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by Adam Fulford

Agility competitions are becoming more and more popular at dog shows, and are even beginning to replace many of the traditional shows. These competitions involve owners leading their dogs around an obstacle course as quickly as possible. A lot of training takes place before these events, and many people spend months preparing for even a single competition. However, because the obstacles used in agility competitions are not exactly everyday objects, many people find it difficult to train their dogs on a regular basis.

In order to get around this problem, many people have turned to building their own dog training equipment. There are some obstacles faced by the dogs which are fairly simple to build, such as weave poles and small jumps, and some objects which require a great deal more skill, such as the teeter-totter and the chute, but regardless, it is possible to construct them from things lying around your home.

Jumps can be constructed of anything that is tall enough to be jumped over. Traditional heights for dog agility competitions range from 9? to 16? depending on the height of your dog, which makes it very easy to simply use a 2×4 turned on it’s end, or some other simple object as the jump. Weave poles, which are basically just long stakes sticking out of the ground, can be constructed using just about anything tall and skinny. Fallen branches, old skiing poles, or even dowel rods can be used in a pinch.

For the more complicated equipment, you’re probably better off buying than constructing it, unless you’re very handy, or you have an excellent blueprint.

Teeter-totters can be found at your local park, but unfortunately, many parks have banned dogs from being in the children’s play area, making it difficult, if not impossible to use playground equipment. If you can use it, take advantage, but be sure to train your dog when there are very few children around. The noise and the distraction will be a detriment to the quality of the training, and may be very problematic for you. In general, agility training is best done without a leash, as the majority of competitions will be done this way, and if you have little control over your dog, he or she may run off to chase a child and leave you behind. Dogs are social creatures, and they enjoy the attention that the children will give them much more than repeatedly running over a teeter-totter, no matter how fun it may be.

In general, it’s likely that you’ll be better off with a combination of handmade and professional equipment rather than relying solely on one or the other. While purchasing dog agility training equipment is expensive, it’s often much better than spending days or weeks creating a rickety structure that could be dangerous for your dog. Thus, unless you’re very crafty, it is usually best to leave the bigger projects to the professionals.

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