Hartpury University Repository

Medcalf, Olivia

Wills, Alison

The effect of a buoyancy jacket on the heart rate 
of dogs during swimming
Olivia Medcalf 1and Alison P. Wills1*
University Centre, Hartpury, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL19 3BE
*Alison.Wills@Hartpury.ac.uk
Introduction
Canine hydrotherapy is becoming increasingly popular for rehabilitation, management of degenerative conditions and as a fitness training aid. During swimming,
the use of buoyancy jackets is recommended to provide support and ensure a neutral spinal position, with these aids being particularly utilised for weak and
vulnerable patients [1, 2]. The National Association of Registered Canine Hydrotherapists (NARCH) recommend the use of buoyancy jackets to provide support
and ensure a neutral spinal position is maintained. One study found a reduced range of motion in dogs swimming wearing flotation devices due to downward
pitching and consequently dogs having to compensate to keep their heads above the water [3]. Despite being commonly used and recommended, there is
minimal research investigating the effect of buoyancy aids on physiological parameters in swimming dogs. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a
buoyancy aid on the heart rate of swimming dogs and to quantify the effect of a buoyancy jacket on displacement above the water surface.
References
1. McGowan, C., Goff, L., Stubbs, N., 2007. Animal physiotherapy: assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of animals. Am Vet Med Assoc.
2. Prankel, S., 2008. Hydrotherapy in practice. In Pract. 30, 272.
3. Corum, C.P., Wichtowski, M., Hetts, S., Estep, D., Bertone, J.J., 2014. Swimming Kinematic and Flotation Analysis of Conscious and Sedated Dogs Using 3 Canine Flotation 
Devices. Top. Companion Anim. Med. 29, 102–108.
Methods
Seven healthy dogs (mean age of 2.56 ± 2 years) of various breeds were recruited for use in
this study. All dogs were approved for participation by a veterinarian and all hydrotherapy
sessions were performed by a qualified canine hydrotherapist. All dogs had previously been
acclimatised to the pool prior to the commencement of data collection. All dogs completed six
laps of a hydrotherapy pool with and without a buoyancy jacket. When not wearing a buoyancy
aid, all dogs were fitted with a standard safety harness (Figure 1). Dogs were fitted with a Polar
heart rate monitor (sampling once every five seconds) which was worn under the buoyancy
jacket or harness and kinematic markers were placed on both the dorsal and medial aspect of
the jacket or harness. Vertical displacement of the dogs was calculated in motion analysis
software and corrected for the thickness of the buoyancy jacket. Data were analysed via a
paired t-test to test for differences in displacement and heart rate between the two conditions.
Figure 1. Dog wearing a safety harness (top) and a buoyancy 
aid (bottom). 
Results
Minimum heart rate was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the buoyancy jacket compared to the
harness. However, there was no significant difference in maximum (p = 0.864) or mean (p =
0.089) heart rate between the jacket and harness. Minimum and maximum displacement (p<
0.001) were significantly higher for dogs swimming in the buoyancy jacket compared to the
harness (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Displacement and Heart Rate of dogs wearing Buoyancy Aids and Harnesses 
Maximum, minimum and the range of displacement for the buoyancy aid and harness is shown in blue on 
the left of the figure. Maximum, mean and minimum heart rate for the buoyancy aid and harness is shown 
in red on the right of the figure. Circles represent outliers. 
Discussion
The data gained in this study indicated that using buoyancy aids
may result in decreased heart rate compared to a standard safety
harness. This may be of benefit for dogs with cardiovascular
conditions or those lacking fitness. Dogs were displaced further
out of the water when swimming wearing a buoyancy jacket
which supports previous research that found altered positioning
and limb movements in dogs swimming with a flotation device
[3]. It could be suggested that whilst buoyancy jackets help to
reduce the energetic demands of swimming for weak and
vulnerable patients, safety harnesses may be better suited to
encouraging biomechanically normal swimming in fit, healthy
dogs. Further research is needed to examine the physiological
and biomechanical parameters of healthy and pathological dogs
during swimming.


English

The effect of a buoyancy jacket on the heart rate of dogs during swimming

Brown, C.

Bearman-Brown, Lucy

Determining which type of bait is the most effective for attracting hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during surveys using footprint tunnels

Nankervis, Kathryn

Carter, Kathy

Your Equine Therapy Machine Wish List

Hands on Therapies

Sharma, M.

Symons, Helen

A case study analysis of 2012 London Olympic Games legacy on Weymouth and Portland

Clark, C. C. T.

Commentary 
Title: Is obesity actually non-communicable? 
Author name and affiliation: Cain C. T. Clark 1,2. 
1 University Centre Hartpury, HE Sport, Gloucestershire, UK. 
2 Sport, Exercise and Well-being Arena, University Centre Hartpury, Gloucestershire, UK. 
Correspondence to: Dr. Cain Craig Truman Clark, Higher Education Sport, University Centre 
Hartpury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. Contact email address: 
cain.clark@hartpury.ac.uk 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Commentary 
Is obesity actually non-communicable? 
Structured Abstract 
Objectives 
Obesity, broadly speaking, is characterised by having a body-mass index above 30 kg.m2, and 
described as a non-communicable risk factor. Obesity levels in the UK (and worldwide) are 
consistently acknowledged as, and accepted to be an epidemic. Moreover, when defining an 
epidemic, its' severity and initial rate of increase depend upon the value of the Basic 
Reproduction Number (R 0), and given the consistent rise in weight status over recent decades, 
obesity could be considered to be highly communicable. The objective was therefore to 
question the non-communicability of obesity. 
 
Methods 
 
A review of literature was conducted using online databases; Web of Science, PubMed and 
Google Scholar. A narrative short-communication was subsequently prepared on the topic of 
obesity and its potential communicability. 
Results  
Both familial and social transmission of obesity is apparent, and network phenomena are 
evidently relevant to the physiological and behavioural tenets of obesity. 
Conclusion 
A reclassification of obesity to being socially-communicable should be considered and adopted 
by clinicians, scientists and key-stakeholders, further considering this communicability during 
treatment and intervention. 
Keywords 
Obesity; epidemiology; infection; public health; risk factor 
 
 
 
Manuscript 
Introduction 
Obesity, broadly speaking, is characterised by having a body-mass index above 30 kg.m2, and 
described as a non-communicable risk factor. The proportion of adults in the United Kingdom 
(UK) that are overweight or obese has risen from 57.6% to 68% in men, and from 48.6% to 
58% in women between 1993 and the present day. This represents an estimated economic 
burden of £27 billion, with government predictions stating that almost half of the UK 
population could be obese by 2050, with an associated cost of £50 billion a year. 1 Obesity 
levels in the UK (and worldwide) are consistently acknowledged as, and accepted to be an 
epidemic. Moreover, when defining an epidemic, its’ severity and initial rate of increase 
depend upon the value of the Basic Reproduction Number (R 0), defined as the average number 
of new ‘infections’ generated. 2 If R 0 > 1 an epidemic will occur and if R 0 < 1 it will die out. 
2 Therefore, given the consistent rise in weight status over recent decades, obesity could be 
considered to be highly communicable. 2 
Methods 
A narrative review of literature was conducted using online databases; Web of Science, 
PubMed and Google Scholar. Key search terms included; obesity; overweight; communicable; 
social interaction; family; familial; social. Key texts identified from the literature search were 
discussed accordingly. 
Familial and Social Transmission 
Although literature is equivocal on the heritability of obesity, Whitaker, et al. 3 demonstrated 
that parental obesity more than doubles risk of adult obesity in under 10’s, whilst children 
without obese parents represent a very low risk. In a seminal investigation, Christakis, et al. 4 
highlighted the potential of familial transmission of obesity. For instance, should one sibling 
become obese, they are at a 40% higher risk of becoming obese. 
In addition to familial transmission of obesity, societal ties are asserted to impact on the spread 
of an obesogenic environment. Overweight youth have been shown twice as likely to have 
overweight friends, supporting the network theory of homophily, in addition to weak 
associations between social position and weight status. 5 Christakis, et al. 4 examined person-
to-person infection of obesity in 12, 067 people over three decades of follow up analyses, and 
highlighted discernible clusters of obese persons at every time-point. Furthermore, a person’s 
chance of becoming obese increases 57% if a friend becomes obese at any given interval. 
Notwithstanding, the veracity of Christakis, et al. 4 assertions have been questioned by Cohen-
Cole, et al. 6, although the datasets used for interpretation had “several important 
differences…” (Cohen-Cole, et al. 6, pp 1383). Further evidence to support the notion of the 
communicability of obesity has been assimilated. Bagrowicz, et al. 7 noted that indices of body 
image and self-perception measured pre- and post-altering their social environment resulted in 
dissatisfaction with body size and self-image in less than two months. Verbatim reports suggest 
the influence of a highly obesogenic population was the cause. Further, Trogdon, et al. 8 
indicate that friends’ weight is significantly and strongly correlated with an adolescent’s own 
weight, even after controlling for factors such as; demographics, smoking status, birth weight, 
and own parental and household characteristics including parental obesity, with females being 
more susceptible to transmission. 
 
Conclusion 
The Good: the communicability appears to operate in an omnidirectional fashion, with exercise 
and health conceivably conferring the same level of infection or spread. The Bad: the feasibility 
of controlling an epidemic critically depends on the value of the Basic Reproduction Number 
and the timeframe in which a person is contagious. We face an unprecedented truth that a 
person may be ‘contagious’ through the entire life course. The Ugly: network phenomena are 
evidently relevant to the physiological and behavioural tenets of obesity. We therefore hope to 
raise the ‘ugly’ question that, should a reclassification of obesity to being socially-
communicable be considered and adopted by clinicians, scientists and key-stakeholders, further 
taking this communicability into account during treatment and intervention alike? 
Conflict of Interest 
The author hereby declares that they have no competing nor conflict of interests to disclose.  
References 
1. Baker C. Obesity Statistics: House of Commons Briefing Paper.  20th January 2017. 
2. Kermack WO, McKendrick AG. A Contribution to the Mathematical Theory of 
Epidemics. Proc R Soc Lond. 1927;115(700-721). 
3. Whitaker RC, Wright JA, Pepe MS, Seidel KD, Dietz WH. Predicting obesity in young 
adulthood from childhood and parental obesity. The New England journal of medicine. 
1997;337(13):869-873. 
4. Christakis NA, Fowler JH. The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 
years. The New England journal of medicine. 2007;357(4):370-379. 
5. Valente TW, Fujimoto K, Chou CP, Spruijt-Metz D. Adolescent affiliations and 
adiposity: a social network analysis of friendships and obesity. The Journal of 
adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. 
2009;45(2):202-204. 
6. Cohen-Cole E, Fletcher JM. Is obesity contagious? Social networks vs. environmental 
factors in the obesity epidemic. Journal of health economics. 2008;27(5):1382-1387. 
7. Bagrowicz R, Watanabe C, Umezaki M. Is obesity contagious by way of body image? 
A study on Japanese female students in the United States. Journal of community health. 
2013;38(5):834-837. 
8. Trogdon JG, Nonnemaker J, Pais J. Peer effects in adolescent overweight. Journal of 
health economics. 2008;27(5):1388-1399. 
 
 


Is obesity actually non-communicable?

Chapman, Stella

Are vets failing our horses?

Williams, Jane

Phillips, Catherine

Byrd, Hollie Marie

Factors which influence owners when deciding to use chemotherapy in terminally Ill pets

Coldrey, Matt

Comply or Fail: Primary School PE Subject Leaders and the PE and Sport Premium for Primary Schools

De Martin Silva, Luciana

"The deconstruction and reconstruction of sports coaching: an interview with Professor 
Robyn Jones": A commentary  
Luciana De Martin Silva  
Introduction 
 
I have recently completed my PhD under Robyn’s supervision. My first encounter with Robyn 
made me realise that we had many commonalities in the way we perceive and conduct research 
in sports coaching. Not surprisingly, I adopted the constructivist-interpretive paradigm [4] in 
my study, of which the aim was to make sense of students’ learning experiences and identity 
changes throughout their three year degree course. Here, in line with the paradigm’s ontological 
and epistemological premises, I expected experiences to be locally constructed and co-created 
by myself (as the researcher) and the students (as the participants) [9]. In order to achieve such 
aim and avoid an “epistemological misalignment” (as mentioned by Jenkins when referring to 
Robyn’s work), the following three methods of data collection were used: video diaries, 
reflective logs and focus group interviews. 
 
An emotional experience 
 
The process of doing my PhD has undoubtedly been an invaluable learning experience during 
which I ‘lived’ the aspects that I was exploring. Frequent meetings with Robyn encouraged me 
to consider different (at times conflicting) positions. Here, his use of open ended questions 
while providing guidance was key in developing my reflexive activity. It also resulted in 
moments of frustration (especially when under perceived stressful situations). The deeper I 
delved into the research process (and into literature on learning and identity), the more aware 
I became of my thoughts and myself. This awareness came about with moments of uncertainty 
(and reflexivity) resulting in emotional outcomes. One of my PhD reflective diary entries 
illustrates my thoughts: 
The most interesting thing is that although I am analysing how the students’ identities 
are changing I feel like I am going through the same process. I am a student, a lecturer, 
a footballer (although I feel this part of my identity has become weaker in the past year). 
Losing who I am is bothering me…(a minute of silence and tears start coming out of 
my eyes)…I tried to resist…I didn’t want them to see me crying, but it was too late!!! 
Robyn looks at me and says: Are you ok? I try to say yes but it was clear that something 
was going on. I was going through a period of transition and just had that feeling of 
‘naked self’. (Researcher’s reflective journal, April 2012) [3, p. 106] 
 
“That was the day when our PhD meeting turned into a walk around campus to get some fresh 
air and wipe the tears away” [3, p. 213). I really felt that Robyn was being ‘sensitive to the 
needs of the moment’ (an aspect he alluded to in his interview with Jenkins). It was like he was 
studying the environment (noticing) before addressing any content we were to discuss. Here, 
the act of steering (as opposed to controlling) made me feel more responsible for and committed 
to my own decisions, an aspect that is key in developing an identity [10]. 
 
Living with uncertainty 
 
In the initial stages of my PhD, I felt very uncomfortable in moments of uncertainty. This may 
seem ironic when adopting an interpretivist approach to research, which contemplates a 
relativist (i.e., the existence of multiple realities) instead of a dualist view of the world (i.e., 
right/wrong). I remember feeling apprehensive with my choice of data analysis, wishing I could 
be told I was doing the ‘right thing’ (something Robyn would not explicitly say). Despite such 
initial concern, living with uncertainty was key in my personal and professional development 
as the following excerpt illustrates: 
 
I thank those moments for the progress I made as a researcher. And, most importantly, 
I thank my supervisor for not giving me ‘yes/no’ answers when I may (certainly) have 
looked for them”. I tended to spend hours thinking about a way of doing something 
(e.g., organising the data), when suddenly it clicked and ended up with a “yes” in the 
middle of the office! The moments of uncertainty that led to discoveries were key in 
my development. I have learned that uncertainty is part of life and that it should not be 
seen as detrimental to development. Instead, it was the catalyst for my own 
development (both personally and professionally). [3, p.216] 
 
During my PhD years, Robyn challenged me to think ‘outside of the box’ by questioning my 
assumptions or dominant social understandings (as mentioned by Jenkins). One of his favorites 
questions was ‘so what?’. In this sense, I learned to ‘stretch’ my thinking and develop my 
thoughts in richer and more meaningful ways. Here, the use of a written reflective journal and 
a video diary (also used by the participants as mentioned previously) allowed me to clarify 
internal dialogues regarding different aspects of my study. It acted as a “springboard for 
interpretations and more general insight” [5, p. 8). Here, I saw myself reflecting about my role 
on the study as well as how my experiences held potential to impact my interpretations of the 
data [2, p. 186). Despite such concern, Robyn made me realise (and feel comfortable with) the 
idea that as the researcher, I was the one “who actively constructs the collection, selection and 
interpretation of data” [5, p. 5), rather than “someone who extracts knowledge from 
observations and conversations and then transmits knowledge to an audience” [1, p. 388]. 
Despite recognizing multiple realities, working with Robyn made me aware of ‘social 
understandings’, which means the realities created have some form of social agreement that 
make them possible, rather than “a collapse into total relativism or uncritical post-modern 
‘anything goes’” [7, p. 2010], something that Jenkins referred to in his article. 
 
Conclusion  
Overall, working within a relativist and subjective agenda under Robyn’s supervision was not 
easy. Here, challenges and uncertainties were inherent aspects of what I considered a very 
demanding yet extremely rewarding experience. Interestingly, Robyn’s definition of coaching 
(also presented in the article by Jenkins) also represents how I experienced research under his 
supervision; that is, a “complex socio-pedagogical process” [6, p. 159] that is “non-linear” [7, 
p. 211] and “characterised by an ineradicable element of ambiguity” [8, p. 126]. There was no 
doubt that Robyn ‘lived his theories’ (an aspect alluded to in the interview), which inspired me 
to do the same. In this context, a process of self-dialogue and mutual collaboration motivated 
and challenged me to search for new ways of knowing. More importantly, it helped me to seek 
an increased acceptance of uncertainty and a better understanding of who I was in the research 
process.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
References 
1. Bryman A. Social research methods  (5th ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. 
2. Creswell JW. Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches. 
(3rd ed). London: Sage, 2013. 
3. De Martin Silva, L. Sports Coaching Students’ Learning and Identity Development: A 
Longitudinal Study. PhD thesis. Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2016. 
4. Denzin NK and Lincoln YS. The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In Denzin 
NK and Lincoln YS (eds) The landscape of qualitative research. London: Sage, 2003. 
5. Finlay L. The reflexive journey: mapping multiple routes. Reflexivity: A practical guide for 
researchers in health and social sciences 2003; 3-20. 
6. Jones RL. Coaching redefined: an everyday pedagogical endeavour. Sport, Education and 
Society 2007; 12(2): 159-173. 
7. Jones RL, Edwards C and Tuim Viotto Filho. Activity theory, complexity and sports 
coaching: an epistemology for a discipline. Sport, Education and Society 2016; 
21(2): 200–216. 
8. Jones RL and Wallace M. Another bad day at the training ground: Coping with ambiguity 
in the coaching context. Sport, Education and Society 2005; 10(1): 119-134, 
9. Lincoln YS, Lynham SA and Guba EG. Paradigmatic controversies, and emerging 
confluences, revisited. In Denzin NK and Lincoln YS (eds) The Sage handbook of qualitative 
research (4th ed). London: Sage, 2011. 
10. Perry, WG Jr. Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. 
New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1999. 


The deconstruction and reconstruction of sports coaching: An interview with Professor Robyn Jones: A commentary

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