Agility Equipment
- Thread starter Maxy24
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Thats a spiffy looking tire jump BB!
PVC jumps can be more expensive than wooden ones. Maf has made some stunning wooden ones with scrap wood she had around. And its easier to make displacable poles.
Its not as bad as you might think. AAC is the same. Heck Kaiden at 13 1/4 can do an entire course at 24 lol. Sometimes I think the low jump heights are a bit of a joke. I mean you can choose to go lower, but isn't this a sport? Dekka can jump oh so much higher than 10 inches.
PVC jumps can be more expensive than wooden ones. Maf has made some stunning wooden ones with scrap wood she had around. And its easier to make displacable poles.
Its not as bad as you might think. AAC is the same. Heck Kaiden at 13 1/4 can do an entire course at 24 lol. Sometimes I think the low jump heights are a bit of a joke. I mean you can choose to go lower, but isn't this a sport? Dekka can jump oh so much higher than 10 inches.
Since Dekka posted about me..
Here you can't get 1" pvc at home depot. They only sell >3/4. And honestly 3/4 is crap that doesn't hold up well, and is smaller than a jump bar should be.. IF I could get pvc cheaper and I suspect buying it in home depot in america it is, I wouldn't feel the need to ration so much..
My first jump cost $55, all 1" pvc, with store bought joints, nothing funky- and scaled down to be short as my pups are, but the width is correct.
I managed to use leftovers to build another, way more economical.. But it's a learning curve, no one near me was making stuff, I've learned as I've gone.
I never took pics of my finished wood ones, but they are in youtube vids. WAYYYY cheaper. But they take more skill.. But only need 4 feet of pvc which costs far more than it's worth here.
I love my blue jump.. YouTube - Offside Weaves with a little distance
And my sold off teeter..
Here you can't get 1" pvc at home depot. They only sell >3/4. And honestly 3/4 is crap that doesn't hold up well, and is smaller than a jump bar should be.. IF I could get pvc cheaper and I suspect buying it in home depot in america it is, I wouldn't feel the need to ration so much..
My first jump cost $55, all 1" pvc, with store bought joints, nothing funky- and scaled down to be short as my pups are, but the width is correct.
I managed to use leftovers to build another, way more economical.. But it's a learning curve, no one near me was making stuff, I've learned as I've gone.
I never took pics of my finished wood ones, but they are in youtube vids. WAYYYY cheaper. But they take more skill.. But only need 4 feet of pvc which costs far more than it's worth here.
I love my blue jump.. YouTube - Offside Weaves with a little distance
And my sold off teeter..
:yikes:
I think my jumps average around $3 each, give or take a little. I think the tire jump I have yet to build cost around $10 with the drainage pipe and everything, probably even less than that.
PVC is dirt cheap here. A 10 foot lenth (which fits PERFECTLY in my car) is around $2-$3 depending on size.
I think my jumps average around $3 each, give or take a little. I think the tire jump I have yet to build cost around $10 with the drainage pipe and everything, probably even less than that.
PVC is dirt cheap here. A 10 foot lenth (which fits PERFECTLY in my car) is around $2-$3 depending on size.
Oh, I know she COULD do it--heck, I caught her jumping up onto our patio table the other day, and that's at least 40" from the ground, lol. I just don't see a point to it. The challenge (for us at least), is the course, not the individual obstacles. Heck, NADAC uses hoops that have zero physical skill to them, but you can still set them up in a challenging course that tests your handling skills, which is the interesting part to me.
. I think Gavroche and Logan's AKC jump height is 24" and USDAA is 26", and 20" for NADAC. Those really aren't a problem. Logan is not up to full height yet - he can jump 6" onto a ledge, but jumping over something 26" is a little different. The jumping really isn't the hard part - it's the landing that worries me. I know my dogs CAN jump 5-6 feet no problem. Do I want them jumping it all the time? Not really. But more importantly, though, is that when they jump 5-6 feet they don't jump OVER, then just jump UP. I hold their harnesses and assist them down.
I do think it's easier for a small dog to jump higher than their height than it is for a larger dog, and it's more dramatic the larger the dog. I really wouldn't want to see a great dane jumping higher than their wither height. It looks awkward enough as it is with a 24" jump height.
Now, if I remember right, there are classes with lowered jump heights. If you don't realy plan to be super competitive and just want to have fun, there's nothing wrong with those.
I do think it's easier for a small dog to jump higher than their height than it is for a larger dog, and it's more dramatic the larger the dog. I really wouldn't want to see a great dane jumping higher than their wither height. It looks awkward enough as it is with a 24" jump height.
Now, if I remember right, there are classes with lowered jump heights. If you don't realy plan to be super competitive and just want to have fun, there's nothing wrong with those.
I don't know why you'd bother with jump heights, to be honest. That's not the point of it to me. The challenge is the handling sequences, it's getting your dog to follow your body movements. Whether your dog has to jump 3 feet or 3 inches is irrelevant, in my opinion.
I think the course times are important because there isn't a handling challenge if your dog walks the course. It's easy to accomplish everything if the dog goes at a snail's pace. It also ensures that the day moves along at a decent pace. If every dog took 2 minutes to run a course, you'd be there 12 hours.
Dunno--maybe your reasons for running the course are different than mine. That's okay. I'm very happy running my 16" course though. 22" is doable, but it wouldn't make it more enjoyable for me and I don't have any desire to put the extra stress on Lucy's joints.
I think the course times are important because there isn't a handling challenge if your dog walks the course. It's easy to accomplish everything if the dog goes at a snail's pace. It also ensures that the day moves along at a decent pace. If every dog took 2 minutes to run a course, you'd be there 12 hours.
Dunno--maybe your reasons for running the course are different than mine. That's okay. I'm very happy running my 16" course though. 22" is doable, but it wouldn't make it more enjoyable for me and I don't have any desire to put the extra stress on Lucy's joints.
the AAC gives the same title to dogs regardless if they compete in regular or specials (our lower jump height) or vets.
My reasons are to challenge me and my dogs. If there was no challenge it wouldn't be fun. If it is too easy it becomes meaningless. If the special height is the correct one for your dog it will not be too easy.
This is why I enjoy AAC more than CPE.. both are fun, but CPE is just not as challenging so not as interesting to me.
My reasons are to challenge me and my dogs. If there was no challenge it wouldn't be fun. If it is too easy it becomes meaningless. If the special height is the correct one for your dog it will not be too easy.
This is why I enjoy AAC more than CPE.. both are fun, but CPE is just not as challenging so not as interesting to me.
I'm super competitive, get accused way too often of "not being in it for the fun" (usually by people who train twice a year, go to a trial, and laugh hysterically when their dog stresses and runs around the perimeter or out of the ring), and still jump my dog in Performance. Same course, just a lower jump height, lower A-frame, and usually 2 extra seconds (which we never use) on the SCT. The only thing you can't do at a Performance level is World's - which isn't on our radar anyway. Meg went to USDAA Nationals in Performance and the competition is generally just as tough as in the Championship level.
I don't think running performance/preferred/whatever your venue calls it takes anything away from the job you are doing. Meg has actually jumped up and over the side of my full-sized pickup and into the bed - of course she can jump a 22" course. But she's 17.75" tall, she has a nasty scarred up elbow that we don't know the story behind, and she is my one and only dog. I'll jump her 16" (and, more important to me, use the lower a-frame) and hopefully keep her sound and running longer.
I don't think running performance/preferred/whatever your venue calls it takes anything away from the job you are doing. Meg has actually jumped up and over the side of my full-sized pickup and into the bed - of course she can jump a 22" course. But she's 17.75" tall, she has a nasty scarred up elbow that we don't know the story behind, and she is my one and only dog. I'll jump her 16" (and, more important to me, use the lower a-frame) and hopefully keep her sound and running longer.
Smudge should jump 16" in AAC. Due to back issues, I jump him 10" specials. He can jump 16", but it's not long term safe for him, and he will choose to stop jumping 16" when he's had enough (which I'm grateful for), and I don't really ask him to try 16 ever - as it is we go to the chiro. It's still a challenge for him. Cider on the other hand wouldn't find 10" a challenge.
We play some AAC, it's not as challenging for us, not just jump height but course layout *shrug*. It's fun to sometimes play things I don't really care about.. but since runs in everything cost nearly the same these days.. I'd rather pay out for the challenge..
We play some AAC, it's not as challenging for us, not just jump height but course layout *shrug*. It's fun to sometimes play things I don't really care about.. but since runs in everything cost nearly the same these days.. I'd rather pay out for the challenge..
If we ever compete Harleigh will jump 24" in AKC, CPE and UKC. She'd jump 20" at NADAC and 26" at USDAA.
24" is as high as I like to go for Harleigh and thats still high for me. She has no problem clearing it, but thats a lot of force for a bigger dog. She usually jumps 16"-20" in class though.
Does anyone have any good website for "plans" for building the different obstacles? I really need to get some sturdier stuff for her. What is the best for weave poles for bigger dogs (just PVC I'd assume, but wanted to be sure).
24" is as high as I like to go for Harleigh and thats still high for me. She has no problem clearing it, but thats a lot of force for a bigger dog. She usually jumps 16"-20" in class though.
Does anyone have any good website for "plans" for building the different obstacles? I really need to get some sturdier stuff for her. What is the best for weave poles for bigger dogs (just PVC I'd assume, but wanted to be sure).
I like PVC poles obviously. PVC bases I don't. Dog has to learn to jump over something that shouldn't be there, even glued together they are flimsy. Decent poles are one of the few things I've outright bought.
You'd need to pick a venue you care most about though. There are discrepancies in weave spacing between the venues.
You'd need to pick a venue you care most about though. There are discrepancies in weave spacing between the venues.
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Libby is 23 inches at the withers and weighs 84 lbs; she should weigh ~76 lbs (we're working on it!). Her legs are slightly short for her body size/length, with big bones and BIG paws - built for traction, not jumping! And she's ~5 years old. As much as we're enjoying agility and as much as I'd love to compete, I'm not going to risk her joints by making her jump 24" or higher. She's jumping 16" now, and that is enough for her to learn and for me to work on my handling skills and for both of us have fun. My vet says that I can safely raise her jump height some once I get her weight down (she's already lost 8+ lbs from her highest weight). 20" is my goal; it's high enough for us to compete in some category in just about everything but USDAA. However, if 20" turns out to be a strain for her, I won't push her. As much fun as competing would be, it just wouldn't be worth it.
If my dog weighed an extra 10 pounds, I'm not sure I'd even be jumping them at 16.. That's like and extra 50-70 pounds on a person. Hard on backs and joints.. When my kids were learning they jumped stupid low, like 6". If your dog feels squishier than the back of your hand, they probably shouldn't be jumping more than elbow height.
Vets can be a poor judge of weight, and most dogs don't have a magic number to strive to. It's more how they feel under the fur. A lot of agility competitors keep their dogs on the thinner side to try to protect joints. A lot of pet people have told me my dogs are too thin, and a lot of vets see mainly dogs that are too chunky and then only make suggestions that dogs need to lose weight when they are on the large side. It makes many vets these days a poor judge of decent weight, let alone a good weight for extra strain from performance events.
Vets can be a poor judge of weight, and most dogs don't have a magic number to strive to. It's more how they feel under the fur. A lot of agility competitors keep their dogs on the thinner side to try to protect joints. A lot of pet people have told me my dogs are too thin, and a lot of vets see mainly dogs that are too chunky and then only make suggestions that dogs need to lose weight when they are on the large side. It makes many vets these days a poor judge of decent weight, let alone a good weight for extra strain from performance events.