Sunny and seventy in January?! If you're fortunate enough to be blessed with that kind of weather, you'd better get out and do something with it!
I made a trip to Lowe's in the new Dodge, sent David off to the golf course, took over the garage and workshop, and set some power tools in motion! :o)
Check out Julia's new playground:
It is SO nice to have more to work her with than jumps and weaves. It's an amazing difference!
I built both obstacles using the design patterns by Helix Fairweather. For some reason, I can't find the correct link. I printed out the directions a LONG time ago, so possibly it's been changed or moved.
The tire jump is a real tire. I tried the sewer drain hose, but I couldn't get it into a nice circle OR find the "molly" bolts to guide the cable with. So, I used a motorcycle tire and regular eyebolts that I could attach nuts to from the inside of the tire. The diameter of the hole is only 18" - competition size is 24". But a wise friend told me that the difference would cause Julia to learn to curve her body more and actually AIM for the tire. She makes out fine, so when we're in a real run, she should ace it!
I used the wide body brackets for the dogwalk. I used all four (pattern calls for three) because they're sold in pairs and I have no use for one sawhorse bracket... Plus, what's a little extra support? Right, girls? ;o) It actually took me two weekends to finish it (the second not being NEARLY as warm as the first... :o( because I underestimated how long it would take for the paint to dry this time of year. For primer, I found a can of the VERY expensive marine enamel that David used on the boat - it'll last forever! The top coat is a $7 can that I found in Big Lots. I used a product called "No Skid" for the last coat, but I'm sure that plain sand would work equally as well.
I painted a plank for the teeter at the same time and have my base ready. I just need to find adjustable pole clamps - who knew they'd be so obsolete?!
The weaves are just tomato stakes with PVC pipe cut to slide over. While the saw was buzzin', we added two more sets of six - VERY cheap practice equipment!
I ordered the PVC connectors and colored vinyl tape from US Plastics - I highly recommend their company! VERY professional.
Julia's tickled to death to be working again and I'm even playing at it with the old man, Z! The first thing that he did was sail over the middle of the dogwalk - perpendicular to the ordinary path! LOL! That's my Z! :o)
I have some shots of the "work in progress" and of the dogs posed with the new equipment on my regular camera. I'll share them later!
Run clean, run fast!
