Building Your Own Agility Equipment

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Purchasing agility equipment can quickly become a major expense. There are several ways that you can build a course right in your own backyard using materials purchased from a hardware supply store. Building your own agility equipment can be a fun and rewarding experience. Once your obstacles are complete and set up, your dog will be able to practice running the course whenever the desire strikes. Big trial coming up? Now you have a place to run your dog and get him in prime condition to take the title!

Jumping

Building a jump is something that does not have to be time consuming. If fact, you can build a bar jump in about 30 minutes.

Materials:

-Hammer

-One 6' Length of Threaded Steel Rod (3/4” diameter), cut in half

-2 Lengths of 4 ft PVC Pipe

-1 Lengths of 5 ft PVC Pipe

-2 Bolts (¼” Thread Diameter)

-2 Conduit Clamps

-2 Single Hole Conduit Straps (Capable of Holding 1 ½” Conduit)

-Colored Tape

Place the three foot long pieces of steel rod exactly 4 ft apart and hammer into the ground approximately 12” deep (making sure no underground gas lines or electrical wires are in your striking path). Place each 4 ft length of PVC over the rod that remains above ground. Mark each piece of PVC with the competition jump heights. Slip each conduit clamp over a section of the (now upright) PVC and tighten at the needed jump height with the mounting hole facing the exit side of the bar jump. Bolt each conduit strap, with the 'hook' facing out, to the mounting hole of the clamp. This forms a rest on which the jump bar will sit. Rest the 5 ft length of PVC on the conduit straps. Decorate bar with strips of tape. You have just assembled a homemade bar jump. Optional: Add additional clamps and straps so that you may have more than ...

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...ounter-sinking slightly so that the dog will not injure his paw. Mix the qt of paint with ½ cup of sand. Paint the surface area of the plywood. Let dry well. A second coat may be added if desired. Dry for several days before using. Assemble concrete blocks in three rows of four blocks, so as to form a 4' x 4' square which is 8” high. Place plywood on top. Depending on your dog's jump height, you may need to alter the configuration to be lower or higher. If lower, use patio pavers to form the base in lieu of larger blocks. If higher, stack pavers or additional blocks on top of the first layer of concrete. Make sure the second layer is cross wise to the first layer so that the dog's weight is evenly distributed. .

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