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Endurance Test 2010


Kynan
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You should give it a go! It's a lot of fun if you have a training partner and if you send your entries in together so you know you'll be next to each other in the test!!! Makes it much more interesting!

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Millie cut her paw a month priot to the test, so we decided to let it heal and try again next year.

Looks like it was a good turn out in Adelaide though.

For those who went,

could you talk me through what happened, how you felt, how your dog went etc?

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You should give it a go! It's a lot of fun if you have a training partner and if you send your entries in together so you know you'll be next to each other in the test!!! Makes it much more interesting!

Finding a training partner will be the toughest part!! :laugh:

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You should give it a go! It's a lot of fun if you have a training partner and if you send your entries in together so you know you'll be next to each other in the test!!! Makes it much more interesting!

Finding a training partner will be the toughest part!! :laugh:

Count me out :D

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Millie cut her paw a month priot to the test, so we decided to let it heal and try again next year.

Looks like it was a good turn out in Adelaide though.

For those who went,

could you talk me through what happened, how you felt, how your dog went etc?

Ok, now that we're home....!!!

We rocked up and got our dogs vetted. That meant handing in our vet certificate and having the vet or vet nurse take our dogs temp, heart rate and do a pad check.

Then we had to do a willingness test which was: dog in heel position on left side, sitting. Walk forward on loose lead about 5 paces, about turn, walk back to original spot, about turn and halt. Sit your dog. Leave your dog to length of lead. Call your dog to you. If your dog didn't stay, they didn't care. They just wanted to see if the dog moved around with you and you had some control.

Then we waited for the start. Each person had their own start peg along the road where you could dump your stuff (mat, water, drink for you, snacks, and treats). We started at 8am sharp.... Literally! They were saying "20 seconds to go!"

We followed a pace rider. The person running with his dog was immediately behind the pace bike. Everyone else followed in single file. If your dog pooped, you had to catch up to the group and get back into place which meant riding at much faster speeds like 15km/hr. The rest of the ride was at 9-12km/hr (I had my bike computer on).

Riding with the group were numerous stewards who helped you find the group again if you lagged behind. The judge rode with the group alongside.

The course at Sale, VIC is very flat. It's around a lake so very pretty!! The surface was mostly packed dirt and concrete. There was also a little bit of grass, gravel and bitumen (a couple of metres each).

Between legs, the dogs could not leave the start peg area. If you needed to go to the toilet, etc you just got someone to hold your dog. During the breaks you had to get your dog vetted again - same each time. And again at the end.

After the last vetting, you repeated the willingness test.

The working dogs breezed through the test. You should expect heart rates to drop throughout the test as they get into the groove.

Milky's vet results:(kelpie)

Vet certificate - heart rate 142!!! Temp 39.5

Pre test - hr 120, temp 39.3

First break - hr 80, temp 39.0

Second break - hr 92, temp 38.8

End of test - hr 80, temp 38.3

Jedi's results:

Vet cert - hr 80, temp 38.4

Pre test - hr 68, temp 38.7

First break - hr 100, temp 39.2

Second break - hr 92, temp 38.8

End of test - hr 80, temp 38.4

And that's about it!!!

Jedi struggled to find motivation and so I was continuously bribing him with promises of pigs ears and bones lol

Edited by TerraNik
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Sure you can!

It's 8km, 15 min break, 6km, 20 min break, 6km.

It's at 10-12km/hr and that is super slow!!!!

I could probably work it out with some basic maths, but maths was never a strong point :laugh: How long does it take you to complete each section at the set pace?

Can you get a gadget for your bike which tells you your speed and distance? Are they expensive? What sort of bike do you need to complete this? Do you just have your normal lead in your left hand?

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Milky's vet results:(kelpie)

Vet certificate - heart rate 142!!! Temp 39.5

Pre test - hr 120, temp 39.3

First break - hr 80, temp 39.0

Second break - hr 92, temp 38.8

End of test - hr 80, temp 38.3

Jedi's results:

Vet cert - hr 80, temp 38.4

Pre test - hr 68, temp 38.7

First break - hr 100, temp 39.2

Second break - hr 92, temp 38.8

End of test - hr 80, temp 38.4

What should they be to stay in the race? What gets you out of the race?

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:laugh: well done TerraNik and Jedi and Milky.

;) ness, if I can do it, you can. When I did it with Kirra and Fergus 4 years ago, I hadn't ridden a bike for pretty much longer than you've been alive, and my friend and training partner even longer ago :curtsey: . Our first training session was without dogs - just getting used to riding a bike again. :laugh:

RS - yes you can get a little bike computer gadget for your bike - think mine cost about $20.

You need in training to be prepared for speeds up to about 15 or 16 kph - in case of things like having to catch up to the group again - e.g. after dog toiletting, or as in my case, after falling off your bike when the dog has a huge shake because of the sleet storm coming straight into his face :cheer: - and then having to get a spare bike because my brakes were temporarily stuffed - literally - with mud. But for most of the trip you're riding about 10-12 kph. Probably a little faster in the first leg, cos some judges like to 'bank' a little time while riders and dogs are fresh.

As far as heart rate and temp go, what they're looking for is signs of dogs being over-stressed - eg heart rate going to high, temp going up and not coming back down again within a short time. My Kirra has 'white coat phobia', so her resting heart rate as per our check with our own vet was high - over 140. At the last check, I had her in my arms and she wasn't noticing the vet at first, but when she did - the vet laughed cos Kirra's heart rate suddenly shot up. (Vet was lovely - commented "And I didn't even wear my white coat today" :eek:

The 'obedience/willingness' test, as has been said, is just basic - to make sure the dog is under reasonable control before the test, and then after the test, to make sure that the dog's brain is still functioning as well as it was before :D .

In spite of the absolutely foul weather we had when I did ET with Kirra and Fergus, it was a fun thing to do. I'm hoping to do it with the little big man next year or the year after.

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Sure you can!

It's 8km, 15 min break, 6km, 20 min break, 6km.

It's at 10-12km/hr and that is super slow!!!!

I could probably work it out with some basic maths, but maths was never a strong point :laugh: How long does it take you to complete each section at the set pace?

Can you get a gadget for your bike which tells you your speed and distance? Are they expensive? What sort of bike do you need to complete this? Do you just have your normal lead in your left hand?

Yep, you can. They are not expensive (some as cheap as $30 or less). You can get your local bike shop to fit it for you (or a handy person!). You can use any bike as long as it's suitable for off-road stuff so I wouldn't be using a road bike. Just any mountain bike or hybrid bike would be fine.

Yep, you just carry the lead in your left hand. You can't use anything like a Walky Dog for the test, but they are useful for training.

What should they be to stay in the race? What gets you out of the race?

One of the dogs at our ET had a temp of 41 degrees after the first leg. They waited for it to go down - it did - so he was allowed to continue.

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  • 5 months later...
post-31407-1266551185_thumb.jpg by the way this is the dog in question to do the endurance:-) do you think he has it in him. He wont be 2 until the end of the year thank goodness ive got time up my sleeve

:laugh: Looks perfectly suited, Sandra - should be able to chill out nicely in the breaks. :laugh: - Yep - I'm the same - my boy's not 2 till September, so I've got plenty of time before next year's test - only 1 a year here - sometimes one every two years.

Sorry Tassie i just realised i never replied to you. Yes thats my boy thats his daily routine, go for a walk/run then crash for the day:)

:laugh: No probs. And I'm glad there are other dogs out there who spend a fair bit of the day dead to the world. :)

my whippet spends about 20hrs a day spralled out on the couch, we are looking at doing it this year

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