Dog Agility Equipment
Detailed on this page you will find all obstacles that you may come across at training and when competing in dog agility along with how the dog must negotiate the obstacle correctly.
For further information on the marking of obstacles when competing, please go to our Competing pages.
Jumping Equipment
Jump
A jump or hurdle consists of two uprights (wings) supporting one or two poles. Jump poles are set at 3 different heights depending on the height of the dogs competing - Small, Medium or Large (classified by the Kennel Club rules and regulations and may be different at the various independent shows or in other countries).
Your dog must negotiate a jump by jumping over the pole, between the jump wings without knocking the pole off.
Long Jump
A low, horizontal jump graduating in height and containing up to 5 elements spaced a few cm apart (again depending on the height of the dog) with 4 upright corner poles.
Your dog must negotiate the obstacle by jumping between the 2 corner poles at the front and 2 corner poles at the rear of the long jump whilst clearing all of the elements.
Tyre
The tyre is made up of a metal frame with a tyre/hoop mounted in the middle of the frame that your dog must jump through.
Spread
Two jumps placed closely together with the pole of the rear jump situated at the appropriate height for the dog and the front jump at a lower height.
Your dog must clear this as a normal jump but this time they will need to clear both poles.
Wishing Well
The wishing well is made up of a wooden mock well base with side bars reaching up to a roof and a pole situated just above the base. This piece of equipment is not as widely used as it used to be, though it has started to make more of an appearance at shows recently.
Your dog must jump over the pole, between the base and the roof whilst not putting their paws onto the top of the base.
Wall
The wall is a solid wooden panel with a pillar on either side and a layer of plastic bricks across the top than can be dislodged. Again this obstacle is starting to make more of an appearance at shows again.
Your dog must jump over the wall, in between the pillars, without knocking any of the bricks off the top of the wall.
Contact Equipment
A-frame
The A-frame consists of two wide wooden panels with horizontal slats to help with your dog's grip, meeting at an apex of 1.7 metres from the ground and with a different coloured area (to the rest of the A-frame) on the bottom of each side (the contacts).
Your dog must 'run' onto the A-frame touching the coloured contact area on the way up then climb up and over the apex and down the other side touching the contact area on the way down before leaving the obstacle.
Dog Walk
The Dog Walk (not the Cat Walk as it is called by some television commentators) consists of 3 wooden planks at a minimum of 254mm wide, an angled plank at each end leading up to the horizontal plank at around 1.372 metres from the ground. Again both the up/down planks on either end have horizontal slats to help with the dog's grip and different coloured contact areas on the bottom.
Your dog must 'run' onto the dog walk touching the contact area and continue all the way across the Dog Walk touching the contact area at the other end before leaving the obstacle.
See-Saw
The See-Saw is one long plank mounted on a metal frame with a central pivot with different colour contact areas at each end.
Your dog must 'run' onto the See-Saw touching the contact area. As the dog approaches the central pivot area (or sometimes just after depending on how small/light the dog is) the See-Saw will tip down onto the other side and the dogs must continue along to touch the contact area at the bottom before leaving the obstacle (the See-Saw must also be touching the ground before the dog alights from it, even if it has already touched the contact area).
One note here is not to teach your dog to wait in the middle whilst the See-Saw tips but to continue along the obstacle as it is moving.
Tunnels
Rigid / Pipe Tunnel
The rigid or pipe tunnel is about 2 feet in diameter and can be extended to different lengths and bent into different curves or angles.
Your dog must enter the tunnel at the correct end and exit at the opposite end.
Cloth / Collapsible Tunnel
The Cloth or Collapsible Tunnel has a solid, domed entrance attached to a fabric tube several feet long that your dog must push through (as it is flat on the ground) and exit out of.
Other Equipment
Weaves
The Weaves consist of between 5 and 12 upright plastic or wooden poles (at a minimum of 762mm in height) attached to a metal base and spaced 457mm to 609mm apart (depending on the equipment supplier).
Your dog must enter the Weaves from the right with the first pole at its left shoulder and maneuver through the poles by 'weaving' in and out of each consecutive pole until it has completed the whole obstacle.
Table
The Table is a square top on legs that your dog must jump onto. Depending on the judges brief your dog may just have to jump on and off, or it may be required to jump on and lie down for up to 5 seconds before leaving the table and moving onto the next obstacle.