DIY Agility Equipment: Bar Jump

Buster is doing well in his agility classes, but I feel that he would get more out of them if we were able to practice at home. So I've been googling how to make your own equipment (because store-bought equipment is expensive).

So far I've found a do-it-yourself for jumps, A-frame, tires and weave poles that I think are doable.

The easiest seemed to be the jump, just required fitting together PVC pipes, so I started there.

I used this as my guide:
Instructables Dog Agility Jump 
Video Here

The guy from those instructions did all his own cutting. I just went into Home Depot with my list and asked them to cut the 1" PVC:

two 4-foot pipes 
two 3-foot pipes
four 18-inch pipes

I even got the guy to cut the tee-joint. I had him cut the back off and then cut it in half. These clip on to the pipes and make cups that hold the jump bar, allowing it to be knocked off if the dog's foot hits it (thereby preventing injury to your dog).

My tee-joint doesn't snap on like the guy's in the video. I'm using a metal clamp. I can tighten and untighten when I want to adjust the jump height. (Buster's jump height is 24" AKC and 26" USDAA.)

I added some blue and yellow stripes with duct tape for visibility (see this link for info about dog's color vision and agility).

The materials I used (all 1" PVC) and prices:

two 4-foot pipes 
two 3-foot pipes                             $3.44 for 10' of pipe
four 18-inch pipes
6 cap ends                                     .66 per cap
1 tee (cut up for the jump cups)     I didn't get rung up for this...so free!
2 4-way tees (special ordered from Home Depot's website for $2.31 each + free shipping)
2 clamps                                        .97 each

The cost for building this regulation sized* jump was about $15. Even I can afford that!

*This jump is within AKC standards. Regulations state the jump must be made from 1" PVC, 4-5 ft long (mine is 4 feet), and at least 32" tall (mine is 36"). (Pg 36) *

Dimensions. Notice the 6 cap ends as well as the metal clamps.

Here's a picture of the jump in a much prettier setting than my back patio. Please excuse my ghetto duct taping.

And a video of my dog, Buster's, very first agility sequence, also showing the tire jump.
 
Next up is the Tire Jump!

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Triad Dog Games

I went to the Triad Dog Games today. It was supposed to start at 10am, but the time got moved to 3pm because of Maya Angelou's funeral down the street that morning.

Buster's agility instructor was there running all things agility. (I knew we picked a good instructor!) I had never seen an agility competition in person and wanted to see what it was like.

First we watched the small dogs compete (pictured above) then the large dogs. I was more interested in the large dogs because that's what my dog would be competing as. There was a Golden Retriever, Goldendoodle and Border Collie. Of course the Border Collie was amazing. They excel at all things agility.

We're going to talk to Buster's agility instructor (pictured right, above) about the possibility of Buster being ready to enter a competition next year. This one is pretty informal and open to everyone, but we want to be in it to win it.

Buster's swim instructor was there with her dog as a competitor in dock diving, but we didn't stay late enough to see her dog compete. We did see some dock diving though and it was awesome. I would love to have Buster involved in this, but it's just not meant to be. He doesn't like water or toys enough to dive after one.

I was surprised at the amount of dogs that refused to jump. This competition was pretty informal and open to anyone, so I'm guessing it was many of these dogs' first time competing.

But other dogs...they flew out there. Almost 2 foot jumps with huge splashes. So much fun to watch.

The only thing I didn't get to see that I would have liked to was the Disc Dog. Never seen anyone do it in person and they had a demo, but it was at the same time as agility, so we missed it.

There was lots of swag. We got a very cool card that hangs in your car and changes colors if it's too hot to leave your dog in there.
Buster got a bandana, too.

Styling in our RuffHousing bandana.

Looking forward to next years games and possibly being competitors in it.

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