Arielle Pechette Markley, DVM, DACVSMR

A closer look at the “bounce” effect in agility dogs through the lens of workload monitoring, recovery, fatigue, and periodization. This post explains why a major competition weekend should not be viewed in isolation, how sudden workload spikes may affect performance, and why better canine-specific data are needed to support safer, smarter training decisions.

Written by: Dr. Arielle Pechette Markley, Director of Research, Red Sage Integrative Veterinary Partners Dr. Abigail Shoben, Associate Professor, Biostatistics, The Ohio State University College of Public Health Recent discussions have renewed focus on the safety of contact obstacles in agility, particularly the dogwalk. These conversations are important, but meaningful progress depends on moving beyond individual events toward objective, population-level data. As part of the Coalition for...

A response to current questions about dogwalk safety. Photo courtesy of Blue Merle Photography HDG Written by: Dr. Kim Cullen , Associate Professor, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Division of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland Witnessing a serious injury happen in sport is always upsetting. At the recent Winter Olympics (Milano-Cortina 2026), for example, rare but dramatic injuries in events like alpine downhill...