So how many jumps should you start with? Well, when practicing agility you can never have too many single jumps. But we do not recommend less than four jumps as a beginning point for good agility training.

You can teach a variety of skills, drills, and exercises with four jumps. Four jumps will allow you to work on a short jump chute or jump grid. You can setup a "box" with your jumps and practice handling, collection, and 270 degree jumps.

You can teach your dog jumping left and right. You can be outside the box and send your dog or you can handle from the inside of the box. Your jumps can be setup in a horizontal line, so that you can practice serpentines and treadles.

Go the next step and get eight jumps. Now you can setup two boxes with one introductory jump. You've now multiplied your drills that you can practice with your dog. Your jump grids can be of recommended size and quantity of jumps.

You can also setup your jumps in a circle with the jump bars perpendicular to the circle or on the circumference of the circle. This pattern also enables you to train a variety of skills.

Now it is time to start thinking about double jumps and triple jumps. It is fine enough to setup two or three single jumps, but double and triple jumps is of much more value to the dog agility practice. It is not unusual to see a dog doing a clean course until the last triple jump; and then lose it all, because it is not ready for it.

Two sets of eight jumps will really set you ahead of the pack. It is the ultimate in practrice because you can have a jump grip up that is separate from your course training, and have eight single jumps for course training. And when you then include the double and triple jumps, you can really train all the jumping skills and drills needed to get you those "Qs".