| Agility has been described as the closet thing to an | | | | Cutting a strip of plywood 12 feet long you can place |
| amusement park for dogs. A lot of dogs and their | | | | it on some cinder blocks. It won't be very high but |
| owners love to do agility; some dogs like border | | | | your dog can practice walking across it. |
| collies, labs, Jack Russell Terriers and Shetland | | | | The weave poles are very popular in agility. Ski poles |
| Sheepdogs were made for agility. | | | | are a great way to make simple weave poles. You |
| The problem for most dog owners is that they can | | | | can place them in the ground and teach your dog to |
| only do agility when they are someplace that has | | | | go through them. Most flea markets and yard sales |
| agility equipment. In this article I have provided | | | | have ski poles that you can get cheap. |
| instructions on how you can make a backyard agility | | | | You can also find a good, sturdy, wooden coffee |
| course using stuff you can find in your garage. | | | | table at yard sales. Find one that is fairly low to the |
| Basically an agility course is made up of jumps, | | | | ground and you can use it as a pause table. An old |
| weave poles, tire jump, tunnel, see-saw, cat-walk | | | | bike tire hung from a tree can be used for the tire |
| and pause table. We are going to focus on jumps, | | | | jump. Make sure you hold the tire as you teach your |
| weave poles, pause table and a short cat-walk. | | | | dog to go through it. |
| Jumps can be made up by using the cinder blocks | | | | A tunnel can be purchased for very little at Wal-Mart |
| and pieces of plywood. The plywood can be cut to | | | | or Target. They sell kids tunnels that are fine for a |
| different heights and can be propped up using the | | | | backyard agility course. Now you have some jumps, |
| cinder blocks making a decent jump for your dog. | | | | weave poles, tire jump, dog-walk, tunnel and a pause |
| The cinder blocks can also be used to make the | | | | table. Set them up in your backyard and you and |
| cat-walk (or dog-walk whichever you prefer to call it). | | | | your dog are ready to go. |