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Highlights 17 In contrast to equines, canine sport science has been poorly studied. 18 As the distance between consecutive upright hurdles increases, so do the take-off and 19 landing distances. 20 Take-off and landing distances further alter with the dog's skill level. 21 There are greater differences in jump kinematics when the distances between 22 consecutive hurdles are shorter. speeds differed for hurdle distances (P < 0.001) and level of skill (P < 0.001). There were 40 significant differences in apparent neck angle during take-off and landing (P < 0.001), lumbar 41 spine angles during take-off, bascule and landing (P < 0.01), and in shoulder angles during 42 the bascule phase (P < 0.05). The results indicate that agility dogs alter their jumping 43 patterns to accommodate the spacing between hurdles, which ultimately may impact long 44 term health and welfare due to altered kinematics.

12Research examining kinematic parameters of the canine athlete is markedly behind 13 equivalent human and equine research. With increasing participation and popularity, canine 14 sports science needs to bridge this gap with comparable equine research. The aim of this 15 study was to examine changes to specific kinematic parameters as hurdle height increases. 16Twenty border collies and border collie crosses were analysed jumping over a single hurdle at 17 increasing heights, starting with a pole on the floor and increasing to a maximum height of

There is currently a lack of research examining the health and welfare implications for competitive agility dogs. The aim of this study was to examine if jump kinematics and apparent joint angles in medium (351-430 mm to the withers) and small (<350 mm to the withers) agility dogs altered when distances between consecutive upright hurdles differ. Dogs ran a course of nine hurdles; three set at 3.6 m apart; three at 4 m apart and three at 5 m apart. Both medium (P=0.044) and small (P=0.006) dogs landed closer to the hurdle when consecutive hurdles were set 3.6 m apart, with small dogs jumping slower at this distance (P=0.006). Results indicate that jump kinematics, but not apparent joint angles, alter when the spacing between hurdles differs. These findings may have implications for the health and welfare of agility dogs and should be used to inform future changes to rules and regulations.

9Dog agility is a rapidly progressing sport worldwide. Consequentially, research and methods 10to improve technique and performance are becoming highly sought after. Video data were 11 collected of elite agility dogs during a training session, with downstream analysis examining 12 differences in apparent topline angle and jumping speed of large and medium dogs as well as