Dog Agility Jump

Hello Everyone! 

My little Cockapoo, Ruby, loves to do Agility and I want to be able to practice with her at home!  One of the first pieces of equipement that is useful for a course is the Bar Jump.  It is used in all different "games" and dogs love them.  You can of course purchase jumps but when I priced them I was shocked how much they wanted for a single jump let alone as set of them!  In this Instructable I'll show you how to build a regulation jump that you can use to have fun with your dog!

Also note that on every step (other than "The Plan" step) I have included a video walking through the step.  If you just want to view all the steps in one video, view DIY Dog Agility Jump

Safety Disclaimer
If you have never trained a dog for agility, please seek the training of a professional. Improper training can harm your dog and you could pattern bad habbits in your own movements.  Agility can be a safe and fun sport for both you and your dog but some guidence is needed to ensure the longevity of your team!

Step 1: The Plan

Our goal is to build a regulation Bar Jump.  According to the AKC¹ the jump needs to follow these rules:

• Bars: 1" Schedule 40 PVC 4 to 5 feet long, striped for visiblility
• Uprights: 1 to 4 inches wide at least 32" tall
• Cups: Stick out no further than 1 1/2" and should allow bar to easily displace (ie. come off the cups if the dog misjudges the jump)

Those requirements make it easy to build the entire jump out of 1" PVC.  PVC is not only cheap, but available at most home improvement stores.

Following those guidelines, our design will have:

• Bars: 1" Schedule 40 PVC 4 feet long
• Uprights: 36" long, 1" Schedule 40 PVC
• Feet: 18" long, 1" Schedule 40 PVC
• Cups: custom modified PVC Tee Joint

¹ AKC Regulations for Agility Trials, Chapter 3, Section 8

Comments

[Uptonb]

Good luck on the Pets Challenge.

[chuybregts]

Thanks! Good luck as well :)