Rally questions

W

Wyosheltie

Forums Regular
I am thinking of possibly getting into rally. I do have a couple of questions on Rally.
I have had really no exposure to rally except on the net. What is the best way to find out more about it?

What is the basic the dog has to know?

Do the premium lists list rally? or?

Please feel free to post any information about rally.

Thanks

Tim
 
Well..I've only done one competition in Rally O..and that was about 3 years ago...
You go around a set course and do what the signs say ..so you (the human) need to know the signs and what the symbols and arrows mean..you can down load the signs off the AKC site (atleast you used to be able to)
You and you dog need to know the basic commands..sit, down, fast, slow...and theres some different turns you need to know how to do.
You can talk to your dog all the way thru the course..and theres a bit of room for error..more so then regular obedience.
Its pretty fun actually.

Have fun

Julie
Clancy & Abby
 
that is something Che and I are looking into... they do have rally obedience classes but am wondering if formal obedience class will be benefitial...
 
My training school may be offering a beginner rally class the end of the month. I told them I am interested. I don't really know much about it, but Bailey needs a job. Unfortunately they don't have any beginner agility classes coming up.
 
The first place to start is the rally rules. The is a picture of the sign and a desciption of the exercises that need to be done for each sign.

Rally is mostly heeling with sits, downs ,stands, turns, jumping and stays rolled into a course like agility. The scoring is not as tight as traditional obedience. You do not need to do a regular obedience class but they compliment each other well. If you can do all the rally moves you have the basis of most obedience heeling and turns etc.

If you have a local show I would also recommend going and watching. You can learn alot and its fun.:smile2:

Here are the rally rules they are at the end of the obedience rules.
A rally class can prepare you for the showing in and outs.:smile2:
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/about/board_minutes/Rally_Regulations.pdf

You can also do a search for events on the AKC website and if a show includes rally it will be listed on the premiium. Not all shows have rally.
http://www.akc.org/events/search/
Getting started in Rally
http://www.akc.org/events/rally/getting_started.cfm

I can anwser any more specific questions you have.
 
wow, looking at the descriptions of the signs in Rally-O. I have done a majority of the same exercises in class when I was training my Collie many(many) moons ago.

Tim
 
SheltieChe said:
that is something Che and I are looking into... they do have rally obedience classes but am wondering if formal obedience class will be benefitial...
Click to expand...

Yes, absolutely. And Shelties are so smart, they can probably do Rally Novice by the time they are done with the basic obedience class.
 
We just stewarded a rally competition yesterday. it was way cool and the first time I had seen a rally event.

I think that the novice level could be done by anyone with basic obedience training. It's on leesh and nothing is very hard to do. You have to qualify in the novice level three times before you can move on to advanced, which is off leash, so plenty of time to see if you like the sport. :)
 
A basic obedience class would be beneficial prior to starting rally, as you will need to learn sit, down, stand, stay, and heeling to do a rally course.
Most rally classes around assume the dogs already know that much, and it then is mostly just about learning the signs. There are some moves you'll need that most basic obedience classes don't teach, and the rally ones do seem to cover. That would be front, finish right, finish left, backing, side step, and get back.
 
You've already gotten some great responses, so I don't have a lot more to add besides to definitely give it a try! I LOVE Rally, it's such a great way to refine obedience exercises while still being able to give encouragement to your dog. I've trialed in APDT and UKC Rally with my AKK, and we had the best time.

The biggest advice I can give you is to print out the signs and read the regulations carefully, as there are little differences in execution that can make or break (ie. double-checking if it's a finish-forward or a finish-halt, etc.). You can make your own courses at homes if you print out signs and buy some kids soccer cones from a sports store. Try to proof in as many environments as you can, I've found practicing in Petsmart or Pets Supplies Plus to be very helpful.

It's SO much fun though. I'll be doing AKC rally with Nike soon, and I'm sure we'll have a blast.
 
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