Rally Newbie & would like to ....................

[LuvourGSDs]

know the best websites & such to read up on this sport please.

Had our first class tonight & very fun.

Just feel I need to way more info on this sport.

Thanks for any info, advice, & tips !


Is it just called *Rally* ? What's Obed. Rally ? I have since learned Obed. is a sport of it's own.

[Branca's Mom]

Don't know of any websites off the top of my head. Might want to try the yahoo groups, there was a very active rally group that had lots of competitors and judges so you can ask lots of questions.

Rally falls under Obedience in AKC trials. Tons of Fun! Enjoy!

[amjrchamberlain]

The AKC website is a great place to start!!
http://www.akc.org/events/rally/
You can get a copy of the rules & regs - so you will know what is expected of you (to trial in each level of Rally).

There is also:
http://www.rallyobedience.com/
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/rallyo.html

And APDT Rally:
http://www.apdt.com/po/rally/default.aspx

Best Wishes and Welcome to Rally!!

[selzer]

I don't know of any websites. I kind of call it Rally obedience. You can get AKC titles, RN, RA, RE, and RAE. Also UKC, but I know nothing about UKC Rally. For obedience, you have a CD, a CDX a UD and a UDX.

RN is Rally Novice and it is done completely on lead and there are no jumps. There are a certain number of possible signs, some can be repeated a couple of times, some are stationary obstacles, some are moving. The judge makes up his own course within the guidlines for the class he is judging. The dog does not need to be in perfect heel position but he has to be under control. Tight leads are penalized up to and including NQ (not qualifying). No one touches your dog. You can talk to your dog the whole time. Leash corrections, prong collars, harnesses, head collars, and harsh corrections are not allowed. With some judges, dropping your leash can get you NQ'd.

CD is the obedience novice or Companion Dog Title, usually just called Novice A or Novice B classes. It encompasses heeling on lead, off lead, figure 8, stand for exam, recall, and then the group excersized 1 minute sit and 3 minute down. The obedience rules are a bit stiffer in that you must give a command one time, either with a hand signal or with your voice, and then you are done. Double commands are penalized, and may get you NQ'd.

RA is a Rally Advanced Title. It is done off leash. All the novice signs are allowable. There are a couple of possible jumps. And there are a few added signs. Again you can talk to your dog.

CDX is the open obedience title, or Companion Dog excellent. It includes retrieving, longer sit and down, possibly out of sight. I believe it has jumps as well.

RE is Rally Excellent Title. It is done off leash. All novice and RA signs and maybe some excellent signs -- not sure. There is an honor dog, which is that a dog must be in the ring on a sit or down while the next dog does the course.

UD is the Utility dog title in Obedience. It includes scent discrimination, retrieving over jumps, and maybe some other things. I have watched this, but have never competed at this level. As far as I know the UDX, Utility dog excellent is a title where the dog qualifies in Open and Utility both in the same show, I think ten times.

The RAE is similar to the UDX, the dog must qualify in Rally Advanced and Rally Excellent both times ten shows.

Personally, UDX and RAE are a way for the AKC to make money on entrance fees.

Obedience and Rally Obedience are a fun way to perfect your dog's training. Rally is timed but the time is only used in the event of a tie. Obedience is scored, weighing each of the tests by a certain number of points. I think that you have to have 170 points and at least 1/2 the points on each excersize. So if you completely bomb recall, but lost no points on the rest, you still NQ. Rally, it is points off of 100. Things like tight leash, poor sits, repeating a station, incorrectly performing a station, etc. will be marked off. Blowing by a station will provide you an NQ.

In Rally, my first attempt, I brought a dog (Arwen) who could have done the whole thing off lead, and I NQ'd because I missed a sign. Handler error! When I went through with Rushie, he took first place. After that I had not NQ'd again with any dog until my I got to Tori. I dropped the leash twice and the judge NQ's me -- he said that the dog was unmanageable. However, she qualified fine the next day, and took third place at the Shepherd specialty. With the second place she already had, I was pleased with her.

Ribbons are addictive, especially blue, red, yellow and white ones, 1st through 4th place. Green ribbons are for qualifying scores and those are really the important ones, because it takes three qualifying scores under two different judges (in Rally) for a title. these are known as title legs. In obedience it is three different judges.

In Obedience, my first attempt was with Rushie, I trained hard the week before and he would not stand for the exam, and he would not do the sit stay. They excused him from the down stay. ERrrrgH! I entered Arwen in the next couple of shows and She took first place in all three of them. I was so proud of my girl. Still am.

Pointers from me would be, don't overdo the training right before a show. Make sure you have enough time to let your dog relax and potty before going in the ring. Try it at puppy matches first. It is cheaper, no title leg, but you can usually do a run through for 5 to 8 bucks, and you can still get ribbons. Trials have a lot more dogs and cost about 28 bucks.

Good luck and welcome.

[LuvourGSDs]

Oh thanks so much for the links !

Also, thanks Sue for ALL the wonderful info, now if I can get all this confusing stuff STRAIGHT, wow !

Sue, are you showing or anything next weekend (Dec 12-14) in Cleveland ? A friend from here & I are going to try & go on Sat. to watch things.

[amjrchamberlain]

No problem! And feel free to keep asking questions...

[selzer]

Saturday I have classes. I wanted to go up and watch agility, but I need to watch my pennies right now as I am newly unemployed.

I did not enter because I have no one ready. Babs could probably get her CD at this point, but she should be in heat right NOW. Ah, the joy of having bitches. When you do not want them to be, or do not expect them to be in heat they are. So I have Babs in classes right now and am expecting her to start any moment.

Oh, and I am working the puppies. They are too young for the Cleveland show though, even if they were ready.

I hope you have a great time. Watch some agility for me.

[LuvourGSDs]

Originally Posted By: selzer

I hope you have a great time. Watch some agility for me.

Yes, plan on it. I'm in agility classes & interested in watching & cheering on others that's in our group !

[BlackPuppy]

I had 2 RNs on my dogs when I joined the RallyO Yahoo Group. I learned SO MUCH. And they have instructional videos in their "files" section. It's a high traffic group, but worth it, IMHO.