Floor Care: Matting Systems Help Comfort Canine Athletes

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It is not unusual for a product to be made for one purpose and then have end users discover, sometimes surprisingly, other purposes and uses.

This appears to be the case for matting systems, specifically more advanced anti-fatigue matting systems.

For instance, according to Chris Tricozzi, vice president of sales and marketing for Crown Mats and Matting, his company now manufactures a line of agility matting systems specifically for dog athletes.

These mats are very similar to the company’s anti-fatigue mats, which were originally designed to provide a cushioned bounce to help ease worker leg strain and fatigue.  

Agility courses require dog athletes to jump, climb, hurdle, and correctly—and quickly—clear several obstacles.  Many courses have specialized jumps over streams, brush, and even wishing wells.  The anti-fatigue mats are placed wherever the dog lands to help ease the animal’s landing.

“The mats help cushion the dog’s landing, helping to protect their paws from becoming sore,” adds Tricozzi. They also give the dogs an extra ‘spring in their gate,’ to get to the next obstacle faster.”
 
The mats not only help protect the dogs, but “many owners have told me that they cannot believe how much better their [dog’s] knees are with the mats installed,” says Tricozzi.  “In fact, one lady told me she was ready to stop entering her dogs into the games because the dogs’ knees hurt so bad after contests.  Now, with the anti-fatigue matting in place, her dogs have no knee problems.”