Downsizing: Agility Equipment

SUMMARY: A-frame and Chute are free to good homes, maybe triple jump, maybe more, hard decisions 
(scroll down to "What am I not planning on taking with me when I move?")

Ooops, thought I posted this on Friday (the 16th). Guess I'm posting it now, and just backdating it.)

When I bought my current home, nearly 2 decades ago, my Agility Gung-ho-ness expressed itself dramatically by taking my money. And I don't mean classes or competitions or travel (although those were also true). I mean: Equipment! Full set! Here in my yard! To train fabulous world-class agility champions!

... we didn't get to world-class because I'm honestly too lazy to be that dedicated to training and improving our skills.  But it did help in achieving speed, accuracy, and championships of various sorts and quantities for Remington, Jake, Tika, and Boost.

What I had before moving here

• A teeter, gift of my then-husband less than a year before we split up.  It's not that he wasn't usually a kind and thoughtful guy, because he was. But--life happens. (1998, $400)

• A tunnel, a short 10-foot yellow one for which my agility instructor arranged group pricing, for her students and other agility folks. (1996, $100)

• Cheap weave poles, as in, I bought white stick-in-the-ground fence posts and tried using them (the little tabs all the way up them, however, were not an ideal surface).

• Cheap weave poles #2, as in, I bought a long metal strip from Home Depot and drilled holes in it and used very long bolts over which I dropped PVC piping of the correct size for agility. BUT turns out that that solid-seeming metal strip became astonishingly flexible when dogs raced through the poles.

• Cheap PVC jumps that I made using PVC for the bases and uprights, drilled holes through them, put a longish bolt through the holes, forming places on which to balance the crossbars.  This didn't work well for several reasons (e.g., in one direction, if the dog crashed the bar, the whole jump came down).

• Tire jump, made with an actual motorcycle tire and heavy-duty huge PVC frame and base.

What I splurged on in 2001/2002

• Table: Wood top with PVC base--to change heights, had to change out the PVC legs, which wasn't speedy, but it was lightweight. (2001, $100)
• Weaves: purple powder-coat w/adjustable offsets (screw in pole supports), 20" spacing, 2 folding 6-foot sections for easy transport (2001, $197)
• A-Frame:  From Duncan at Action K-9, one of the earlier makers of high-quality sturdy competition equipment. (2002, $865)
• Broad jump: 5-pc metal and wood, (2 short, 2 medium, one tall), flat tops --all of which made this obsolete for at least USDAA and CPE several years later, if it wasn't already that way because I think it was designed for AKC purposes. (2002, $174)
• Dogwalk: See Aframe. (2002, $752)
• Jumps!: Finally. Four official metal-frame with screw-on metal jump cups (2002, $170 total)
• Teeter base, adjustable height, heavy-duty metal base: Also Action K-9 (2002, $2.75)
• Tunnel: 20' heavy-duty double-walled teal & gray with 4" pitch--totally competition level. (2002, $360)
• Chute (aka closed tunnel): Competition quality plastic barrel with metal stand, 8' blue/purple/white sexy chute fabric! (2002, $251)
• Triple jump, whooo, big time! Purple powder-coated metal, 2 pieces (2002, $127.50)
• PVC for jump bars -- as needed, bought fancy tape and shelf paper to decorate them all with, ditto for the weaves. (Ongoing--minor costs)

Over time, added more jumps, more tunnels; retired jumps and tunnels as they rusted or wore out in the sun, replaced the table top once. The screw threads in my weaves rusted away, so that was useless, so replaced once with someone's no-longer-using 20" spaced official weaves, also eventually had issues, so replaced with someone's no-longer-using 22" spaced official weaves (of course at that time, USDAA had moved to 24" spaced weaves, so really they were no longer official). Resurfaced the teeter. A friend borrowed and resurfaced some of the Aframe.

What am I not planning on taking with me when I move?

• Aframe: Just too heavy for me these days. I haven't used it in several years, plus there is an important bit of damage that I can't fix myself. AND it's the old style textured surface, where now everyone uses rubberized. And it needs one critical bit of work.

• Chute: No one will want this, probably: All agility organizations canned them a couple of years back. Such a crowd pleaser (and I loved watching it), but they added too much time on the course (adjusting the fabric before each dog), and posed a risk to dogs who got tangled which BTW I also thought was unfair because that often added time to the dog's run and, really, there's only so much you can control with a fast dog through a floppy piece of fabric.  I ended up never using it except with each new/young dog or as a refresher once a year or so. So it's in excellent condition.

• Triple Jump: Sigh. Lovely purple thang. I think no organizations do this any more, either.

• Dogwalk: Erk. At the moment, I *am* planning on taking it, but it needs some rehab and repainting and it's the sort of equipment that (because of its weight) I'd likely just set up in one place and leave it there, which reduces a bit its usefulness for anything beyond the contacts themselves (complex sequencing with the walk in the same place always is a little predictable for the dogs...)  Still pondering. (And ditto on the rubberizing like the A-frame.)  

And... really... how much agility training will I ever want or be able to do in the future?  It is just a FUN thing, though!

What I AM planning on taking

• Jumps that are in reasonably good condition. This is maybe only half a dozen...

• Tunnels that are in reasonably good condition.  This might be only one or two... [frowny face]

• Table (... oh, and the tabletop needs cleaning and repainting)

• Teeter with both bases

• Tire jump--TBD?   Dunno--that motorcycle tire is heavy and needs to be retaped and is definitely not competition legal, and the big-old-PVC frame is broken in 2 places (works Oooookayyyyy just in the yard for basic use) that would require sawing and buying more pieces and measuring fit and gluing...  ugh. But the PVC is lighter than metal frames...   
  
  ... oh, also much cheaper, so I could build myself another one for not much other than time and effort. But how much would a real one cost me? Checking online--from inexpensive PVC-framed (but looks better made than mine) or used ones (quality TBD) to top-quality competition: $150 to $625 [really, J&J?!?!? REALLY?! -- I mean, Clean Run has one for $350-$525...]

• OK, tire jump NOT TBD, just talked myself out of taking it.

• Weaves. Even if they are only 22" span.

• Broad jump. I guess. It's not standard by far any more... but it's what I have and would probably work for basic training.

• PVC jump bumps for training (look up Susan Salo jump bumps).

• Tunnel bags - I have only 2 good pairs right now, and they fold flat once the sand/gravel is removed. ;-)

• Misc small other random stuff

Gallery of equipment fame and shame

Dogwalk when only a few years old. Glory days.

Dogwalk is about 30' long. 

Dogwalk needs... um... TLC?

A-frame in its younger age.

A-frame in my back yard. (Go straight across to the right from the green arrow.)
Takes up a lot of visual space and all in one large chunk. 

Aframe now. Mostly usable condition.

But this is a problem (bent pipe).

My teeter gets a lot of unauthorized use.

Why teeter needed resurfacing 10 years back. Replaced with fiberglass.
Currently, the metal parts are rusting and some of those surfaces are peeling away.
But I think it'll be OK.

Old tire parts I dragged out from behind the compost bins. Needs work.
But OK for occasional gentle use at the moment.

When expensive metal jump bases rust away... out they go.

Same model chute as mine. Beautiful colors! Mine has no duct tape.

When tunnels (purple) and tunnel bags (teal) are new and beautiful.

When Good Tunnels Go Bad...
and should really have been disposed of much earlier.

This is what USDAA broad jumps should look like.
Mine are flat across the top and form an upside down arc
instead of an ascending format.

My current weaves (except I've removed all the colored tape).
Weaves also take up a lot of space: 12 poles with 22" between.
(And modern poles have 24" between. So, yep, 22 feet long.)

Previous weaves. The pegs had screw bases so they could be put in line as usual
or you could move them out onto the tab to one side or the other for training.
Those little screw bases' threads rusted away, sometimes the entire screw base.

Tika demonstrates an unauthorized use of weave poles. 
Rules prohibit dogs from lying on their sides and
pulling themselves along the weaves by hooking paws over the poles. 
Such a rebel.

Old tunnel, new tunnel

SUMMARY: No more death-trap ancient yellow tunnel in the back 40.

Backfill: (repost from FB today)

Dogs didn't care about the condition of the old yellow tunnel--they still ran through it full speed I don't know how. (I never sent them into it, BTW--this was their own playtime.)

Ancient yellow tunnel gave its all--and then some.

Decaying at the left end.

Decaying at the right end.

See the 3 broken wires sticking up? Death trap.

How did they run full speed through that?

Guess what arrived yesterday!! Happy happy happy new purple 20-foot tunnel.

Glad to realize that I have actually taught them some useful things. Stand in front of the tunnel and say "reaaaaaadyyyy..." and the ears come up and the eyes are on me! Dogs are ready for whatever, such as tunnelrun!

It was fun in the house for an evening, but today it is out in the yard where it shall remain.

Shoot the Chute

SUMMARY: Buh-bye to another piece of equipment.

Today, an amazing thing happened: USDAA and AKC on the same day did away with the chute ("collapsed tunnel")! It's a rare case of the Powers That Be listening to competitor's concerns and petitions and acting quickly--and I don't know that the 2 organizations have ever done anything in concert before!


The other astonishing thing is that I don't think I've seen any topic, in all my years on Facebook with all of the agility friends there, where it seems like everyone was posting about that one topic all day long. The crowds rejoiced!

I always thought it was fun to see dogs learn how to get through the fabric part of the chute--they couldn't see where they were going, the material was pressing on their face and head and back, lots of challenges. The down side is that, as dogs have gotten faster and faster, more and more dogs are getting tangled in the material no matter how carefully the chute is "fluffed" before each dog's run. Tres bad juju.

So, its time has come and gone and now everyone's discussing what to do with their barrel and their fabric.  I don't know what I'm going to do with mine.  The former I might just drag out into the yard for the dogs to play on. Nice fabric that I've stored carefully for 15 years or so (and used only a few times when Boost was young, maybe when Tika was younger)? Dunno, dunno, dunno.

In memory of Mr. Chute, here are some highlights of his glory days. (In order: Tika, Boost, Fawkes, Jake, Remington, Tika.)

We're Still Here

SUMMARY: Boost training, Tika eating, Human Mom...wellll...

Hard to believe that I haven't posted anything since Sept 15. I keep thinking of things to write here to keep track of, but then somehow I never implement.

I've started working more diligently on Boost not wanting to drive ahead to obstacles in front of her. Working in the yard, mostly just running in circles to keep her going. Have rented the big field at Power Paws 3 times to spend an hour practicing. Got one private lesson--two days ago--so I've had only 2 days to practice a few minutes each day on that material. (Also got some tips on improving her weave reliability, you know, the reliability where some weekends she is HOT and other weekends we can't do them correctly EVah?)

I dropped my weekly class for a while so that I can concentrate on Boost's Special Needs. Feels odd--it has been a long time since I've not had a regular agility class or two, but I think that this is what we need right now.

She seems to enjoy it!

Tika started coughing more and more and I took her in to the vet Wednesday. He's pretty sure it's "bronchitis" caused by one or more of: weakening trachea (happens in some older dogs), heart enlarging more and pressing on the trachea, or allergies or dust. Lot of construction going on behind us right now to turn the 300ish-acre parcel into a park (yay!) and the neighbors are complaining about the dust, so could be that.

He recommended upping the hydrocodone that I'd been timidly giving her, and sure enough, pretty much no more coughing.

Although I'm not sure that she isn't a little less energetic. Hard to tell, because she's been less and less active and energetic. Maybe a couple of close-to-full-speed chases after a toy or frisbee, and then is content to just wander around investigating things. Lies down quickly in many cases. Doesn't bother getting up to see what's going on unless she's really convinced that it's worth her while (used to always have a Tika tailing me everywhere, every time I even stood up).

Her appetite seems good as long as I keep rotating through 4 different kibbles (NOT the one she's been eating for 10 years and NOT the one that I bought for her back in August--got tired of both). Although she's SO SLOW now. Old timing on mealtime: Both dogs sit. I set Tika's food down and release her, she attacks it. I set Boost's food down and release her, she starts eating calmly, and...Tika is done already! NEW timing on mealtime: Both dogs sit. I set Tika's food down and release her, she starts picking up small mouthfuls and chewing thoroughly. I set Boost's food down and release her, she starts eating calmly. Eventually, Boost finishes and then stands and watches Tika. Meanwhile, I take 6 t-shirts out of the dryer and fold them neatly. Then, finally, Tika is done. It's eerie, how different it all is.

I seem to be making some kind of subtle commitment to continue doing agility, as I have just bought a replacement tunnel for the most disintegrating one, and I've just bought 2 new (well...used) jumps. No activity on adding dogs to the family, though. I'm starting to be inclined to wait until Tika is gone (yikes, painful to think of).

My foot no longer bothers me--mostly because my back has been giving my muscles and nerves such a nasty ride that I've not been very active. But in the last couple of weeks I've started walking to the frisbee park again, and working on a little agility training again, and trying a couple of new things through the physical therapy department. There might be hope. (I think I'll still be struggling this weekend, but mentally I'm feeling pretty good.)

So, this weekend--off to Turlock for two days of USDAA agility. Boost competes, Tika gets to hang out.

I usually, as we all know, get up at 4 am to drive out on Saturday morning of out-of-town trials, but after getting up to the alarm this morning to go up to the practice field, I decided that I can't bear to do that again (even earlier) tomorrow, so I've done the unusual thing and reserved a hotel room for tonight. MUTT MVR is pretty much packed--oh, clothing! Ok, will get to that in a moment--and dogs got some exercise and maybe, just maybe, I'll be in bed in Turlock at a reasonable hour tonight! Worth the expense this time around, anyway.

See you all on the other side of Weekend.

Mat Matters

SUMMARY: Goodbye to some old plastic friends, hello to the newest member.

Way way back in the ages dark, the first couple of years I did agility, my dogs just lay on the grass in an x-pen or in their crates on the grass. After a rainy trial or two, though, and a really dusty crating area after that, I finally saw the value in having one of those plastic rug-mats that everyone seems to have.

I bought the first one that looked vaguely purple.

In fact, it's red and blue, which is obvious up close, and the pattern is kind of hokey, it was only 6x8, but that was a good size for a couple of crates with no canopy, it looked vaguely purple and, well, it was available, which is always a key factor in my shopping decisions.

I sometimes saw people throwing away their decrepit mats, and I vowed that I'd always take good care of mine, fold it carefully, pack it carefully, and it would last forever. Well, that hokey ugly first mat has held up reasonably well for being, now, about 14 years old, but it is in fact disintegrating--little pieces falling off every time I open it; binding coming off and the edge raveling; parts are badly faded so doesn't even pretend to look purple any more; and, let's face it, the pattern is still stupid.

It folded up into a long bundle that was just thin enough to shove between the dog's crate and the side of the van if I worked at it, so it mostly stayed in the car for several years.

But the main reason it didn't die completely a long time ago is because about about a year after buying that mat, I found this one, which is so TOTALLY my colors and my kind of pattern:

Still only 6x8, but this one folded up into this handy-dandy size that sat in the window well next to the dog's crate, so no struggling to get it in place.

I kept using the original one, trying to save the newer one for later, but when I finally got a 10x10 canopy, I started using BOTH mats, overlapping, to try to fill more of the 10x10 area. Eventually I gave up on that idea--too much work, too many edges to trip over, so I've used just the teal/purple one most of the last many years, and it really is disintegrating now, broken along most of its seams and folds and held together by faith.

I knew its time was coming, so a couple of years back, I bought this one. I MEANT to get a full-sized one to match the canopy size, but, once again, this was what was easily available, and although a large purple/white checkerboard wasn't my first choice for a pattern,  at least it wasn't butt-ugly and it was genuinely purple, even though it was STILL barely more than 6x8. And, yeh, it was available. BUT about the 3rd or 4th time I used it, the whole edge started to unravel. That was disappointing.

It kept unraveling because I was too lazy to duct-tape it, so after a while I folded it up into its square and left it in the garage and continued using my deteriorating teal/purple one.

Finally, this weekend when packing my dearly beloved teal/purple mat, I ceased to think "the time is coming" and decided "the time is here", so I left it at home and reactivated the purple/white checkerboard, placing the frayed edge under the crates, and decided that eventually, soon, I'd just need to make the effort to really find a mat that fit all my needs.

On Saturday, while killing time between runs (see what happens when I'm not full-time at the score table?) I decided to browse quickly through the vendors, probably not buying anything because, after all, I have everything. And then this caught my eye.

It's really purple, matches my purple/black/teal crates, it has a subtle and not stupid pattern, it's very sturdy--even has grommets along the sides for staking down--and FINALLY it's a full 9x9! So, yep, it's now mine.

It's also HUGE compared to the others. No sticking it alongside the crates; it's going to take up obvious space in MUTT MVR. The price we pay for a well-furnished agility home away from home.

The two oldest ones are now headed for the landfill. I hate tossing things if there's a chance they can be reused or recycled in some way, but I haven't come up with anywhere for them to go, so out they go. So long, and thanks for all the memories.

Haven't decided yet about the purple and white one--might duct-tape that edge after all and use it for indoor trials where a smaller mat is more practical--although that also usually means dust and dirt, and all those large white squares--gah. Can decide later. But for now--my new Mat and I are looking forward to our next trial and his very first use with the Taj MuttHall clan.

Rainbows on the Ground

SUMMARY: August photo challenge: Rainbow of summer colors.

I've been watching Dawn King's photos in the assorted photo challenges she's done, have enjoyed the results, and this month I liked the theme and decided to give it a try in my own back yard. Dawn's photos are awesome and have more variety, but mine were done at the very last minute before the deadline. Here's the original challenge.

And forthwith, here's my backyard rainbow: