Get Inexpensive Agility Equipment
Canine agility is the fastest growing sport for dogs. It's a fantastic way to provide your dog a job, build your relationship with your dog, get in shape (for both of you) and provide an outlet for all that canine energy.
But for most beginners, getting agility equipment is prohibitively expensive. This article will give you some tips on what equipment is most useful for novice teams, where to buy expensive equipment or make your own.
Instructions
1. What Equipment Do You Need? It's tempting as a novice to try to get every piece of agility equipment. That's usually a mistake. Novices want to get on the equipment as soon as possible. In reality, there are a ton of different things to work on before you start trying to do obstacles. These include things like...obedience (agility requires a strong sit-stay, down-stay, heel and recall), focus (lots of temptations and distractions and stressors at an agility trial), cueing (your dog needs to learn to read you and you need to learn to send consistent cues), flatwork or circlework (agility without obstacles), and becoming clicker savvy (for you and your dog). All of these are priorities before trying to get on the equipment. That's because the real value of agility doesn't come from the equipment, it's from what you and your dog do between the equipment--which is about your handling and your dog's ability to focus on you and read your cues. So don't be in a rush to go out and get all the equipment. It will not speed up your agility and progress and will probably hold you back.
The only agility equipment that is really essential for a novice team for their first 6 months to a year are:
--two to four jumps
--6 weave poles
--a board (at least 6 feet long and about 2"x10")
With a few jumps, you can do box work, practice front and rear crosses, work on cues and also practice distance work. With the 6 weave poles you can begin working on weaves and 6 weave poles is all you'll face in NADAC and AKC novice anyway. With a board, you can begin contact work (with applies to the dog walk, A-frame and teeter).
2. Finding Inexpensive Equipment. You can troll eBay but the odds of finding inexpensive agility equipment for quality are low--especially once you pay shipping. You can check with agility clubs ready to retire equipment or people who are giving it up because of a bad knee or a dog that has retired from competition. But for every person with quality equipment leaving agility, there are 8 novices getting into the sport.
The primary difference between competition grade equipment and good practice grade equipment is that competition grade equipment is built to take a pounding. Weave pole bases will be metal and made to be bolted into the ground. A-frames have aluminum frames with chains. Dog walks are sturdy with chains and sandbags to steady the base. Tunnels are heavy grade material that doesn't easily rip. If you have a big dog that runs fast and you train alot, you'll probably have to invest in competition grade equipment. But if you can get away with paying for practice-grade equipment, probably the best starter set out there is by Affordable Agility (called "agility in a bag"). Made of PVC, it includes weaves, tire, jumps and a chute. It's inexpensive and easily packs up for a trip to the park or the farm to practice agility outside of your backyard.
Kids play tunnels (at JC Penney or Target) are an option. But the key point is that unlike competition tunnels, a kids play tunnel should always be kept straight. That's because you want to train your dog to slingshot himshelf around the inside of the tunnel by running on the wall (so he comes out faster than he came in). That isn't possible with a flimsy play tunnel. Use that on a curve and you'll train your dog to slow up going into a tunnel. So feel free to use a play tunnel, just keep it straight rather than curving it.
If you really need to buy competition-grade equipment (because you have a big, hard-charging dog) than find some other people in your agility class and split up the equipment. One person buys a competition grade tunnel, another the teeter, a third a dog-walk with the proviso that you all promise to share with each other.
If you choose to buy less than competition-grade equipment, check out the specs against the dimensions of the major competition organizations (AKC, USDAA, NADAC) in the US. There are a couple of "agility kits" floating around on the internet that are a waste of your money--flimsy, not to the right dimensions, and of little value.
3. Building Your Own. The handbook for making your own agility equipment is Jim Hitchins' book "Do it Yourself Agility Equipment." This book includes diagrams, equipment lists, step-by-step instructions for anyone interested in making their own equipment (from jumps to an A-frame to a dogwalk, the book covers everything). Additionally, many other sites have plans and pictures of equipment built by hand.
For $50 you can buy enough PVC plus a PVC cutter (which makes all the difference in the world) to make 6 weave poles and 4-5 jumps. With PVC you can make the base to a pause box, base to a teeter, weave poles, all kinds of jumps, frame for a tire, even the base and supports for a dog walk.
To make 6 weave poles. you'll need the dimensions (check with AKC or USDAA--each organization has a different base length), a tape measure, a PVC cutter, 6 "T" joints, 3-5 "X" joints and 3-4 PVC pipes each about 8 feet or longer (diameter can vary with the size of your dog and how portable you want the weaves to be). For jumps, you'll need about 11' of PVC pipe, 4 "T" joints (2 to connect the base and 2 to connect the stanchions). You then need to create some clips for the bar to set on (these can be purchased through PVC speciality stores, through www.cleanrun.com or you can saw some PVC piping in half and then glue it on the stanchion at the correct intervals, 8", 12", 16" and so on).
Related to other equipment needs--all dog walks and tunnels (and some A-frames and teeters) will need stakes or weights to stabilize them. If your dog goes racing into a tunnel and it moves, you're teaching your dog to slow up when going into a tunnel. A quick and portable way to make sandbags and weights is to put a plastic bag of sand into a discarded backpack (usually available for $1-2 at a yard sale. The backpack moves easily (the shoulder straps), snuggles up against the tunnel sides well and usually stores well while minimizing the leakage of just a sandbag. And sometimes takes (for a tunnel) with bungees is a lot of effort.
Related posts
Dogs of all shapes and sizes can compete in agility.In times past, Indiana was playfully referred to as the "black hole" of agility. The Agility Club of Indianapolis rectified the lack o...
Learn what equipment is needed to rear a happy pit bull.Whether you are planning on rearing a litter of pitbull puppies or are considering purchasing a puppy once it is weaned and available for ad...
Jumps are just one obstacle a dog must clear in an agility competitionAgility is a sport that requires dogs to complete an obstacle course. Dogs must meet certain requirements at each obstacle, an...
Today's canine breeding is business. There are many aspects of the puppy producing venture to consider including the procurement of breeding equipment. Specific supplies are necessary for both the...
Dobermans can excel at agility.The Doberman pinscher originated in Germany in the 1860's by crossing German pinschers, rottweilers, beaucerons, Manchester terriers and greyhounds. The result was a...
