Chapter 1
Introduction to RALLY
The handler moves quickly, stepping to the right, to the left, circling, halting, and then taking off again. Her dog, his eyes glued to her face, almost magically stays by her side, shadowing her every move. She is smiling widely; his tail wags constantly as his body quivers with excitement—clearly they are both having the time of their lives. Where are they? At a Rally trial.
Rally Obedience was initially developed in 2000 by Charles “Bud” Kramer, who was also the innovator of the first American agility program back in 1984. Over the years, Kramer had watched interest in competition obedience decline. To attract new people to the sport of dogs, he came up with the idea for a sport with a “softer” climate than traditional competition obedience, one that more enhanced the human/dog bond. And so Rally was born. The sport has often been described as a mixture of agility and competition obedience. This is because some of the behaviors in Rally are similar to behaviors used in competition obedience, but as in agility, participants in Rally follow a numbered course—the judge doesn’t call a pattern.
When competing in Rally, you essentially follow a course of signs and perform the behavior(s) listed on each card. The judge does not follow you too closely, just near enough to score you. You are on your own once you say “Ready!” You complete the course at your own speed and you can talk to your dog the entire time if you wish.
Being originally a “snob” competition person, when Rally first came out I thought it was stupid. That lasted right up until I actually went to a Rally seminar. Within ten minutes, I was completely and utterly hooked. Rally Obedience (whether the AKC (American Kennel Club) or APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) venue) is a wonderful sport that utilizes many different behaviors. Some of these behaviors are used in competition obedience, and some are wonderful for just plain, day-to-day living with your dog. Passing other dogs or people on the road or trail, getting around a show site, even taking your dog to a flea market will all be easier, more enjoyable and safer if your dog knows the Rally moves outlined in this book.
Reasons to Compete in Rally
Rally is all about having fun and interacting with your dog while competing for titles. If you enjoy training your dog and want to take that training past the basics or if you are wondering what a good next step would be after the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certificate, Rally is a wonderful sport to train for. Although you don’t have to have your CGC to compete, it is important that your dog knows and is proficient at loose leash walking and ignoring other dogs and also that he is responsive to some basic cues such as come, sit, down and stay. Even if your dog is just beginning to learn these things, you can start Rally training—this book is laid out in easy-to-follow, step-by-step exercises for the beginner on up.
Trialing can be scary for the new (and not-so-new) competitor. Rally is a fantastic way for both you and your dog to get used to the show scene and to take your training to new heights of proficiency. Once you have completed your Rally title(s), it is quite easy to segue into any other dog sport you may be interested in pursuing—be it competition obedience, agility, carting, or tracking, to name just a few.
The AKC and other venues are cracking down on unruly dogs that compete in agility and have been issuing non-qualifying scores to those dogs that are not under their handler’s control. So while you don’t need agility training to do Rally, you do need some of the basic training used in Rally to do agility.
How Rally Differs from Competition Obedience
In competition obedience you are allowed to talk to your dog only between exercises. The patterns followed are very similar, if not identical, no matter which judge you show under. The judge follows at a very close distance and calls out instructions such as “right turn,” “left turn,” “about turn” and “halt.” In AKC, ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America) and UKC (United Kennel Club) competition obedience (Novice), the heeling pattern is done on leash, then again off leash with a stand for exam in between (with direct contact between the judge and your dog). Once this is completed, there is an off leash recall. At the end are group stays with a one-minute sit stay in a group of approximately eleven other dogs and a three-minute down stay in that same group of dogs. Take a look at the chart below to see how competition obedience behaviors relate to Rally.
AKC Obedience (Novice) AKC Rally (Novice) APDT Rally (level 1)
Heel on leash yes yes yes
Heel off leash yes no no
Figure 8 yes no no
Stand for exam yes no no
Recall yes no no
Group stays yes no no
Of course, Rally requires many behaviors that competition obedience does not.
Training with Positive Methods
One of the major objectives of the sport of Rally is that the dog and handler team be just that, a team working together in a happy and joyful manner, showing off the bond and training between them. That lighthearted relationship can only be present in the ring when it exists at home. I firmly believe in using only positive methods when working with a dog. Training Rally behaviors to precision using positive reinforcement will not only result in a better relationship with your dog and a dog that loves to compete, but also will yield you the same high scores as traditional training methods.
It is very important to train your dog so that he can experience success without the fear of making a mistake. This is achieved by breaking down each behavior into tiny pieces (approximations). The smaller the approximation, the easier it becomes to teach the “big” behavior. It is crucial to know how to break each behavior down into steps that your dog finds manageable and understandable so he can figure out just what he is being taught. I have reduced the exercises in this book in this way. Every time your dog is successful at learning one of these small steps, you keep his interest and, more importantly, build his confidence.
You want your dog to be as successful as he can be, and your training should be geared to that end goal. However, although you will always try to set the dog up to be right, there are times when he will give you a “wrong” response. In these cases, you should not be in a hurry to “fix” him, but instead should give him some time to think. Only by sampling other behaviors can your dog find out exactly what gets him reinforcement. In positive training, failure is not necessarily bad; rather, it teaches the dog what works and what doesn’t.
For instance, when I watch someone training the left finish (see Chapter 3), I often see what I call a “two-part” finish. Here’s what happens: The handler signals the dog to do the left finish and the dog does it crooked. The handler then signals again, the dog straightens himself and the handler rewards the dog. If repeated often enough, the dog will think this is what he is supposed to do—be crooked on the first attempt and then fix it.
The correct way to handle this is for the handler to simply stand still and wait. And wait. If the dog starts to fix himself, even if it isn’t perfect, then the handler should click and treat for the attempt.
My dog Beau was nearly at the point of learning that erroneous two-part finish. I decided to see what would happen if I just stood still and did nothing after his first try. I signaled Beau to finish and he was indeed crooked. He was very attentive and I could see the wheels turning, so I grit my teeth and didn’t re-signal him or help him in any way. After two minutes (yes, two minutes!), he fixed himself. I gave him a huge jackpot of treats and play.
On the other hand, you want your dog to experience as much success as possible—too much failure can create an aggressive, frustrated or quitter dog. If your dog is regularly failing, then training has probably been pushed too far, too fast. He may be tired or not in the mood that day or you may be drilling him too much or not making the steps small enough. You also may have changed your signals without meaning to, thus causing some confusion. Training is an art, and you will need to develop a feel for when you need to make a step easier for your dog to understand and when you should allow him to “fail,” thereby giving him the chance to think the problem through.
Training for any sport should be teamwork and fun for both of you. The joy you bring to training will shine through in the ring. For those of you who would like to read further on positive training, see Appendix 3.
Basic Differences between AKC and APDT Rally
AKC and APDT use slightly different signs and behaviors for the various Rally levels in their venues. These differences are discussed in later chapters. For ease in training, this book is laid out so that similar exercises—regardless of venue or level—are grouped together. Each exercise is numbered in accordance with APDT and AKC Rally specifications; these numbers correspond to the numbers on each individual sign.
The basic scoring is also slightly different in the two venues. The actual judging of each exercise is not much discussed in these pages unless it has a distinct bearing on teaching the particular behavior or unless it is necessary to describe some fundamental difference between the two venues. You can go to each venue’s website to see exact scoring guidelines. (Website resources for further information on each particular venue are listed in Appendix 3.)
APDT Rally
In APDT Rally, food may be used as a reward only in the class designated the “food” class. (You do not have to enter this food class.) However, you may use food only at specific signs. Watch for the words “food allowed” in the discussion in these pages. The exact timing of delivering the treats is also covered. Chapter 9 gives you more information about how to properly use food, if you so choose.
APDT Rally requires that dogs be handled by their owners or members of the owner’s immediate family. There are two types of classes, A and B. A is for the dog that has not completed a level 1, 2 or 3 title. For instance, if you have three dogs and want to get Rally level 1, 2 or 3 titles on all of them, you would continue to show in the A classes for all of your dogs. If you want to start going for your ARCH (APDT Rally Championship) or each level’s Excellent title for a particular dog, you would enter into the B class as soon as that dog earned his title in the A class. Each of the A and B classes is further broken down into food or non-food classes. In the A classes, in case of a tie for a placement (first through fifth), there will be an actual course runoff to determine the winner—usually consisting of the first six signs of the course you just ran. In the B classes, a tying score will be resolved by the fastest time. All runs in both the A and B classes are timed. You are allowed four minutes to complete a course.
AKC Rally
AKC Rally does not allow food in the ring. All runs are timed, although at the time of the printing of this book, there is no time limit for completing your run. Ties for placement ribbons (first through fourth) are broken by time only. There are no runoffs unless there is a tie for time as well as score. A runoff in this case consists of rerunning a full course.
AKC also has A and B classes; however, the distinctions are made along different lines than in APDT. For AKC Novice level, if you as a handler have achieved any other AKC Rally title with another dog or any AKC competition obedience title with any dog, you must enter into the B classes. The A classes are for handlers and dogs that have never earned an AKC Rally title (RN) or any AKC Novice, Open or Utility title. Handlers must own the dog entered or be a member of the owner’s household or immediate family.
In the Advanced and Excellent levels, the distinction is slightly different. If the dog you are showing presently in Rally has an AKC Novice, Open or Utility title, you must show in the B classes. If you have titled a previous dog in AKC Novice, Open or Utility, but are now showing in AKC Rally a dog that doesn’t have those titles, you may enter into the A classes. The owner or any other person may handle dogs in the B classes in these two levels.
Rally Levels
APDT Rally has three levels:
Rally level 1 (title designation RL1)
