Rally - Where to start?

[MericoX]

I think I'm switching to Rally for the winter, due to that they mostly have DOS entries and I live in the land of snow and trees (Maine) and always seem to throw money away at trials I can't get to due to weather conditions.

Where would be a good place to start? Should I work on pivots, or heeling, or fronts, etc. If it helps, next year locally there are AKC rally/obed, ABPT rally, UKC rally/obed, and CDSP obed.

Any videos or links you could share would also be helpful! I've been glancing at stuff recently.. thinking "how hard could it be compared to agility", and it just makes . lol

 

[sassafras]

I would start by just reading through the explanations of the signs. You can download the regulations that has a section explaining the signs as a pdf at http://www.akc.org/pdfs/about/board_minutes/Rally_Regulations.pdf

Many of them are self explanatory but it takes a bit of getting used to translating what the sign in front of you actually means you DO (at least for me it does). At home, I just sort of randomly pick signs and work on the skills involved in them or set up little mini courses. I also go to a rally class which is pretty much running through 2-4 courses (depending on how many people show up and how much time there is) while getting constructive criticism and advice from the trainer and other students.

 

[corgipower]

These might help. It's been a while since I watched them, but IIRC she covers a lot of footwork and handling info. I think she really is a judge, so she should know what judges are looking for.

Should I work on pivots, or heeling, or fronts, etc

Yes. And finishes, sits, downs, stands.

Do you have ASCA up there? They allow DOS entries for obedience as well and maybe for agility.

 

[Red.Apricot]

I'd start with heeling. That's the easiest way to lose points, especially at the novice level. If your dog is in position and paying attention, you're a lot less likely to 'lose them' on the course, lol.

Otherwise, for AKC novice, there's no pivots (I don't think), so while I'd start them (because for me the left is taking a while to train) I wouldn't stress about them yet. For novice, it's mostly heeling, sits, downs and fronts.