Does Dog Agility Seesaw Designs Affect the Performance of Dogs on the Obstacle?

Dog agility seesaw is one of the most challenging obstacles to train to any breed of dog. The behavior of the dog in the movement of the see-saw does not normally happen but are learned. Whether for the purpose of competition or recreation, the most important skill to learn for both the trainer/handler and the dog is coordination. The team should work together quickly, efficiently and safely. The speed, accuracy and preference for obstacles of dogs vary throughout the course. This is the reason why the handler must adjust their handling techniques to support the dog in any obstacles.

Technical, physical and educational training is important. The dog must be physically fit to run and jump without stress and damage to the body. The seesaw is different from any obstacle because the performance depends on the obstacle equipment itself. The construction and the design of the seesaw greatly affect its movement or motion. To ensure the consistency of the performance of the equipment, organizations for dog agility have set standard plank dimensions and height of the pivot. However, there is still no response about the load. Seesaw solutions have been designed with the performance characteristics. The materials are carefully chosen for the specific design.

Experts evaluated the effects of designs to the performance of the dogs. The purpose was to determine how the designs reacted to different kinds of load applied. They wanted to know how the different loads and the application affects the response of the dog agility seesaw. They also wanted to determine the response of the abrupt cessation of the rotation of the plank. There are three series of test performed. Sandbag is are place with different weights on the arm of the seesaw and are released to measure the time from the starting position to the impact on the floor. Again, another test is performed to determine the stiffness of the boards used, and the final test is to evaluate the bending capacity of the board.

It is a must for agility organization for dogs to establish a set of standards on the specification of the seesaw stiffness and the load conditions. This set of standards will allow a dog to anticipate its performance on the obstacle. They should ensure the seesaw obstacle performance is similar to any size of dogs. Experts recommend the use of a blade/plate fulcrum because it avoids the frictional effects of the tube and responses to the different loads applied. Stiffer boards exhibit a fewer board whip, and hooping of the base is still a problem. It is recommended to incorporate force attenuators into the base to solve this problem.