Agility

[Crikit]

If your dog is just a beginner then speed will come with time. Speed in agility is something that happens as the dog gains more confidence, at least that's the general rule with most dogs. There is always the odd dog that starts playing the game with loads of speed but trust me when I say that that isn't always a good thing as they are then harder to control, and control is a big part of the game.

Another thing with speed is that the majority of times the dog will only go as fast as the handler is going. In other words if you aren't really going all that fast then don't expect the dog to. Qutie a few dogs like to run along with their handler it seems to add to the fun of the game.

As for the equipment a set of weave poles is fairly easy to make as all you need is pvc piping. The weave poles are also a very good thing to own because they can be one of the hardest pieces of equipment for a dog to learn as it is not a natrual body movement.

Hope this helps, if you have any more agility questions to hesistate to ask, I've been competing for a few years in various types of trials and I'm also willing to help answer agility questions.

[Ravette]

Thanks I'll bookmark that site in my agility folder.

Crikit -
Thats a really good point. There is a doberman in my class that drags his owner through all the equipment and she can barely control him.
I was asking because my golden retriever has gotten to the point that he LOVES doing my homemade objects but when I took him to an agility class 3yrs ago he did not show a lot of promise but now at 6 hes showing so much more that I am considering putting him back in classes. I'm just afraid that he will not stand a chance against bigger border collies because he stands around 25' at the withers.

When I go out to work with him and my pitbull mix who is more then likely my main agility doggie. I'll keep in mind my own speed and see how they both respond to it.

Do you know how much PVC pipe is needed to make the weave polls? Also when I have them made should I buy guide wires or just teach them? In class my pitbull mix just runs right straight down the middle when my instructor has them set up and I feel like she will never learn to weave that way lmao!

Thanks guys

[Lori Jordan]

Im sure they will do fine in the first classes i took was for all breeds and sizes we were up against News,st bernards and they all did really good!

[Crikit]

Thanks I'll bookmark that site in my agility folder.

Crikit -
Thats a really good point. There is a doberman in my class that drags his owner through all the equipment and she can barely control him.
I was asking because my golden retriever has gotten to the point that he LOVES doing my homemade objects but when I took him to an agility class 3yrs ago he did not show a lot of promise but now at 6 hes showing so much more that I am considering putting him back in classes. I'm just afraid that he will not stand a chance against bigger border collies because he stands around 25' at the withers.

When I go out to work with him and my pitbull mix who is more then likely my main agility doggie. I'll keep in mind my own speed and see how they both respond to it.

Do you know how much PVC pipe is needed to make the weave polls? Also when I have them made should I buy guide wires or just teach them? In class my pitbull mix just runs right straight down the middle when my instructor has them set up and I feel like she will never learn to weave that way lmao!

Thanks guys

The reason your golden might have seemed slugish when you first tried it was because it was a new place, with new sights and sounds. I've seen a lot of dogs in classes that always seem kind of put off when they first start taking the classes because they aren't used to the setting.

As for the height thing although you might have to compete against the border collies all you have to keep in mind is that border collies aren't always the top dogs in the sport. The border collies can be fast but because of the speed that some have they don't always have the control that is needed and tend to go off course or miss contacts all of which matters in the end.

I can't quite remember how much pvc was needed for the poles but if you search the net you can find plans for them somewhere. The teaching of the poles varies on the person and the dog really. I know about three or four different methods of teaching weave poles all of which having different advantages and disadvantages. One method might work really well for one dog but not for the other and so on and so forth.

[Giselle]

Because you won't be using the equipment for competitions, I'd suggest about 36" per weave pole. You could shave off a couple inches to save money, but that's all up to you

We made a basic hurdle a few months ago:



(The height of the jump is set at about 10")

The 3/4" PVC poles are about 36" tall each. The bottom was a bit harder to construct because I don't have a large grass area, so I needed the hurdles to be stable by themselves. To deal with this, I used a 3/4"x3/4"x3/4" PVC Tee and stuck two 4" PVC pipes on either side. I then used two 3/4"x3/4"x3/4" PVC Tees on the two sides to create an "I" shape. It sounds kind of complicated, but it really isnt I then stuck two 6" pipes on either side of the Tees. If I'm confusing you, just look at the picture and use whatever you have =P If you need extra stability, secure the pipes with glue (I don't remember what kind of glue it was, but I would suppose wood-glue is fine, too).

Because the pole needs to fall off easily to avoid injury, I used a 1/2" PVC tee and cut off half of it (just look at the picture).

I wouldn't worry about beating other dogs in competitions. It's reward enough to see my dog enjoying performing the sport at all

(P.S. Lori Jordan, the link isn't working. Can you re-post it? I'd be interested to see what kind of information they offer!)