Internet Survey Evaluation of Demographic Risk Factors for Injury in Canine Agility Athletes

Sundby, Annika E; Markley, Arielle Pechette; Shoben, Abigail B.; Kieves, Nina R.

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.869702

Cited by 8 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Injuries to the digits and iliopsoas muscle are also common in agility dogs (11,15,16). Previously reported risk factors for performance-related injury in agility dogs include the dog's level of experience, type of obstacle, prior injury, Border Collie breed, and handler experience (1,2,(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet-based survey evaluating the impact of ground substrate on injury and performance in canine agility athletes

Jimenez

Canapp

Percival³

2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Agility is a rapidly growing canine performance sport worldwide, yet the literature is sparse regarding the impact of ground substrate on performance and injury. Approximately 1/3 of dogs participating in agility trials will experience a performance-related injury. The impact of ground material has been well-documented in racing greyhounds, equine athletes, and humans, but has been minimally investigated in agility dogs. In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, 300 respondents (handlers, owners, and trainers) of 308 agility dogs completed an online survey regarding their dog's training and competition regimen, history of injury, perceived association between injury and substrate and/or agility obstacle, markers of decreased performance (MDPs) observed on different substrates, and changes to routine following injury. 35.7% of dogs sustained a training injury (TI) and 11.2% sustained a competition injury (CI). The most commonly reported sites of injury were the shoulder (TI: 33.9%, CI: 25.4%), forelimb digits (TI: 14.7%, CI: 11.9%) and iliopsoas muscle (TI: 11.9%, CI: 13.6%). Dogs most commonly trained on natural grass (85.3%), artificial turf (50.8%), and dirt (34.5%). Significantly fewer MDPs were observed on natural grass than any other substrate except dirt. Significantly more MDPs were noted on rubber mat compared to natural grass, artificial turf, dirt, sand, or foam mat. Rubber mat had the highest Incidence Proportion (IP) (32.0%) of TI and was perceived to be related to TI in 87.5% of cases. Obstacles perceived to be associated with injuries included jumps (TI: 37.5%, CI: 27.8%), contacts (TI: 29.7%, CI: 22.2%), weaves (TI: 11.9%, CI: 13.9%), and tunnels (CI: 25.0%). Overall, agility dogs were perceived to perform best on natural grass and dirt, while rubber mat was associated with injury and decreased performance. Respondents were willing to make significant alterations to their dog's routine due to a perceived association between substrate, injury, and performance. Further prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of substrate composition and maintenance, and inform evidence-based recommendations to maximize performance and minimize performance-related injury in agility dogs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet-based survey evaluating the impact of ground substrate on injury and performance in canine agility athletes

Jimenez

Canapp

Percival³

2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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“…The sample of 4,197 dogs has been described previously (3,13). Iliopsoas injury was reported by handlers for 327 (7.8%) dogs with strain the most common injury reported (12).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data from a previously described internet survey were utilized (3,12,13). Briefly, individuals were eligible if they had at least one dog who had competed in dog agility in the past 3 years.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet Survey Evaluation of Iliopsoas Injury in Dogs Participating in Agility Competitions

Fry¹,

Kieves

Shoben

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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ObjectiveTo describe risk factors associated with demographics, training, and competition for iliopsoas injury in dogs participating in agility competitions, as well as describe owner reported treatment and return to sport following injury.ProceduresAn internet-based survey of agility handlers collected risk factor data for dogs participating in agility. Owners were asked questions about demographics, training, and competition as well as injury treatment and recovery if applicable. Associations between variables of interest and iliopsoas injury were estimated with logistic regression. The final risk factor model was built via modified backward selection, with all variables in the final model showing significant associations at p < 0.05.ResultsOf the 4,197 dogs in the sample, 327 (7.8%) reported iliopsoas injury. The final model identified six risk factors for iliopsoas injury. A higher risk of iliopsoas injury was observed for the Border Collie breed, dogs with handlers who are veterinary assistants, dogs competing on dirt, dogs competing on artificial turf 6+ times a year, and dogs that trained with the 2 × 2 method for weave poles. Dogs that were not acquired with agility in mind were observed to have a decreased risk of injury. Factors like number of competition days and jump height were not significantly associated with risk of iliopsoas injury. Owners sought veterinary care for 88% of dogs with iliopsoas injury, including specialty care for 63%. Treatment most often included rest, home rehabilitation, formal rehabilitation, and/or oral medications. Most dogs (80%) were able to return to sport within 6 months, while 20% were out for longer than 6 months, or retired.Conclusion and Clinical RelevanceIliopsoas injury can necessitate a significant amount of time off from training and competition, and even lead to retirement of dogs competing in agility. Some of the risk factors identified in this study can inherently not be modified (breed, intended use, and handler profession), but can be taken into consideration for injury prevention strategies. Competition and training risk factors that can be modified, such as weave training, may help to inform guidelines for best practices in management of the agility athlete.

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“…The current study did not ascertain gender, age, or educational status of respondents except as related to veterinary medical training (veterinarian or credentialed veterinary technician). There have been several internet-based surveys of agility participants, however, that have produced consistent demographic descriptors of sport participants ( 7 , 13 , 14 , 18 – 22 , 24 ). In the largest and most recent of these surveys ( 18 ), respondents were predominantly female (>90%) and over the age of 45 years (>50%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been several internet-based surveys of agility participants, however, that have produced consistent demographic descriptors of sport participants ( 7 , 13 , 14 , 18 – 22 , 24 ). In the largest and most recent of these surveys ( 18 ), respondents were predominantly female (>90%) and over the age of 45 years (>50%). More than half had a 4-year college degree or higher (graduate, professional) level of education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adverse health events and recommended health research priorities in agility dogs as reported by dog owners

et al. 2023

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ObjectiveTo understand relative frequency of adverse health events, defined as injuries or infectious diseases, in dogs participating in agility and to determine health research priorities of agility dog owners.ProceduresAn internet-based questionnaire distributed to agility dog owners included items related to experiences with infectious diseases and injuries in agility dogs, reasons for retirement of dogs from competition, and ranking of health research priorities. Frequencies of infectious diseases in US geographic regions were compared with Chi-square tests. Research priority rankings were determined as median and interquartile range (IQR) for each topic. Rank-based tests (Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney) compared rankings between participants in different agility organizations, between veterinarian and non-veterinarian competitors, and between respondents who had competed in national championship events and other respondents.ResultsThere were 1,322 respondents who had competed in canine agility in the previous 6 months, with those respondents reporting a median time competing in the sport of 13 years (IQR = 8–20 years); 50% of respondents had competed in at least one national championship agility event in the preceding 5 years. Overall, 1,015 respondents (77%) indicated that one or more of their dogs had been injured and approximately one-third (n = 477, 36%) indicated that one or more dogs had likely acquired one or more infectious diseases as a result of agility activities. Specific types of infectious diseases acquired varied by geographic region in the US. Research priority rankings were similar regardless of preferred agility organization or respondent experience. The highest-ranking research topics were identification of risk factors for specific types of injuries, improvements in equipment and understanding of safe course design, and physical conditioning programs to prevent injury.Conclusions and clinical relevanceAgility competitors prioritize research in areas that advance understanding of injury prevention in their dogs. Research priorities are nearly uniform among competitors regardless of their preferred agility organization or level of experience, providing a strong rationale for agility organizations to collaborate in research initiatives that improve safety and well-being for dogs competing in the sport. There has been little published research focusing on the high-priority research areas identified by competitors.

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Internet Survey Evaluation of Demographic Risk Factors for Injury in Canine Agility Athletes

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Internet-based survey evaluating the impact of ground substrate on injury and performance in canine agility athletes

Internet-based survey evaluating the impact of ground substrate on injury and performance in canine agility athletes

Internet Survey Evaluation of Iliopsoas Injury in Dogs Participating in Agility Competitions

Adverse health events and recommended health research priorities in agility dogs as reported by dog owners

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