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.

 Ashenpaw: Excellent Run Video

We’ve all heard the words ‘you are what you eat’. After all, nutrients are the building blocks of the body. Whether your dog is a loving couch potato or an active athlete they will still benefit from good nutrition in the proper amounts. Additionally many common conditions can be managed by diet, or a properly adjusted diet can at least help to decrease the amount of medications or supplements needed. There are a wide variety of foods out there to choose from, so how does one know what to feed? After all, we’re looking to have our companions with us for as long as possible.

Mmm! It’s breakfast time!

There are many wonderful dog foods out there, however there is no one single food that works for every dog out there. So, the trick is finding a good quality food that works for your own dog’s unique situation. My crew (as shown above happily eating their Fromm Salmon A La Veg) have actually been through a number of different brands in the past. They have been on Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, Taste of the Wild Salmon formula, and two varieties of Canidae. All these foods were excellent choices and let me break down why.

As an example I will use my crew. When looking for a food I considered my dogs’ lifestyle. All are active in training and performance. Parker, my Tri Collie, does Rally demos with me as well as training. Ash, my Border Collie is middle age approaching senior and he competes in agility. Ion, my young Sable Collie, is competing in Rally and preparing for agility. For all these dogs proper muscle tone is critical: critical for Ash so he can maintain the sport he adores, for Ion so he can start out with the proper muscle conditioning. This means for them they need a high protein food with a good calorie content. They also all have deep double coats, and Ash has allergies with occasional dry skin. One of the best things known to support good skin and coats is fish oil, specifically salmon. While this can be supplemented via pills, having the main protein base of the food be salmon supports the need right from the dinner bowl. To date I have noted less allergies from Ash during his peak season while on the salmon based food and he has needed less Benadryl to get through. An absolute benefit right there. Over the course of time I watch a number of things to ensure the food is the right one for them. These include holding proper weight and muscle tone, skin and coat condition, are their stools formed (if not, the food may not be right for their digestive system), also how much are they pooping (large volumes mean there’s too much waste in the food and thus they are not getting as much from it). And of course they have to like it. As you can see from the photo, clearly they enjoy the food.

Having an idea of what you are looking for (or not looking for) means being able to recognize the signs of a great food. You should see a specific meat source or meat meal right up there in the top ingredients, preferably the first ingredient listed. There are many different meat bases out there: chicken, duck, pheasant, lamb, bison, beef, fish, venison, rabbit, some even come with multiple protein sources combined. The species should be identified. There are even grain-free foods which concentrate more of the nutrition towards the proteins. You should not see a number of grains in the first ingredients on a food. One of the worst to see listed first is corn. While it can be part of the food, it should not make up the bulk of it as dogs get very little if anything from corn. These two points will easily help in choosing a better food. If the food has some whole grains this is good as long as they are whole and not fractions. Actual rice, oats, barley, etc can add to the nutritional value. It is preferable not to have sugars or sweeteners added nor salts. Just like with us, too much of each of these is a bad thing. If you see Omega fatty acids in good quantities: Omega6 (at least 2.2%) and Omega3 (at least 0.3%) this is a good sign. The same if you see vitamins C, E, and K from natural sources. These support a number of critical functions in your companion. However, you want to avoid preservatives like BHA (butylated hydroxynisole) , BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone, ethoxyquin, or sodium metabisulfite. These are known or suspected to accumulate or cause illnesses in dogs, and there are safer alternatives. This is just the basics, one can get even deeper into nutrition, there is a lot of information out there. The bottom line is that the better food though it costs more per bag you will need to feed less, it’s more cost-effective in the long run.

Once you have chosen your food the other part is making sure to obtain a proper healthy weight. Excess weight puts stress on not only the joints, but also demands extra from the circulatory system as well since fat contains loads of blood vessels. Help your dog live a long happy life by feeding to condition, not the instructions on the dog food bag. Those instructions are simply guidelines, and ever dog is different with varying metabolic needs. Some dogs won’t even eat half the recommended amount while others might eat twice that to maintain a healthy weight. My dogs actually vary throughout the year and I adjust their meals accordingly. When I notice they are starting to put on weight I pull back their food by about ¼ cup and watch. If they start to lose weight beyond their ideal I add ¼ on for a while. It depends what they are doing.

Different breeds and mixes have different shapes, but in general the rule of thumb is that a dog should have a slight tummy tuck from the side view and an hour-glass figure when looking down from above. Ion is a fuzzy dog, but it still shows in the photos provided below. I tried my other Collie, Parker, but he was fluffy his tucks didn’t really show.

Sloping underbelly, tucks gently right after ribs

Waistline tucks gently after ribcage, comes back out at hips

Generally, you should be able to feel your dogs ribs rather like feeling something through polar fleece. The spine, hips, and shoulders should also able to be felt similarly. If you can’t feel the bones or have to push hard to do it your dog has too much padding (unless the breed calls for it, for example a Bull Dog). The vast majority of dogs should have a waist line. Sadly, many dog owners have become so accustomed to the sight of overweight dogs they identify a healthy weight as underweight or even a ‘starved dog’. Too thin would be ribs, spine, and hip bones visible (unless the breed calls for it, commonly Grey Hounds will display this at a healthy weight.) The idea is that the dog does not needlessly carry around excess weight, that their nutritional intake matches their needs.

The more we can support their needs with their food, the less additional steps we will need to take to supplement for their needs. Don’t be fooled by gimmicks on commercials, pictures of cute dogs on the bag, or even fancy packages: the proof is in the fine print writing on the bag. By utilizing this we can limit the normal wear and tear of time and lessen or even prevent altogether some unnecessary vet bills. In the long run, being knowledgeable enough to choose the best food for your canine companion will pay out in dividends! More run time for your best friend with you on this Earth!

You have taken a life into your hands, willingly. Your new four pawed fur-ball is completely dependent upon you for everything from daily care to learning how to behave in our very strange world. Oh, the potential! The excitement is hardly containable! But how can one navigate this education process, how does one lay down the groundwork for a successful dog to allow them to achieve their full potential? The journey is long, the reality is training is a life long process. How do I know this? Let me share my story, it begins with a shoestring.

In fall of 2010 I was invited to help socialize and photograph a litter of puppies. Amy Gau and I had become friends when she retired a Collie named Parker from the show rings into my home. I was intrigued by the idea of seeing very young puppies. At this point their eyes were not even opened up. I learned from Amy a lot of what goes into whelping a litter while holding the pups that were not much more than a handful. Breeding was considerable more work to do it right than I had ever known. I came out to her place a second time when the puppies were six weeks old and rather mobile. This time the photos were a little harder to line up as they never stopped moving! It didn’t take me long to notice that one pup in particular was taking an interest in my shoestrings. This darling little male was soon seeking me out and engaging me in play. A short time span later, Amy brought the litter out to Leashes and Leads to assess them and decide what types of homes would be best for each puppy. I could not resist observing.

In that room once more every time I turned around there was that little male puppy. After being brought before the mirror and weighing in his general attitude Amy knew he would be best suited for a performance home. I had previously had hopes of when one came along adding a pup to my household to train specifically for performance, especially agility. This little charmer fit that bill perfectly. Before she left I offered to take him on if there wasn’t someone else already calling for him. October 17^th, 2010 Rosepoint Chain Lightning, or Ion for short, came to my home.

At 8 weeks of age Ion wasn’t quite a blank slate. He had already developed a foundation personality. The young Collie had an outgoing bold nature, loved to follow motion, and simply adored carrying things in his mouth. These traits were something I would have to work with. Fortunately, they were things I was looking for to aid in training. Now that he was mine I had decisions to make, after all, I wanted to created a successful dog not a little devil.

Ion learned to love his crate, a space he went to each night and during the day whenever I could not keep a close eye on him! This structure would remain in his life until he was old enough to start earning his free roaming of the house room by room. His area would be defined by baby gates as he learned how to behave inside the house.

We waited for Puppy Classes with Alice Howe at Leashes and Leads to start. In the meantime, he also came to work with me each day. On my lunch breaks we spent a little time training. These sessions included short spurts of learning and exploring intermingled with some fun games. When the first class began Ion tore out into the group and instantly began to engage with the other puppies. He was eager to chase, wrestle, and bat paws with the other students. His outgoing nature earning him many friends and experiences. After puppy social time we got down to some training in class. Lesson after lesson Ion was attentive and eager to work with me. I reinforced with him through lots of praise, fun, and treats how rewarding it was to listen; fostering that essential relationship. By the time we got through Puppy II Ion’s bold nature was showing that indeed he was cut out for agility! There was virtually no piece of equipment he would not try. He relished every moment of training.

Rear End Awareness lesson

Our lunchtime sessions gradually became more focused and longer, building higher skills of more variety. I used a wobble board to teach him balance and confidence when objects shifted beneath him. Knowing he was going into agility I started work on teaching him to go between jump uprights with the bars on the ground. We started to build many of the skills he would need intermingled with skills for the Rally ring. He had also started playing in Doggy Daycare with many other dogs where he socially bloomed. The daily play sessions allowing him to burn energy as well as be exposed to many different types and sizes of dogs. This daily exposure taught him that changes in his environment could be fun and interesting, as well as getting him used to major stimulation.

The Brass Pack: Ion, Ashenpaw, and Parker

In the Spring of 2011 we attended Obedience class with Paul Howe, the next step in line, to work with distractions. Even though I had done this training before with other dogs (Ashenpaw the Border Collie and Parker the Collie in the above photo), and I was training heeling positions, sits, downs, and stands on my own there is no replacing the environment of a class where the dog is constantly distracted by other activities. Focus in such a setting is critical for any performance dog. Ion was right there walking through his paces and eager to please! The working relationship we had started rooting in Puppy Class was deepening. The other dogs out there in the room became less and less of interest as the consistent commands grew more relevant in his memory. By the end of Obedience class there was a well timed opportunity for us to test our skills: Canine Good Citizens test.

On May 2^nd Ion was nine months old when he took his CGC and passed with flying colors. Cool as a cucumber he navigated the test without even so much as a flinch. By this time he had seen enough of the world that very little phased him.

At this time I decided to try something. I assist in teaching the Rally Class with Lynn Grovdahl, Kate Thornton, and Denise Wedel; after taking Ion through a few runs for demonstrations I decided it might be time to just see what he would do at a show site. I entered him into the Key City show I had been at before with my other boys, Ash and Parker. This was the Rally Novice class where he would still be on leash and the main idea is to get the dog comfortable and enjoying the experience. The pressure is less. Ion had a blast. He got out there and showed me he was more than happy to go the distance, and this was nine months of age. It was not a flawless run, but my goal was to get out there to show him the ropes and let him see what it was like. The show site didn’t stress him out at all. Once more, this was on account of how much of the world I had shown him. Ion is now one of the dogs we regularly use at Leashes and Leads to demonstrate Rally to new students in the classes.

Rally Demonstration Dog

Around this time a new Therapy Dog class had started with Amy Lawson, and Don and Stephanie Vaughan; I had recently lost my father to a lengthy illness and a therapy dog brought great comfort during that process to my whole family. Ion looked to be a good candidate for this good cause, and here I opted to tread another path. We already had Rally and Agility skills building. Taking the class as a student, Ion was the youngest dog in the room the rest were over a year old. At this point Ion was still nine months old. The six week class exposed us to many distractions and new things including medical equipment. He was a perfect nearly unflappable candidate. When he was unsure a simple look up at me for guidance and the relationship we had built meant he could trust me. If I was not worried, he was not worried. He would relax and stride right along. By the end of the class we had our date set for the assessment, but it would have to wait for November. This would give us time to practice.

The local dog show came in September and I entered Ion both days in Rally. If he succeeded in both runs we would have his Rally Novice title. There he was, ready and willing both days. And each day got better. The score improving which demonstrated a better cohesiveness between us. On September 18^th he earned his first title at the age of 13 months.

Rochester Kennel Club Dog Show, Rally warm up

Now, all this time the regular regime had continued at lunchtime. Short ten minute training sessions where I was working on building his skills in all areas, including agility. By this time I had been able to string together quite a few obstacles using the skills I had learned from training Ash. The foundation work I had done this whole time meant Ion and I were making great strides towards building this sport which takes a large investment of time and upkeep to be able to run successfully. Finally being able to enroll into an actual class, we are enjoying the challenge of running with distractions and getting the feedback we need to climb to the next levels. We have a long way to go before we are ready to enter that ring. But progress is visible, the year I spent painstakingly laying his foundations shows in his ability to focus and desire to work with me! I look down into those shining eyes and they ask “What next?”

In October his breeder invited me to bring him to the Collie Club’s Herding Instinct Testing where Ion dove right into the task showing that he has retained the natural instinct to herd sheep. The test only showed raw potential, but the skills were there and could be tapped in the future. Once more, he showed success with me at his side, his confidence never faltering. I begin to think there is nothing he would not do if given the chance.

Finally the day of Ion’s Therapy dog assessment came. We had been practicing, meeting people and working our skills the whole time. He was fifteen months old, young for such an intensive evaluation. But I was determined we would get through it as a team. I looked down into those shining eyes once more and saw that desire I had fostered. I remembered that puppy focused on me before he even had his name. We would do this, because I knew we could, together. Station by station Ion confidently moved through the evaluation and promptly stole the hearts of the team. This boy was showing maturity many many months beyond his true age. By the end of the test he had passed every station without a hesitation, something I could not have accomplished at this rate without all the prepwork adding up. Ion and I are now a Certified Therapy dog team through TDI and looking forward to our visits.

Our journey is not over, the road is just beginning! Because of our firm foundation the path choices are wide open for us to continue to branch into new directions. By utilizing the classes and investing time to lay the groundwork for him it has allowed us to reach goals early and with relative ease. After all, it is easier to learn when one is younger. By keeping his training fun and engaging he has learned to stay more connected and focused making him more trustworthy as an everyday dog. He is already successful, and I am very proud of him and his accomplishments. The relationship we have grows deeper with each new step we take thanks to the language we have forged together.

Dog training is not a spectator sport, it is a team process. We must learn to send the right signals and they must come to learn what those mean. It is the development of a language and no one can do that for you, that part of the process directly involves you. Once that language has a firm foundation the relationship deepens and grows… and the sky becomes the limit! What are your training goals and how will you reach them?