On the adventures and training of Cinnamon Snapdragon, a papillon destined for greatness.

Monday, November 28, 2011

homemade agility equipment

I purchased a lot of PVC, a couple of squares of plywood, door hinges, and a number of second-hand cabinet doors at Urban Ore, a local re-use depot for all kinds of construction and household goods. I got leftover sand and paint from a couple of friends. Add to that some foam insulation tubing and a metal pipe from the hardware store, and you have the supplies for some relatively cheap, small homemade agility equipment. It is all tiny-sized so that it can fit in my apartment. Also, I don't have a large yard to practice in; we have to use the narrow street out front.

homemade agility tire jump
Tire jump. He will jump through the middle of the tire about 90% of the time. Occassionally he misjudges the jump and ends up going under.

homemade agility table pre-painting
Table before I painted it. It is TDAA-sized (30" x 30"). The rest of the equipment is even smaller than TDAA. I ended up not using the boards along the sides because they were a bother.

homemade agility teeter, table, wobble board
Wobble board, teeter, and table drying after getting painted. Having a mini-teeter on hand will be super handy. He hasn't been on it yet because his teeter training is still on hold for his eye.

homemade agility dog walk
Dog walk. I did one session in which I shaped him to climb across it, to get him use to the structure. Then I put it away until I figure out what I want to do with his contacts.

homemade agility a-frame
A-frame. Not pictured are the chains on either side to keep it from sliding down, although the 2x4s at the bottom also do a great job.

Tiny dog = tiny, cheap, portable equipment that doesn't need to be as sturdy. Awesome.

So since I have an a-frame I can lower all the way to the ground, I want to do that and then teach him to run across it, driving toward a thrown toy, and slowly raise the height. I don't actually know anything about contacts; that's just my inclination. I think I remember Moe saying that she would have me teach running contacts like Silvia Trkman does if I had access to an a-frame that I could lower, but since I didn't she said to teach a nose target that I could place a bit farther out and that would turn into a running contact. Now I have an adjustable a-frame but I remember her being worried about the dog learning a particular stride on smaller equipment and then failing at trials. I feel like it's worth it to have tiny equipment so that we can get some practice at home, and we'll eventually be practicing on full sized equipment in class. This would be a lot easier if I had more agility experience and could see the big picture. Obedience and rally o is easier for me to train on my own because I know what the overall plan is, and how different training techniques may or may not influence the final picture.

4 comments:

  1. What fun and so creative!!! If you want true running contacts you really need to get on equipment that is the proper length, especially for the dogwalk. But a stopped contact can be trained on any sized ones!

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  2. Thanks for the input! Do you think that practicing on mini equipment could cause any harm?

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  3. Thanks for the post. I just got a dog and I really want him to compete in agility events. I love that you were able to make the equipment yourself. I don't know if I am handy or crafty enough to do that for my own pup. I'll probably just looks for some pre-made agility equipment for dogs. But I will admire your handiwork and wish I was that talented!

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  4. You can ease yourself into making equipment by making super simple PVC bar jumps. Anyone can make those! The table was really easy, also -- just a PVC frame with a square piece of plywood attached to the top with screws.

    Good luck training with your dog!!

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