Conditioning for the AD...I'm too old for this - Page 3

I'm not exactly a large person ( 130lbs and 5'7"). If there is a dog charging me, it's never a little foo foo dog. They are Rotties and ACD's. If we are being attacked ( which we have before) I'm shooting. My, my kids and my dogs safety is #1. Some of the dogs loose I know will not chase past their yards and others will come after you no matter where you are.

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Melissa

"I know my dog can go out any day and run and AD, he is health and fit, but the pads of his feet need work since he lives on grass and carpet."

Do a google search for a product called tuf-foot; works great!

Keith I plan on getting some, my trainer used it and said it helped a lot.

I trained and put ADs on 3 dogs (one dog was past 7 years old) after the age of 60. This wasn't easy for me to generate enough courage because I broke my back roadworking a dog (conditioning for AKC breed shows!) with a bicycle back in 1989. We used the dirt track at Holmes JHS in Davis.I was stupid enough to have  the leash handle over the handlbar grip with my hand resting on the lead. MY dog suddenly had to stop and defecate and pulled on the handlebar--causing me to flip over in the air and land on the ground with my body bent in half. Nevertheless, while wearing a brace for my back, I went out and purchased a small fold-up bike and was back to roadworking within 2.5 weeks. At first, I rode around the track with an air dog. When I finally hooked her up to the bike, the leash was tied tothe post of the bicycle seat.

Although I later bought a Springer atttachment, I hated it. Instead, I preferred the k-9 Cruiser attachment as it provided a lower center of gravity than the Springer.

If you are lucky, you will go to a cheating club like the old Feather River Schutzhund Club in Marysville, CA and find that the distance of the AD at Riverside Park is only 7 miles long. A competitor had an odometer on his bike! At an AD of the Marysville Schutzhund Club (Thomas Sauerhoefer's WDA club after he was asked to leave FRSC) a couple of years ago, a competitor told me the distance was but 3 miles!! At clubs of this sort, during the AD, the judge may be drinking in the bar with his host an never see or check on the dogs during the run. Often, the judge may not request performance of basic obedience exercises after the run. I offered water and applied Tuf-Foot to the feet of my dogs during the different segments of the AD.

I usually began conditioning for the AD only about a month before the event. I worked the dog an average of 2-3 days a week. I never asked the dog to gait for the full 12 miles during training. Generally, we trained for no more than 5 miles--usually, for only 2.5. Don't worry that the rules for the AD specify that the dog should gait on the right side of the bike. During the actual run, the judge never questioned that the dog was on my left side.

If God wanted me to do AD's well into my 50's or 60's, he wouldn't have made teenagers.
I still do them, but I'm in pretty good physical shape. I do use a springer for most dogs, but not all.

I thought I was training for the real thing and that my dogs were well prepared. Just train the best that you can and use commmon sense and safety measures. My first  AD dog was the minumum age the day of the event. How was I to know it was only 7.5 miles long? Mark Hamilton surely knew as he volunteered to lead the pack with his dog (probably hadn't run an AD in years).

One needn't train for an entire 12.5 mile AD any more than a human athlete trains by running a full marathon regularly. I've never had access to teenagers and don't know of any that I would trust with my dog. I detest children of any age but my dogs love them.

My mountain bike with k-9 cruiser was stolen from my garage last week. Now, there is a lucky teenager somewhere!! Anyhow, I'm off to look at a new/used bike this evening.

 I suggest a 3-wheeler. Much safer for frail seniors, and perfeectly legal within trial rules. They even come with a basket big enough for the dog, in case he/she falls apart prior to the finish. I'm going to decorate mine with a cute little horn and some festive streamers on the ends of the handle bars, and a good audio system of course, for entertainment on the long, boring ride.

Just giving my opinion on the k9 cruiser attachment! It was the first device I used  and only used it one season! the largest drawback I found was the velcro straping was not suffecient enough to keep the end securly attached to the bike frame! Secondly  with my girl at about 60 lbs  @ 1.5 years I encounterd a bent axle on the rear wheel! I assume the axle bending was a result of the many times she pulled in an opposite direction  of travel! At the discovery of a relatively inexpensive axle repair plus the constant reatachment of the velcro I will not use it anymore! Now  should one use a higher end bycycle for  endurance your damaged axle could cost a few more dollars to fix1The axle becomes a fulcrum point @ every change in direction1 I would reccommend a light  tack weld to the frame instead of a bolt or quick release  attachment to the rear axle! Just be carefull using it!JMO