Clean Run - March 2012 - 7

Everything you always wanted to know about agility
By Brenna Fender

What is the difference between “superman-style” and “spider-style” jumping? Are there any health concerns with the dog using one style or the other? Should trainers attempt to influence the dog’s jump style?
Superman jumping is a jumping style where the dog’s front legs are pointed out toward the landing side of the jump and the rear legs are stretched out behind, pointing toward the take-off side of the jump. Spider jumping refers to having the rear legs in a more tucked position, generally pointing toward the landing side of the jump. Differences in jumping styles have been acknowledged for a long time. Christine Zink DVM, PhD and Julie Daniels addressed this in their book, Jumping from A to Z, back in 1996. They described several different positions for the rear legs to be held in while jumping: full stretch or relaxed stretch (both versions of the superman style), full tuck (with rear legs “completely flexed and held tight under the body with rear pasterns parallel to the ground”), back tuck (with rear legs “tightly flexed and held close to the body, but tilted backward with the rear pasterns almost perpendicular to the ground”), and relaxed tuck (with rear legs “loosely flexed, with the lower leg from the hocks to the toes hanging”). The latter three are probably considered to be versions of the spider style. Zink and Daniels state that “there is no one correct jumping style for all dogs and all circumstances.” Linda Mecklenburg, author of Developing Jumping Skills for Awesome Agility Dogs, agrees that the use of one of these particular jumping styles is not an automatic cause for concern. She says that it is hard to speak in general about a particular jumping style being “right” or “wrong.” It is difficult to determine if a dog has a jumping problem simply by being told that the dog spider jumps or even by seeing a few photos of the dog in action. Mecklenburg’s book on jumping discusses inverted and round jumping styles, focusing more on function than leg position. In the inverted jumping style, the book states that the dog “depends less on his rear end for propulsion and uses his front end and neck to generate lift over the bar. His front legs are usually extended in front of him on the ascent, before he reaches the bar.” With inverted jumping, the dog’s head is typically “higher than his withers, with his spine arcing away from the bar as he approaches the apex of his jumping arc.” The round jumping form involves the dog depending “more on his rear end both for propulsion and to generate lift over the bar. His front legs are usually neatly tucked in front of

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him on the ascent.” The dog’s head is “lower than his withers, with his spine arched over the bar and he approaches the apex of his jumping arc.” Mecklenburg recommends training for a rounded jumping style because it is more adaptable on course. Choice of superman or spider jumping styles may be more an adaptation by the dog, used when approaching jumps in a particular way, or it may reflect a dog’s confidence while jumping. Susan Salo, who has released several DVDs on the subject of jumping, says, “The superman style of flight is generally generated by dogs jumping from an extended (or long) stride, which gives them a bit of a long take-off spot as well so the arc through the air appears rather flat. The [Spider] style of jumping is generally created by dogs that have come to the base of the jump on a relatively short stride. These dogs expend a great deal of energy getting vertical but do not drive forward through the air. These dogs also generally do not articulate their limbs (tuck up) too well.” If a dog regularly jumps with the spider style, this may have disadvantages. Salo says, “There is more force (concussion) on landing,” with the spider style. “Mostly I find these dogs lack fundamental understanding of how to jump. They only think in terms of elevation. Lots of work with no payoff.” If this is the case, handlers may wish to train their dogs to approach jumps differently with a larger stride. Salo also indicates that a dog’s structure strongly influences jumping style. Competitor Helen King, author of Picking Your Performance Puppy, has experience with this. Her Standard Poodle, MeMe, jumped using the superman style until she had surgery as a treatment for Legg-Perthes disease. An unexpected result of that surgery was a jumping style change. She says, “As the scar tissue shortened her range of motion, she began to tuck up her hind legs underneath her.” D

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Clean Run - March 2012

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