how to make a homemade agility course for dogs

How to Make a DIY Dog Agility Course at Home

• Jump Obstacle. Get your dog used to jumping over a bar by creating a simple hurdle. Balance a broomstick across two...
• Tunnel. Crawling through a tunnel takes a bit of practice, but setting one up couldn't be easier. Cut the ends off of a...
• Weave Poles. Now that your dog is a pro at jumps and tunnels, it's time to move up to...

Full Answer

How to get started in dog agility training?

Dry-fit the holes of a 2-inch strap on the crosshairs. To create space for the head of the bolt to sit flush with the top of the plank, remove the strap and drill one-quarter the depth of each hole using a drill/driver fitted with a 5/8-inch paddle bit. Drill the rest of each hole with a 3/8-inch bit. Step 12: Bolt on the Center Spin Pipe

How to train your dog to run an agility course?

Sep 01, 2021 · How to Make a DIY Dog Agility Course at Home Jump Obstacle. Get your dog used to jumping over a bar by creating a simple hurdle. Balance a broomstick across two... Tunnel. Crawling through a tunnel takes a bit of practice, but setting one up couldn't be easier. Cut the ends off of a... Weave Poles. ...

How can you become a dog agility trainer?

Mar 12, 2020 · All you need is a 36-inch square of wood with a non-slip surface that’s 3-inches in height. You can always use wood glue and stack a few layers of plywood together to get the proper height. Once you have that, determine the height class your dog is in and build a solid base that is proportional to their height.

How do you train a dog to do agility?

Aug 24, 2012 · Here is the list of what you will need to make your own professional tire jump — just like those used in sanctioned meets: 4 – 18 inch length of 1 inch PVC pipe. 2 – 36 inch length of 1 inch PVC pipe. 4 – 1 1/2 inch PVC elbows ($2 each) 2 – PVC T’s ($4.50 each) 1 – flex drain pipe measured and cut to fit your dog’s girth, 8 feet ...

Common Dog Agility Course Obstacles

Although agility courses can be laid out in an infinite number of ways, most courses use the same basic obstacles.

How Much Space Do You Need For a Dog Agility Course?

One of the cool things about dog agility courses is that they don’t require vast amounts of space.

Why Build Your Dog an Agility Course?

Dog agility courses can be incredibly beneficial for many dogs. Some of the most notable benefits they provide include:

9 Awesome DIY Dog Agility Courses

We’ve put together nine of the best DIY agility course obstacles we could find below.

Helpful DIY Canine Agility Course Instructional Videos

For some reason, DIY dog agility course designers rarely make videos explaining how to build the obstacles detailed in their plans. But we always want to help our readers as much as possible, so we’ve gathered a few of the best videos we could find below.

Dog Agility Course Safety

Before you break out the tools and start fashioning a set of obstacles, you’ll want to make sure you review a few important safety tips.

Breeds That Excel at Canine Agility Trials

Any dog can learn to perform agility trials (provided that your vet gives you the green light). However, some breeds are clearly better-suited for the activity than others.

The Right Gear

When planning our backyard agility course, we researched the AKC regulation equipment along with expert training guidelines.

More Cost-Cutting Tips

The cost estimates for the agility course projects detailed are based on buying all materials at retail. Additional savings may be realized by:

Help and Instructions

The American Kennel Club website is a great source of information to consider when planning agility courses and training for your dog. I also found that Caninecrib.com provided an excellent, easy DIY manual for assembling each piece of agility equipment. That online guide comes complete with step-by-step instructions and pictures.

How Does Agility Training Help Your Dog?

Agility courses can help your dog learn valuable obedience skills in a fun environment. Not to mention dogs are very smart and agility training can help keep their minds sharp. It’s also a great cure for boredom and any trouble they might get themselves into. (who are we kidding, might? lol. If they are like my boys they purposely look for it 😉 ).

What is an Agility Course for Dogs?

A true agility course has more than just pole jumps — there are tunnels, teeters, and platforms, and more. And the good news is that DIY dog agility equipment plans are a lot easier to put together than it sounds. (Trust me if I can do this so can you!)

DIY Dog Agility Equipment

With all of the different types of dog agility items here, you’ll be able to make your own dog agility equipment with just a little elbow grease, patience and time.

DIY Weave Pole Design

One of my favorites to watch when they have the dog agility competitions on t.v. The dogs always look like they are having so much fun zipping through these.

How to create a DIY agility course in your backyard

For active, energetic dogs, an agility course you can set up in your backyard can be just the outlet for their endless reserves. A homemade backyard agility course is also great for those times when you want to stick close to home and provide the exercise your dog needs to stay active and healthy.

What are canine agility courses and should you build one?

So, exactly what is an agility course for dogs, anyway? What you do is build or set up a series of obstacles, such as hurdles, weave poles and tunnels, and train your dog to maneuver in, on and around these obstacles in specific ways. If you’re training your dog for a competition, you’ll focus on helping your dog improve speed and accuracy.

DIY agility weave poles

Weave poles are an essential piece of any backyard agility course work. Weaving back and forth through the row of six upright poles works the dog’s flanks, joints and muscles.

DIY jump hurdles

For dog breeds that are prone to hip and joint issues, exercise that gets them jumping is a good preventive measure for maintaining good joint health. Jumping also works to develop the muscles in their hindquarters, while also providing plenty of fun for dogs.

DIY agility tunnel

What dog doesn’t love zooming through a tunnel? Adding one to your repertoire is a fantastic way to score early success, and as you may already know, success provides the foundation you need to train your dog.

DIY Dog Agility Course That You Can Make At Home!

Dog Agility training is an amazing sport that is great for the dogs mental and physical health no matter the difficulty of the course. This is why it is gaining popularity once more as an effective tool to train dogs to listen while also getting their energy out.

A Tunnel

No dog agility course is complete without its own tunnel where the dog can crawl right through. Luckily this obstacle can often be found already made anywhere where children's toys can be found. A collapsible tunnel is a common children's toy that is near identical to a dog agility course and can be found for around $20 at a local store.

Weave Poles

The next part of the dog agility course we will cover are weave poles which are anywhere from 6-12 poles that sick up out of the ground taller than your dog and spaced evenly and far enough to where your dog is able to weave. These can be made out of many things from PVC pipe to yardstick rulers depending on what you have available to you.

Tire Jump

A tire jump can be whatever you need it to be if you want to use a real tire we recommend a bike tire as they are approximately the right size similar to the background of the photo above. There are two methods for this obstacle the first being tying it to a tree branch to a rope and the other making one.

Hurdles

A hurdle is simply the obstacles where your dog will jump over a horizontal pole of some sort. These can again be made out of whatever you need to make an effective hurdle but we found success in creating a PVC structure about jump height for our dogs. Just make two “T”s and place a PVC pole in between them to where it stands on its own.

Dog Walk

The dog walk is the structure that can either be two ramps put together, two ramps with a flat walking area on the top, or simply one flat walking platform similar to a wide balance beam. These are made for your dog to quickly run the dog walk while keeping their balance.

Pause Table

The next obstacle in our DIY dog agility course is the pause table which is meant as a place for your dog to jump up and stay for a moment before they proceed. This is basically a short table which is why we simply used our old coffee table for this step.