Guest Tiggy Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Does anyone know where you can get good quality reasonably priced agility equipment in Australia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Good quality .... yes. Bargain price .... no. Is it reasonable given the quality - it could be (I haven't compared) but second hand would be cheaper. I can given you an email address (ph no if I can find it) of a person who makes agility equipment (to trial requirement size etc. etc.) and you can find out prices from him. PM me if you want it and I'll look it up for you. Otherwise, I'm told there's agility equipment (second hand) advertised for sale from time to time in the Trading Post - I think you'd find that cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparty Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Erny, can u PM me th details also please? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenb Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 If you only want equipment to use at home you can make jumps to the standards yourself quite cheaply. I recently made a set of 5 from timber for about $120. I have heard though that the standard heights are about to change to allow for the smaller breeds. Weaving poles can be made fairly easily also. Although we do have some other equipment at home I have found that these are the most important ones (particularly the jumps) to have as most training is done with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavalier Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 I just made all my own equipment. I have weave pole, 3 jumps, a tyre, a table and a tunnel. The weave poles are PVC pipe, the table is an old table I found in my shed, jumps are bricks with an old broom handle and the tunnel is a length of industrial airconditioning venting. Even though none of it it at the specified heights etc, it teaches the dog the principles and gives us something to practice at home between formal training at our club. She has improved greatly since I have been able to train at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippi Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Cavalier - considering the price of agility equipment, thats definitely the way to go. :D Do you just shove the poles into the ground, or are they on some kind of base? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Check out ebay.com (the american site) they had some bloody cheap stuff there a couple of weeks ago and even with conversion and delivery it was still good. Quality - I have no idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavalier Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 So far I have just banged the poles into the ground. Eventually when I get some time I will put some kind of base on them so it is easier to bang them in :rolleyes: I am a student, so when I saw the price of some of the equipment, I almost died. But I have managed to create a basic course that does the job for the cost of an hour of my time (which is not much!!!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 When I began agility training, I used "tomato stakes" that I purchased for about $6 through the agility club - although you can get them at bunnings for around the same price too ($6 for 12 stakes). Haven't read all the other posts, so sorry if someone's already suggested this. There is another thread (some time ago) where we discussed alternative (ie home made) agility equipment. If you can find it, I think you'll find there were quite a few really good suggestions there. My memory isn't flash, but I think the topic was started by "Amhailte" a number of months ago. Try the search engine on DOL - you might not have much trouble finding it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netti Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 (edited) As we live on a farm I found that electic fence posts are great for weave poles. I use four of the posts to make a square. I have been looking for something to have as a tunnel but as Flynn has no trouble entering the tunnel at obedience I think I will leave that for a later date. I also have substituted jumps with bricks and a broomstick. Flynn has most trouble understanding and completing weave poles so thats what I have concentrated on at home. I think the main thing is to keep it fun , short bursts of training with lots of praise. I am now going to look on ebay for the cheap stuff. Cheers Netti Edited October 27, 2005 by Netti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 I also have substituted jumps with bricks and a broomstick. Hi Netti - could I suggest some PVC piping instead? If the dog knocks it, it's less likely to hurts its knees on the bar. And maybe ducted airconditioning/heating condute MIGHT do for a tunnel. This depends of course on the size of the dog and the size of the condute you can get. It also depends on whether the material the condute is made from is sturdy enough not to fall apart and expose its inner supports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzln Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 I everyone, for a tunnel I brought the kids play tunnels (depends on the size of your dog of course! but my staffords fit through quite easy) they dont bend, but they are still good to get your dog to go through as a practise. They were quite cheap as I brought them at clints crazy bargains (or somewhere like that), they fold away for easy storage. I secure them to the ground with a few tent pegs and 'hockey straps'. Cheers Elaina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netti Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Hi Erny Just mentioned the PVC piping to OH and he said we have some lying around somewhere, he will ollk for me tomorrow. I would love to get a tunnel, where would I look? At an air-conditioning shop? We dont have much need for air cooling in Tassie :D but I am sure one of the heating shops will have the condute. Flynn is a SmithfieldXBorder Collie and stands about 60cm at his shoulder. What size would the tunnel need to be. The tunnel at obedience makes him squat to go through but he has no trouble negotiating that. We have an open drain pipe just outside the front gate that is about 40cms high and 1 metre long. When Flynn was a pup he used to love chasing a ball through there As he grew he wouldnt go through, no doubt in fear of getting stuck. We also have a cement tunnel that goes under our drive way. It has a creek flowing through it so Flynn has a wonderful time chasing trout, native hens and hares through that. His love of going through tunnels has stuck so to get him a tunnel near the house would be great. Cheers Netti Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 (edited) Netti - I'm not sure where you'd get the conduit from - and please know that I'm saying I'm not even sure how suitable and/or safe it would be. I know this was brought up in that thread I referred to in my earlier post .... perhaps the answers are there. For a solid tunnel, you could get a 44 gallon drum (harder to come by, me thinks, these days - they used to be a dime a dozen :D ) and lay it on its side. Secure it with wooden blocks either side, or rope and tent pegs, to stop it from moving when your dog's running through. If you want, you can get some suitable material to make a "sock" that you can attach to one end, and then you have a "sock tunnel". Once dogs get over the initial uncertainty of going through a tunnel, they catch on pretty quickly and usually adore going through. My girls absolute favourite is the dog walk (she'll actually scoot over on her own and go on one when my back's turned! I have to be careful of that!) and also the tunnels. Whatever you do, have fun - but always think of the safety aspect of your equipment before putting your dog through. All the best with your agility quests! Edited October 27, 2005 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavalier Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Erny, I know the airconditioning tunnel is not to standard size, but as I said before, it teaches the dog the principles. So far it has been sturdy enough to take my 7kg Cavalier running through it each day. NOt sure it would be sturdy enough for a big dog though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witheverythingiam Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I made my own "See-Saw" for my dogs - it's made out of Poly Pipe base, and Wooden Plank. It's also able to be taken apart in places, as we have moved a bit in the past, so it had to be easy to shift from one place to the other - the other parts are glued in place. we also add sand to the pipe to make it more sturdy and stop it from slipping around. The plank part consists of 3 separate planks each 6-7 feet in length. there's a plank in middle which screws into the other parts, and under it are brackets which attaches it to the base. Pretty cheap compared to one made from a steel base & long plank that's hard to transport, and VERY HEAVY. I've attached a photo, but it now looks different now it's been carpeted for the different contact zones:) -WithEverythingIAm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periau Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 Hi I got my conduit for weave poles from a plumbing supplier- i have 12 tomato stakes banged in with the conduit slipped over the top. My guys have no hesitations with tunnels and jumps- however if someone wants to make me a tire Kya goes under them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 where abouts are you ? My OH made all our equipment. He now has a standard rate for weave bases as he gets sooo many requests for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 My husband made me a tyre jump as you can see below. It was initially screwed together and he put the tape over the screws and painted it. It has now been welded together at the bottom as it was getting a bit wobbly. But it works fine. It was the only piece of equipment my little poodle hated to jump. Now he flys through, but he is too old to compete.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 We have the airconditioning tube for the tunnel here, it's alot bigger than a standard tunnel but it does the trick for at home. Ours has withstood two dogs (one large, one medium) as well as being dragged around by kids so it's pretty tough. I got all the bits for my course from a seconhand building supplier. The jumps are made of cardboard tubes from the inside of fabric rolls which have been painted. I can't leave them outside but atleast I don't need to worry about them injuring themselves if they hit them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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