I regret that I do not live in a junkyard, so things for my dog to climb are fairly limited. I thought maybe people could post homemade things as they make them so others can steal their ideas . I think it would be interesting to see several people's creations, if anyone has pics. I don't like to repeat the same obstacle too often. I don't want agility work to become a routine; I want stuff that he always has to think about, and there are only so many different ones around here. I have no hay bales, no barn lofts, no tractors, no piles of tires, and no rusty trailers.
Well, around the house things depend on what you have lying around the house. I always have ladders, various bricks and various lengths/widths of wood lying around, so I make little ramps and dogwalks. Jumps are made with a broomhandle laid across 2 chairs.
I've often heard Mike S. using Home Depot's back lot as a nice agility area. I like going to empty public parks that have playgrounds. The more obstacles, the better. I really like the ones that have the sway bridges. Just make sure the park allows dogs, I've gotten special permission to use specific parks on specific days from the parks & recreation department of my county (and one other).
Otherwise, think of it this way: If little kids have a blast on it, your dog might too! :lol:
Hope this helps a little!
The greatest benefits in "agility" are begotten when the owner participates in the agility with the dog...and the more difficult, the more stressful, the better. Dogs feed off of the teamwork...and the result is a very strong bond.
I use...planks of wood...ladder...chairs...all piled up together...sometimes wet, sometimes shaky. The planks I normally use are very thin, he can get all four feet on it if he tries hard enough, otherwise he falls. Heck with one of those collapsible ladders you can do all sorts of things. I ask him to go back and forth through them, perform obedience along the way, sometimes getting him to change obstacles mid-obstacle by jumping to something else, etc...
I also like using the local playgrounds. My dream is to find a construction site I am allowed to romp around with him in. :twisted:
The greatest benefits in "agility" are begotten when the owner participates in the agility with the dog...and the more difficult, the more stressful, the better. Dogs feed off of the teamwork...and the result is a very strong bond.
This a very important point :!: If you can find or build obstacles that both you and your dog can go over it will benefit much more.Then think about increasing height,swinging/suspended obstacles,obstacles over water and smoke or any combinations of these things as well as including other dogs into the mix which can act as both distractions and obstacles.All these things will both build the bond and stabilize.
Thanks for the replies ...I do alot of these things now...(see playground photos) although I have a hard time w/random household stuff b/c he's so heavy (92-95lbs). Greg has a few good obstacles, and there's a huge difference between when Caleb's on them and when a smaller dog's on them. He's almost too big for them. What moves underneath a smaller dog may collapse under Caleb. I don't want him to get hurt. Many household things just won't support him. I'm willing to build some things, if anyone has pictures of stuff they've made.
Andres, that's precisely why I'm asking. I really think I need to build some things b/c anything I can find locally makes him look at me like "been there, done that." :roll: The more difficult it is, the better the effect. He really relaxes and works a lot better after both mind and body have been taxed.
I love doing this stuff with him, and our communication has improved since then. I sometimes make him follow me, at least going down off things, b/c sometimes he goes a little too fast and this way I can regulate. I try to mix up the order all the time, too, so nothing becomes a routine. I need him to be thinking about each and every obstacle. Fire is a good idea, but the water is hardly a stressor :lol: ; he has no issues with water whatsoever.
Wooden packing crates make great obstacles as they can be stacked into different configurations, if you stain them - they don't look to unsightly. Wooden pallets can be made into all kinds of things, either as is or if you are a keener you can take them apart and use the wood. I also use old tires as they are a "bouncy" support or base for stuff but still reasonably stable - you can fill them with dirt or gravel to make them more so. Tires are nice as they are safe, too - no splinters or sharp edges. Plastic barrels - you can cut the ends off and make tunnels out of them, or if you do a bit more cutting, you end up with a nice sheet of plastic that you can used to make other stuff out of.
I have always like the woods and farmer's fields. In the woods there are fallen trees to jump over, and if they are large enough, the dog and you can walk the length of them on top. There are also steep hills and embankments leading down to creeks and stuff. In the farmer's fields there are rows and stacks of square hay, or the large rolled hay bails. Dogs love to jump on them and walk from one bale to another. They learn great skills in using their feet to dig in and go up them. Or great skill in high verticle jumping if they can make it to the top.
Also you can make some obstacles from buying cheap planks of wood or find the really large cement molds -they are a hard dense paper like material and the dog can learn to tunnel on it's belly through them. Here are some of the stuff I made for the school. Just easy stuff to begin with.
I got the cement molds from construction sites. Technically it's against the law to enter a site and remove things, but I was told they only throw away the molds anyway. So I went and took a whole bunch of them. You can also buy them at any type of building suppy place.
Yes the shorter-wider tunnel I sawed shorter for begginners. What is really neat about them is that you can build a support underneath one end to angle them upward and when the dog hits the end of the tunnel, they have to jump down to the ground.
I got the cement molds from construction sites. Technically it's against the law to enter a site and remove things, but I was told they only throw away the molds anyway. So I went and took a whole bunch of them. You can also buy them at any type of building suppy place.
Yes the shorter-wider tunnel I sawed shorter for begginners. What is really neat about them is that you can build a support underneath one end to angle them upward and when the dog hits the end of the tunnel, they have to jump down to the ground.
I took a 12 in by 1 in by 6 ft piece of pine and built a frame that allows it to swing and sway and hung the wood on chain it works well especially for young dogs. I got the idea from a video of a eurosport dog for sale. check out their videos it gave me lots of ideas. I will try and get some pictures
Greg
Good answer! I find it challenging to have stuff around the house that’s not “red neck”. The images I have my dog on are of a house that is going to be torn down.
This is only my second post and I think my first post was already removed?
I won’t lie, I am very new to this and got a little more dog than I should have started with, but I am learning. He was 14 months old and trained when I got him about a year ago. His agility is just amazing; I have yet to stump him.
Hay bales are great and can be stacked with planks. Used tires bolted together. Commercial electrical spools are something we use. A Schutzhund "A" frame can be built in a day and isn't real costly.
I guess sport/ hobby is the answer for now, not necessarily looking for any form of titles or anything. It’s cheaper than a boat or many other forms of toys and when you have a little time he is right there ready to do something with you. We do go tracking when we can find someone to run into the woods and wait a ½ hour. Its harder to find someone to do that than I thought! Right now he is in the pool with the kids.
It was not directed to any one person, you may be right, but you know what I mean. I just keep my mouth shut and take in what I can. I got a great dog out of it and cant complain. I do have to say they do sell some dogs though
I suppose it's like anything else. I bet if you went to a quilting board or a cooking board or a relationship board you'd find it there too.
In any event, here's a belated welcome to the board and I hope you'll post some pics of your awesome sounding dog. How old are your kids and how has he been with them? Were there ever any issues, such as growling?
I suppose it's like anything else. I bet if you went to a quilting board or a cooking board or a relationship board you'd find it there too.
In any event, here's a belated welcome to the board and I hope you'll post some pics of your awesome sounding dog. How old are your kids and how has he been with them? Were there ever any issues, such as growling?
I have an 8 and a 5 year old girls, the five year old cant stand the attention he gives her. I guess it would be like a dog head high to us licking us, it would be a little over bearing. When she cant take it any more she gets a little crazy and tries to beat him but he just enjoys it and licks some more. We are trying to work on her handling skills a bit and move her up in the pack rating. Never once has he given me a reason to be concerned with my girls. They can take his food when he is starving and he just sits there and waits. He does the little nibbles on the arms and try’s to tow them around once in awhile. One thing I have to watch is when other kids are rough housing around. He does realize they are kids but gets a little to into watching things. He also get along with my Greyhound great. Never had a problem with any other dog. So far so good thanks for the welcome!
We are building a wall for me to practice with but now I have to decideon the "non-skid" material? Suggestions??? I was thinking some sort of indoor/outdoor carpeting. Hubby said we should glue it on or else it will buckle. Thoughts???
The trouble is if I read the rules correctly, you now have to cover the entire wall, both sides. The cleats only go down the first 32 inches. I have to figure this out pretty quick while hubby is in the mood. He actually bought all the stuff today, mowed the grass in the area where I'm going to have it and had it all layed out to put together. So I plan to get up early and go scope out the non-skid material. Covering it all the way will help Khaiba [10 inches tall/20 lbs on a fat day].
Terrasita
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