Of all of the pieces of dog agility equipment your pooch will learn during agility training, jumps for dogs tend to generate the most enthusiasm. While a curious canine might be wary of the teeter or tunnel, a jump is always a fun prospect and this can be one of the easier obstacles to teach, initially. Here are some facts about agility dog jumps as well as a few handy tips.
Single, Double & Triple Jumps
Basic jumps for dogs include the single, double and triple jumps. This can seem confusing, because if you look at a “single” jump, it typically includes two PVC poles that the dog must jump over. However, when we talk about single, double and triple jumps, we actually are talking about distance. The double jump and triple jump forces the dog to jump a longer distance, rather than a higher height. Jump heights vary in general, based upon the competition class or category. For instance, a smaller dog category obviously will have a shorter jump height than a category for larger dogs. These types of jumps also are sometimes known as bar jumps.
Tire Jumps
Tire jumps are a bunch of fun, particularly for spectators, but dogs love these, as well. These jumps for dogs are just what you would expect a tire mounted off the ground and held steady by a PVC frame. Virtually all dog agility organizations will have a tire jump on their course, so this is definitely an important skill to teach.
Panel Jumps
With panel jumps, your agility dog is jumping over thin panels or boards rather than PVC poles or bars. These panels, typically about five in all, are meant to act as a wall. Panel jump heights vary depending on your agility organization and the class and category in which you compete. During training, you can simply begin with just one panel and add more panels as your dog becomes more comfortable navigating this obstacle.
Wing Jumps
A wing jump is basically a regular jump with lattice wings added to it. Wings are added to a jump to increase the difficulty level and force a dog to navigate a course with the handler at a farther distance. Of course, we recommend that you begin with regular bar or pole jumps and then add the wings. We sell jump sets that include wings, but we also sell wings separately so you add these as your training progresses.
UKC Jumps
The United Kennel Club, or UKC, will place all the usual pieces of dog agility equipment on their courses, but they also sometimes use some unique items. For instance, there might be a swing plank or sway bridge on their agility courses. When it comes to jumps, UKC sometimes will add a window jump to its courses, and we sell this item on our website for our clients that wish to compete in UKC-sponsored events.
K9 Training Jumps
For dogs training to work for the police department or another law enforcement agency, there are a variety of training jumps that are used for this process. While you might not see these on an agility course, the jumps for dogs can be a lot of fun for your furry friend and you might consider adding one or two just to spice up your agility playtime. For jumps, there is a car door jump and a picket fence hurdle, as well as a chain link hurdle, a window hurdle and even a brick wall hurdle. Each of these jumps for dogs is meant to mimic jumping situations that a police dog might encounter in a real-life working situation.
Mini Jumps
Do you have a smaller dog? A puppy? A timid dog? Miniature jumps are excellent options for these three canine categories. Our selection of mini jumps includes a basic single jump, a mini triple jump, a mini tire jump, a mini high jump and a mini broad jump. In addition to these smaller agility dog jumps, we also have plenty of mini contact equipment, including a mini pause table, a teeter, a dog walk, an A-frame and a mini chute and barrel.
With jumps in general, we highly recommend that you begin with a basic single bar jump, as this is the easiest piece of equipment for beginning agility dogs to master. You can begin by leading your dog over the pole at the lowest height, and simply have them walk over the jump. If your dog seems reluctant to walk over the pole at the lowest height, just detach the pole and encourage them to simply walk over the pole while it is lying on the ground.
From there, you can place the pole at the lowest height and once your dog has mastered that height, continue to raise the height until it reaches whatever completion height it needs to be. Again, these height requirements vary based upon the size and age of your dog, so be sure to check the rules and regulations for whatever agility group you choose to compete with, such as USDAA, AKC or UKC.
After single jumps are mastered, you could work on panel jumps or double and triple jumps or add wings to your single jump. Eventually, you will want to add the tire jump to the rotation, although you certainly can try teaching this jump before trying out double and triple jumps.
No matter what type of agility dog jumps you need, we have them at Carlson Agility. Each of our jumps for dogs is crafted from the best possible materials and we offer free domestic U.S. shipping on many of our pieces of agility equipment.
Brad Carlson enjoys dog agility training. To find agility equipment or to find more about training equipment for dog agility equipment, please check out the Carlson-Agility.com website, or if you have any questions, send us an email today.
