One of the most exciting things you can do with your dog is learn agility together!  This is something that you can do in your own backyard!  Today we are going to teach you how to build your own agility jumps for backyard fun with your dog.  Agility is not only great exercise for both you and your dog, but it is an awesome way to bond with your dog as well!
*Affilate links are present in this post

DIY Build Your Own Agility Jumps

We wanted to build a total of 6 jumps for our own backyard agility set up so we bought enough material for those jumps. I ordered all of my materials from different sites online.  I choose to use 1 inch furniture grade PVC for my jumps so that they would be sturdier and last longer. Furniture-grade PVC has a glossy, highly-pigmented and weatherable outer cap that is extremely resistant to damage and degradation by sunlight.  SCH40 and 80 PVC are not intended to be left out in the sun.

The following step by step tutorial will show you how to build one agility jump, or you can also watch the video posted above.  As I said before, I bought enough material for 6 agility jumps, but on average one jump will cost you around $40 using this method.  For this project we enlisted the help of Snow Dog Daddy as well!

Materials List:

• Two 5′ Foot White 1 inch Furniture Grade PVC Pipe
• Two 5′ Foot Color of your choice 1 inch Furniture Grade PVC Pipe
• Two 4 Way Tee 1 inch Furniture Grade PVC Fitting
• Six External End caps 1 inch Furniture Grade PVC Fitting
• 1 Pair of Jump Cup Strips
• 1 PVC Pipe Cutter
• 1 Permanent Marker
• 1 Measuring Tape

The next step is cutting the PVC Pipe!  Again, you can also watch the video above to see how this is done. Both white pipes will need to be cut to 47 inches.  These two pipes will be the ground bar, and the jump bar.  Save your leftover pieces for future projects! Both blue pipes will have 3 cuts made to them.  The first will be 36 inches, then 9 inches, then 9 more inches.  You should end up with pieces that look like the photo above.

Assembling your agility jump is simple! First we will build the feet.  Take two of your 9 inch blue pieces and insert them into the 4 way.  Repeat this step for the second foot, then place caps at the four feet ends.

Next, take the ground bar and connect the feet to each end.

Take the blue bars and insert them into the top of the 4 way and add your caps.

The agility jump is almost complete!  Now we will add the Clip and Go Jump Cups!  Measure out where the clips need to go, and just clip them on!

Now add your jump bar to your agility jump and you are done!

One more step, that we didn’t end up having time to do, is adding stripes to your jump bar for higher visibility.  You can use tap or plastic spray pant, and just add a bit of color to the bar.
Shelby is our agility jump professional.  She has been through many agility classes and can perform jumps with ease!  I think this face says she approves!
Oakley has never been to an agility class.  We are slowly introducing her to agility jumps and we always lower the bar for her (8 inch height).  This is great exercise both physically and mentally for our senior girl!

Memphis is a beginner at agility.  She has only been to one class and still has puppy husky brain when it comes to paying attention.  This is the true look of a beginner.

Backyard agility is a great way to exercise and bond with your dog.  Before doing any type of activity like this, make sure you know what you are doing.  I highly advise taking an agility course, or finding someone who has done it before to help teach you the proper way to enjoy agility with your dog. Injury can occur when doing agility,  so be sure to educate yourself before you just start letting them jump!  If you have an older dog, please talk to your veterinarian before trying out this activity to make sure they are physically fit enough to do this.