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-   -   Making an Agility Course in the backyard (https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/agility-advanced-obedience-service-therapy-dog-training/217236-making-agility-course-backyard.html)

concretegurl 11-28-2010 04:34 AM
Making an Agility Course in the backyard
 
Was thinking it'd be nice to have a play area for the dogs in the yard...that worked out okay, the kids ended up using some of their gymnastics equipment for the dogs to play with, tunnel etc and now I was thinking I'd like an agility course. How does one go about making one? Do I just imitate and copy the items I see in other agility courses or does anyone know about a do-it-yourself design or anything? Totally open to any suggestions on places to purchase equipment or on how to or blue prints.

Maximo 11-28-2010 09:30 AM
Sounds like fun.

Here is a good link for building your own agility course: Build Your Own Agility Course For Your Dog

There are quite a few home agility equipment packages available online. I have seen a couple of smaller ones at pet boutiques. They are a bit pricey. You can also buy pieces of the equipment individually.

Ringo1 11-28-2010 05:40 PM
Target had a pretty good one last year at a very reasonable price.

concretegurl 11-28-2010 05:49 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximo (Post 3341068)
Sounds like fun.

Here is a good link for building your own agility course: Build Your Own Agility Course For Your Dog

There are quite a few home agility equipment packages available online. I have seen a couple of smaller ones at pet boutiques. They are a bit pricey. You can also buy pieces of the equipment individually.
This link is awesome! It even tell you the anticipated cost and how to do it inexpensively. I love the idea of recycling aroudn the yard/house items into something useful (like using old tired as a jump through). I've got the collapsible tunnel already from when the kids were little in jr. gymnastics which is now the dog tunnel...making a list of the rest now...guess who's resolution is to complete an agility course in the back yard? Last years resolution was to walk more and on a regular schedule for my own exercise as well the dogs-this year we'll be doing more than walking...:thumbs up

concretegurl 11-28-2010 05:50 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ringo1 (Post 3341321)
Target had a pretty good one last year at a very reasonable price.
I missed that but we have a pretty small Target here I think. Will look online and see if there are some fun extras I'm pretty stoked on this build it yourself idea though.

Ringo1 11-28-2010 08:14 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by concretegurl (Post 3341328)
I missed that but we have a pretty small Target here I think. Will look online and see if there are some fun extras I'm pretty stoked on this build it yourself idea though.
I can tell! I 'm waaay too lazy for that. :)

concretegurl 11-28-2010 09:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ringo1 (Post 3341426)
I can tell! I 'm waaay too lazy for that. :)
Oh I'm not that motivated, LOL, but I'm pregnant and not working right now so I'm getting really lazy and need to get some regular exercise and project completion for that feeling of accomplishment. Also with money being so tight while I'm not working (we're definitely on a budget right now) I'm coming up with alternatives to continue our activities...like we can't drive a town over to go to the dog park like we used to so we walk in the neighborhood more and try to get together with other neighbors walking at the same time and building out own agility course on a budget...it might be a larger one time expense but once it's built we don't have to pay for every visit and we save on the cost of gas driving two towns over to the agility center here...we're also taking our own Dog Christmas pictures instead of having them professionally done-recycling last years costumes when we can and using the kids radio-flyer wagon to create our own Santa's sleigh just like the photography studios theme this year...I'll post the pics as soon as we have 'em done here.

salazark 11-28-2010 09:42 PM
Here's a link to the thread about the equipment I made for mine. I just kind of made it up as I went along. PVC is really cheap and easy to work with. It would have been great to have those instructions but it isn't really that difficult. I'll also add the link to the video I made of her on it at the park. Now that Beemer is a year old I need to get back to it. I've been waiting till he could participate too.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/agi...at-i-made.html

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/agi...equipment.html

concretegurl 11-28-2010 10:11 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by salazark (Post 3341498)
Here's a link to the thread about the equipment I made for mine. I just kind of made it up as I went along. PVC is really cheap and easy to work with. It would have been great to have those instructions but it isn't really that difficult. I'll also add the link to the video I made of her on it at the park. Now that Beemer is a year old I need to get back to it. I've been waiting till he could participate too.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/agi...at-i-made.html

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/agi...equipment.html
So cool! PVC is totally weather resistant too makes it a bit easier instead of finding a safe paint to cover wood stuff in that the dogs can still chew on-I know mini Schnauzer will definitely chew the course more in the beginning than actually run it! Do your Yorkies actually climb the stairs?

salazark 11-29-2010 08:41 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by concretegurl (Post 3341509)
So cool! PVC is totally weather resistant too makes it a bit easier instead of finding a safe paint to cover wood stuff in that the dogs can still chew on-I know mini Schnauzer will definitely chew the course more in the beginning than actually run it! Do your Yorkies actually climb the stairs?
Do you mean the stairs at home? They charge up and down the stairs to the basement but they're carpeted. They don't do the wood stairs that go upstairs. They have steps to get on our bed and their chair in the living room. Sadie amazed me though the first time she did the dogwalk at class. No fear whatsoever. I think even though it's really high for a little one the "walk" is much wider for them relative to the bigger dogs. The big dogs showed much more fear over the it.

You're right - PVC is great stuff. My husband teases me now about making everything out of PVC. If you do much with it I would recommend getting a cutter made to cut PVC. It wasn't expensive and made it much easier.

concretegurl 11-29-2010 08:45 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by salazark (Post 3341715)
Do you mean the stairs at home? They charge up and down the stairs to the basement but they're carpeted. They don't do the wood stairs that go upstairs. They have steps to get on our bed and their chair in the living room. Sadie amazed me though the first time she did the dogwalk at class. No fear whatsoever. I think even though it's really high for a little one the "walk" is much wider for them relative to the bigger dogs. The big dogs showed much more fear over the it.

You're right - PVC is great stuff. My husband teases me now about making everything out of PVC. If you do much with it I would recommend getting a cutter made to cut PVC. It wasn't expensive and made it much easier.
OOPS! I couldn't sleep last night a attempted to tire myself reading on here...didn't work I just got interested and stayed up too late...anyways meant ladder! I saw in your pics you posted you had a ladder, but didn't see it in your agility (playground) video. I'll actually also just be using the "agility" course as a playground. I've no intentions of ever having my dgos compete I just think it'd be nice they have something that can both simulate their bodies and minds...

salazark 11-29-2010 09:06 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by concretegurl (Post 3341719)
OOPS! I couldn't sleep last night a attempted to tire myself reading on here...didn't work I just got interested and stayed up too late...anyways meant ladder! I saw in your pics you posted you had a ladder, but didn't see it in your agility (playground) video. I'll actually also just be using the "agility" course as a playground. I've no intentions of ever having my dgos compete I just think it'd be nice they have something that can both simulate their bodies and minds...
Oh - I get it now. In class they use a ladder to teach dogs that they have a back half in order to prepare for the dogwalk. The dogs walk through the ladder laying on the ground. When we did that the rungs of the ladder came up to Sadie's nose. It really didn't do her any good to climb up and over the rungs of the ladder. Also a standard ladder is so wide that the didn't get the concept of the exercise. I made her a smaller narrower ladder out of PVC for her to do the exercise with. I've since taken it apart and used its parts for other things. That would be quite a trick if I could teach them to climb a ladder, wouldn't it. :D


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