# A-frame safety, dog not touching contact on the way up



## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

_I posted this in the classes thread about a week ago but didn't get any responses, reposting in the main area to see if anyone can help!_

Denali has done this once before, but last night she did it again and it scared the bejeebus out of me. When she has a straight line for the A-frame, she sprints for it and leaps halfway up it, not a single toe touching the contact zone. I'm not worried about her hitting the contact so much as that she hits it REALLY HARD when she's coming at it that fast. Last night we had a straight line of tire, jump, and A-frame. I lead out to the jump and she was FLYING when she got to me. When she hit the A-frame I cringed it was so forceful and loud. She hit it so hard her front legs bent to where she almost scraped her chest on it. Any suggestions for getting her to take it more nicely when we have a straight line? She was also *really* hyped up last night which didn't help. It's obviously not good for her legs or body, I stopped her at the bottom to make sure she hadn't broken her legs it was so hard.


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## TorachiKatashi (Sep 29, 2010)

I don't have an agility dog (yet,) so this is entirely based on what I think I would do. Do you use running contacts, or does she have to stop for a second at the bottom of the A-Frame? Personally, I'd start making her stop on the upside as well - pause for a moment with two front feet on the contact and two back feet on the ground, or even all four feet on the ground if she's still hitting it hard enough to hurt her front legs. I don't have enough experience to say if she would eventually be able to take it without stopping, but it would at least stop her from slamming into it and hurting herself.

Good luck with your girl!


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

If you just do the A-frame without jumps first does she still do it? I have a small dog and when I was first starting, he got excited and did the two jumps, then almost like he thought he should jump the yellow on the A-frame, he did what your dog did and crashed into the A-frame above the yellow contact area. Luckily he learned and never did that again.


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

My boy is notorious for slamming a-frames on the way up and I am concerned that he will damage his front end over time. So, I use the hoops you see in NADAC on the ascent side of the a-frame to keep him from leaping at it. I keep it about 18" to 24" away from the bottom of the a-frame so he has to run under it to start climbing and it's much safer. Most of the time he sees an a-frame outside of a trial...there's a hoop at the bottom of it as a reminder he's not supposed to get a flying start. LOL

This is what I'm talking about...http://www.affordableagility.com/hoops.htm

You can also use them on the descent side of the A-frame and dogwalk to remind them they aren't supposed to fly off either.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

She does 2o/2o on the down side. The only time she really slams into it is if it's a straight line, jumps or not. Like if she was coming out of a tunnel and it was directly in front of her she'd get as much speed as possible between them and slam into it. If there isn't enough room to get up speed she takes it perfectly.

MrsBoats, I like that idea! After training that way does it seem to work without the hoop in front? I've trained a little with hoops but the club I'm at now doesn't have any. Previous facility had hula hoops secured to pvc, cheap and easy to make! I might have to try that.

She never has issue with the dogwalk because the angle is so much less that when she flies up it she's fine and not slamming into it.


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

When Lars is in energy overdrive while running at a trial...he typically still slams the a-frame. He's still a green, young dogs and his head goes someplace completely different when showing than where he is at class or at home. I've been trialing every other week and right now we're taking a month off. So it's not like he's out there everyday slamming himself against the a-frame. Maybe someday when he's a veteran, he'll remember to run up the a-frame and not hit it full force. But in the mean time, I'll save mileage on him by placing hoops at the bottom of ours and in our weekly class. LOL

Oh, I forgot...could you use a collection clue before you come to the a-frame and slow her down just enough she won't slam it?? That may help you out too if you don't have a dog like mine who's life mantra is "Collection is for losers." I say "easy" if I need Lars to power down a bit before tight jump sequences or weave poles if he's cranking along. I'm going to have to start reminding him to "easy" before we come to the chute...he's gotten tangled up in that stupid thing more often than not. The fabric can't get out of his way in time when he reaches the end and bad things happen.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

I could probably get her to calm down with a collection cue, I can't believe I hadn't thought of that. She typically responds well to "easy" and "shhhhhhh" to settle down and slow down. Definitely give that one a try and see if she'll apply it to agility.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

MrsBoats said:


> I'm going to have to start reminding him to "easy" before we come to the chute...he's gotten tangled up in that stupid thing more often than not. The fabric can't get out of his way in time when he reaches the end and bad things happen.


Does he keep his head up or duck? Every dog I've ever seen get stuck in a chute, no matter how big or how fast, either doesn't run through straight or doesn't keep his head down, or both. Scary stuff.

In any case, the new, shorter 6'6" chute length rule change will be good when it finally happens...


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

I'm not 100% sure what happens when he gets caught in the chute. The last trial it happened this spring, I didn't see him enter it because he was just a little bit behind me when he did. He came rocketing out of the chute on his side and butt and skidded a good 10 feet like that after he exited the chute. That was worth about 3 chiropractic visits.  

In class, he doesn't get caught and I think that's because his full drive hasn't kicked in. At trials, when that drive is red lining Lars is like running with an atomic bomb with the fuse lit. I'm sure he's not using his brain like he does in class or at home. I'm very glad the chute is getting shortened and hopefully that will keep Lars from getting all tangled up in it.


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

It's really scary to see dogs get caught in the chute. The material is completely nonbreathable. Instructor told us a story of someone who had obstacles in her backyard while we were talking about the many reasons why it's bad to let dogs have free reign of the equipment without supervision. One day, one of the dogs went missing. The lady finally found him tangled up in the chute. Too late though


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