By: Brad Carlson
Is your dog bored with you? Do you come home every night and throw the same ole ball? Well, try something new for your good buddy, purchase some dog agility equipment for lots of backyard fun. Agility training and equipment will stimulate your dog's mind and add more of a physical challenge to your dog's body.
For backyard agility fun there is a whole aray of equipment options and selections. If you have a huge yard to play in you could select standard competition size equipment. If your yard is average to small you might select from the "mini" equipment choices. You could select from the mini-dogwalk, mini-teeter, mini-Aframe and mini-tire. Mini equipment is easier to move, costs less than standard size equipment, and normally, easier to train because the dogs safer.
Mini-equipment is sturdy enough for all size dogs, young pups enjoy playing on the obstacles, and because they are lower to the ground safer if they jump off. Railings are often added to the mini-dogwalk for puppies protection. Large dogs can also enjoy the solid mini-equipment.
A contact trainer is fun for backyard playing or training. The contact trainer is a combination of the pause table, one side of a mini-Aframe, and one side of a mini-dogwalk plank. Dogs have great fun running up the planks and sitting on the table.
Weaves made from PVC are economical and easy to setup for backyard training. More than any other obstacle weaves do require repetitive practice and are a must to have in order for dogs to successfully learn and complete the set of 6 or 12.
A number of jumps will add variety to any backyard course that you setup. Four to eight jumps enable you to practice jump chutes, grids, jump boxes, or jump circles.
Buy all your equipment at once or purchase a few new items each season and you will continually add fun and challenge to your backyard workout.
