Gromit-Land
Last week I rounded up a bit more lumber both new and old, more paint, a box of deck screws and set about building the remaining agility obstacles for Gromit. We've decided to name the final result "Gromit-Land". When children come to visit they will be able to buy souvenir Gromit-teer hats with giant Corgi ears on them.
The dog walk and teeter totter were completed and like the A-frame are about 1/2 size from real competition stuff. The PVC jump was the easy part but I still managed to make a mistake or two sticking the sticks together. I'm afraid I won't be able to take over New Yankee Workshop anytime soon. The new, colorful, tunnel was bought in the toy department at Target for $15 per Sam T's suggestion.
The dog walk was a little more work than I expected but I wanted to make sure it was very stable and I succeeded pretty well. If Gromit gets tired of it I may sell it for use as a church pew or motorcycle jump.
The teeter totter was surprisingly easy to build and balanced so well that I had to tweak it a bit to get it to tip to one side. Frankly, I was amazed as few things I build come out that well and some of the wood was decidedly not square. There is a second set of pivot holes on the uprights so the height can be raised if we wish. When we set it up Debbie walked Gromit over to it and he scampered across like he had done it a hundred times. Sadly, he's not as enamored of it since then but Deb is trying to spend 15 - 20 minutes a day running Gromit around the course. His attention span is about 5 minutes though so tasty treats are essential.
I did add the contact zone to all the stuff, it's hardly necessary since the stuff isn't to anyone's regulations but my own but I thought it added a nice touch.
Much to our amusement Holly the wiener dog just sees all the stuff as more things to climb on - don't tell her but sometimes I think she's part cat - and she just scampers up down and around like it was a fine day at...well...Gromit-Land.
Gromit doesn't have any actual difficulty with any of the obstacles but getting him to do them on command and in the order desired is a different story. Lots of training sessions ahead!
I didn't draw plans for anything I just worked mostly based on the size of the left over wood I had and standard lumber sizes and eye-ball engineered from there. Now that the stuff is finished I can think of several ways to have done it differently but, hey, it works, it's sturdy, and the dogs don't really care either way as long as they get their treat after running over, under, and across.
Comment
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Comment by Sam Tsang on March 24, 2010 at 10:34am
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5 Stars! As Liz Lemon would say " I want to go to there! "
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Comment by Avyon on March 24, 2010 at 10:28am
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That is so great! I'm sure it was cheaper then the already made kits online. This is exactly what I want to do when we move for Roxi.
I'm sure Gromit is loving it! :) How creative.
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Comment by Gina Mac/Fergie & Minnie on March 24, 2010 at 7:36am
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Wow,very cool, and what a far cry from the 19.99 agility set I just bought yesterday. It includes a tunnel, jump, weaving pole, exciting pause box circle, piece of poopoo stop watch, and a click-less clicker. It actually would serve our- "just having fun" purpose, but Fergie the 4 mos old pup will not stop eating the tunnel, and stealing the poles. Minnie just wanted the pupperoni I had planned to lure with, and Fergie was content chewing on the box. Your pictures seem to capture more of what I was hoping for!
Can't wait to see the corgi ear hats and other merchandise successes. I just know I will see them in my kid's happy meals someday!
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Comment by Bev Levy on March 24, 2010 at 7:22am
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Wow, I wish I lived nearby!
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Comment by Beth on March 24, 2010 at 7:03am
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It all looks great. Your dogs are very lucky.
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Comment by Tauna and Kota on March 24, 2010 at 1:39am
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you are pretty awesome. I want to get Kota to do the weaving poles.
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Comment by Gromit, Sparkle, and Doug on March 24, 2010 at 12:57am
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Yup, we're using pieces of hot dog and they are well received. Best of luck with your own equipment. I do think it's a great confidence builder for the dogs and gives the humans something more interesting to work with beyond the usual sit, stay, come, heel.
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Comment by Aj on March 24, 2010 at 12:57am
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How much is admission to Gromit-land? :) Looks fun!
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Comment by Chloe's parent Liz on March 24, 2010 at 12:47am
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are you enticging Gromit with hot dogs? Our Agility trainer has us use hot dogs, and alas we are getting the same equipment just like yours, great job!
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