Speed kills

We realise that speed is huge risk factor, that is why we had speed limits on the roads, that's why we have roundabouts or speed bumps and so on. We know that an accident happening at 30 km/h is usually a fender bender, whereas accident at 120 km/h can be fatal. 

And yet, when it comes to agility safety and dogs' safety discussions, ALL THE PROPOSED SOLUTIONS focus on anything but speed, or rather, they work so as to INCREASE speed. Look what we've done in the last couple of years:

- lowered the jump heights,

- removed the flat tunnel (yes, I personally hated that obstacle and think it was good decision),

- removed the table, 

- increased the distances between the obstacles - and still this is the regulation that is perhaps voliated most often so the judges put even bigger distances and we applaud that as a community,

- hardly any course starts with sit-stay, most of them start with a wrap.

In the same time, course design changed, the lines changed and they require less sharp changes of direction, less leading leg changes, less braking, more accelleration. You get uproar whenever someone builds a course that is not "fluent" that is requires for instance a front cross :P - just remember Regin's courses at EO (that no dog actually got injured on as far as I know, despite horrible weather conditions). 

The way we train the dog changed and generally as dogs get more independent, they also get faster because handler's speed is not as limiting to them. 

The dogs we breed changed and for anyone doing agility for a while, just remember what an average border collie used to weight and what they weight now. We want lighter, more flexible, faster... but perhaps (I'm wondering, I don't really have any hard data on this, just a hunch) this also contributes to more ligaments injuries (like why is ACL injury so freaking common?), more broken limbs? Maybe?

The topic of dogwalk safety comes back as a boomerang. 

It's "funny" how everybody goes on about dogwalk safety and that it wasn't really invented for the dogs running full speed on it and that with that speed it's dangerous and also that dog's safety is a priority, but literally NOONE decides to just train for 2o2o or lower speed as a consequence. 

Again, all the proposed solutions are meant to allow the dogs go even faster: lower dogwalk, broader dogwalk, removing the dogwalk entirely, only straight entries and exits.

We continue to ignore the biggest known risk factor. Speed. We say our dogs' safety is a priority but refuse to even consider solutions that would limit the speed on the course. Because we want to be competitive. Because we hope it won't happen to us. Because speed is addictive and exhilarating. I don't want to blame the handlers and I'm truly and honestly sorry for anyone who experienced their dog having serious accident in agility.

But perhaps we should stop talking about how to change or remove yet another obstacle and start looking for solutions elsewhere? 

In horse jumping in the beginner classes you cannot go too fast because you get penalties for that. 

I'm guilty as anyone. I want to be competitive too. Perhaps if competitive didn't mean always faster, faster, faster, we could actually make it a safer sport for our dogs?