I am planning on training my dog in Agility in the near future (1 y.o. Springer/Border mix).
I’d rather not spend a ton of money on the equipment until I know he’llenjoy the training. I’m also a person in need of a project, so I’d like to DIY the whole thing (I also have a $50 Home Depot gift card burning a hole in my pocket!).
Does anyone know a decent book (or set of blueprints/plans) I could buy/check out to construct some PVC-agility stuff?
-Cem
Here’s the size requirements from the US Dog Agility Association web site: Page Not Found | USDAA
I don’t have any plans but I can describe to you how these things were constructed for our doggy school:
Dog Walk - plywood cut and built to dimensions, painted with gritty paint (I think they just added sand). 1x1’s are used on the ramps for footing. It is BOLTED to the concrete floor. Not sure how you would do this in your yard but it’s of utmost importance that the thing doesn’t wobble or tip. Don’t forget to paint the yellow “landing” parts on the beginning and end of the ramps.
A-Frame - Sturdy plywood with 1x1’s going all the way across and all the way up. also painted with gritty paint. the top is hinged and the 2 parts are held together with a sturdy chain. You can adjust the angle of the a-frame by making the chains longer or shorter. This helps get the dog used to going up the walls at lower angles and then increasing.
platform - a square piece of plywood painted with gritty paint. the base of the table is made of PVC pipe which has vertical and horizontal pieces (as opposed to just 4 legs - all of the legs are connected). You want this to be sturdy too or else Rover will be scared of the wobbly-ness.
weave poles - the bottom is short pieces of pipe conneted with 3-hole connectors. at each end and the middle, short “feet” stick out 90 degrees on each side. the poles themselves stick up from the top “holes” on these connectors.
tunnel - we actually had to purchase this
chute - a pvc pipe frame that a chute comes off of. i am not sure if we bought the chute or made it.
tire - a PVC frame with a “tire” made out of some sort of accordian tubing. Hang the “tire” from the top with a chain and an eye-hook. Also secure the tire to the sides with chains and eye-hooks. You can adjust the height of the tire by adjusting the length of the top chain
hurdles - pvc poles with “feet”, connected at the bottom with a single pipe (makes it easier to carry around if it’s one piece). The horizontal bars sit on a connector that has been cut in half (so instead of a pipe-shaped hole that you insert the crossbar into, you just SET the crossbar on top of a half-moon shaped rest). There’s several different rests for the crossbars so you can easily adjust the height. It’s good to have the crossbars laying on top of a rest as opposed to stuck in a hole, so if Rover knocks the crossbar it will fall down and no one will get hurt.
broad jump - little ramps made with pvc pipe and vinyl siding.
seesaw - sturdy pvc pipe base. heavy board painted with gritty paint (with yellow landings). board connected to the pipe base with 2 sturdy metal strips that curve around the pipe and bolt into the bottom of the board. Ours is sort of wobby and not very sturdy but the dogs don’t seem to mind it. The base is made in such a way that it’ll never tip over. The Seesaw is a big scary for alot of the dogs.
Hope that helps 
That’s great stuff. Thanks very much!