# DIY agility equipment?



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

I'd like to make some DIY weave poles, an A frame, and a dog walk for my dog. I don't want him doing full agility yet , but I'm trying to teach him how to use the equipment so that when we're able to do full size equipment and actually, y'know, run instead of walk, he'll know what to do on each obstacle. He knows how to go over jumps (and through a hoop) right now, but that's about it. Is there any option aside from just buying a tunnel? 
If possible, I'd like to make stuff that's collapsible so that I can put it away easily under our deck.
Thank you for any help!


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## Ruby's Dad (Aug 17, 2021)

I do agility with my golden, and we have a lot of home made equipment set up in our backyard. I don't have an A frame or a dog walk, however, as these are the biggest and most difficult to DIY. You can DIY weave poles and most of the other obstacles fairly easily. My dog had the most trouble with the weaves and teeter, so i focus of backyard training is on those two obstacles. When my girl was just starting out, we made and trained on a "mini" dog walk, which was simply a couple wooden planks set up on concrete blocks. if you are just starting out it might be good to teach the concept on a small scale before you go to the full size equipment.


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

Ruby's Dad said:


> I do agility with my golden, and we have a lot of home made equipment set up in our backyard. I don't have an A frame or a dog walk, however, as these are the biggest and most difficult to DIY. You can DIY weave poles and most of the other obstacles fairly easily. My dog had the most trouble with the weaves and teeter, so i focus of backyard training is on those two obstacles. When my girl was just starting out, we made and trained on a "mini" dog walk, which was simply a couple wooden planks set up on concrete blocks. if you are just starting out it might be good to teach the concept on a small scale before you go to the full size equipment.


I forgot about a teeter totter! I’d really like to have weave poles and at least a mini dog walk or a frame to get him used to them.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

Weave poles are very easy to make! Go to a farm supply store and buy some cheap step in electric fence posts. Fence posts Then Lowe’s or Home Depot for pvc pipe, caps, and electrical tape. You may have to break the hooks off the posts. Just cut the posts to size, put the caps on, add a stripe or two of tape. Measure out the proper distance for the poles and slide the pipe over top.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

For what it's worth, most dogs don't have much problem with the A-Frame or the dog walk. Teaching your dog to walk a low plank (as suggested, a board across two concrete blocks works well), will work to get him comfortable and more confident on the dog walk. The A-frame is more about teaching him to use his back legs (and shifting his weight backwards) to control his descent rather than taking all the weight coming down on his shoulders. For that, I suggest just a wider board place on an angle and just get him used to moving on it (up, down, circles, backing up it, etc.). Use treats if needed to get him to shift his weight back when coming down the board. Keep the angle steep enough that there is a good slant, but not so steep as to be hard to climb. I'd say the angle to start with should be no steeper than you might get by putting the board on a set of stairs. If the board is slippery, put stair tread tape or sanded paint on the board to increase the traction. If you really want to build something, Google "agility contact trainer." This piece of equipment is for training purposes only and will give you a piece of equipment that can be used to train both A-Frame and dog walk skills as well as contacts. Work on other things that will build his hind end strength as well (practice "begging" position, or rising up on his hind legs to get a cookie, teach him to back up - especially up a slope or a few steps, etc.). Getting him out and about in the woods (or if you are in the city, on low walls, park benches, etc.) will also help both to build his muscles and to make him comfortable on elevated and/or moving surfaces.

The most challenging obstacles for most dogs are the weaves and the see-saw. Abeille's suggestion for the weaves will work. but also Google the 2x2 training method, as that's a good one to start with, especially if your dog is too young to start working in-line weaves. For the see-saw, you mostly need them to get comfortable with being on things that move. Google DIY dog wobble board (note that you can also use human balance boards which are fairly cheap, or just glue or otherwise attach a tennis ball under a large round or square board to DIY your own). You can make a low see saw just by putting a pool noodle or a piece of PVC pipe under a plank. 

There's also a lot you can do to start teaching handling skills on the flat. Just getting your dog to run with you - in straight lines or circles, on both your right and left sides, is a good skill to practice. So is sending them out around a cone. If you Google "agility foundation training puppies" you should find quite a few videos with more ideas.


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

pawsnpaca said:


> For what it's worth, most dogs don't have much problem with the A-Frame or the dog walk. Teaching your dog to walk a low plank (as suggested, a board across two concrete blocks works well), will work to get him comfortable and more confident on the dog walk. The A-frame is more about teaching him to use his back legs (and shifting his weight backwards) to control his descent rather than taking all the weight coming down on his shoulders. For that, I suggest just a wider board place on an angle and just get him used to moving on it (up, down, circles, backing up it, etc.). Use treats if needed to get him to shift his weight back when coming down the board. Keep the angle steep enough that there is a good slant, but not so steep as to be hard to climb. I'd say the angle to start with should be no steeper than you might get by putting the board on a set of stairs. If the board is slippery, put stair tread tape or sanded paint on the board to increase the traction. If you really want to build something, Google "agility contact trainer." This piece of equipment is for training purposes only and will give you a piece of equipment that can be used to train both A-Frame and dog walk skills as well as contacts. Work on other things that will build his hind end strength as well (practice "begging" position, or rising up on his hind legs to get a cookie, teach him to back up - especially up a slope or a few steps, etc.). Getting him out and about in the woods (or if you are in the city, on low walls, park benches, etc.) will also help both to build his muscles and to make him comfortable on elevated and/or moving surfaces.


I actually think that he'll looove the A frame and dog walks- he really likes to climb on rocks and tried to climb up a rock wall the other day (he tried to climb up a frickin cliff face)


pawsnpaca said:


> For what it's worth, most dogs don't have much problem with the A-Frame or the dog walk. Teaching your dog to walk a low plank (as suggested, a board across two concrete blocks works well), will work to get him comfortable and more confident on the dog walk. The A-frame is more about teaching him to use his back legs (and shifting his weight backwards) to control his descent rather than taking all the weight coming down on his shoulders. For that, I suggest just a wider board place on an angle and just get him used to moving on it (up, down, circles, backing up it, etc.). Use treats if needed to get him to shift his weight back when coming down the board. Keep the angle steep enough that there is a good slant, but not so steep as to be hard to climb. I'd say the angle to start with should be no steeper than you might get by putting the board on a set of stairs. If the board is slippery, put stair tread tape or sanded paint on the board to increase the traction. If you really want to build something, Google "agility contact trainer." This piece of equipment is for training purposes only and will give you a piece of equipment that can be used to train both A-Frame and dog walk skills as well as contacts. Work on other things that will build his hind end strength as well (practice "begging" position, or rising up on his hind legs to get a cookie, teach him to back up - especially up a slope or a few steps, etc.). Getting him out and about in the woods (or if you are in the city, on low walls, park benches, etc.) will also help both to build his muscles and to make him comfortable on elevated and/or moving surfaces.
> 
> The most challenging obstacles for most dogs are the weaves and the see-saw. Abeille's suggestion for the weaves will work. but also Google the 2x2 training method, as that's a good one to start with, especially if your dog is too young to start working in-line weaves. For the see-saw, you mostly need them to get comfortable with being on things that move. Google DIY dog wobble board (note that you can also use human balance boards which are fairly cheap, or just glue or otherwise attach a tennis ball under a large round or square board to DIY your own). You can make a low see saw just by putting a pool noodle or a piece of PVC pipe under a plank.
> 
> There's also a lot you can do to start teaching handling skills on the flat. Just getting your dog to run with you - in straight lines or circles, on both your right and left sides, is a good skill to practice. So is sending them out around a cone. If you Google "agility foundation training puppies" you should find quite a few videos with more ideas.


Thank you for all of this!!
Do you think that I could start the concept of weaves with weaving through cones?


Here's him enjoying an 'A frame' in the woods:


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

FinnTheFloof said:


> Do you think that I could start the concept of weaves with weaving through cones?


You could, but I'm not sure it would buy you much. The idea is that the dog learns to drive through the weaves independently. The more you "lure" him the harder it will be for you to "send" him to the weaves and have him complete them from start to finish without being there to babysit him. It's clearer if they learn to do the weaves straight to begin with and with some sort of guides to get him through from beginning to end.

First question... How old is Finn? I don't usually let my dog do the bending involved in doing straight line weaves until they're 12-18 months old. If he's younger than that, I would be doing "channel weaves" or starting the 2x2 method.

If he's at least a year old, then I've found either the 2x2 method, or the method shown in this video to be the most effective way to train weave poles: 



As you can see in the video, this could be easily DIY'd, both with home-made poles and with a variety of materials used for the "gates." My instructor uses lower gates made out of plastic fencing (here's a link to a video of my learning this method with my current dog), and then eventually graduates to "wires", and then to wires on the ground. You could also use ex-pens for the gates if you already have them (no need to attach them... the bend will hold them up... you're just trying to create some sort of channel for the dog to follow.

Oh, and I almost forgot... Tunnels are rarely a problem for dogs either, but before I bought myself a tunnel, I used to use a collapsible fabric leaf barrel and just cut the bottom out of it (I can usually find these in the dollar store or Christmas Tree Shop for less than $10 each). You could theoretically tape a few together to make a longer tunnel.

Oh... and if you decide there are things that you just can't easily DIY, most of my early equipment came from Dog Agility Equipment at Affordable Prices! - AffordableAgility.com and it's still going strong after almost 20 years.

Whatever you decide to use, remember SAFETY FIRST. Make sure your equipment is secure and doesn't have things that could poke him, pinch him, collapse on him, etc.


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

pawsnpaca said:


> You could, but I'm not sure it would buy you much. The idea is that the dog learns to drive through the weaves independently. The more you "lure" him the harder it will be for you to "send" him to the weaves and have him complete them from start to finish without being there to babysit him. It's clearer if they learn to do the weaves straight to begin with and with some sort of guides to get him through from beginning to end.


That makes sense! I hadn't thought of that.


pawsnpaca said:


> You could, but I'm not sure it would buy you much. The idea is that the dog learns to drive through the weaves independently. The more you "lure" him the harder it will be for you to "send" him to the weaves and have him complete them from start to finish without being there to babysit him. It's clearer if they learn to do the weaves straight to begin with and with some sort of guides to get him through from beginning to end.
> 
> First question... How old is Finn? I don't usually let my dog do the bending involved in doing straight line weaves until they're 12-18 months old. If he's younger than that, I would be doing "channel weaves" or starting the 2x2 method.


He's exactly 7 months old today.


pawsnpaca said:


> If he's younger than that, I would be doing "channel weaves" or starting the 2x2 method.


Thank you!


pawsnpaca said:


> Oh, and I almost forgot... Tunnels are rarely a problem for dogs either, but before I bought myself a tunnel, I used to use a collapsible fabric leaf barrel and just cut the bottom out of it (I can usually find these in the dollar store or Christmas Tree Shop for less than $10 each). You could theoretically tape a few together to make a longer tunnel.
> 
> Oh... and if you decide there are things that you just can't easily DIY, most of my early equipment came from Dog Agility Equipment at Affordable Prices! - AffordableAgility.com and it's still going strong after almost 20 years.
> 
> Whatever you decide to use, remember SAFETY FIRST. Make sure your equipment is secure and doesn't have things that could poke him, pinch him, collapse on him, etc.


Thank you so much for these ideas! Of course safety. A little while ago I was trying to teach him a tunnel ish- I had put a blanket over two chairs so he could get used to going somewhere with a 'roof' over him. He decided that the blanket looked like a bed, and jumped onto it! After that, I've been a lot more careful with safety.


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

pawsnpaca said:


> You can make a low see saw just by putting a pool noodle or a piece of PVC pipe under a plank.


How do you stop the noodle/pvc from rolling away when the plank shifts?


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

FinnTheFloof said:


> How do you stop the noodle/pvc from rolling away when the plank shifts?


You'll need to find a way to attach it somehow... strong tape, pipe clamps, etc. Although, as long as it's low and the noodle/pvc is significantly wider than the board, you may not have to attach it...


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Here are some instructions-

How to Build a DIY Dog Agility Course - This Old House


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## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Here are some instructions-
> 
> How to Build a DIY Dog Agility Course - This Old House


Thank you!


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## Ruby's Dad (Aug 17, 2021)

Another vote for the 2x2 method of introducing/training the weave poles. That is how i trained Ruby and it worked well for her.


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