Brief Overview

We have determined that JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness doesn’t hinder the movement of the dog during running.

The Hungarian Greyhound Race Society (MAVE) and Alsónémedi Greyhound Park, which conforms to European standards, examined JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharnesses in a common study to determine whether they have an effect on dogs’ running time and freedom of movement. The results unequivocally confirm that using only JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness there is no restraint on the animal’s movement. We have determined that JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharnesses don’t have an effect on dogs’ running time and they don’t have a negative effect on the dogs’ freedom of movement.

 

Preamble

The Hungarian Greyhound Race Society (successor of Rába Greyhound Race Society, earlier Rába Greyhound Club, contractual partner of MEOE) have been organising races for dogs since 1992. Alsónémedi Greyhound Park has a race track which conforms to European standards (FCI) and which is suitable to measure the speed and running time of racing animals, according to international standards. In 2017 it was the location of the famous greyhound race event, the FCI European Championship.

 

Aim

To make an assessment based on independent measurements in order to find out the effect of JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness to the movement of dogs.

 

Test conditions

MAVE, as an independent association examined whether JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharnesses have an effect on dogs’ running time and freedom of movement or not. The principle of the test is that by measuring precisely the runtime of dogs, it can be determined whether there is an appreciable difference when animals compete in JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness or without any equipment.

For the test we used only new, flawless JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharnesses fitted to the right size for the dogs. These were put on and adjusted according to the manufacturer’s specifications.

 

Practical execution-test methodology

We randomly invited racers to the Greyhound Park which we arranged to compete in several timed races. All of the dogs competed  twice and we randomly selected which dog would  wear JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness in the first or in the second race. When dogs ran without a harness, they did not wear any other equipment.

Between the races we provided a minimum of 2 hours rest for the animals.

During the test, regarding all racing dogs we measured the running time down to milli-second accuracy, the distance and the condition of whether it wore a JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness in the first or in the second race.

Altogether 31 dogs competed in a scientifically significant way. We excluded dogs that were physically disabled from the test (for example more greyhounds), and those who had not completed the race for some reason.

 

Results

The runtime of each dog is summarized in the table. In order to increase the accuracy of the statistical analysis, the two extreme times per race are omitted from the evaluation.

Dog’s nameDog’s breedDistance
(m)
Race in HARNESS
(s)
Race without harness
(s)
Difference
without harness – in HARNESS
(s)
BuciBull-type805,7245,8840,16
ZafírWhippet805,8175,8810,064
DióWWhippet805,9255,816-0,109
DhanaBorder collie806,1246,1640,04
MomoBull-type806,9076,289-0,618
AmperAmstaff807,2567,4660,21
ZoraBull-type807,2817,3210,04
NixonBull-type807,3227,4180,096
QuantumMalinois puppy808,5468,5950,049
MayaBull-type808,6128,6720,06
SunnyGolden Retriever28022,60122,6780,077
LokiLabrador28025,04224,926-0,116
HekatéGreyhound28022,76529,112
TysonBull-type28024,21223,286
  Average9,7639,759-0,00392
% of average deviation compared to races without harness-0,0401%
    Spread0,20519
Dog’s nameDog’s breedDistance
(m)
Race without harness
(s)
Race in HARNESS
(s)
Difference
without harness – in HARNESS
(s)
DióWhippet805,7785,3720,406
ZergeWhippet806,0875,5370,55
JinxWhippet805,8245,874-0,05
CsigaWhippet PUPPY807,0326,9940,038
PeggyBeagle807,637,2250,405
MüzliCross-breed809,5219,714-0,193
KáoszMalinois cross-breed28020,07420,0740
LumenMalinois cross-breed28020,82721,154-0,327
LettyCross-breed28023,4523,508-0,058
SkalaSaluki28023,29623,576-0,28
OrionCross-breed28024,1124,27-0,16
DieselParson Russel Terrier28027,22226,9810,241
KawanCross-breed28026,74826,99-0,242
ScottyParson Russel Terrier28027,8227,260,56
TurbóCross-breed28027,1427,29-0,15
GeceChihuahua807,9398,277
PandaPekingese809,5988,951
  Average17,45517,5040,04933
% of average deviation compared to races without harness0,2826%
    Spread0,29474

In race 1, in the case of dogs wearing harnesses, the average deviation between races was –0,04% per dog, and the spread was 0,21 s. In race 2, in the case of dogs wearing harnesses, the average deviation between races was 0,28%, and the spread was 0,29 s.

 

Rating

The measured data were analysed statistically. We compared the results of races in a JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness and without a harness. Overall there was only 0.04% (in race 1) and 0.28% (in race 2) average deviation between the two values.

In JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness vs. without harness
run performance test

Alsónémedi, Greyhound Racing Track
07 July, 2018

This shows that there is no significant difference whether a dog runs in JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness or without it. We measured the time results on the 80m and 280m lengths of the racetrack. It is clear that JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness does not restrict the movement of a running dog.

Based on observations during the race, it can be stated that JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness does not constrain the animal, it allows comfortable, free movement as it constantly fits to the dog’s body position.

 

Summary

Measured results and personal experience clearly support that using only JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness on the dog there is no restriction on the animal’s movement. It is more interesting, to consider that the weight of the JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharness neither has a negative effect on dogs, since they have achieved at least as a good result on average as when they were running without any equipment.

Based on the above findings it can be concluded that JULIUS-K9® IDC® Powerharnesses do not affect the runtime of dogs and they do not have a negative effect on the dogs’ freedom of movement.

* * *

Alsónémedi, 07 July, 2018