bradyinOK Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 I just got my first BC last week. He's 7 weeks old and is a cuddler. When he gets older I would like to try some agility things to keep him from getting bored. Does anyone know of a website or book with instructions on making your own equipment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Here's the first one I found from a google search: http://www.peak.org/~helix/Agility/ Since you mentioned doing this when he gets older, I assume you know to not allow excessive jumping, tight turns, etc until he is much older, at least one year old. Betsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eileen Stein Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Agility Training: The Fun Sport for All Dogs by Jane Simmons-Moake has directions for making agility equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradyinOK Posted April 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2004 Thanks for the information. I am new at owning a BC, but I have been doing a lot of research and I do know to wait until he's fully grown before doing any agility training. He's such a sweet dog! We are really enjoying him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codypup Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 What would be a recommendation for starting a dog new to agility? The ladder? The buja board? The tunnel? How much does it matter or is it just giving the experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INU Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 In our puppy agility, only thing we did were walking over a ladder (flat on floor) walking into a loop (flat on floor) and sit walking on different materials (metal, wood etc) and very short tunnel Just to get used to the different surfaces I was surprised to see how many dogs were afraid to touch new things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codypup Posted April 3, 2004 Report Share Posted April 3, 2004 At the very end of puppy kindergarden they did a fun day with simple things...sitting in a hula hoop, walking over bubble wrap, sit in a pool, walk through a big refrigerator box, and such. Cody wouldn't get in the kiddie wading pool, or go through the box. It took lots of treats and he finally did the box but never the wading pool. Ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olivia Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Just a quick comment. My husband decided to go crazy one weekend and start building agility equipment. Now, my 2 border collies have always been herding dogs but since we moved they only get to work once or twice a week so he decided that they needed something to do in the afternoons. Well, we went and bought the book recommended in this thread and built several things exactly as the directions in the book said. The A-frame is sooooo heavy that it took both of us to carry one side out to the yard and was all but impossible to raise up to standard height. Dont know how we are ever going to move it. Plus all the wood and stuff cost upwards of $100 and took a weekend to build. However, I noticed that the jumps, see-saw, etc on an agility show on animal planet were made out of pvc and other heavy duty plumbing pipe. Looked much easier than ours to build and much lighter. We went to home depot and bought a bunch of pvc and some connectors and had a jump built in about 10 min. for about $13. Much improvement in cost. So now we are modifying the instructions to make the things more cost effective and mover friendly. Sorry for the long post. I guess the long and short of it is, dont blindly follow directions and have fun. Olivia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 a cheap light aframe can be made with solid wood doors... buy two and connect them at the top with hinges. Then add a couple hooks and a chain underneath, and voila, instant aframe. I've made a lot of pvc agility and flyball equipment, but I just use that for puppy training, as I typically don't practice my experienced dogs in the backyard. -Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Laura: "I've made a lot of pvc agility and flyball equipment..." we did that too and now it's in our basement collecting dust. Too bad we can't find a new home for it all. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Mark ~ Too bad I don't live closer to you or I would gladly take it off your hands! Betsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Mark, I'm sure you can!! If you're interested, send me the details of what you have and about how much you'd want for it and I can post it to numerous agility lists. There's a lot of agility folks up your way. OR you can make Colin buy it all...his wife needs more agility equipment! Colin are you coming to the agility trial this weekend to watch Marty and be supportive?? -Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 ...or better yet, Kim is going to have a nice big backyard soon that she needs to fill with agility equipment and she's even close to you (in NoVa). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted April 5, 2004 Report Share Posted April 5, 2004 Hey, Mark! What do you have and how much do you want? North-central WV isn't too far from many places in MD. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 We did UKC agility so some of our equipment may not be of interest to most; also some will need a bit of repairs due to damage during our move. On the plus side, we don't want much for it (I'll have to talk to Renee about price, but it will be cheap). We have jumps, a tire, a table (with 2 different height legs), poles to put in the ground to make a set of weave poles, and pieces of pipe & fittings to outline a box. More specific to UKC we have a crawl tunnel. We are located about 2 miles east of Harpers Ferry just off US340 where it crosses the Potomac. Let me confirm with Renee that she is ready to let this stuff go. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Mark: Do please let me know about this. We are not too far, under three hours. Let me know what you want for it and I will see if I can afford it. I have a van and a small trailer, so I could haul the stuff easily enough myself. After April 15 would be good for me - before is not so good, if you get my drift. It would be a real boon for the dogs and me to have a way to practice and have fun together at home, and not just at class. Our class has standard AKC (I assume) obstacles but I am sure a lot of the items are good for either. We just do it for the fun of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Sue, I talked to Renee and it's yours for free. I'll send you a PM with more info. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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