For the first part of our series on creating your own agility equipment for your dog, we’ll start with how to make dog agility jumps at home! We will walk you through how to teach your dog to use your jump as well as how to create a few different options for DIY dog agility jumps. Whether you’re inside or outside, want to build your dog agility jumps, rig something up, or purchase equipment, we have a solution for everyone.
As long as your dog is healthy and you encourage safe behavior, agility training is a great way to bond with your pup and have fun moving around. Even if you’re only doing it informally, like us, it’s a great way to keep your pup active and healthy. If you’re looking for a more in-depth explanation of some benefits of dog agility, check out one of our favorite resources for dog health, VCA Hospitals, and their Agility for Dogs post!
DIY dog agility jumps are one of the easier pieces of equipment to rig up or create. In case you missed our first article, check out our guide on creating a DIY dog agility course for beginners! The guide has links to all our other resources on DIY dog agility equipment, and agility training is one of our favorite games to play with dogs outside!
Learning the behavior
Learning the behavior required for a DIY agility jump, also known as DIY dog agility hurdles, is typically easy for most dogs. The goal is for your pup to jump over a bar, which is a relatively natural behavior for a lot of dogs.
Most healthy pups will perform this with minimal difficulty, but if you have a pup who isn’t as willing, don’t worry! Check out our troubleshooting issues section, and we’ll talk you through how to fix the two most common problems with DIY dog agility jumps!
If you’re looking for a more structured approach to agility, check out our friends over at Spirit Dog Training! We use their courses whenever we need a more structured approach to training and highly recommend them for any of the courses they offer. Steffi and her staff are extremely friendly and competent, which makes them a pleasure to interact with.
Some notes before getting started
Before using DIY dog agility jumps with your pup, let’s review some important information.
We recommend placing your jump(s) so that your dog can jump from and land on a rug or carpet instead of vinyl or tile to help keep your dog from slipping. Outside this is less of an issue, but try to stay away from any slick surfaces, uneven ground, or any other problem areas that would make it difficult to complete the behavior safely. If you need some additional help, check out our guide on what to do with dog poop until garbage day and making a dog friendly backyard to solve any outdoor problems!
As always, proceed carefully before starting any new physical activity with your dog. If you are not sure if your dog can perform an activity, consult a relevant professional, trainer, or vet. This guide is for educational purposes and based on our own experiences and what works for our pups, not all pups. If you have an older or mobility-impaired dog, you may not get much past walking over the bar, and that’s fine! We’re here to have fun, and you don’t get bonus points for having the pup who can jump over the highest bar.
With higher-impact movements (like jumping can be), it’s important to ensure your dog is healthy before any activity. One common symptom of an ACL tear in dogs is a reluctance to jump or put weight on their rear legs. Take this process slowly and give your pup plenty of rest between training sessions, especially in the beginning stages. Try out some less intense activities between sessions for a few days, such as DIY dog puzzles or frozen Kongs, especially when learning the behavior.
We're huge fans of the Lickin Layers by Outward Hound. It has all the benefits of a normal slow feeder, but has 3 levels which turns it into a puzzle, as well. Both of our pups love it and we love that it is easy to clean, unlike most other options. It's a great option to make meal time last longer, even for dogs who are less interested in food.
If you want to try a lower-impact agility obstacle first, check out our guides on dog agility tunnels or cavaletti for dogs! They’re a much better place to start for an older or less active dog than higher-impact obstacles like jumping or weaving.
Teaching the behavior
Teaching your dog how to use DIY dog agility jumps is easy, as long as you take it slow! We like Puppr’s method for teaching new behavior and model most of our training similarly. It’s easy to remember, works, and the criteria are easy to follow! If your pup can perform the requested behavior 9 out of 10 times, they’re ready to advance the difficulty.
To start, grab your DIY dog agility jumps and set them up so that your dog can jump and land on a stable, non-slip surface. We recommend placing the bar so that your dog can walk over it without jumping initially to learn the behavior, similar to teaching how to use cavaletti to your dog.
Now, try to get your pup to go over the object you’re using as DIY dog agility jumps. Initially, this could be a walking movement, and you can work up toward whatever height is safe for your dog. You can always increase the height later, and there’s no need to have your pup jump over an unsafe obstacle. The goal here is to have fun, so keep it that way for your dog!
We recommend using a lure to help initially and gradually decreasing how often you use it. Our favorite treats to use as a lure are Stewart beef liver and dog safe crunchy peanut butter! Our pups go nuts for both, and you can break or cut into smaller pieces. Check out our troubleshooting issues section for more help if you are still having issues with your DIY dog agility jumps.
Stewart's freeze-dried beef liver is our go to option for beef liver! We love it because it's affordable and our dogs love it for the taste. We use freeze-dried beef liver as everything from a reward for training to recipes in frozen enrichment. We find that Stewart's has the best value for beef liver for a product we feel good about feeding to our dogs.
That’s it! If you want to introduce a command like “over” or “jump,” that’s fine after your pup learns the behavior! We recommend first waiting until your dog understands the behavior consistently. This will help minimize confusion and make teaching the behavior easier while in the learning phase.
Equipment options for dog agility jumps
Now, the part you’re here for, how to make DIY dog agility jumps! We recommend trying the temporary options before building DIY dog agility jumps to make sure that you and your pup both enjoy the activity. It’s also typically a lot easier to change the height of the equipment with temporary configurations while your dog is learning the behavior.
Temporary options for dog training jumps
If you want to try a temporary solution for creating DIY dog agility jumps before moving to anything more serious, you’re in luck! It’s one of the easiest pieces of agility equipment to make!
For inside options, any bar or pole-shaped item is perfect! Some of our favorites are brooms, dust mops, and driveway reflector poles, but anything light and similarly shaped is a great option. Cushions from furniture, dog crates, or workout equipment are good options to change the height of the bar as your dog gets better at the behavior. We’ve even used a crate to brace one end of the bar and a nearby console table to support the other.
For outdoor DIY dog agility jumps, the options are a lot more open-ended. Some of our favorite options are driveway reflector poles, PVC, pool noodles, or broom handles. We prefer PVC because it’s lightweight, cheap, and weather-resistant, but any of these options will work great! A piece of lattice works great if you have that option and gives a ton of different options for adjusting the height. If you do not, buckets, outdoor furniture, or wire fence panels all can make great options!
Don’t be afraid to get creative with this, as it’s only a temporary solution.
Repurposing other equipment for dog jumps
Our preferred option is to repurpose other equipment we have for DIY dog agility jumps!
If you bought (or created) other dog equipment, there are a few different options that allow easy modifications to turn into dog agility jumps. If you made the DIY option from our article on dog agility hoops, all you have to do is remove the top portion! That’s about as easy as it gets!
If you didn’t, we still have some other options! Our guide to cavaletti for dogs has a few different options we can repurpose! The Velcro DIY option is great and extremely cheap while the Trixie cavaletti set is even easier to use.
Trixie's cavaletti set is our favorite, by far! We love that it's easily adjustable, lightweight, and works for small and large dogs. We've been doing cavaletti with Goomba for years as physical therapy and Trixie makes the movement simple!
We like Trixie’s dog agility hurdle cone set the best, though. It’s perfect for learning the behavior, affordable, and weatherproof! It comes with 3 different adjustable height options, which are perfect for learning the behavior. If you want to, you can place any of the items mentioned in the temporary section (buckets, furniture, yoga blocks, etc) under the cones to adjust the height as high as you need to! We like that the Trixie cavaletti set stores well, too, which helps keep our garage from getting too cluttered with equipment.
DIY dog agility jumps (basic option)
If you want to make your DIY dog agility jumps, we can do it for less than $20 and with two tools! This will be similar to our DIY option for dog agility hoops, but less work and a little different.
We’ll need some ¾-inch PVC tubing for materials. We went with ¾-inch PVC because that’s what we had on hand from a different project, but ½- inch or 1 inch is fine. Non-weight-bearing obstacles (like this one) are much more flexible with what materials you can use. PVC is our preferred material because it’s light, cheap, easy to work with, and weather resistant.
Here’s the supply list we used for our jump (you can get these individually at your local hardware store):
- 6 ft of PVC pipe
- 2 PVC T fittings
- 2 PVC T fittings, slip-on (these are much cheaper at our Lowe’s. If you can find the non-threaded version, you can skip the next PVC adapter)
- 2 PVC adapters, male threaded to slip
- 6 PVC caps (optional, but recommended for waterproofing if you want to leave it outside)
We’ll also need one of the cutting tools and a way to measure:
- Measuring tape
- PVC cutting tool (if you don’t already have something else to cut PVC with)
- Hacksaw (we’ve used this one for years, and it’s taken some abuse)
We’ll walk you through how we made for our jump, but it’s easy to modify the dimensions if you have a larger or smaller dog. For reference, our dogs are relatively active and 80 lbs.
Creating DIY dog agility jumps is fairly straightforward. You’ll only need two tools: a measuring tape and something to cut PVC with. We used a pipe-cutting tool, but any fine-toothed saw, oscillating tool, etc will be more than capable of dealing with PVC.
We cut our PVC into 7 sections:
- 4×8 inch,
- 2×15 inch
- 1×20 inch
First, we’ll make the legs of the jump. Connect 2 of the 8-inch segments of PVC in a straight line with the T fitting. Place the 1×15-inch section so in the remaining opening. Repeat to create the second leg.
Next, slide the slip on Ts onto the vertical piece of the leg. Thread the adapters into both Ts and then connect them with the 20-inch piece of PVC that’s left. That’s it!
We like this design because it’s very cost-effective. The slip-on Ts move up and down the PVC with a little force, which allows you to adjust the height. This makes it a fantastic budget option for learning the behavior and is our preferred option for inside use. If you have a larger dog than us or an extremely athletic one, we’d recommend making the 12-inch pieces longer.
We recommend not using PVC cement because the pieces stay together well enough and it’ll give you the flexibility to change the height.
DIY dog agility jumps (intermediate option)
For our intermediate option for DIY dog agility jumps, we’ll have a similar setup, but with a few key differences.
First, we’ll have to use 1 or 1 ¼-inch PC instead of ¾-inch. We used 1-inch, since that’s what we had on hand from a different project.
Here’s our supply list this time
- 12 ft of PVC tubing (we did 2 8-ft sections)
- 2 PVC cross fittings, side outlet
- 6 PVC caps (optional, but recommended if you’re going to leave it outside)
- 1 set of jump clip strips or jump cups
We recently got these jump cup strips and we're huge fans! They make using our DIY agility jumps much easier than other options. They're sturdy, marked for heights, and super easy to install. They're a little pricier than other options, but we think they're well worth the money!
We’ll still need the same tools for this as the basic option:
- Measuring tape
- PVC cutting tool (if you don’t already have something else to cut PVC with)
- Hacksaw (we’ve used this one for years, and it’s taken some abuse)
This DIY dog agility jump is much easier to adjust the height of than the basic option and more aesthetically pleasing. The jump cup strips allow for a ton of adjustment with no effort, and we’re huge fans of them, especially if you plan to do a lot of work with your pup.
We cut our PVC into 8 sections:
- 2×30-inch sections
- 2×24-inch sections
- 4×8-inch sections
We started by making the legs of the jump. Connect 2 of the 8-inch pieces through the cross fitting and a 30-inch section so that it is perpendicular. Repeat for the second leg.
Next, slip the bottom brace (24-inch section) into place to hold the two legs up. Your jump frame should be able to stand on its own now.
For the last part, we have a few different options for our bar. The cheapest option is to use jump cups, which snap on the 30-inch pieces to hold the bar. The option we went with for our DIY dog agility jumps was jump cup strips. They’re more expensive than the single cup, but have already measured heights and make it quick to change the bar height.
Whichever route you go, it’s much easier to change the height with this option than the basic option, but it requires more effort to set up initially. We think the jump cup strips are worth the added cost if you plan to use your DIY dog agility jumps often. Ours came with screws to attach the strips permanently, which makes it much nicer and easier to use. The PVC caps are optional, but help with the appearance and prevent it from getting filled with water if you intend to use it outside.
Pre-made options
If you’d rather buy your dog’s jumps instead of making DIY dog agility jumps, we’ve got you covered, too.
Our first option would be the Trixie adjustable dog jump and is our recommended option for outdoor use or if you want a value. It typically stays around $20 USD, and the price is fair for what it is. The quality isn’t the best, but it’s only $20, so it’s a great option to start your pup off. We use this option most of the time for our jumps outside.
Trixie's dog jump is our preferred jumping equipment for outdoor use. It's lightweight, affordable, and easy to adjust. It even comes with a storage bag so it takes up less space when it's not in use!
If you want something that looks a little cleaner or works inside, we’d recommend Better Sporting Dogs 4 pack of jumps. They’re pricy, but there are 4 of them and they’re perfect for indoor use. They’re essentially our option 2 with the jump clip strips, but look cleaner. Either way, you can’t go wrong, and either are great options if you don’t want to bother making DIY dog agility jumps.
If you don't want to mess with DIY-ing a dog jump, we'd recommend the Better Sporting Dogs jumps. They're a bit more expensive, but you get 4 jumps that are perfect for indoor use and prettier than our premade option. We like that they come with jump clip strips, which makes them much easier to use than most other options and are around $20 per jump.
Other notes & modifications
We wanted to add this section to provide some tips and tricks for making your (and your dog’s) life easier, especially while learning the behavior to use your DIY dog agility jumps.
If you want to increase the height of your jump, we find it easy-to-use household objects to accomplish this. For example, any of the recommendations for support in the section temporary options for dog training jumps can be great ways to change the height. Some of our favorites are scrap wood, buckets, furniture, and workout equipment, but don’t be afraid to get creative!
If you want to lower the height and your jump isn’t adjustable, use one of the temporary options until your pup gets the hang of it! If you made the DIY basic option, you can even remove a section of PVC (in our example, the 12 in sections) and just use that as a bar. Again, we recommend not using PVC cement since this can give you a lot more flexibility.
Finally, if you don’t like how PVC looks, don’t be afraid to paint it once you’ve made your DIY dog agility jumps. Furniture grade PVC is also an option to improve the appearance of your jumps, but is more expensive.
Troubleshooting common issues
If you’re having some issues teaching the behavior for using your DIY dog agility jumps to your pup, you’re in the right place! We strongly recommend that you make sure your pup is healthy enough to jump, especially if they are hesitant to perform the behavior. The following troubleshooting steps will assume your pup has no underlying health issues that would affect their ability to perform the behavior.
Going around dog agility jumps
The most common issue that we’ve seen with DIY dog agility jumps is that the dog tries to go under or around the jump.
To help get our pups through this, we’ll be making it harder for them to fail with the behavior. We’ll be removing the wrong options so that it’ll be easier to perform the behavior correctly.
If your dog is crafty and tries to tunnel under the bar, block off the bottom section! Anything can work for this, but some of our favorites for indoor use are dog beds, blankets, and couch cushions. For outdoor use, we love using one of our elevated dog beds (K&H elevated dog bed or Kurunda’s elevated bed), but if you’re looking for something else, outdoor furniture and cushions, wood scraps, or a tarp can all work great!
This is Prim's favorite place and she's frequently outside basking in the sun on this elevated bed. We find the brown helps hide some of the inevitable mud that ends up on it. We love it since it's easy to clean & replace the cover if it gets ripped.
We can use a similar process for the sides as well. If you’re starting inside, a hallway makes a fantastic spot to start. It’s much easier to block off because there’s no way to go around. We prefer combining the hallway with couch cushions or dog beds to block off the sides. If that isn’t an option, you can use chairs, an elevated dog bed, or any other items you have around.
Remember, these are intended as temporary guide rails for your pup until they understand the behavior better, so it doesn’t matter if they’re not visually appealing. Take it slow, and your pup will understand the behavior in no time!
Not wanting to go over the jump
The second most common issue with teaching the behavior for DIY dog agility jumps is your dog refusing to jump over the bar. Fortunately, this is even easier to resolve than trying to avoid the jump.
To start, make sure that the bar is an appropriate height for your pup. If your pup is still having issues with not wanting to go over, lower the bar until they can walk over the jump. This is a great place to start and effectively turns the bar into a cavaletti set for dogs. If your pup continues to have issues, lower the bar to the floor and begin there. We can always raise the bar as they get more familiar with the behavior and more confident in their ability to go over the obstacle.
The second aspect is to make sure that you have a good enough lure to help your dog. As long as there isn’t any physical reason that your dog doesn’t want to perform the movement, a high-value treat will help give your pup the extra motivation to go over most dog agility jumps. It helps if your pup has a high food drive, like Prim. If your pup does not, training before feeding will help generate some extra motivation.
This is one of our dogs' two recent favorites for jerky and we've been trying to always have some. It's a little greasy, but our dogs love it and are very motivated when it's a reward. Honestly, all of the flavors are good, but duck has been the most popular recently. It's a great option if your dog has sensitivities or allergies and we highly recommend it.
Our favorite high-value treats are cheese, cooked chicken, Pet Jerky Factory’s dog jerky, or beef liver. We usually have cheese and cooked chicken available for dog treats, but beef liver is our preferred option for training. You can cut it to any size, it doesn’t need refrigeration, and it’s much less messy. If your dog has more of an interest in toys, grabbing their favorite toy will accomplish the same goal. We use toys for training with Goomba since he’s much more play-motivated.
We recommend combining both techniques initially to help give your dog the greatest chance of success.
Conclusion
Teaching your pup how to use your DIY dog agility jumps can be an easy and rewarding experience for both you and your dog. We recommend trying the temporary options first to make sure that you and your dog enjoy the experience. Remember, the goal here is to have fun, so take it slow and enjoy the experience!
We love to see your success with your own DIY dog agility jumps or any other type of agility equipment! Share photos of your dog trying out your DIY dog agility jumps with us on Instagram by tagging @therulybully.
Have fun!