[Deacon.dog]

Does anybody here do it? Can somebody who actively participates in Rally tell me about how it works? I know its a course of different commands, but what else should I know?

Also, what kind of training items can I make at home? I've got agility jumps and weaves, and a OB dumbell.

 

[storyist]

I do AKC Rally and have done UKC. You can find all the Rally stations described on the AKC website. The levels are Novice, Intermediate (optional), Advanced, Excellent, and Master. Basically, you go through a course that's different each time, designed by the particular judge, who chooses from available stations at the particular level. Each level has more difficult stations than the last, and each level adds a few more stations allowed to a course. Novice and Intermediate are on leash. All others are off leash. Both AKC and UKC have Rally championships.

You probably already have all the equipment you need, which isn't much. Cones for things like serpentines. The same three jumps as obedience - bar, panel, and broad - come into to play at the Advanced level.

You are allowed to speak to your dog and use most hand and body language, which is why I love it as opposed to the rigidity of obedience, and it's not as fast as as agility. I've always said I couldn't do agility without tearing my knees apart unless I was in a wheelchair. It is handler intensive. If you don't know the exact requirements of each station, you can really cost your dog points. I'm sure you can find videos online.

 

[LeoRose]

I've done AKC rally as well as some Cyber Rally-O. It's fun. Rally was originally based on obedience "doodling", or moves designed to help dogs understand different cues and to teach new behaviors. If your dog has a heel, sit, down, stand, come front, and is able to do a finish (go to heel position from front position) to the left and right, then you have pretty much everything you need for at least the first level in pretty much all the organizations that I know of. In some organizations, you may need right side heeling and finishing to your right side in some levels/titling tracks.

The course is designed by the judge, and the organization has rules about how many and what type of stations there are per level. Once you start the course, the judge doesn't give you any further orders. Instead, you are expected to read the signs and perform the behavior(s) shown. Although you are allowed pretty much unlimited communication with your dog, and can use both voice and hand cues, some organizations are more strict on the number of times you can cue your dog ("sit" with both a voice and hand cue are fine, but "sit, sit, sit, sit" while repeated giving a hand cue would lose points).

These are the rally organizations that I know of in the US and Canada:

American Kennel Club
Australian Shepherd Club of America
Canadian Kennel Club (Canada)
Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (Canada)
Canine Works and Games
Cyber Rally-O (online)
International Canine Events Rallye Challenge
Rally Freestyle Elements (live and online)
United Kennel Club
Wag-It Games (live and online)
World Cynosport Rally, Limited

 

[Deacon.dog]

Nice! I'll check out some of the online rally options, i think it would be a great thing to do with my dogs right now, since I don't need a ton of supplies and its easy to do at home.

 

[LeoRose]

AKC is offering Novice and Intermediate titles via video through the end of the year. WCRL is also offering an online titling option called Rally at Home. CRO is always 100% online.

Now that it's starting to cool down a bit, and my son has started in-person classes, I'm hoping to get an AKC Novice title on Leo.

 

[Deacon.dog]

AKC was giving junior handlers free titles over the summer, but it ended in august. I got four titles on Deacon, and 2 on Raleigh during that time. (All trick titles) But I don't have a job right now (working on it). Is there a fee associated with WCRL or CRO?

I am hoping to start in person scent work with Deacon soon, and with Raleigh missing his introduction to agility classes, I am hoping i can get on that ASAP, because I can only do so much at home. He's 6 old now, I got him in march and haven't been able to do a whole lot with him <.< I hope he doesn't grow up to be a mess because we couldn't go out as much as I would have liked.

 

[LeoRose]

The dog needs to be registered with them, and then there are entry fees.

I know that CRO give discounts for multiple entries, including multiple dogs registered to the same handler.

 

[Deacon.dog]

Oh nice, I'll look into it.