RALLY ON! Rally Obedience
When I first heard of rally obedience, I wondered, "What the heck is that?" At the time, it was a competitive, non-title event held at some obedience trials. When the AKC decided to offer titles, I became much more interested. I admit, I am kind of title oriented. I did a little research and visited the AKC website and downloaded all the rally signs. What I saw and read seemed too simple - how could you get an actual TITLE for things that most dogs already know anyway?
The AKC implemented the rally obedience program as a "bridge" between the popular Canine Good Citizen Test (CGC) and formal obedience. Since agility came into the scene, obedience entries have been dropping, and the AKC has been trying to think up ways to get more people to enter obedience. Thus rally obedience was born. The AKC enthusiastically states that "...rally promotes fun and enjoyment for dogs at all levels of competition." And it's taken off like wildfire!
So, just what IS rally obedience, and why should you and your Borzoi participate?
Rally is a timed event, but before freaking out, timing is only used in case of a tie in scores. So you and your Borzoi can take your time going through the course. It is patterned after rally car racing, and is similar. It has cones and a numbered course that you and your dog complete by yourselves. Timing starts at the first station and ends at the last one. There are 10-20 signs or stations in a trial. In the Novice class, there will be between 10-15 stations. You won't know what signs you will get until the day of your trial, so familiarization with the first 31 signs is a bonus, but you will not have to memorize the signs. No worries, right?
Ten to fifteen minutes before the class starts, you will have a map of the course and will be able to walk it (without your Borzoi). You are allowed to ask the judge any questions about the course at this time. You can study the map and watch the other competitors before you go (unless you are first!). Still no worries - any questions you have about the course will be answered.
The Novice Class is ALL on lead. You can pat your leg, use a happy voice, talk ALL the way though the course, pretend to have a treat and lead your dog with your hand - piece of cake! You can even use MULTIPLE commands!
Your dog needs to be able to sit, down, turn, come, stay very briefly, and return to heel position from both the right and left sides. That's about it. The rest is training YOU not to freak out about the signs! You have two retries at each station. Again, no worries!
So how do you fail? You can miss a sign, get less than 70 of the 100 required points, have a consistently tight leash, an uncontrollable dog, and of course, elimination in the ring (keep your males and dominant bitches away from the cones!! HA HA). Deductions are for multiple commands, tight leashes, those sort of things. You have to do the signs in order - but they are numbered. There are no treats allowed in the ring, but you can train with them.
After you and your dog get your RN (Rally Novice) (the AKC stresses that the TEAM passes rally exercises, and I must say, it's true! ) you can advance to the Advanced and Excellent classes. Both are off leash, but the excellent classes are a little stricter and more challenging. Both require jumps and some fancier turns that you and your Borzoi will have to practice. There are 50 signs to learn, but you'll have learned the first 31 from the Novice classes.
I had never seen Rally before when I signed up with my first dog. I thought it looked like fun, so I looked at the signs and practiced some of the things with my dog. I basically went in cold turkey, but I have some CDs and a CDX under my belt, so Rally didn't look too intimidating after that! (NO WORRIES!)
Here are the things to remember about rally:
When I get into the ring, everything outside the course ceases to be. It's me and my dog, walking the course, executing to the best of our ability the requirements. It's an incredible feeling that I have never gotten in say, formal obedience. It's very addicting and fun!
So grab your leash and treats and download the signs from the AKC site and let's RALLY!
You're welcome to email me with any questions about Rally Obedience.