 & their ability to negotiate initially but can also see the gap closing.

I also like the idea of hill conditioning, we often do a bit of that when we go to the farm & it's good for fitness & strengthening. I remember 2 ponies I had when I was younger. Once had been bred on a farm that was very hilly, the other had not...the difference between them was incredible both to watch & to ride.

[Tonymc]

It is a given to me that my Horses and Dogs run over rough and uneven ground.We caught Brumbies from the High Country and educated them.You could nearly ride them up and down the Walls of the House they were that surefooted. Tony

[Lablover]

Tony, that may of course, as you are well aware genetic (as on topic with dogs). After all brumbies with broken legs tend not be breed.

Athletic dogs - great!!!!

[Greytmate]

Racing greyhounds are reared on only on cleared, flat spaces. Some owners go as far as to rake up every twig that falls in the yard. Racing and trialling surfaces are carefully tended.

When we do home checks for the people that are adopting these dogs we insist that the owners take care to make sure that the area is safe for the dogs to run around in. The dogs tend to avoid running through gardens and undergrowth, they don't like it.

Their skin is fragile, and at the speeds that the dogs run, it would be very dangerous for them to run on rough ground. People on uncleared bush blocks need not apply for a greyhound.

To me a greyhound is different from the average dog in the same way than a ferrari sports car is built differently from a land cruiser. You would no more allow your greyhound to run over rough ground in the bush than you would take your ferrari over a 4wd trail.

[Sayreovi]

Sure does help them. Darcy is quick and light footed, will race around through thick bush, dodge and duck under trees, run up and down steep rocky hills. All this is done with ease and confidence. I got back from a walk an hour ago through the above area and i never really watched before so i did this time, it is amazing at how fast he goes and never seems too put a foot wrong.

In agility, he is quite confident over the contacts and realises what his back end is doing.

[Trisven13]

Do you think that applies to all greyhounds greytmate or would it be different if a greyhound had lived as a pup in an environment where it had to negotiate?

Bart has only been a pet as you know and my backyard has garden beds that my dogs run through and around all the time. He has also regularly been to my parent's property where he runs around with their dogs and it is all up hill. He hasn't had any problems and all of his tear injuries have come from teeth so far? Just curious.

[PAX]

Greytmate,

I have known lots of people that raise Greyhound pups in rough hilly paddocks and consistanly produce city winners. They believe it makes the pups more balanced and better developed. Of course these pups are in these paddocks from a very young age so they know the terrain. When they are racing it's a different story.

Not meaning to be a samrt a#$ but wanted to share.

[Greytmate]

Perhaps people do different things in different areas PAX. I have noticed that many greyhound trainers closely look at what successful trainers around them are doing and follow.

In this area I see many people carefully cleaning and raking their puppy yards, and they talk of the injuries that pups can get if they don't do these things. It's almost like some of them wrap the dogs in cotton wool. The 'big name' trainers up here live on flat ground, and the rearing yards sometimes look like bowling greens.

I guess it would be a bit different for a pup that had grown up learning to negotiate rough ground. The dog would be more used to it and their feet would be tougher.

But the dogs we rehome here are the dogs that come from the types of properties that I have mentioned, so I wouldn't put one of them into rough terrain.

Trish, I don't think that hills are a danger, but I would be on the lookout for holes in the ground and gum tree branches. You might just have been lucky so far, because at the speed that greyhounds run at, injuries can be quite severe.

A couple of weeks ago a dog that we adopted out broke two toes. Just running around in an off-lead park. No sticks, no rocks, no uneven ground. We don't really know why it happenned.

[TangerineDream]

My half acre is very uneven and slopes from one corner diagonally 90m to the other with a couple of sizeable dips and a not-very-neat spoon drain crossing it at the end of the house...Tango has always hooned around it at full speed since a baby and learnt very quickly that if he fell at that speed he had to roll through his shoulder and get up and keep going...used to give me palpitations watching a young pup miss his footing and roll, then up and off again at full speed....but he got more sure footed as he grew and he never went through the '2 left feet' stage.

Was so pleased that he did this as a youngster because now at 18 months old he is so sure footed (most of the time) that no terrain fazes him.....a couple of weeks ago he chased a flock of white cockies off the log near the water bucket...they moved fairly slowly and by the time he got there they were only 7 - 8 ' above the ground so he just went straight up in the air from a flat gallop (reckon he was up there with them ), missed a cocky by no more than 6" and came down, missed his footing and rather than hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes he dropped into a roll through his shoulder......if he hadn't had as much practice over rough ground and learning to roll through falls as a youngster I think he would have broken his neck.....as it was, he got up and galloped off as if nothing had happened, leaving me and a neighbour just staring at where he'd been.....