By Jennie Brass
Been through obedience class, now what? Dogs simply love to understand what we are asking of them. They adore knowing they are doing a good job, and pleasing us. One of the ways we can exercise this is by participating events with our canine companions. Participating in sports helps to strengthen that bond and deepen our relationships with our dogs. A great venue to start with is Rally.
Sometimes known as Rally-O, or Rally Obedience, this sport was recently added to AKC shows and has grown in popularity. It is similar to full Obedience in that the team, consisting of a handler and dog, complete a course of predetermined exercises and are judged on how cleanly they execute them. The differences lie in the use of signs for Rally which allows participants to walk the course before their run, participants run the course at their own speed, and teams are encouraged to actively communicate and give multiple commands. There is no requirement for hand position for heeling. The structure of the event allows for a more relaxed and fun environment while getting both dogs and handlers comfortable with being in a ring. This is an excellent event for first time handlers interested in performance.
Novice level is performed with the dog on lead, the stations included allow for a bit of challenge, but mainly focus on handler and dog remaining connected. Advanced level progresses to the dog being off leash, this means that the handler and dog must maintain the teamwork cooperation throughout the entire run without a ‘safety line’. This level adds exercises to the novice which brings up the challenge level accordingly, it also includes jumping. Excellent level adds yet a few more stations and increases the difficulty accordingly to some stations that require a fair bit of practice to be able to do reliably. The behaviors asked for can be a touch unnatural for a dog, like holding a heeling pattern backwards (Backwards 3 Steps). When a team performs with precision it can look completely amazing! And no words can describe what it feels like to have your dog at your side eagerly performing with you.
Any fit dog can participate, they need only be registered with AKC which includes PAL/ILP (can be used for rescues/adopted dogs of known breed but unknown lines) or the Canine Partners registration for mixed breeds. Yes, this means anyone’s talented dog can participate! Handlers do not need to run for long distances which means the sport is well suited for all types of human fitness, too.
Interested in learning the ins and outs of Rally? Join one of our six-week classes on Tuesday nights and we’ll help you learn how to talk Rally with your dog. We offer both Novice and Advanced level courses which when combined cover all current AKC stations. Our instructors don’t just teach, we also compete! Come on by and let us infuse with Rally Fever too!
Want to see what Rally looks like at a trial? Below is video of a run with my Border Collie Ashenpaw, who started learning this sport at 5 years old (you CAN teach an older dog new tricks). This is a perfect 100pt run at Excellent level.
