“Knowledge isn’t power. Applied knowledge is power.” This is a powerful quote by American motivational speaker Eric Thomas, and I couldn’t agree with it more. In last week’s blog, the first of this two-part series, I talked about common, general signs of pain in our dogs and specific pain signs in agility dogs. When we understand our dog’s standard movement patterns, we can start to detect deviations from them.

So, now that we know how to recognize these signs in part one (you can read it here), we will dive into what YOU can do as a dog owner to detect these subtle signs of injury SOONER in your agility dog. 

Dog agility has become the fastest growing dog sport in North American and this growing popularity has led to more research into the physical demands and potential injuries that can occur in the sport. Of all the sports our dogs can compete in, dog agility, is one of the most physically demanding. Dogs are moving at faster speeds than ever before and having to navigate more challenging courses, more complex jumping skills and difficult contact and weave approaches. With these faster speeds and varied physical challenges, the potential for injury can increase.  
 
In this week’s blog we review some exciting and new research that has come to light about the sport of agility and discuss how this research applies to our dogs, our training, and competition. ​

Do you know that cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) injuries are one of the most commonly seen sporting dog injuries seen by veterinarians?  
 
If you’re in dog sports, chances are you know someone whose dog has suffered CCL injury.  Have you ever found yourself asking how a CCL injury occurs and how you can make every best attempt to prevent your dog from suffering this injury? 
 
In this week’s blog, we take a deep dive into CCL injuries, how they occur, what to look out for, and how a CCL injury does not mean the end of your dog’s sporting career.   ​