Meeting Minutes

The meeting was called to order by Linda Kuribayashi at 2:05 at Home Depot at 421 Alakawa Street. Plans for building homemade equipment were distributed and reviewed briefly. These plans included making a practice teeter, practice a-frame, mini dog walk, collapsed tunnel, weave poles, weave pole wires, PVC jumps, tire jump (does not meet NADAC requirements of a displaceable tire), and a contact trainer. Photographs of homemade equipment were shared (including pictures of a 2 x 8 foot practice a-frame). Samples of homemade equipment were also shared: PVC jump with jump cups made by cutting a T-connector with a hacksaw, mini tunnel made by cutting the bottom off a collapsible garden barrel, collapsed chute made of ripstop, and mini dog walk ramp with textured surface using sand and paint.

Places in Hawaii to purchase construction material was shared:
         Home Depot - - PVC pipes and fittings (one of the least expensive places to buy individually or in cost-saving bulk packs), "pop-up gardening containers" (located where they keep the garbage cans and includes a big and a little barrel for about $13 which make dandy practice tunnels - - can be used for the rigid part of the collapsed tunnel or for a mini open tunnel), adjustable wood-to-pole clamp (located where they have chain link fence fittings - - has a flange which is problematic, unfortunately), coral sand (for putting texture on the contacts), "oops" paint ($5 a gallon but colors are hit-or-miss), wood (which they will cut for you for a nominal charge), hinges.
         Kilgo's - - adjustable wood-to-pole clamp (not easily detachable but will work very well for the practice teeter and doesn't have the flange - - located where they have chain link fence fittings in a top bin against the wall), metal rods (cheaper than Home Depot - - used to make an easily removable hinge pin for the contact obstacle parts), quick links (for attaching chains for a-frame - - again cheaper than Home Depot)
         Kaimuki Dry Goods - - ripstop in assorted colors. Ripstop is good for the collapsed tunnel chute as the material will literally stop a rip from spreading. Only place on Oahu I've been able to find ripstop, however, the quality is not as good as ripstop on the mainland. (Note: if there is interest in getting tunnels made with the thicker ripstop, I have a friend who makes quality tunnel chutes.)

The group then went on a shopping spree in Home Depot buying pop-up containers galore, lots and lots of PVC (making weave poles, jumps, table and practice teeter bases), etc.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:20 p.m. (in the checkout line!).

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Kuribayashi

The following are easy for the novice builder (and fairly inexpensive):

Stick-in-the-ground weave poles - - take a length of string and place a mark every 21 inches. Stretch the string on the ground (it helps to use golf tees at each end) and then pound a garden stake (18-24" work well) into the ground at each mark. Cover each stake with a 3/4" PVC pipe (3-4 feet in length) and use colored tape for contrast. Cost $10-20 (depends upon how many poles - - 6-12 poles)

Mini Contact Trainer w/center table - - consists of a 6 ft long x 1 ft wide "dog walk" ramp attached to a 2 x 2 ft table elevated on a PVC base 24 inches high followed by a 2 x 3 foot "a-frame" ramp. I used door hinges to attach the ramps (which allowed easier storage as it could come apart) and you can get the pieces for 2 trainers out of a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. Depending upon the weight of the dog, you can use lighter plywood or may need to reinforce the plywood with angle iron (or closet shelving metal rods). Use paint and sand to create a non-skid surface. The dimensions used create almost the exact pitch seen on the regulation equipment. Cost $50-75 (bigger dogs, use thicker plywood, angle irons, 2" PVC)

Broad jump (not a NADAC piece of equipment) - - use 2 scalloped bricks and then lay 2 foot long 3/4" PVC pipe (striped with colored tape) across the top of the bricks, adjust the number of lengths for the size of the dog. Cost less than $10

PVC jumps - - 3/4" schedule 40 PVC (1" is sturdier and tips less in wind but 3/4" is much cheaper as you can buy the T-connectors in bulk bags). I prefer to use a center ground bar as it provide more stability and there's less for handlers and dogs to trip over. Cut 10' PVC lengths into 4 pieces (30" lengths) - - if you use bolts to support the crosspiece, made the ground bar a couple of inches shorter and the cross bar piece a couple of inches longer). I prefer to clean the PVC with acetone to remove the black writing (or you can sand it off). Attach the jump sides to the middle opening of a T-connector then attach the ground bar to the ends of the two T-connectors. Take a 30" length and cut a 2" piece off then cut the remainder in half (two 14" lengths). Stick the 2" piece into the remaining opening on the T-connector and then attach the middle opening to the other end. Stick the 14" legs into the remaining T-connector holes. Drill a hole through the jump side and thread a long bolt with nut to keep it from falling off for the cross bar support. Place the cross bar (striped with colored tape for contrast) so it's angled across the bolts so it will displace if hit. Three 10' lengths make 2 jumps with one cross bar each using 4 T-connector per jump (8 T-connectors for 2 jumps). Cost ~$10

Tunnels - - children's toy stores often have 6 foot play tunnels for sale for about $20 (Toy-R-Us has a Geoffrey tunnel for sale). Home Depot and Costco occasionally have collapsible leaf barrels for sale which can be used for either a very short training tunnel (perfectly adequate for training entrances and lefts & rights) or for the rigid part of the collapsed chute. You can make the collapsed chute out of ripstop (available at Kaimuki Dry Goods) as that handles outdoor weather well and tends to resist dog claws better than other materials.

ALOHa Inc. Meeting Minutes