Hey!

We want to get our dog into agility starting in the fall. She's in basic obedience now and will graduate in August. I wanted to get some practicing done before we started the agility class because...well...I guess I like to jump the gun. However, the agility equip. I've found is REALLY pricey and I can't afford to drop that much money. We found a cool way to build our own weave poles out of fiberglass tent poles and PVC pipe. What I don't know is...What distance should I use between the poles? I plan on just guiding her through them with food and encouragement until she gets the idea. She's done some "weaving" through cones and such just working at home so I'm hoping she'll pick up on the weave idea like she did before. Nothing fancy, just enough for her to get the basic idea. So...along with the distance between the poles, I also don't know how many poles I should make. The website I found showed 5. For a new agility pup, is that too few or too many or just right?

Also, the only work with the tunnel thing (I don't speak agility, sorry) she's done has been at the park on a big toy. She understands to go through it, but we need a way to practice at home. Any idea where I can find something cheap and easy to work with that would simulate that? I'm not building an A-frame or a tire jump, and she's got LOTS of work under her belt with other various jumps I've set up.

Any tips and pointers on how to get her prepared, and any advice on how to make some of this equpiment but not break the bank?

Thanks everyone. :)

We have some make shift things for agility (jumps, weaves and tire). I highly recommend the agility book "Introduction to Dog Agility" by Margaret H. Bonham. It's $15 in Barnes/Noble and is very good. It also has how to make agility equipment at home. You can make just about all of it EXCEPT the tunnels. Those you can buy on eBay for about $100.

It varies slightly between associations on how wide to space the poles. NADAC is 20 inches apart, AKC is 20-24 inches apart, USDAA is 18 - 21 inches apart. The average number of poles is 6-8 (sometimes as much as 12). So I'd recommend training at 20 inches apart with about 6-8 poles.

We just recently got the tire (its plastic drainage pipe) from Home Depot - cost about $5.00.

My husband is very good in building things, so he'll build the frame for the tire, better jumps and the A-frame and teeter.

Great, I will have to pick that book up! Thanks for the info. :)

Hey!

We want to get our dog into agility starting in the fall. She's in basic obedience now and will graduate in August. I wanted to get some practicing done before we started the agility class because...well...I guess I like to jump the gun. However, the agility equip. I've found is REALLY pricey and I can't afford to drop that much money. We found a cool way to build our own weave poles out of fiberglass tent poles and PVC pipe. What I don't know is...What distance should I use between the poles? I plan on just guiding her through them with food and encouragement until she gets the idea. She's done some "weaving" through cones and such just working at home so I'm hoping she'll pick up on the weave idea like she did before. Nothing fancy, just enough for her to get the basic idea. So...along with the distance between the poles, I also don't know how many poles I should make. The website I found showed 5. For a new agility pup, is that too few or too many or just right?

Also, the only work with the tunnel thing (I don't speak agility, sorry) she's done has been at the park on a big toy. She understands to go through it, but we need a way to practice at home. Any idea where I can find something cheap and easy to work with that would simulate that? I'm not building an A-frame or a tire jump, and she's got LOTS of work under her belt with other various jumps I've set up.

Any tips and pointers on how to get her prepared, and any advice on how to make some of this equpiment but not break the bank?

Thanks everyone. :)

Go to agility-equipment on yahoogroups.com they have lots of homemade equipment plans -- especially in the archives. Cynthia

I made some of my own equipment -- weave poles and a tire jump. The tire jump came out really nice. I found the plans by doing a web search on "making agility equipment" or something like that and found lots of plans out there. Also like Cynthia said, the agility-equipment group has good plans.

Edited to say: BTW I wouldn't worry about the tunnel too much...most dogs seem to LOVE doing the tunnel! At the higher levels of competition, they even put tunnels under Aframes in trials purposely because it's a trap! Dogs seem to love 'em!

I know - our trainer has that tunnel under the A-frame - your dog has to be paying attention to you to know which one to go to first. I would love to run Keno thru a tunnelers course (maybe start with 3 or 4 tunnels and direct her. She loves them.