Agility Equipment
Page under construction but rather than wait till its finished I thought I'd let you see the "Building site"!
Over the past 20 or so years we have seen many changes in Agility equipment. It's now far safer than it was and build quality is excellent.
Of course these huge advances come with a price tag: A set of competition equipment now costs around £6,000 and you need a flat bed truck to transport it.
So, do you need a full set of equipment and a quarter of an acre of ground to develop Agility skills?
No. You can develop a vast range of skills with a small amount of equipment in a small space.
Time to make 3 jumps and a little sawdust?
Garden equipment.
The "Grassed" area in my garden is just 4m wide and 10m long. Yes, 1.5 miles away I have half an acre and a full set of equipment but I still often use the garden equipment.
Over many years I've made a lot of Agility equipment and have a fairly well-equipped workshop, but my aim now is to enable you to build some equipment. using basic tools. So, if you are one of the many who have told me you are hopeless at woodwork this is for you! Developing the designs has been both interesting and peaceful!
No noisy machines or dust extractors, just a cheap handsaw (£6), drill, tape measure and screwdriver.
You will need:
2 lengths of 38 x 63 x 2400 mm studwork timber.
2 lengths of 20 x 93 x 2400 PSE Planed square edge.
When buying timber be selective. Take it from the rack and look along the length. If it's bowed or twisted put it back and check another piece. Check for splits especially at both ends.
You want neat square cuts. If you don't have a square, improvise!
Take 38x63x2400 and mark three 80cm lengths. Check measurements, using your square draw a line across timber then cut. Do same with other piece. Just 4 careful cuts and you have the 6 uprights for 3 jumps!
Take 20x94x2400 and mark three 40cm lengths and three 30cm lengths Check measurements then cut. Do same with other piece. You now have all the parts cut for 3 jumps and a couple of off cuts. Save them!
Put the saw away and take out the sandpaper. There are 2 elements to this. The first is to remove sharp edges, corners and any rough bits. 120 grit is best for this. Second is to make a smooth finish 240 grit.. Well worth the effort for the finished result.
Since writing the above timber prices have gone from expensive to stupid and I've had further thoughts:
I was mainly thinking of training in the garden but if you don't have a reasonably flat grassed area you may well need equipment that you can take to the park so it has to be light.
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Birthday card square.
Mk 2 wing shown with tapes added. Not essential but adds a bit of width and helps you not to trip over the foot.
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My first idea is a jump/weave set:
This includes 6 weave poles that can also be used as 3 jumps. You can do an amazing amount of handling training with just 3 jumps. Check out garden training page. I recommend the weaves we use in the group. These are used by 15 or more dogs every week for 12 months a year. They have been used for 12 years and ready for many more. So, with 6 weave poles you can easily have 3 jumps. You need cups, a 3m length of 32mm solvent weld (Not push fit) waste pipe from Wickes which you cut into 3, 1m lengths and 6 silicone O rings.
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More info soon
