# Rally skills/stations



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

Can anyone help me out with the specifics of the stations in Rally? Spike's progressing madly in puppy classes, and loves it! We'd like to try Rally, but we'd like to have the skills covered before we do... help?
Sarah


----------



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

Both my husband and I compete with our Standard Poodles in AKC Rally Obedience. Our beautiful Arreau pup, Lucy, is partway through her Rally Advanced title and our daughter's byb brown girl, Chalumeau, is just beginning her Rally Excellent adventure.

The most important thing I've found in playing with rally is that the dog needs to be able to pay attention to you and follow your direction - basic obedience commands are used in rally (heel, sit, down, wait or stay, etc.) The more interesting ones are where your dog backs up with you, staying in heel position, and the left turn/pivots where your dog needs to stay beside you, but understand to move out of your way as you move toward the left.

The AKC has updated/added new signs this spring and one of the fun ones we were working on this weekend is the one where you send your dog over a jump from 6 feet back (and 3 feet beside) the jump. The old signs had the dogs going over the jump at the same time the handler passed by on the side, but the new sign asks the handler to stop and send the dog forward without them and then return to heel on the other side... Lucy caught on in a BLINK (she actually did the BEST of all the dogs at practice!) - it's a little harder for Meau because she doesn't want to leave my husband's side...

Do you have any rally clubs or classes you could attend to get started? We belong to our local kennel club and we put on Rally O classes a couple of times a year and the rest of us in the club get together for practices as often as possible (mostly for the fun of getting together and socializing our dogs!)

We are really enjoying our rally journey!

Barb


----------



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

I'm sure our local kennel club is offering something - we're pretty new with them, and their meetings were on puppy class nights till this round of classes, where the intermediate dogs meet on another day!


----------



## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

defintly look around for a Rally class. Sometimes private instructors teach them. If you look online you can find all the signs, descriptions for how to do them. Also search Youtube- there are some good videos on specific movements. 

I've never done a class- but prepped for novice all by myself. However I Have done a fair decent bit of Obedience back in the day. So already knew the basics- teaching down, heeling, sit stay etc in an obedience way. 

getting out and practicing actual courses and with some distractions around is invaluable. Ifyou can get out to watch a rally trial it's a great way to get an idea of how it works. However you'll usually find everyone SUPER friendly and helpful at trials.


----------



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

We've passed the STAR puppy back in February, and are ready for the CGC test this month (we had to get over the whining when Mommy leaves thing...) We are registering for Quinnipiac in Sept and for UPBA in Oct. We still have no idea what we are doing, but we're having fun... would love to find a class here in CT...

sarah


----------



## Eclipse (Apr 26, 2010)

Hi Sarah,

Plumcrazy is correct that your dog will need to know some basic obedience and be able to pay attention to you and take your direction to perform exercise indicated on the sign. I would think it would be very difficult to learn all that is required without taking a class and doing practice run throughs with a group. It is true that rally does not require the precision of an obedience dog, especially at the lower levels in both venues where work is done on leash, but once you get up into the higher levels, you will need to have done more advanced work. For example, in APDT some of the Level 3 exercises require directed jumping, retrieving, and signal work.

I train and show in many performance venues with my spoo, rally being one of them. We show in both AKC and APDT Rally. We have our RE title in AKC and are working on the highest combined level title in APDT, our ARCHMX, which requires 10 triple Q's (you must qualify in all 3 levels at the same show 10 times) for the title. So, if you Q in 1 and 2, and not 3, it is not a Q leg towards the title. Each Rally venue is lots of fun, but I personally prefer APDT over AKC, just my opinion from having done both so I'll elaborate on it a bit. The courses are a bit longer and generally the rings are bigger with more distance between the signs. When you start out you work through each level to get your title in the A class, then once you have your title, you move to the B classes and start working on level championship titles and combined level titles. I've attached a link to the APDT Rules and Guidelines section:

Rules and Guidelines

That will take you to a page that will give you rules and regulations, describe the components of the exercises, show you what the signs look like, etc. I've also attached links to videos of my dog, one of a Level 1 class and one of a Level 3 class which includes the send Plumcrazy mentioned as being new to AKC. APDT has that as well. APDT also has a bonus exercise at the end of the routine, which is one single exercise worth 10 additional points (a perfect score in APDT is 210). You can get all, partial or no points depending on how you perform it but you don't lose anything from your score coming in if you do the bonus wrong, so almost everyone attempts it. 

Level 1





Level 3 (you may have to turn off autoplay on this one, youtube is a pain with this now)





Hope you find a class and get involved, I'm sure you and your pup would much enjoy it.

Cheers,
Eckipse and Fallon
ARCHEX, U-CD Calisun Night Flight, CDX, RE, NA, NF, OAJ, CDX-C, RL1X, RL2X2, RL3X, CL1, CL2, CL3-F, HIC, CGC, VCX


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

*rally opportunities*

I am currently working on the AKC RAE and CDX titles with Lily. We will be at the Quinnipiac Poodle Club trials on Friday September 21st in Hamden, CT. You might want to check it out as a place to meet some people who are doing rally with poodles. It is at a place called Paws N Effect. It is a really nice trial and there is also a breed specialty (AM and PM). You might also look at Port Chester Obedience Training Club. It is in White Plains, not around the corner for you, per se, but they run a number of APDT trials in addition to AKC trials.


----------



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

We will also be at quinnipiac. I'm mailing the reg today...- we'll be the ones with NO CLUE what we are doing.... I have yet to find a rally trainer here, but will ask at kennel club Tuesday to see if someone can work with us for these few weeks... We've got the basics, and have been in intermediate class for a while - and we are ready for CGC, just waiting for a test by an unknown evaluator.... probably Sept 8 at Responsible Dog-a-Tuck day, in Naugatuck, CT (insert shameless plug for Trap Falls Kennel Club event here...) 

I'd love to meet up with you that day - I signed up for AM - thinking that was rally novice... heads up- I am half deaf. I do have a hearing aid, and I wear it when it is not too hot, but if the sounds are overwhelming, I take it out... best to tap me to get my attention and to have me be able to see your face when you talk to me... 

If you are coming over on the ferry, we could meet up for breakfast here in Bridgeport. I'll message you my phone #.

sarah


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

*first time, just remember to breathe*

The hardest thing about the first time in a trial is to try to relax enough to not make your dog nervous. Remember you transmit your feelings down the leash.

In rally novice you are on leash and you can give a fair amount of encouraging talk to your dog. Take advantage of it. Tell the dog what to do and then give a nice good for things well done. 

Don't worry about time. It only matters to break a tie if you are in the running to place 1st - 4th. Redo things if you don't think you did it right. If you have an incorrect performance (IP) at a station it is ten points off, but a retry if you do it right the second time is only 3 off. Since you need 70 points to Q you can lose out by having IPs pretty fast.

Be careful not to correct the dog's position for sits at stations requiring them. I have gotten a couple of IPs recently because I corrected or Lily self corrected crooked sits.

See you in September Sarah.


----------



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

Okay - we had our first private lesson yesterday, and today we are headed up to work with a group. I think we're a little slow or young, and that we have definitely benefited from group lessons locally, but that our pet dog trainer is not a showing or performance dog trainer - We got a number of small corrections in some pretty basic stuff - where is the leash and how to hold it, and where are the treats and when to give them, etc... 

Spike managed about 1/2 of the stations and did fine with the spiral and the cones, even the figure 8 - front is a challenge, and heeling close. 

We may be working alone in the parking lot by the time it's all said and done, but we are going today to observe and learn, and even to try a practice if it looks like that won't be too disruptive.... 

Biggest lesson learned here is that if you want to take classes, take them from someone who is training dogs to do what you want to do with yours..

Sarah


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Hi Sarah, One of the most important things rally judges look for in novice is tight leashes. Make sure you never give a leash pop correction in rally. I would also be sure to use a leather or nylon collar. If you have a chain, the judge will hear it every time it tightens.

I recently was talking to some people at a trial and they were saying they were nervous about getting out of novice and having to work off leash. I told them that I found that I was relieved to be free of worrying about losing points for tight leashes when I went to advanced. It is rally, not obedience, you can use your voice. Tell Spike what you want him to do as you go. You may lose a couple of points for heeling wide or crooked sits/fronts but probably not too much in novice, especially if you are an A handler.

For the fronts in novice you can back up a step or two as you call him to front. You can pat your leg and say "Spike heel (or get close)" to pull him closer to you for the heeling. I haven't shown under the judge (Elizabeth Chase) who will be at QPC, but I have stewarded for her and we had lunch together at that trial. She is lovely, fair and clear in her explanations. As I said earlier in the thread remember to breathe.

I am sorry I missed talking to you over the weekend. We will communicate more directly before the 21st. Lily and I are leaving early tomorrow for Cape Cod.


----------



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

Oh, and I wish we had a video of our beautiful puppy proudly performing every single test item on the CGC test, AND of the EPIC FUN he had for about 2 totally uncontrolled minutes as soon as we switched over the 20' lead! The evaluator was sad to fail us, but it just too too long to gain control when we changed leashes.... (I think that was the nicest possible way anyone could have said it!!!) Everyone who was not me was duly impressed with his ability to run, jump, do somersaults over the leash, etc...! WE'll try again the end of the month, and work on testing with a puppy that's had enough sleep, and enough exercise, prior to the testing...
sarah


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I can, and will, happily (now, wasn't happy then) share with you numerous accounts of the wild things Lily has done to get us excused from obedience rings, excuse ourselves from rally rings, etc. when I have more time. Nobody who was in the CGC class we took believed that she would be able to pass because she is such an obsessed licker. But now I get compliments on what a nice working dog she is from judges. It will come together. Be patient. Keep your sense of humor and remember to breathe.


----------



## Doggroomer812 (May 4, 2011)

*my first rally class...*

During my first rally class at a show... every time I was supposed to turn left, I turned right... and vice versa . After I got it out of my system I Q'd for the rest of the weekend and got our UR-01 with my golden.


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I have two quick stories about less than stellar moments in rally advanced, just to show that you can make mistakes anytime.

In our very first rally advanced entry, we set up at the start and I took Lily's leash off and handed it to the judge. The open entrance to the ring was right behind us. I forget what the first station was, but it was one that involved having Lily come to front. She saw the open gate and promptly left the ring. The judge was nice and gave us a second shot at getting through the course when I got her back, but we nq'd anyway.

A couple of months later we had a course with the offset figure eight (food or toy distractions). This judge had out toys (Lily could have easily ignored food) and one of them was a pile of glued together tennis balls. Asking Lily to ignore tennis balls is like _______ (fill in your most unimaginable thing). She saw them from across the ring when we were at the second sign and went to see them. I got her back with me, but when we got to station three which had a halt I could see she was obsessing over the tennis balls (looking at them, not me). I asked to be excused then, knowing I was never going to make it through the course with 70 points.

Rally on with a sense of humor always close at hand.:dancing2:


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Doggroomer812, its your other left. I almost did a 360 left instead of a 360 right this morning.

Anyway, Lily and Spike had a great time today at Quinnipiac Poodle Club even though we didn't Q. They got a good romp afterwards and now Lily and I have to switch to agility mode.


----------



## sarahmurphy (Mar 22, 2012)

We had a nice little NQ by our number - which was really great, and not at all in proportion to the size of the NQ we performed! 

We had fun, had a playdate and lunch with Lily and Catherine, met some great people (and some weird ones...) then proceeded to ask to be excused from the CGC test tonight based on the location and our general discomfort level with it and the way the test was being performed. In all, a day of learning and fun, and Spike is sound asleep at my feet, and I'm not far behind him...!

Sarah


----------

