# Equipment recommendations and jumping question



## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

Now that Casper is over two years and has some reasonable obedience skills, I'd like to do a little backyard/dog park agility with him. My primary goal is safety. I've gone to the local agility meets, and there is always chatter about dog injuries. 

There are lots of places to buy agility equipment. I am only looking for jumps, weave poles, a tunnel, and maybe a pause table. Safety is my first concern, but I am not yet sure what makes one jump safer than another. Portability is second. If I can get it all in the back of my pickup, that would be terrific. I can afford quality.

My next (long) question is about jumping. First, I'm only going to set the bar at about 12". Casper is completely capable of jumping 36" without a running start, so I figure 12" will keep us out of trouble. I have a dog book trick by Kyra Sundance. It says, more than once, than the dog needs to land horizontally. What does that mean exactly, and how do you achieve that? I've also read on this forum about having to find an instructor that understands jumping and the "front end." I am sure, no matter what instructor I call up, if I ask if she knows about "front ends", she'll say "Why of course, I'm an expert." (A bit of a whine here - I don't have any dog training friends to ask, not for lack of trying. What does it take to make dog training friends?)

I am in the Seattle area, if anyone has recommendations. I've taken lots of classes at Seattle Humane.

Thanks!


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Can't really answer most of your questions since I've never purchased agility equipment but I have purchased some obedience stuff from J & J Supply (jjdog.com) and been happy with it and their service. They have agility equipment.

With respect to meeting and getting input from dog training people . . . find a training center where there are people who compete with their dogs or go to some matches or trials and when people have some down time (_not_ right before it's time for them to compete) chat them up and see what you can learn.


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

In regards to dog injuries, I was reading on another forum the importance to warm-up and cool-down a dog before and after strenuous activities. 

I, personally, recommend getting Casper's hips x-rayed and have an orthopedic vet certify his joints looks great before starting agility. Jumping, from what our orthopedic vet has told us, is hard on the hips, knees, elbows and shoulders (sometimes neck) from take-off to landing. 

I can guess a horizontal landing is what you will get from a running start, the dog will jump and land almost on all fours. Compared to a more vertical jump where the dog lands mostly on one the front legs, and the back has to catch up when it lands. 

I'm not an expert, but this is stuff I've gleaned after Bear's debacle with his knees.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

my dogs do not land horizontally - I am unsure how they could? There is an arc to jumping or there should be. There are many references to teaching a dog to jump efficiently and safely - Linda Mecklenburg and Susan Salo come immediately to mind. Daisy Peel has online classes using the Awesome Paws methods (Linda Mecklenburg style Awesome Paws | Running Agility In Awesome Style and www.daisypeel.com)

I buy equipment from a variety of sources, but in my area at least, if you want the best available and safest, you can go to trials and buy the (discounted) equipment used for the trial or from the vendors. This is a sure way of getting the safest possible since it is competition grade and the very latest in safety and design.. 

Good luck and have fun


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

I had Casper's hips x-rayed at 13 months when he was neutered. At that time, they were "normal for a one-year-old." I will think about having it done again, but I just hate to have him put under. Good advice.

Yes, I could not figure out the horizontal landing. Thanks for the links to the training. Of course, I landed right in the iliopsoas topic, maybe I am not cut out for this!

I'll check out the upcoming meets for equipment. We have a few big shows coming up.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Any reason you aren't attending classes at an agility club? 

Sometimes the best way to avoid injuries is teach them the jumps in the right context (in class, learning the correct methods, etc).


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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

quilter said:


> I had Casper's hips x-rayed at 13 months when he was neutered. At that time, they were "normal for a one-year-old." I will think about having it done again, but I just hate to have him put under. Good advice.


If you have a good enough vet (at least at doing hip X-rays) then they won't need to put him under to do them. I just had my girl get her hip and elbow X-rays done with Lonnie Davis, and no sedative was used.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

My agility instructor stress having your dog jump with their head down, she uses the Mecklenburg method. She holds a treat on the ground about two feet in front of the jump (which is at 12") and to the side (imagine about a foot in front of the end of the end of the jump base) and has the dog jump . This helps them think about their back feet also since they land with the front feet about 6" from the treat and then have to pivot a bit and have their back feet land to the side.

Selli jumps with her head up so I have been working this a bit to retrain, but her big issue is looking at me anyways so I don't know if I will ever get her to change.

We do not compete with the regularity to run with the big guys and Selli is not really fast, but she has never had any injuries related to agility. She is 9 1/2 and we still run in the Masters class in AKC, she is however in very good shape and gets lots of exercise and has always been well muscled.

As to buying stuff, I recommend Clean Run for the jumps (the ready jump is more expensive, but so nice and you only really need two jumps) and I would either buy their stick-in-the-ground weave poles or make my own. I would also make my own table although I don't know if you really need a table, you could just have a painted plywood square since the table is not a hugely difficult thing.


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## goldenca (Jan 31, 2011)

I made my own jumps from PVC pipes and ordered the clips to hold the bar from Clean Run.
It was easy to make. I also made the pause table. You can find plans on the Internet. I also ordered 6 weave poles that fit in the ground from Clean Run. 

I started my dog out with classes from the Zoom Room. There is one in Seattle, that should open soon.
They make it super fun and the jumps are not high. I just started competition this past September. Before we began competitions I had my dog's hips and elbows xrayed by a top notch vet and had her heart checked by a specialist to be sure she was OK to do agility.


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

I can see I'm going to have to do some more reading. I have a couple of intro agility books, but they don't go into detail on jumping form. 

I think we might be one class away from taking agility class (something like Control Unleashed). I'm still working on attention/recall with Casper. He really loves people and dogs and I can't imagine him sticking with me off leash while there are a bunch of other people and dogs running around. Maybe people are forgiving of the occasional dog zooming around, but I have no idea. I also work full-time and Casper hates the car.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

I would also recommend Developing Jumping Skills for Awesome Agility Dogs by Linda Mecklenburg.

As far as safest equipment, the newest jumps I have seen are the ones with only one jump cup for the bar. My trainer has these jumps and I have also trialed when a club used them. They are great and lightweight. Launch the Dog I would like to get a few. Another place that makes this style jump is Clip and Go Agility - Safety Jumps. I have a set of Ready Jumps from Clip and Go and they are great quality. The owner of Clip and Go also runs a Golden.


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

I should add, places I have personally gotten equipment from:

I got my aluminum weavepoles here, with aluminum no worries about rust.Apex dog agility

I got my previous weavepoles here
Agility Works Hurdles and More Canine Agility Equipment

Great tunnels
Dog Agility | NTI GlobalNTI Global

Clean Run
Dog Toys, Dog Treats, Dog Agility Supplies, Dog Training Supplies


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions. I had seen the Clip and Go jumps, so good to have a recommendation for those. Also, as it turns out, I stumbled across a trainer that came highly recommended from several people at work. She has a tricks and agility sample class starting next week. I'm looking forward to it, one for the agility, and two, because Casper and I love to do tricks.


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## Karmageddon (Sep 19, 2013)

sammydog said:


> Great tunnels
> Dog Agility | NTI GlobalNTI Global


Hi sammydog - 

Did you have to pay brokerage fees? They want to charge a suspicious 16$ for brokerage fees. Combined with 17$ handling, that's still super cheap for such a heavy item to Canada. However... from my understanding, COD brokerage fees from UPS can be outrageous. Did you have to pay any? Do you recall if it was offensively expensive? (I've emailed them, we'll see if they answer). 

Otherwise - this looks brilliant! It's nearly half the price of Clean Run and looks like it's very well made!

Thanks!
-Kim


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Karmageddon said:


> Hi sammydog -
> 
> Did you have to pay brokerage fees? They want to charge a suspicious 16$ for brokerage fees. Combined with 17$ handling, that's still super cheap for such a heavy item to Canada. However... from my understanding, COD brokerage fees from UPS can be outrageous. Did you have to pay any? Do you recall if it was offensively expensive? (I've emailed them, we'll see if they answer).
> 
> ...


I don't remember a brokerage fee! I don't remember a handling fee either... I do remember the offer for free shipping. I got it almost 10 years ago, so things may have changed. I cannot find my receipt.

Try calling them, they are a reputable company, I know dozens of people and clubs who have their tunnels.

When I look now I don't see the brokerage fee. This is what I get for a 16' with 6" pitch, which is what I have...

Subtotal	$178.00
Handling	$17.80
Tax $15.66
Total $211.46


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## Karmageddon (Sep 19, 2013)

Hi sammydog!

I sent them an email - they replied quickly! The handling and brokerage fees are because they are shipping to Canada. There is no surprise COD cost as they are shipping Fedex and not UPS (woohoo!). I'm paying about 30$ extra for shipping, but that's pretty reasonable considering the weight and size of the item. I am very excited! Now to determine if I go with 6" pitch or 4" pitch! (The AAC does not distinguish between either pitch). 

Very excited to pratice (in the basement). The winter is too long and too cold!

Cheers!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Great!! I would have been surprised to hear anything negative, I have recommended to many people and always heard positive feedback.

Regarding the pitch. I got 6" pitch and I wish I got 4" pitch. Basically the "coil" part is closer together. Based on my non-expert opinion the 4" pitch is heavier and more expensive, but I think it holds it's shape better. The last reason is why I would want a 4" pitch... Of course then it might take up more space and be too heavy for me to move by myself...

Happy tunneling!


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## Karmageddon (Sep 19, 2013)

4" pitch it is!! I measured the one at our local club. They use 4" as well. 

Thanks again!


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