Building a Jump

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by Aaron - Online Dog Coach

Please note that these instructions are only for making a practice jump and are not intended to create competition style equipment. In order to be used in a competition, there are many requirements that the jump must meet. These can be found on each organizations respective website (AKC, USDAA, NADAC).

The purpose of this article is to help you create a simple jump that can be used for backyard training. While competition quality jumps typically costs between $75 and $120 each, this article will help you to create a jump for between $15 and $25. With the exception of the jump cups, all of the materials can be purchased at your local hardware store.

Many commercially available jumps use special 4-way connectors to reduce the number of required parts. While this simplifies the connections, it should be noted that these parts are made of furniture grade PVC, not Schedule 40 PVC. Furniture grade PVC is perfectly suitable for making jumps, however it is not readily available at hardware stores. Schedule 40 PVC, which is designed for pressurized water, can be found in the plumbing section of nearly all hardware stores. Important: Schedule 40 pipe is not compatible with furniture grade connectors. If you purchase furniture grade connectors you must also purchase furniture grade pipe.

Once your jump is complete, training instructions can be found in the Courses section of this site.

Materials List

• 3/4“ or 1“ Schedule 40 PVC pipe, about 17 ft.
• Tee connector (same diameter as the pipe), 4 total
• End cap (same diameter as the pipe), 6 each
• Jump cups with attachment screws or bolts*
• Tape (electrical, duct, or anything with color)
• PVC glue (optional)

Tool List

• Saw (hand saw for cutting PVC pipe)
• Electric drill with bit to match screws
• Pencil

There are many commercially available jump cups and jump cup strips that can be purchased online. See Don & Kim Holmes Agility Equipment for jump cups and Clean Run Store for strips.The jump cup strip, which is by far the easiest method, includes the necessary attached hardware and is the focus of this article. If you decide to use individual jump cups, you will need to purchase either small bolts and nuts or self-tapping screws. Due to the variations in jump cup design, exact hardware descriptions are not provided.

Money Saving Hint: Use the individual jump cups, order only two per jump, drill all of the necessary holes, and attach them with an easily removable bolt and wing nut. You can then move the jump cups to meet your needs.

Step 1

Cut the PVC pipe as follows:

• 4 ft, 2 pieces
• 3 ft, 2 pieces
• 5 to 8 inches, 4 pieces
• ~2 inches, 2 pieces

Hint: PVC pipe is typically sold in 10 ft lengths, so cut both 3 ft pieces and one 4 ft piece from a single length of pipe. This leaves one 4 ft piece and the small pieces to be cut from the other length of pipe. If done carefully, you should have about 3 ft remaining that can be used on another jump.

Step 2

Assemble the jump bases as shown in Photos 1, 2, and 3. For additional stability of the jump, all of these pieces can be glued together.

Step 3

Attach the uprights and bottom cross bar as shown in Photo 4. Once again, these pieces can be glued together for additional stability. However, it is suggested that you do not glue either the bottom cross bar or the up rights. If all of these pieces are glued together you will lose the ability to disassemble the jump for easy storage and/or transport.

Step 4

Follow the attachment instructions included in the jump cup strip package. It is suggested that you use the included attachment hardware.

Step 5

Check to see if the jump bar (the remaining 4 ft piece of PVC pipe) fits loosely between the jump cups. If bumped, the bar should be easily displaceable. This is to ensure that your dog is not injured should he or she knock the bar. If necessary, adjust the length of the bar. Using the color tape, add three equally spaced stripes to the bar as shown in Photo 5. These stripes will make it easier for your dog to see the jump.

Step 6

You are now ready to begin training with your very own jump.