Lycan Tough K-9 Products Blog

Written By: James Fambrough, President, Master Trainer, and Director of K-9 Training for The Lycan Group K-9 Services LLC.

OK you have just received you new bite suit or bite sleeve and you are ready to train your K-9 – Right ?

Are you sure you can do the training without injury? Some decoys and trainers never consider pre-planning to avoid injury when it comes to bite work or decoying. How can this be, you ask yourself? Simple we become complacent, are in a hurry, or just do not know better.

In this article we are going to discuss not the injuries caused by scratching or biting of the dog,  but by the act of decoying itself. Then, we will discuss some simple preventative measures you can take to prevent injuries to your muscular and joint system.

First of all, decoying is a very active and exciting thing. It can be very fast paced and dynamic. Decoying by its nature is very demanding both of our minds and bodies. In this article we are concerned with the actual impact, running, jumping, climbing, and fighting of the dogs that cause a majority of injuries in K-9 training. In our research we found that almost 98% of K-9 training injuries were attributed to muscular or skeletal injuries such as sprains, strains, broken bones and stress fractures, not actual bites or scratches from the dog.

So how do we avoid injury during bite training?

Step One check with your doctor and get a physical to insure that you can perform the duties of a decoy without injuring our re-injuring yourself.  Re-injury  is one of the major injuries suffered by decoys. Follow your doctors recommendations about how to protect yourself from re-injury if you have a prior existing condition.

Step two involves stretching. Stretching is a frequently the most overlooked component of a K-9 training program.  Flexibility exercises are designed to elongate the soft tissue of the body.  Stretching has several benefits, including:  injury prevention, enhanced performance, improved joint range of motion, and decreased muscle soreness after a strenuous session.

Flexibility exercises cause the muscle, its connective tissue and frame work to elongate.  The muscle tissue lengthens more than the structural components.  The structural components do not need to be elongated as this may compromise joint integrity.  Flexibility exercises should merely increase the plasticity of these structures while lengthening the muscle tissue itself.

Stretching should always be performed slowly and with control.  If a stretch is instituted too rapidly the muscles protective mechanism kicks in (stretch reflex) and the muscle tissue actually tightens.  This is why ballistic movements are discouraged during stretching exercises

There are two (2) basic types of flexibility exercises.  Static Stretching is performed by passively placing the muscle in a maximally lengthened position and holding it there for a sustained interval (10 – 30 seconds).  Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) is a technique using combinations of alternating contractions and relaxations of agonist and antagonistic muscles.  A partner will assist the individual being stretched in resisting the motions caused by muscle contraction.  To perform this technique, knowledge of the agonist and antagonist muscle function is necessary.

Prior to stretching, a full-body warm-up should be performed.  This may include a light jog or bicycle ride, or any other low level aerobic activity performed 5 – 10 minutes prior to stretching.  When perspiration begins to flow, the core temperature has been sufficiently raised to facilitate stretching.  Raising the core temperature causes the muscle tissue to become more pliable, enhancing proper stretching. Remember, not just the decoy needs to warm up but also the K-9 handler and dog should warm up as well.

Selecting proper stretching techniques is very important.  Just as ballistic or bouncing during a stretch is counterproductive, some stretches can cause damage.  The “Hurdler’s Stretch,” for example has been shown to cause damage to the meniscal cartilage in the knee.  One must also know the participants’ “tight spots” and be able to design specific flexibility programs to target these areas. For decoying and bite work we recommend a stretching routine that covers from head to feet with emphasis on the arms, legs, shoulders, and neck. You can easily find books, magazines, and web resources on proper stretching techniques, and as always check with your doctor before starting a stretching routine or exercise.

Stretching is not just limited to the decoy everyone involved in the training should warm up and stretch that way your body is prepared for some intense training.

Step Three involves a thorough safety sweep of the training grounds. Your safety sweep is very important to prevent injuries. You would not believe how many injuries during bite training exercises happen from someones foot getting caught in a gopher hole or some one landing on a broken piece of a bottle!  Have everyone involved in the training walk a grid across the training field looking for holes, debris and trash, objects they may be protruding, or anything that could injure the participants of the training.

Step Four inspect your protective equipment and K-9 Equipment to insure it is in proper working order and that there are no safety concerns about any of the equipment. If there is even a little concern over any piece of equipment DO NOT USE IT !!!!! Replace damaged or overly worn equipment. Equipment failure is the leading cause of dog teeth penetrating human flesh over any other cause. If the dogs leash breaks and the decoys not ready it can also cause some bone and muscular injuries plus the decoy will probably never help you again because you are  not safe.

Other equipment related injuries we commonly hear about are from the improper use of the training item or having equipment that does not fit properly. These injuries are easy to prevent or avoid altogether, contact the manufacture or retailer and ask for directions on how to use their products. Some manufactures and retailers offer guides, videos, or may tell you were you can attend a demonstration of the product near you. And as I always say, ” If it doesn’t fit, you must sit”, as in sit it out until you get equipment that fits you properly. Limitations of your movement, vision, or physical abilities can cause some major injuries. It is always better to spend a couple hundred dollars on equipment that fits and is in good repair then tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

Step Five you should give everyone involved in the training the power to stop training at anytime they feel something is unsafe. I know it sounds silly but sometimes training is not stopped when something is unsafe because the person making the observation was never told they could stop training if things looked unsafe.

Step Six last but not least, know your own limits. IF YOU ARE NOT FEELING IT, DON”T DO IT!!!! If you ever feel that you are not up to doing the training don’t. It is better to know your own limits and take a little brow beating from our friends and co-workers than to get injured or killed doing what is supposed to be fun and dynamic.

This is just a short general guideline of some ways to make training safer and you should always contact your physician before participating in any type of training and or sporting activity. If you have some safety tips you would like to share with us, we would love to hear from you and share them with our readers.

Copy Right 2009 The Lycan Group K-9 Services LLC.

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