Starting agility... questions?

1- getting started, lots can be done on a leash, usually short. The bigger issue is do you know enough to teach your dog how to do these things safely? Consider investing in a book or dvd (or 2 or 3 or 4!) to help you if you can't find a class -or even if you can ;) Most agility competitors use clicker training to some degree in their training, so spend some time learning that before summer comes- will probably help you more than doing agility without any guidance.

2- there are a lot of ways to train the weave poles, and I don't know what kind you have, but am guessing they are the kind that only does straight up in a line.

3- sorry, not likely to hold up for long, but maybe long enough.

Agility skills need to be taught by a trained person, so your best start will be by enrolling in agility and obedience classes, even if you don't intend to compete. The equipment you set up at home can be used to reinforce and practice those skills you learn at class.

Without being taught how to approach the obstacles correctly, you could be setting your dog up to be injured and without a proper recall and off lead reliability, your dog can escape and leave standing there wondering what happened.

I would think a long leash might be better as it will give her a bit more freedom to run it. As far as the poles go I would take her up to them and use a treat to get her to go through each one individually. Be patient though. As for if it will withstand the weather, I couldn't tell you, that might be a bit of a judgment call. Hope you have fun, I'm going to be getting my dog started on agility too as she has way too much energy and I thought it might be fun for her too.