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Rally Obedience
| Rally obedience is a relatively new sport that has been
met with great enthusiasm in the US. It has often been referred to as a combination of
traditional obedience and agility. Rally was originated by Charles "Bud" Kramer
as sport that would demonstrate teamwork as well as obedience and training |
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| The name comes from rally style car racing
where a team uses directions to follow a course. In rally obedience, the team follows a
course and executes exercises from a predefined set of exercises. |
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Bud Kramer borrowed a concept from working dog teams
(e.g. drug detection, police service, search and rescue) where "the handler's
responsibility is to provide help and encouragement to the dog to keep the dog focused on
the job at hand." Precision of movement is not a requirement for this type of work.
Teamwork is more apparent in this type of work since the handler is allowed to interact
with the dog as needed. |
| The AKC recognized Rally as a
titling event in January, 2005. In Canada, Rally is currently offered under the auspices
of the Canadian Association of Rally Obedience
(CARO). The CKC is expected to offer Rally as a titling event in 2007 and the rules
will be similar to the AKC rules. Under all organizations, there are 3 levels - Novice,
Advanced and Excellent. Similar to traditional obedience, teams must earn 3 legs under 2
different judges to title. |
| Handlers are provided with course
"maps" and may walk the course and ask questions of the judge as a group. When
it's time to perform, the team enters the ring and sets themselves up to begin. The judge
tells them "forward" and stays quiet as the team performs the course. Movement
is not judged at the same degree of precision as in traditional obedience. Heel position
is considered to be within arm's reach of the handler. The handler may repeat an exercise
that was performed incorrectly before the next station is reached. An attempted exercise
that is incompletely or incorrectly performed loses points but the performance is still
considered to be qualifying if a minimum number of points are earned. |
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| Rally is a good way of introducing new dogs and/or
handlers to the obedience ring. It can be a great way to get a new dog used to being in
the ring. The handler can ensure that dog has a good experience by providing positive
feedback. In a sense, it can be thought of as a training experience in the ring. |
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