So, anyone here who has one or two bad knees who still does agility with
their dog? If so, what shoes do you like? In general, for practice on
a sawdust-covered dirt floor, what kind of shoes would be the best?
Runners, cross-trainers or something else?
--
Debbie the Dogged das at spamcop dot net
"Poodles are space aliens who think they've disguised
themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl

Debbie the Dogged wrote:

So, anyone here who has one or two bad knees who still does agility with
their dog? If so, what shoes do you like? In general, for practice on
a sawdust-covered dirt floor, what kind of shoes would be the best?
Runners, cross-trainers or something else?

If you truly have bad knees you probably need a brace to run in, and a
consult with an orthopod about perhaps some orthotics.

I use cross trainers, and the brand of choice in the agility world seems
to be New Balance because there are so many different varieties and fits
to suit different feet. I don't have bad knees--or not any worse than
the average 44 year old woman who could use to lose a few--but I do try
to stay in good shoes at all times. You probably want to avoid shoes
that are too cleat-y. You don't want to stick so hard that the foot
stays in one place and the knee goes somewhere else.

Also, though you will need them at times, try to avoid front
crosses--hard on the knees. Work with rear and blind crosses when
possible, save the front crosses for when you really need them.

In article E6AQd.1692$g44.650@attbi_s54, says...


Debbie the Dogged wrote:

So, anyone here who has one or two bad knees who still does agility with
their dog? If so, what shoes do you like? In general, for practice on
a sawdust-covered dirt floor, what kind of shoes would be the best?
Runners, cross-trainers or something else?

If you truly have bad knees you probably need a brace to run in, and a
consult with an orthopod about perhaps some orthotics.

I have seen an orthopedic specialist, and after he told me all about my
degenerating kneecap and to stick to water exercise and gave me some
exercises for strengthening the muscles around my knee, I asked him
about dog agility :-). He hemmed and hawed, but never actually forbade
me. I did get a prescription elastic/gel knee brace from him. My knee
is actually getting better, very very slowly, but I definitely need
better shoes.

I use cross trainers, and the brand of choice in the agility world seems
to be New Balance because there are so many different varieties and fits
to suit different feet. I don't have bad knees--or not any worse than
the average 44 year old woman who could use to lose a few--but I do try
to stay in good shoes at all times. You probably want to avoid shoes
that are too cleat-y. You don't want to stick so hard that the foot
stays in one place and the knee goes somewhere else.

Thanks!

Also, though you will need them at times, try to avoid front
crosses--hard on the knees. Work with rear and blind crosses when
possible, save the front crosses for when you really need them.

As a pretty newbie to all this (we've just started the second round of
agility classes) I'm not up on all the terminology yet, but the teacher
is showing us 2 ways of doing things - one for those with ok knees and
one for us gimps that avoids any spins or pivots.
--
Debbie the Dogged das at spamcop dot net
"Poodles are space aliens who think they've disguised
themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl

In article ,
says...
One of my teachers recently had knee replacement surgery (bilateral).
She seems to favor trail running type shoes.

I have pretty bad knees -- not terrible unless I try to do something like
go jogging regularly. For me the important thing is to find a shoe that
maximizes lateral stability.

I didn't really get a good running shoe fit until I went to a running
store (not a Foot Locker or Kohls or the like) and had someone who knew
what they were doing fit me for the right kind of shoe. She looked at
the shoes I had on (to see where the wear was), watched me walk, and had
me try a lot of shoes on for fit. I tend to favor Asics -- New Balance
are too clunky for me, Adidas too roomy and Nike too narrow.

Some helpful sites:

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=481
http://www.therunningadvisor.com/running_shoes.html

Thanks! I've been doing some web searches and it seems a lot of folks
like trail running shoes. I guess the thing to do is go try on a lot of
shoes and just see which ones feel the best.

However, I'm still going to try on a pair of these to see how they feel
while executing agility moves: http://www.zcoil.com/freedom.cfm. A
coworker wandered in wearing a pair, and I tried them on. They were
about 1/2 size too small, but all the pain in my knee just vanished.
--
Debbie the Dogged das at spamcop dot net
"Poodles are space aliens who think they've disguised
themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl

Debbie the Dogged wrote:


However, I'm still going to try on a pair of these to see how they feel
while executing agility moves: http://www.zcoil.com/freedom.cfm.

This link didn't work...

Debbie the Dogged said in rec.pets.dogs.activities:

I've been doing some web searches and it seems a lot of folks
like trail running shoes.

I like the sneaker-type trail/hiking shoe (they're not much
heavier than running shoes). They have good treads - almost
cleat-like, not so tight that it picks up and holds the
dirt/sawdust flooring in horse arenas. Mine are made by
Merrell.

I have a bad ankle (I tore all of the ligaments 30 years ago)
which now sprains easily if I turn badly on a slippery surface.
Because of that, I don't wear cleats like many do on a wet grass
surface - I'd prefer slipping and falling than having my foot
held in place while I attempt to recover.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Debbie the Dogged said in rec.pets.dogs.activities:

However, I'm still going to try on a pair of these to see
how they feel while executing agility moves:
http://www.zcoil.com/freedom.cfm.

Wow! I bet you could boing really high while wearing those!

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

In article ,
Debbie the Dogged wrote:
Thanks! I've been doing some web searches and it seems a lot of folks
like trail running shoes. I guess the thing to do is go try on a lot of
shoes and just see which ones feel the best.

I don't do agility but I do run and I do have difficult
feet/legs and injure easily, and have had lots of shoe
adventures as a result. Trail runners tend to be stiff and
frequently have somewhat less cushioning, although they have
stiffer soles and better stability than road shoes. I need
a pretty heavily-cushioned shoe with a high arch (like
park-a-truck-under-it high) and narrow heels. The only
trail runners I've found that fit well and don't leave me
limping are North Face Ultras, but this is an intensely
personal thing. I think your best bet would be to go to a
specialty running store and explain your situation - the
good ones have tons of experience fitting people with all
sorts of problems and who really abuse their feet. If you
don't have one locally you can go to websites like
roadrunnersports.com and get their telephone numbers so that
you can talk to a human on the phone.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

All you need to know about Social Security "reform": Your
in-laws are going to have to live with you

On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 13:04:53 GMT Robin Nuttall whittled these words:


Debbie the Dogged wrote:


However, I'm still going to try on a pair of these to see how they feel
while executing agility moves: http://www.zcoil.com/freedom.cfm.

This link didn't work...

Worked for me - try removing the period after cfm

--
Diane Blackman
http://dog-play.com/
http://dogplay.com/Shop/

wrote:
On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 13:04:53 GMT Robin Nuttall whittled these words:



Debbie the Dogged wrote:


However, I'm still going to try on a pair of these to see how they feel
while executing agility moves: http://www.zcoil.com/freedom.cfm.


This link didn't work...


Worked for me - try removing the period after cfm

Actually this time it worked. As far as the shoes, no way. I'd fall off
them, and even if I didn't, all that open stuff with the spring would
soon get just encrusted with dirt and mud.