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For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you probably know that I recently have started taking agility lessons. While being an agility loving Dachshund isn’t a new concept, some might think that due to my short legs and long back that agility might not be the sport for me. But lucky for me, my mom believes that being active and fit are more important to keeping me healthy in the long run than making me sit on the sidelines. Agility might not be for every dog out there, but for me it is one of those things that keeps me motivated to run my little tushie off and keep the middle of my “hot dog” from touching the ground.
So with my start into the World of agility, mom decided to help me build a set of my very own agility jumps for the back yard. Lucky for you I made sure we documented the entire process so that you too can build your own backyard set!
DIY: Build You Own Agility Jumps
The following step-by-step tutorial will show you how to build two jumps for your dog for about $40 in materials (we did most of our shopping at Lowes).
Materials:
- Two 10′ pieces of 3/4″ PVC pipe (this will make 4 jump poles)
- Three 10′ pieces of 1″ PVC pipe
- Eight PVC “T” connectors for 1″ pipe
- Twelve PVC end caps for 1″ pipe
- Tape measure
- PVC pipe cutter (a circular saw or hand saw can be substituted)
- Sharpie (or item to mark the pipes with)
*You will also need to either purchase or make your own jump cups for this project. We opted to buy our own jump cups
It’s also helpful if you have a supervisor for this project on hand – if you do not have one I’m happy to lend my services for a nominal fee, you know where to find me.
Next you will need to make some cuts in the 1″ PVC pipe. After measuring and marking your cuts with a sharpie, you can use a pipe cutter or a circular saw to make your cuts.
Cuts to Make on 1″ PVC pipe:
- Eight 12″ pieces
- Four 1 3/4″ pieces
- Two 50″ pieces
- Four 30″ pieces
*make sure you are only making your cuts for these out of the 1″ PVC pipe (you will cut the 3/4″ pipe to make the jump poles later)
Next you will start the assembly process – if you prefer to make your jump really secure you can use PVC pipe glue to attach the pieces, but we opted to forgo the glue and just tightly assemble each piece. This way the pieces can be disassembled later or put away for the winter.
Assembly:
1. Create the feet of your jump by slipping the 12″ PVC pieces into the top and bottom ends of your “T” connectors. Then add an end cap to each end of the pipe.
2. Next add the 1 3/4″ PVC pieces to the open end of the “T” connector.
3. Then add another “T” connector to the ends of your 1 3/4″ pipe, make sure they face in the directions pictured above.
4. Add the 50″ PVC pieces in-between your two “feet”.
5. Place your 30″ PVC pieces into the open “T” connector and then add an end cap to the top of each pipe.
At this point your jumps are nearly complete, but you will need to add jump cups to them. You can purchase a set of jump cups
So out of the 3/4″ PVC pipe you purchased cut 4 pieces at 49 3/8″ (or the measurement you took between the poles after attaching your jump cups).
After making your cuts for your jump poles, you might decide to paint the poles. According to the AKC Agility Rulebook, jump poles must be striped for visibility, so who was I to argue with adding a bit of color!
After taping off some stripes on my poles with painters tape and newspaper mom let me choose the color I wanted from the cans of spray paint we had in the basement.
After a few coats of flashy blue paint, my jump poles were looking mighty fine. (You can also stripe your poles with colored electrical tape).
And then after letting them dry overnight, they were finally finished, and they were glorious!
Oh and don’t worry, I only jump a 4″ height for practice – but I had mom and dad make me an extra jump rail for when Trooper comes over to practice with me.
Putting my new agility jumps to the test was the best part though!
Look at me, I can fly! 
I’ve created this handy PDF for you to download that has all the instructions you will need to make your own set of DIY Dog Agility Jumps. Happy Jumping!
*These jumps are intended to be used for backyard fun. If you plan to build jumps for competition use make sure you build your jumps to rulebook specifications.
Disclaimer: To the best of our knowledge this equipment is entirely safe, however, we are not liable for any damages or injuries you or your dog may sustain from following these instructions. Use your best judgement when building equipment for your dog – and be safe!
Love this new post! Cannot wait to get mamas to build us one! 🙂 Thanks Ammo! ~Weinerful Gang~
Yay for more agility dachshunds! Send me a photo when you’re all done!
This looks awesome. I’m very tempted to start this project. Maybe this summer! Thanks for the detailed info.
This is so great! Wow! Looks like fun!
Thank you so much for the jump plans! My dad is putting one together this week for me to use in Open class. I’m a big girl, so he has to make this work for me. I spent my first two years running with horses in Montana, so I like jumping.
Roxy
….a Royal Standard Poodle – daughter of Archie the Great, over 70 lbs of poodle fun
Oh fun! You’ll have to post photos of your new jumps on my Facebook wall: http://www.facebook.com/ammothedachshund so we can all oooh and ahh over them. And you’re a girl after my own heart getting to run with the horses! I love spending my life on the farm where I get to run with my ponies all the time!
Thanks for all this Ammo. I am a dachshund doing agility too, and my Mum is kitting me out with all the gear, so finds your hints and tips very useful. I also do doggy dancing, and am ace on the skateboard! Fun, isn’t it?
Yippee! Agility is a blast – one of my favorite things to do.
This is fantastic! I had surgery on both my knees a few months ago and I have do some new rehab exercises to get me back to full strength. My mom is using your design to build me a modified jump with one low bar to start. Hopefully I will be catching Frisbees again in no time! Thank you!
-Abby the Jack Russell
Yay! Good luck in your recovery!
used these plans and I am all set to paint the poles. Did you find that the paint chips easy on the poles?
The spray paint does chip some with use. You may want to use colored duct tape to stripe your poles.
How much did it cost you
It cost about $40 in materials to make 2 jumps.
Love your jumps, what did you use to hold the 3/4 inch bar? did you cut down a fitting?
jack
You’ll see in the plans that they are jump cups purchased from here: http://www.dogagilityshop.com/jump-cups.html
I’m definitely going to try to talk my dad into letting/helping me do this for my Ausie (he LOVES jumping)
Omg! I am 8 and i compete in pony hunter jumpers, i compete all over even made nationals last year and i love to play pretend pony with my friends when I am not competing, my Dad just made these for me in about two hours, painting my rails next weekend, he even made me a tack box to hold them when broken down. If you cut the cross rails at 3″ they are perfect for little human girls and boys to do a horseless horse show!! Ammo you rock!
Love you ….. Trinity
PS. Dad says make sure to get a pipe cutter ($15 @ HomeDepot) so easy!!
What a great idea Trinity! My mom says she used to play pretend pony when she was younger too! Now she has fun playing dressup and painting with her trick ponies from http://www.paintingpony.com – because when you should never grow up! Have fun playing pretend pony and glad my DIY could help!
can’t wait to try this! I do agility with my sheltie but all i have is crates and pieces of wood! SO trying this this summer!
Love it! Ammo looks so adorable when jumping. This would prefect for my two miniature horses, for my mother and I miniature poodles, as well as my nieces and nephews too. Can’t wait to get started!
My momma just started me out with jumping and I am already jumping 2 1/2 feet high I can’t believe it! The only things that I am having major trouble in is the weave poles and the seesaw! How do I get used to the seesaw? And how do I weave through the poles like a champ? I already asked my momma if she could make this for me and she said yes I can’t wait to try it!
-Lexi the pitbull
The teeter takes practice, yummy cookies helps. And there are lots of methods out there to train weave poles. I used the 2×2 method. If you search “agility” on my blog more articles will pop up.
I used broom wall clips for the pole cups. They are easy to slid up and down, the pole drops when hit but the clips stay on the pole.
Thanks so much for your detailed instructions! I cannot wait to give it a try. Have you tried making the jump with the hoop yet? I bought swim noodles and duct tape for the hoop but haven’t figured out what to do next yet. Let me know if you have! Thanks again!
I have not tried the hoop jump yet. But perhaps that will have to be another tutorial soon!
Excellent post! We were thinking about building our own agility course too in the back yard for my papillon. If we do, your instructions will sure help us out!
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thanks for the idea. I built this for my Poxer mix Zane today. We’re waiting on the jump cups to arrive to try it out. I’m curious as to if you used caps on the end of the jump poles? Will it affect the way they sit in the caps?
I did not use caps on the ends of the jump poles and I assume it would affect the way they sit if you did. Hope that helps!
I needed jump cups today so I made my own from standard saddle fittings from Lowe’s. My Dremel made it easy to grind off the rough spots after making two cuts with a hacksaw. Pics available.
Who else loves this ?
While I appreciate the enthusiasm of your comments, some of our readers (and me too) are starting to see some of them as spam. The over abundance of them, and the replies to other reader’s comments appear to others that you are trying to gain page likes for your own page. So if you wouldn’t mind being more thoughtful of how you are commenting it would be appreciated. I have received some complaints and I wouldn’t want to have to block anyone from my friendly space here on Facebook. Thanks!
Hi, I was wondering why you don’t use 1″ pvc for the jump bars?
It’s been several years since we built this, but I’m pretty sure it was because the jump cups we used fit the 1″ PVC.
Thank you. Having a PDF to refer to is tremendously helpful.
Hey, I have really enjoyed your blog! I going to buld some and was wondering if you can give me the link to the PVC pieces? That would be awesome! Thanks for your blog and have a great day!
From,
Caroline
/Users/tom/Desktop/IMG_4404_3.jpg
this is the photo of what I mean!
IMG_0166.jpg
sorry never mind i figured it out
Hey! I was just wondering if we could make the jump cups. How do I do that? Mom says that she will make these for me! I am so excited because I love to jump!!!
I don’t know of anyway to make the jump cups which is why I bought mine.
Thanks for the good pics and step by step info. I am not clear about how the jump cups work. Where do the jump cups go? How do they attach? What do they look like? I don’t see a picture or info about how to add these. Thanks for other steps though.
Kate
(Jetta & Moka’s mom. They say We can’t wait to start jumping!)
Hi -I was able to see the cups at the link you supplied. Thanks.
This is PERFECT for all of my animals (well, except the mouse and fish). I am going to make these for my border collies, rabbits, and maybe even get my cavies to jump a little! My dogs will love this! I’m so glad I found this!
Can the verticals be shorter? For a Welsh Cardi so the horizontals will be kept low. Mostly for fun and entertainment. No agility groups where we are.The closest is 100+miles/200km away.
Where can you purchase cups to fit a 1”
PVC. Thus far the jumps are wonderful!
You can get them from the same company I recommended in the article in a 1″ size as well, found here: https://amzn.to/2ItiIMn