Thinking of doing AD in 3 weeks, any tips?

[pfitzpa1]

We have a club trial in 3 weeks and Maggie is up for BH. I was thinking of doing AD (following day) as well. She is well exercised, can handle my 6 mile hikes no problem. Our AD involves 3 laps of the island (4mi per lap). I did one lap a few days ago with a short 5 min break. She handled it fine, when we got home she proceeded to run laps in the back garden. The surface is regular blacktop.
Is 3 weeks enough to prepare for AD and any suggestions of how to build up. I was thinking doing some AD buildup every 2nd day.

[Castlemaid]

It's been a while since I did an AD, but from your description, Maggie shouldn't have any problems.

Are you using a bike attachment? The dog has to run on the right side of the bike, so make sure Maggie is used to the right side and is comfortable with it. The biggest problem dogs have with ADs is bloody paws - either they got it cut on something, or they got rubbed raw from running on the pavement. If there are grassy curbs or dirt shoulders anywhere on your route, take advantage of those and get Maggie to run on them. During the breaks, the judge will be checking the dogs' paws for bleeding, so make sure Maggie is comfortable with you picking up her paws and another person leaning over to check them out.

I wouldn't do anything special right now leading up to the AD. If she can do six miles without any issues, she is fine. I'd just keep biking two or three times a week. What I did when I was conditioning for the AD, was do shorter trips (2 or 3 miles) on weekdays and push for speed (but still at a trot), and on weekends when I had more time, do longer trips at a more leisurely pace to build for stamina. I trained mostly on dirt roads, and would do 15 to 20 minutes at a time on blacktop to condition the paws.

Good luck and have fun! I think after doing an AD with Gryff I'll quit the AD's because my arthritis makes biking hard now. But when I trained with Keeta, I loved the exercise, bonding, and the satisfaction of working together towards achieving something. Plus, going out with other club members to do actually do the AD was a ton of fun too. So relax and enjoy!

[lhczth]

If the surface is blacktop make sure you continue to condition her on blacktop so her feet don't get sore going the extra miles.

[pfitzpa1]

Originally Posted by Castlemaid

Are you using a bike attachment? The dog has to run on the right side of the bike, so make sure Maggie is used to the right side and is comfortable with it.

Yes, I have an attachment bar that extends about 18 inches from the side of the bike. I have it on the left hand side now but now you mention running on right, I better switch it over.

Are attachments allowed in AD, the only rules I could find mentioned a leash.

I generally attach it to her choke collar on dead ring. I have a harness that I could use as well which might be safer.

I also read about a spray that you can put on the dogs pads to toughen them up, has anyone used it and it it generally available (in pet stores)?.

[pfitzpa1]

Originally Posted by lhczth

If the surface is blacktop make sure you continue to condition her on blacktop so her feet don't get sore going the extra miles.

Will do, Thanks.

[ayoitzrimz]

Originally Posted by pfitzpa1

Yes, I have an attachment bar that extends about 18 inches from the side of the bike. I have it on the left hand side now but now you mention running on right, I better switch it over.

Are attachments allowed in AD, the only rules I could find mentioned a leash.

I generally attach it to her choke collar on dead ring. I have a harness that I could use as well which might be safer.

I also read about a spray that you can put on the dogs pads to toughen them up, has anyone used it and it it generally available (in pet stores)?.

I know it's an old thread, but I'm curious about these two points myself.
1. Are attachments allowed to free up our hands?
2. What is a good product to use to toughen up the paws? I usually use musher's secret in the winter, but I feel it actually makes my dog's paws softer and prevents cracked paws and salt issues - so for this purpose it might be counterproductive

[Liesje]

2. For feet I used Tuf Foot once a day, and then applied Musher's Secret after a run if the pads looked cracked. Pan had constantly cracked feet because of flyball. Nikon has never had anything applied to his feet, either for his AD or flyball.

[pfitzpa1]

Originally Posted by ayoitzrimz

I know it's an old thread, but I'm curious about these two points myself.
1. Are attachments allowed to free up our hands?
2. What is a good product to use to toughen up the paws? I usually use musher's secret in the winter, but I feel it actually makes my dog's paws softer and prevents cracked paws and salt issues - so for this purpose it might be counterproductive

I did my AD with the bike attachment mentioned above. The judge had no issue with it or which side it was mounted on. He did tell me to slow down, which I did, but I knew my dog could have kept going at a good pace.

I used nothing on my dogs paws and she was fine.

[Smithie86]

1. Get the dog used to the bike and the riding with you on the bike.
2. Get the dog used to running with you on the bike with other dogs. It is not fun being in an AD with a dog that is unsure.
3. Know the condition of your dog. Some dogs need the road work. We have one that did her AD in Dec with no roadwork training. Just up and back a few blocks on the bike to get used to it.
4. For you, wide cushioned seat....... You will thank yourself for it.