How to Build Regulation Dog Training Jumps

Agility training courses for dogs include jumps of various heights and breadths. The actual specifications may differ from one breed standard and regulatory authority to another, but the types of obstacles are standard. Having your own jumps made to the specifications of your competitions aids in training. When your dog enters the ring he will be accustomed to the general appearance of the obstacles, and his muscles will be conditioned to jump the regulatory heights.

Things You'll Need

  • 20 feet of 1-inch diameter schedule 40 PVC pipes
  • Two four-way PVC pipe couplings
  • Two "elbow" joints
  • Ten 1-inch PVC pipe ends
  • Hacksaw, dremel or chop saw
  • Miter saw
  • Carpenter's file
  • Vise or clamps
  • Tape measure
  • Marking pen
  • Masking tape
  • Spray paint
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the PVC pipe and mark off the required lengths. Clamp the pipe into a vise and cut it to size with a hacksaw or chop saw. Each single upright jump requires one 4-foot length, two 3-foot lengths, and six 18-inch lengths.

    • 2

      Make the side stands. Insert two 18-inch pipes horizontally opposite one another into the straight ends of a four way coupling piece to make feet. Insert another 18-inch pipe horizontally into the outside port of the coupling at a right angle to the first two to make a three pronged foot. Insert a 3-foot piece of pipe vertically into the fourth port to make an upright. Repeat to make the other side stand. Place caps over all the ends of the pipes.

    • 3

      Fabricate the cups. Clamp an elbow joint in the vise and saw it in half along the pipe to make a half pipe on one of the sides. Re-clamp it and do the same to the other portion of the elbow joint. The elbow joint now has two half pipes instead of round pipes at a ninety degree angle to one another. Clamp this and cut one side with a miter saw at a 30 or 40 degree angle to leave 60 to 70 percent of the circle angled backwards toward the other half of the elbow.

    • 4

      Slide a cup onto each of the upright pipes and make them the same height on both sides with the mitered halves facing outwards. If they do not easily slide over the pipe, file them down until they fit. Clip each end of a 4-foot pipe into the mitered end of each cup to make the cross pole. Measure for height and slide the cups down or up the upright pipes until the cross bar is at the correct regulation height. Glue the cups onto the uprights with PVC pipe compound.

    • 5

      Measure and mark stripes on the cross bar. Place masking tape at each end of the stripes to make neat edges and spray paint it with different colors. Remove the tape when dry. Make multiple jumps and put them together to create single, double and triple jumps. Place multiple cups on a single jump for dogs jumping different heights.