The Truth about Jumping

Shades

We ask a lot of our sporting dogs so as owners we also have to do a lot of groundwork to prepare them for the physical challenges they'll face. Think of an agility run and the types of physical demands we place on our dogs. As trainers, we'll often drill our dogs on contacts, weave performance, and distance work but how often are we dedicating time to jumping form? In a single agility run the jump is the most common piece of equipment your dog will see. Think of how many jumps they might complete over a two day competition? The reality is we often take advantage of our dog's natural ability to jump and can neglect to put in the same amount of training for the jump performance as we do for their weave or contact performance. This week, I break down the complex topic of jumping!

The Truth about Jumping 

All dogs, either your sporting or pet dog, are terrific athletes with a natural affinity for jumping.  Because it is so natural for dogs to jump over or onto things (e..g couches, cars, our arms, beds), those of us who compete in canine sports like agility or obedience sometimes take jumping for granted, meaning, we don’t spend as much time on teaching our dogs to jump efficiently and safely.  ​​Think back to your last training session and what you dedicated your time to - was jumping really considered in your set up? Now think about the type of jumping demands sports like agility asks of our dogs. Our dogs have to navigate  a variety of jumps at challenging angles and heights and do it quickly and cleanly. 

Jumping can put a lot of stress on our dogs bodies. Unlike humans, whose spines are designed for compressive force, dogs aren't designed to walk upright and their discs cannot handle compressive load as well. Over time, cumulative stress and repetition can sideline our dogs. Keeping our dogs in peak physical condition is key to helping them have the ability to adapt to various jumping skills and to become successful jumping dogs!

The Stages of a Jump

For your dog to jump they must engage their entire body. A jump performance has five stages and during each stage your dog's body will use different parts of the body to accomplish each step. 

• The Approach - in this stage the dog is optimizing their body position, speed and momentum. The stage is most affected by our handling as late cues or poor positioning can affect our dog's ability to process information earlier enough to have an ideal jump.   
• The Take Off - in this stage our dog's trajectory is determined. Too often we think about a jump being powered from the rear end but the chest and front legs also play a huge role! Our dog's chest needs to lift to shift the centre of gravity and bring their their front paws in so that they can power from the rear.  Your dog’s centre of gravity, when standing, is just behind the shoulders. To jump successfully, your dog must raise its centre of gravity high enough for the entire body to clear the height and width of the jump. The ability of your dog to change its centre of gravity is determined by your dog’s conformation, level of physical fitness, as well as, jumping experience and confidence in their ability. The front assembly is primarily responsible for shifting the centre of gravity for lift.​
• The Aerial - during this stage our dog's body awareness and core strength is especially needed in order to maneuver their body in such a way to keep the rail up and maximize efficiency with landing and departure to the next obstacle.  Once your canine athlete’s feet have left the ground, the trajectory around your dog’s centre of gravity is set. The only thing to be altered is your dog’s body position around its centre of gravity. Your dog may raise or lower its head, kick out its back legs, or move its tail to influence its ability to clear the jump.​
• The Landing - during this stage your dog's forelimbs take most of the force (about 4.5 x body weight on the joints), followed by the hind limbs. Strengthening of the front limbs is key as it helps to manage the concussive force and allow for side to side movement which can be expected when turning. Remember, that the limb loading while landing is asymmetrical with one forelimb follows the other while also ensuring sufficient horizontal velocity is retained to allow the limbs to clear the jump.​
• The Departure - Once your dog has cleared the jump and landed they return to a normal stride pattern. ​Often a period of acceleration is initiated, as some speed is lost during the Take Off, Aerial, and Landing phases.​​​​​

Jumping styles will tend to vary by breed and individual, but the sequence of events and how your dog's body is used is essentially the same. To become a great jumper, you need to give dogs the time to develop their skills as they will each progress at their own pace. Many dogs will not achieve their full jumping potential until after they begin competing.​​​

How Your Dog's Structure Plays a Role in Jumping

Fifty

Your dog's structure can greatly effect the way they jump. Generally, we can split dogs into three categories 

• Ectomorphic - With this body type the distance from ground to elbow is longer than than elbow to top of shoulder blades - making their centre of gravity higher. This makes them great jumpers but can increase their challenge with turns. Sighthounds, Dobermans, Weimaraners can all be consider ectomorphic breeds.
• Endomorphic - With this body type the length of ground to elbow and elbow to top of scapula is the same. Endomorphic breeds tend to have short legs, shorter stride and  have a low centre of gravity.  Their weight to height ratio, however, also means they struggle more to get over a jump. Corgis, Basset Hounds, and Dachshunds are all considered endromopic
• Mesomorphic - This body type is where most of the breeds fall. You'll find your Border Collies, Labradors, Shelties, and Aussies all within this group.  Mesomorphic breeds have a square build with the same length ground to elbow and elbow to shoulders. A nice, middle of the road, body ​​that allows them to do a lot of things!
  
  

Other structural factors should also be taken into consideration for how your dog will jump. If your dog has a straight front end they will  have less reach and stride length which leads to both an unbalanced gait and increased fatigue. A straight front or hind assembly will also mean there is less muscles that attach to the bone. With less muscle bulk, on the front and hind end your dog will experience an increase in the concussive forces through neighbouring structures. 

If your dog has had their tail docked (full or partial)  their jumping ability can also be affected. Your dog's tail  assists with making sharp turns, initiating movement and helping with balance. Dogs with docked tails are at a disadvantage particularly when jumping at their max height when rapid changes of direction are required. A shorter tail will require the dog to make greater compensation through the  rear limb movement and spine flexibility; dogs without tails will jump differently. 

​Another factor that can affect you dog's jumping is whether or not they have  front dewclaws. Front dewclaws are a functional digit and when your dog moves faster than a trot their dewclaw will touch the ground. Check out my previous blog for more information on the function of dewclaws. If a dog does not have dewclaws, there is a higher potential for the carpal ligaments to stretch and tear which could result in laxity and arthritis over time (OUCH!). This can then result in more stress being generated through the dog's carpus, elbow, shoulder, and spine as it tries to compensate for the lack of digit.  Regardless of which type of dog you have, consider their strength and weaknesses  of each and what you might change in your training routine or conditioning to minimize injury and load. 

Other Factors that Influence Jumping 

• Speed of the dog - Fast dogs can be a challenge for handlers to get in the right cues or body positioning to tell our dogs where they need to be.  
• Mental state / Arousal - If your dog is really excited their jumping mechanics may be sloppier causing more knocked bars. 
• Training or experience level - A dog who slows down going into the jumps, adds extra steps before the jump, or takes off way too early, may not know how to jump effectively.​  They may need more training or more exposure to jumping to increase their skills. 
• Weight to height ratio.
  • In canine sports, jump heights are measured only as a function of the dog’s height  - but dogs that jump the same height can have a very different risk of injury! Weight to Height Ratio helps us to understand how much stress is placed on our dogs and allows us to compare the relative risk of different sizes of dogs, as well as similar dogs that jump the same jump height. To use the Weight to Height Ratio take your dog’s weight in pounds and divide it by their height at the withers (point of the shoulder). For example, a lab that weighs 70lbs and stands 24 inches at the withers has a weight to height ratio of 2.9. On the other hand, a corgi that is 35lbs and stands 13 inches at the withers has a weight to height ratio of 2.7.​ This means that although they are very different in height and weight, they each have a similar amount of stress on their bodies
• Fitness level - The dog’s fitness level will affect your dog's ability to jump. Jumping requires strength, flexibility, proprioception and cardio endurance. 
• Footing - Footing can play a huge role in how our dogs jump! Not all surfaces are created equally and some will cause your dog to turn/slide more than others. Even turfs of similar style. If you are working on a surface that is less than ideal, consider the number of reps you do, the way your dog contorts and moves .​
• Type of jump / Jump height - The type of jump will also effect our dog's jumping mechanics. There are a variety of jumps in agility (broad, spread, panel) - consider also that jumps can be different colours, shapes etc all which can present a challenge to the dogs if they aren't familiar with it. 
• Learned history - If dogs start super young and drop bars, that gets built-in as part of the agility performance as the dog thinks it is “ok” and does not understand that part of agility is keeping bars up. Be strategic on layering in the good and do not rehearse what you do not want.​

What is Considered Good Jumping? 

Quinn

When it comes to jumping our dogs will often decide what is best for them but as handlers we generally want to see a couple things.

1. The jump is balanced. Our dog takes off roughly the same distance from the bar that they land.
2. They're pushing or exploding from the rear and NOT front loading. 
3. That our dogs can gauge​ the distance between jumps with minimal handler influence. ​​​
4. Our dogs move effortlessly from collection to extension to collection.
5. ​Jump cleanly and balanced (even if presented with conflicting information from the handler)​

Conditioning our Dogs to be Better Jumpers

Good jumpers aren't born - they're made and there is a number of things we can do to help our dogs become better jumpers! When training we need to be more mindful of including jump mechanics into our sessions and focus on areas that will strengthen the parts of the body that are primarily used in jumping. This means, for conditioning, we should focus on the hind limbs, the front limbs, and the core. Keep in mind that we have to provide conditioning exercises to match the movements of jumping. The body adapts to imposed demands so we'll need to incorporate physical training that mimics the motion and actions we expect our sport dogs to perform and create exercises that replicate those movements. This is known as the Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands (SAID) Principle. Break down the jumping movement into pieces and work to strengthen each piece.  Also, remember, that in  order to improve athletes must continually work harder as their bodies adjust to the workout.​ This is called the Overload Principle. Once your dog understands how to do an exercise, you cannot just continue doing it the same way again and again. Rather,  exercises must continually be progressed to increase challenge to the body. When and how to progress the exercise depends on the dog, but generally an exercise should be progressed every 4 to 12 weeks. 

Remember, that while jumping can take a physical toll on our dogs there are lots of things we can do to help them. By keeping our dogs physically fit and taking into account how their structure can help or hinder them we can better prepare them for the demands of sport. If you need more guidance on how to help your dog become a better jumper I'm always happy to provide advice!