Basic/fun non-competitive agility

[bonster]

Toying around with keeping the demanding Miss Bonnie occupied, I've set up a couple of basic agility obstacles to keep her entertained. It all started about a week back when I saw a cheap kiddie-tunnel in a broken box at the local supermarket, reduced to clear. Its about 2ft wide and 8ft long... she didn't need much coaxing to try it, but was initially concerned as she's too big to turn around in it. She started nosing in then backing out the same way, then whizzing through at 100mph, and now will go though normally on command, and sometimes unprompted, just for fun.

As well as the tunnel we now have a simple, safe homemade hurdle about as tall as the top of her head (about 2.5ft) which she will jump and amply clear (even from rest with just a step or two) on command, and a set of weave-poles which are a little more challenging (think piece of ham in heavily nuzzled hand for a clear run).

Can anyone offer any tips to expand this - in terms of routine, tips for the weave-poles or other obstacles easy to DIY-build? Any tips/advice most gratefully received. I'm not looking for any kind of strict/correct discipline to follow or to get ready for any kind formal competition at all, just fun and mental/physical exercise for Bonnie, as she seems to really enjoy the challenge of learning like this.

 

[skyhigh]

Do a search for build it yourself agility equipment. I found tonnes of sites. Great that your dog is having fun

 

[Sheba]

Maybe you could buy a teeter-totter (sp?) or you can build one of those traingle- shaped things out of wood, sturdy wood, and see how that works. You can also take a ladder, open it up so it stands on it's own, and see how there is the bars?Put a board between two of those and rest it on the bars!It is adjustable, too lol.

 

[casablanca1]

I've been doing this too, just kind of rigging makeshift agility-type courses in the yard for my dog. One lesson I just learned was to make sure that any jump is clearly visible. I was using short, light-colored bits of wood balanced between two lawn chairs for hurdles. She's been jumping them without problem all summer, and I decided to add some variety by putting the clothesline pole across two chairs, just because I ran out of the original wood and wanted to make a longer course, so I grabbed the first available thing. I didn't noticed the pole was dark. Dark pole, dark chairs, dark ground - she was flying around the course with me, very excited, and slammed into the pole so hard it snapped in half. I think she saw it at the last moment, but was going so fast she couldn't get clear. She was unhurt (upset, for a second) but I was horrified. I take riding lessons too, and shortly afterwards I read in one riding book that the jumps in horse shows are usually painted in alternating light and dark colors, to be more visible to horses, who see in terms of shade, not color, just like dogs.

In terms of other obstacles, I tend to invent my own since it's difficult to reproduce some (tunnel) without more skill than I possess, and some (weave poles) just seem impossible to teach without knowing something about agility sports, which I really don't. I've used a ladder, on its side and opened slightly, as a broad jump (a small, heavy wood ladder obviously work best, the tall aluminum sort tend to fall over easily), and I'm trying to teach my dog 'under' as well as 'over,' though she doesn't quite understand yet.

 

[Penquin]

I've done this as well so have a few ideas for you. Try a cheap hula hoop tied between two chairs to use as a tire jump. For a closed tunnel (I can't remember the actual name of it for some reason-brain fart) take a cheap garbage can and cut out the bottom. Hook a tarp to it so that it is basically a chute (did that make any sense at all? ). Another thing I did was take two chairs ( I bought some at a garage sale for next to nothing) and take off the backs. Then a take a long piece of wood to make a walk. It isn't really like a real dog walk but it works for just having fun. I have an old coffee table that worked for a crawl under obstacle and it also worked nicely for a table for him to lay on. Have fun!!!!!