Make a Plastic V-Weave

I've seen these advertised on the internet and I wanted to have a go at making one myself.  The 6 pole weave pictured here cost me £19 to make and I have enough pipe left to extend the weave if I want to. 

The only thing I'd say before buying the materials is that if you have a big bouncy dog like Jamie a little pipe weave like this might be about no more use than a pig with side pockets.  When the weave was unsecured even dainty little Sasha could move the thing around easily. The answer was to whack some tent pegs into the ground to secure it. 

What you will need

• 4 x 3m lengths of overflow pipe 21.5mm in diameter.  If you want to stop at a six pole weave you could just buy 3 x 3m lengths of pipe.  You might still have a bit left over but you can use it make a pea shooter or something.

• 10 x T connectors

• A bit of plastic orange tape

• A tape measure

• A hacksaw

• At least 4 tent pegs

• A dog

I took the hacksaw to the DIY shop so that I could saw a bit off the end of each pipe for a weave pole.  That way I could get it all in the car easily.

How to make the v-weave

Cut six weave poles from the lengths of pipe.   The poles should have a minimum height of 762mm (2ft 6ins. )

Now cut the pieces to form the base between the poles. There should be a minimum distance of 457mm (1ft 6ins) and a maximum of 609mm (2ft) between the poles.   Most competition weaves seem to have the minimum distance between the poles so it may be best to aim for that.  The  T pieces fit on either end of the sections of base pipe.  You will need five sections like this for the base. 

To make the stabilisers at each end of the base I cut two short lengths of pipe and connected these up with T connectors as shown below.  I could have used a simple right angled bend at the end of the v-weave but using the T connector means I can add more sections if I want to. 

Oh alright then I didn't think of using the right angled thingy until I got home and then the DIY shop had closed because it was Sunday and they can only stay open until 4pm. 
 

Above: Two small sections of pipe join the three T connectors at the end of the base

Two further pieces of pipe each about a foot long are pushed into the two end T connectors to make a stabiliser for the end of the base. 

Here's the end of the base with the stabilisers connected together.  You'll need to do the same for the other end before you fit the weave poles in.  When I came to push the pipe and connectors together I found that they weren't a tight enough fit to be stable and everything was flopping all over the place.   There's a couple of ways of overcoming this.  You can either drill some small holes through the pipe and T piece and insert some self tapping screws to hold it firmly or you can use the bodge it method shown below.

I cut a small piece of orange tape and wrapped it round the pipe.  I was then able to push the connector onto the pipe to make a much more stable connection.      

Finally I pushed the weave poles into the T pieces and the v-weave was finished.  Now all I needed was a dog. 

Jamie had spotted the hacksaw and all the bits and pieces and had gone into hiding.  Sasha had looked interested until she realised that Jamie had gone so she went into hiding as well.  The I brought out the food.  Here's what happened.
 

In this clip you can see Sasha's first attempt at weaving.  You can also see the problems we had when the weave was unsecured.  Jamie insisted on taking turns and he could walk through it quite easily.  Sasha had no idea what she was doing and she knocked the weave all over the place. 

In the clip below you can see how easy it all becomes when the weave is secured with four tent pegs.

One week later and Sasha is getting the hang of the V-weave.

Here's a training tip.  I'm teaching Sasha to go into the weave ahead of me in the same way as I did with Jamie.  That way you can be confident of a good weave when your dog has left you far behind.  I've seen so many people fail at the weave because the dog can only enter it if the handler is alongside.  Consequently, when the dog is running ahead, the handler shouts "Come here," instead of "Weave."