….A New Tunnel!!
Our recent snow finally put our poor tunnel over the edge! It already had rips and tears in it, and the grommets and strings that we could use to anchor it down had long ago been ripped off. They’ve had so much fun with the tunnel this year, I just left it outside all the time. But that was not the best thing for it either.
This dog Mom is on the hunt for a new and better tunnel. I want something a little heavier duty; the grommets on this to attach it to the ground did not last long at all. I later used the strings on it to tie it to the fence, but that only lasted so long too. I am hoping to find one that is a little more rugged and will hold up longer; but I’m hoping not to spend a fortune either. If I can get a good one, I’d even be willing to be less lazy and at least put it away when it rains! Then again, I wonder if I should just get a cheap one and accept the fact that it may only last one season?
The tunnel was so much fun for them – it was a place to run through with the ball (the video I shared in our post Friday FunTime Video gives a great demonstration), to hide in when playing keep away with the ball, or just to run through for fun!
Our snow has now mostly melted, so the tunnel is still out there for use until the next snow, such as it is. It’s in rough shape, but still usable. Once we get a new one we’ll be able to use it in the house some for the winter; we have a pretty long hallway that we can set it up in on the days we’re stuck inside.
Do your dogs have a tunnel, and if so are you happy with it? Do you have a recommendation of one to get?
**I’m so sorry if you tried to visit us yesterday, and couldn’t get on. I had an issue with my server, and I couldn’t work on getting it fixed until I got home from work, then it took some time for them to fix it. Don’t miss our post from yesterday, there was some good news about Cricket in there!**
Don’t you hate server issues? Ugg. The bad part of blogging. Good luck with your hunt for a new tunnel. Maybe an agility club would have a recommendation for a durable one.
I bet Emma’s mom Joy has a recommendation, they’re always playing in tunnels. Our yard is just too small, we have a little one though. We are so jealous everyone is getting snow before us, until today! Love Dolly
We did find one to order. It’s pretty much the same as the one we have but hopefully anchoring it down differently will help it to last longer.
All the snow we originally got melted, but then we got two more small storms this week so the ground is at least covered again. How much snow did you get?
We got this one on (or one similar to it?) on Amazon about 4 years ago: https://www.amazon.com/Houseables-Equipment-Polyester-Training-Playground/dp/B01KN6ZY1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480628742&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=dog+agility+tunnel&psc=1 We haven’t used it as much as y’all have used yours, but it has held up to Barley’s wildness well. I’ve left it out for a few days at a time, but I don’t think it would do well with lots of snow/rain–it’s cheap enough, though, that it isn’t a huge loss if it does bite the dust. This is the site we’ve ordered some of our equipment from and they have some cheaper tunnels (but not as cheap as the Amazon one) and some really expensive ones: http://www.agilitygear.com/Dog-Tunnels-Braces-Bags-s/1871.htm Everything we’ve ordered has been really high quality!
Thank you, Beth! Actually I think that the amazon tunnel looks a lot like the one we have, only maybe a little heavier duty. What I really liked on the other site though was the weighted sacks. Two sets would get more expensive but I wonder if my hubby couldn’t come up with something similar using bungee cords and weighted bags. That might work better than the pegs they give you.
The thing is the tie downs haven’t been on there for ages, and other than the wind blowing it around, I really don’t think I need to anchor it so much. If I just put it away in the worst weather it would probably last longer.
I want to look at the other equipment on that site too. I’d like to try something different with Luke next summer!
Amazon had some similar sacks as well that I think might be a little cheaper! My mom and I have been meaning to make some sand bags for ours so we can play with the tunnel in the basement, but it just hasn’t happened yet, so I’m sure that you guys could come up with something similar!
I’ll check those out on amazon. If the price isn’t bad, that might be easier than talking the hubby into doing it! 🙂
Oh no…. poor tunnel! I got my tunnels at garage sales and at good will. Don’t have a recommendation, sorry.
I’ve never seen one at a place like that, but I’ll keep my eye out now!
I don’t have a tunnel, but I hope you find one to suit you!
I’ve had a kitty tunnel, but never a dog tunnel. Looks like they really enjoy it.
Looks so fun! Maybe I should get a tunnel for our two Tibetan Spaniels; one more place for Khydn to hide the socks, lol!
You might be surprised how much fun they have with it!
I have an indoor cat tunnel but not an outdoor dog one (since we don’t have a yard), if we did, I would give it to you!
Thank you for the thought, Caren! ♥
Samantha has a tunnel too, but I’m pretty sure she never goes in it! LOL
We have never had a tunnel but I think the boys would love one too.
We couldn’t get on yesterday, but we went back this morning. We like our cheap tunnel but Mom always sets it up and then takes it down a few hours later. If we don’t have it up all the time it is always more fun, and it is so easy to store.
When the wind blows it around, the crew always gets excited if it’s in a different place. So I think it makes sense to not have it out all the time, so it’s more exciting. Even if I just take it down in the bad weather, that would probably make a difference, and it would last much longer.
A good tunnel is mighty important!
You can go to a lot of different places in that cool looking tunnel
Lily & Edward
That tunnel looks like a lot of fun…we hope you can find a sturdier one. We have one but it’s for inside only…and cat size, of course. 😉
I have the same one – Jaxson is too big for it now, but Harley can still fit!
Looks like they love their tunnel! I’m sure they’ll be very curious about the new one when you get it. 🙂
We want a new tunnel, too! This little one we got with the agility kit is just barely 3 feet long. And doesn’t stay put very well – the “anchors” are pretty useless when the breeze is blowing. If you find a good one, let me know. And I’ll let you know if I find one.
Well, it’s time for this dog mom to get her lazy butt out of bed. Have a great day!!
We had that little one that came with an agility set too. I had that one set up when we first moved in and had the really small pen, but it didn’t last long out in the weather either!
I’ll keep you posted on what I decide, but Beth suggested one (above) that is pretty similar to the one we have. It’s a good long one – 18′ – and I actually think the length is a very important part! It could be that anchoring isn’t as important – especially considering I haven’t been able to anchor this one for a while (though that might have contributed to it’s destruction). Putting it up against the fence helps keep it in place unless it’s really windy.
We’ve never had a tunnel. I wonder how Torrey would react to one.
I think it took these guys a while to actually learn to like it. Sheba especially, I thought she would never go through it. Now she loves it just as much as Luke does!
My kiddos think these are some kind of torture. Sam thinks it’s beneath him to crawl around bandito-style (unless it’s in bed covers!). Wish they’d do some exploring once in a while with new things. *sigh*
I know the feeling. I’ve gotten toys before that I thought were really cool, and they’d all just turn their nose up at them!