Bear with me here because these are not my own ideas.. these are ideas taken from past issues of the Rat Fan Club's newsletter, which I'm compiling here so I don't have scraps of paper everywhere!

The five common obstacles, according to the North of England Rat Society, are the bridge, the see-saw, the hoop jump, the weave poles, and the long tube. Ideas can be seen here: www.neratsociety.co.uk/1stshow3.htm, www.furryfeet.co.uk/ratalbum.htm, pipsa.flaming-trout.com/fences.html (not in english), and www.midlandsratclub.org/shows.shtml(search agility).

The easiest obstacle is the hoop jump. It can be done as simply as using an empty cardboard center from a roll of packing tape and a squat, sturdy bowl. Tip the bowl upside down and tape the cardboard roll to the bowl's base. There's your hoop jump! To teach your rat to go through this, you need to lead the rat through the hoop with food. Make sure the rat is all the way through the hoop before you reward with a treat.

The next one to try is the A-frame. Make it from thin wood or heavy cardboard. Ramps average from 6 - 12 inches long. They should be 5-7 inches wide. The entire ramp will be like a triangle, with a base for support. If using wood, be sure to sand it well. Glue or tape together and cover the ramp with a non-slip surface. Teaching the rat is down also would food lead and reward.

There is also ideas for hurdles using legos! The rat must jump a series of hurdles in order to get their treat!

The last one I wanted to add here is a test for the rat's sense of smell more than a part of agility. In a large cardboard box, put a small bowl with a scent in each corner. Place the rat in the center to find their preference. Either rotate the scents each trial or put the rat in facing a different direction. You can do food smells or not, but be sure nothing is toxic. Record the order the smells are visited for 60 seconds. This was even done as a science fair project, with the student hypothesizing that rats would prefer sweet smells! Kind of neat!