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The Rally Thread

27K views 118 replies 25 participants last post by  Rosemary 
#1 ·
A thread for newbies, proffesionals, and overall discussions on rally :)

I'll start,

Any tips for a newbie? I want to enter mabel soonish, she has a solid regular competition obedience foundation minus the stand for exams (the exam part) but rally is pretty much foreign to me and what i've seen so far of the signs gets me rather confused...they just seem so redundant.

Any moves that aren't in your beginner novice through excellent classes? (before open and utility style stuff)
 
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#2 ·
I love talking about Rally, but I only know about AKC rally.
Some of the signs are redundant for the sake of laying out a course (right/left) and also to build skills for the next level (Figure 8s with and without distractions, Halt-Turn vs Halt/Pivot - which I find redundant if you just train a pivot, but that is another story.)

What do you mean: "Any moves that aren't in your beginner novice through excellent classes? (before open and utility style stuff)"? BN Obed has a sit-for-exam, Nov Obed has stand-for-exam but AKC Rally never has the judge put his/her hands on the dog. Or are you looking for things you'd do in Rally that you'd never do in Obed?
 
#3 ·
I love talking about Rally, but I only know about AKC rally.
Some of the signs are redundant for the sake of laying out a course (right/left) and also to build skills for the next level (Figure 8s with and without distractions, Halt-Turn vs Halt/Pivot - which I find redundant if you just train a pivot, but that is another story.)

What do you mean: "Any moves that aren't in your beginner novice through excellent classes? (before open and utility style stuff)"? BN Obed has a sit-for-exam, Nov Obed has stand-for-exam but AKC Rally never has the judge put his/her hands on the dog. Or are you looking for things you'd do in Rally that you'd never do in Obed?
Yes to the bold, just wondering if there is anything new to train, like I know for example there is a "back up" sign

And yea, the like stop halt stop or something like that, i overthink them they are so redundant. I just stare at it like...ok this can't be that complicated?...or is it lol
 
#6 ·
I taught Emily back up next to the couch in my living room. You can use a wall too. In fact, I will use a wall for a tune up before a class that has a back up in it. I show RE and I am not familar with the turn in a circle and back up. There is a station where you are in forward motion and you have to back up 3 steps and then move on. Also there is a go to front and back up one, then two, then three steps. You can download all the new signs from the AKC site or you can buy the book. Think they run around $7 or $8. Reccomended reading for sure. Good Luck in your Rally ventures.
 
#9 ·
I taught Emily back up next to the couch in my living room. You can use a wall too. In fact, I will use a wall for a tune up before a class that has a back up in it. I show RE and I am not familar with the turn in a circle and back up. There is a station where you are in forward motion and you have to back up 3 steps and then move on. Also there is a go to front and back up one, then two, then three steps. You can download all the new signs from the AKC site or you can buy the book. Think they run around $7 or $8. Reccomended reading for sure. Good Luck in your Rally ventures.

I saw this one(the circle thing), and hmm it's probably like Rosemary said, it just looks like a circle from outside the ring.

As to the bold, yea I saw that in the RE class my friend got her title from, i've tried the couch for the back up...auto sit, it's helping nicely on our stand command applying to next to me not auto in front of me.
The one judge was suggesting to start from the base and work on a stand by using your opposite of dog leg to touch their toes or belly so they stand, then move to taking one step back for a week or so with a massive party and build from there...or something like that. I never have a pen and paper when I need it lol.

We have all the beginner signs printed out, and I'll probably invest in the book as well as print off all the reg.'s

Thanks for all the help everyone, I guarantee I'll be overthinking and making it more complicated than necessary as I usually do lol
 
#8 ·
I think for the most part, the signs are pretty much self-explainatory, although every now and then, one throws me. Did you get a copy of the regulations? They have an explaination of each sign at the end.

I think the move you are thinking of (the circle with the dog walking backwards) is actually the 270 and 360 turn to the left. If you do it as a very small circle, then, yes, the dog might end up walking backwards to stay in position. The second station in this video is a 360 to the left. Ilka @ LCCOC May 27, 2012 - YouTube
 
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#10 ·
You will do great. Baron and I learned on our own through the signs themselves (which I got on e-bay already laminated) and books and a DVD. The books were "Rally On" by Marie Sawford and "Click Your Way to Rally Obedience" by Pamela S. Dennison. Can't find the DVD at the moment but got the books and the DVD through J&J Dog Supplies: J and J Dog Supplies: Agility

Also, used the AKC rule book which also helped me understand the stations and rules. I think there are new excercises that were added last year so if you don't have an older AKC rule book, I would get a newer one.

I loved Rally and had a lot of fun with it. We did Rally after we had our CD so we had to enter the B classes.

When we practiced, sometimes we would set up a small course and sometimes just practice two or three excercises at a time. Like to mix it up.

Best of luck and have fun!
 
#11 ·
I think the backing up three steps is only in excellent. But I taught Avril by standing in front of her and stepping into her and saying "back, back, stand". Once she got that I slowly started moving to her side and saying it.

They have all the signs on the AKC site somewhere and before each run they have walk throughs. Usually the other exhibitors are more than willing to help if you get confused.
 
#12 · (Edited)
You can either order a booklet with the rules, or you can be cheap like me, and just download them, and print them yourself (faster, too). http://images.akc.org/pdf/rulebooks/RO2999.pdf (Obedience and rally are in the same booklet) This is the link to download the signs. I just printed out the new ones, and put them in sheet protectors. (I already had a set off of eBay that weren't laminated, so I just needed the new ones.) http://classic.akc.org/pdfs/events/rally/signs_2012.pdf

Oh, and for the three steps backwards, I don't use the word "back", I just say "heel", and start walking backwards. I honestly don't remember how I taught her to heel backwards, but I think I just started with her standing beside me, and told her to "heel", and took a step back. Now, she can heel backwards for quite a bit, from either moving forward, or from a sit.
 
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#13 ·
Thanks for all the support and help guys :)

It's just so foreign to me and obedience has always been about specifics and remembering not reading lol

I know some aren't until excellent but I'd like to be prepared for all levels since the beginner we pretty much are and that's just my style for this sort of thing. We have all the beginner signs printed out (another one of my mothers begun and unfinished hannah training ideas :rolleyesww:) I'll have to pull them out and see. Then we have a drop in rally class I am off work for this coming Monday after Hannahs "obedience" class. Maybe I'll run her through.

Thanks again guys.

Any general tips and tricks you've learned? Personal problem areas?

It's not just me that can benefit :)
 
#23 ·
Any general tips and tricks you've learned? Personal problem areas?

It's not just me that can benefit :)
Teach a kickback stand, not the step-forward. (My mistake made 7 years ago and am not going to fix now.) With some of the stationary combination stands (into downs/from sits) some judges are really critical if your dog gets out of heel position as it transitions from one position (sit/stand) to another (down/sit/stand). So if your dog steps with his back legs rather than his front, you will control heel position.

You will likely make a lot of fast progress through Novice and Advanced. (Hey, we've got Dobes, they make it exponentially easier than some other breeds!) Expect to lose some traction as you get into Excellent. It will prove where your foundation was lacking - so, in other words, don't be in a rush to get through Novice & Advanced because you might not be as solid as you think. Then also realize that learning and reliably executing the Excellent level stuff could take longer than it took you to do Nov/Adv. Don't get frustrated if that happens.

My best piece of advice though is to be a good sport. Nothing ruins this like the folks who don't respect the honest efforts it takes to get there, whether by cheating their way through or dismissing the hard work of others.
 
#15 ·
I finally got around to printing out the UKC Rally rules and signs. (Methinks me needs a new color cartridge. :D) Figured I'd go ahead and learn them too, just in case there is an event around my neck of the woods. While most of them are pretty much the same, there are a few things that are different, like the spirals not being done in the same pattern. They also have one that seems pretty confusing where you leave your dog, you run a few steps, and then call the dog to front while you are running. Really? That sounds.... difficult.
 
#16 ·
I finally got around to printing out the UKC Rally rules and signs. (Methinks me needs a new color cartridge. :D) Figured I'd go ahead and learn them too, just in case there is an event around my neck of the woods. While most of them are pretty much the same, there are a few things that are different, like the spirals not being done in the same pattern. They also have one that seems pretty confusing where you leave your dog, you run a few steps, and then call the dog to front while you are running. Really? That sounds.... difficult.
Yes and no, have you ever done a run away from your pup as it's coming to help reinforce come? Or done a backwards run/skip to reinforce a close fast front?
It's the same thing, it's honestly a training trick of mine :D

I bet you're overthinking it....like I do with most of the signs :p
 
#17 · (Edited)
Knowing me, I'd trip over my poor dog. :) I've done the run backwards thing, but I don't remember ever turning and running, and then having the dog do a front at a run. I guess I just need to study the explanation of the station a bit more in depth. I just sorta skimmed.
 
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#22 ·
Maybe I'm being overly ambitious, but I've downloaded the UKC and ASCA Obedience and Rally rules and signs. I figure even if the girls and I never actually get around to competing in their venues, it wouldn't hurt to be familiar with them, just in case. ASCA has some interesting stations.
 
#33 ·
:thanx: Thank you!

I looked at myself in the mirror the night before Nationals, wearing our Nationals sweatshirt, and grinned with excitement. Then ran over to my dog to hug and thank her for being such an awesome dog! NONE of that whole experience of being at Nationals would have been possible if she hadn't been the kind of dog she is.

She was sort of "over it" by the fourth ring, but she is so reliable and consistent that I knew what to expect could unravel. I just wanted to make sure I didn't screw her up! In the last run, even when she forged ahead at a station (2pt for each out of position) and flubbed a stationary call front (which is typically the first thing to go when she is "done") it was still good enough for a 97.

I liked what someone else mentioned earlier. DO NOT get mad at your dog. If you trained and something went wrong, well, that's the pressure of competition vs training and stuff happens. If you didn't train enough and something went wrong, well, that's your fault, not the dog's. People who compete before the dog is ready and then get mad at the dog just make me feel sooo badly for the dog.
 
#28 ·
Rally is so much fun - way more fun than traditional Obedience. The best part is being able to talk to your dog, so don't be afraid to talk as much as you want.

I downloaded the signs off the AKC website and made flash cards with them (which is helpful in the Advanced and Excellent levels when there are some weird ones). I used the flashcards at shows after we got a copy of the course to refresh myself on the sign and any specifics about it.

I also made full-sized ones and set up courses in my driveway to practice on. Click on my signature photo for a link to our Youtube channel - there are some videos of Red and I practicing Rally, and also videos of actual shows too, which I annotated with the signs so you can tell what we are doing.

You'll want to make sure you and your dog can do the exercise on one sign before stringing a bunch together. Then work your way up to doing more and more together at a time. Practice off leash too, if you can, since you'll probably move through Novice really quick and get to Advanced when you have to be off leash.

I thought about going back for our RAE, but it just became more of a money sink at that point. We already have the RN, RA and RE so I didn't really feel like it was necessary to do the RAE - maybe if I had unlimited funds and time for shows, but sadly that's not the case!

Good luck, you will love it :)
 
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#29 ·
I was going to do the same thing when I started Rally but ended up finding ones that were already lamenated on e-Bay for a good price. I loved Rally also but feel the same about the RAE. Its a lot of money to sink down for one title. Plus driving to the shows with gas the price that it is now. Although I have to say, I did like doing Open A. Baron loved all the exercises except the heeling. He hates heeling. If I were a better trainer and he was younger, I might have gone for his UD.
 
#30 ·
Going for an RAE is probably cheaper than going for a UDX. Too many things to NQ on in Open and Utility. You have to be as bad as Ilka and I to NQ in Rally. :)
 
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#32 ·
Sigh... despite showing Ilka a dozen or more times in Novice obedience, I am still eligible for Novice A with Leontine. We never did get our last leg. Even the RA and RE were hard work for us. I think it took us something like eight times in the ring to get our RA, and five times in the ring for our RE. I thought about going for an RAE with Ilka, but she is getting more reactive to people (kids especially) and has always been dog reactive. I decided it wasn't worth the risk of her being involved in an "incident".
 
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#34 ·
Okay, a bored mind is a terrible thing to use. :) I was surfing the web, and found the AKC event statistics for 2012. Um... well, Dobes don't seem to be doing a whole lot in rally, overall. Miranadobe and Gracie are obviously exempt from that statement. :D Anyway, there were 143 RNs, 61 RAs, 42 REs, 10 RAEs, and 4 RAE2s. GSD had 251 RNs, 130 RAs, 26 REs, 26 RAEs, 1 RAE2, and three other RAE+ titles. All Americans had 397 RNs, 164 RAs, 94 REs (yay, Ilka! :)), 13 RAE, and 1 RAE2.
 
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#35 ·
Funny you should say that - I had a surprising number of people from across the country approach me while in Oklahoma saying "you just never see Dobes out in obedience anymore." In fact, if memory serves, there literally was only one Dobe in the Obed competition there, and just 3-4 of us in Rally. I hope that by being out there it encourages others to try. I *loved* having her in the line-up of top 4. :D

Around here I only see a handful of Dobes - and I can often name them all when I see them at shows. There should be so many new faces that naming them all isn't possible! Dobes are naturals in obedience and Rally!
 
#36 ·
In all the Rally and Obedience competition I entered with Baron, there were only a few Dobermans here and there except for the ones run by a Doberman club. In fact, when Baron got his final leg in Novice A with a 1st place, the judge came over to me and said he was so glad to see a Doberman out there competing. He said it was refreshing to see a Doberman win and not the same old ones; i.e., Goldens, Labs, etc. It was a nice statement.
 
#37 ·
think about it. most breeders don't care about working abilities when they breed a dog. who cares about drive, biddability, tenacity, etc when you are hoping to get darker rust?
 
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