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 Gromit, Sparkle, and Doug on March 24, 2010 at 10:17pm
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Frank, we'd love to have you and Toby drive down for a visit anytime.
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Comment by Frank Eibl on March 24, 2010 at 9:32pm
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Gromit-Land is AWESOME, Doug. I'll have to bring Toby out sometime to see if he has any 'want' to try it out. I will set up a date and time first. Toby says Yip, Yip, yowr. His talk for it looks like fun. Frank
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Comment by GoGoRainbow on March 24, 2010 at 6:08pm
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you've inspired me for a spring project!
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Comment by JENNY & COBY on March 24, 2010 at 4:50pm
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"Gromit-Land" wow!!! wonderful!!
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Thanks for the kind comments, Corgi friends.
For those pondering building their own agility equipment it's really not difficult at all. By re-using some old materials and not getting too fancy I probably spent $175 - $200 on everything. I could have done it for even less if I'd have only used paint that I had on hand but I did want the slightly more "official" look of the blue and yellow. It's all water clean up paint, nothing fancy. Tool-wise I used my electric saw, drill, square, some clamps, and electric sander. I think if one really scrounged around it could all be built for next to nothing. The dogs don't actually care what it looks like as long as it's stable and safe.
Those that live in my general area that would like to bring their Corgi for a visit and to try out Gromit-Land can contact me. We'd love to have visitors.
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Comment by Chris and Andrew on March 24, 2010 at 2:00pm
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Gromit looks so happy and confident!! I wish I could build things like yours for my corgi. Jeter said, " I envy you Gromit!!'
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Comment by LaVerne & Shirley on March 24, 2010 at 12:59pm
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WOW! We wanna come play! That is AWEsome!!!
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Comment by Stanley & Charlotte on March 24, 2010 at 12:41pm
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Stanley and I are totally jealous! Gromit-Land is beyond awesome!
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Comment by Joanna, Rainy and Calvin on March 24, 2010 at 12:24pm
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Pretty soon, all the kids will want to go to Gromit-Land. I know I do! This is really great! Holly looks great on that balance beam too. What poise, and what legs!!
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Comment by Edward and Gemima on March 24, 2010 at 11:00am
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I'm going to show this to my husband!! I'm sure he thanks you in advance!!LOL!! Have fun and show us more pictures when you get them.
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