Rally?

[Laurelin]

Can someone explain rally to me. Would you do that or obedience?

I'm trying to find a second sport to play with Mia. I would've done nosework but they're not offering it yet.

Or should I just do the obedience for agility class? Decisions decisions.... They also have freestyle but I have to admit I just don't think that's my thing.

 

[MandyPug]

How it's been explained to me is Rally is Obedience Lite, less strict and military and a bit lighter and more "fun" (which is all subjective). If we had an obedience class here, Izzie and i would be taking that and if an instructor that i liked was teaching rally we'd be doing that too.

I don't think either is better to take, just different.

 

[Laurelin]

I really really wish there was a nosework/tracking class and a flyball practice I could make. Those sounded most fun to me. I'm not sure if I could get into rally or obedience but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try out a class?

 

[Beanie]

Rally is like obedience but way less strict. For the first level the dog is on leash, after that it's off leash. You aren't scored as strictly as in obedience, perfect heel isn't required, you get to talk to your dog the whole time. And the heeling patterns tend to be, IMO, more fun... you have silly loops and figure eights and this weird thing which is like a decreasing circle.. they are just a bit more exciting to me. Once you get into the advanced level there's also a jump involved.

Auggie has his RN and I still want to get him his CD, but I think we will do some more rally and try to get him his RA. The things he likes in obedience (heeling patterns) are present and the stuff he doesn't like (having to hold still for three minutes, LOL) aren't present. Agility is a bajillion times more fun for both of us but he does seem to like rally so I'll do more with him if he's having fun.


I think obedience would be very difficult with Mia but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Do you know what obedience for agility is all about? Start-line stays are probably part of it, LOL, so that could be useful.

 

[Laurelin]

That does explain why they require a rally class as a pre-req for the obedience.

I think obedience with Mia could be rather painful but on the other hand it could be very beneficial for her to get more self control. I am not sure what the obedience for agility class is but it was designed by my new agility instructor and she recommended it. Mia is going back to do pre-agility so I'm wondering if that would be too much overlap for her? She's already had one pre-agility class before as well. The new instructor did think that since she has her CGC already she should have enough obedience to do alright. We're working on brushing up her stays with heavy distractions right now.

I kind of feel like I should be doing more with her and I WANT to be doing more with her too. It'd be nice if we could get some titles other than her CGC too....

 

[Taqroy]

I don't know much about Rally but we did some Rally-ish run throughs in our last obedience class. I actually really enjoyed it, which surprised me, because I thought it looked really boring (no offense intended!). I could actually see Mu tune in to me and that made it even better. I haven't taken a formal obedience or rally class though so my experience is mostly useless. It is too bad you can't take a nosework class yet....I really enjoyed the one me and Murph were in here.

 

[Zoom]

Sawyer and I are starting Rally on Saturday, so I'll let you know!

 

[Sekah]

I was first introduced to Rally when I went by a local dog club and they had a for-fun course set up. I was way more interested in Agility at this point, but as soon as we finished up our Rally course I knew I was in love. It helps that Cohen seems to be a natural at it too.

You really have to try it sometime -- it's far from boring.

The thing I really love about Rally is that it just polishes up some all around useful behaviours that apply to day to day life. The courses have a nice flow to them and everything feels very natural when you're going through. I think it's a great way to get acquainted with dog sports since the atmosphere tends to be more welcoming and casual than Comp OB and less fast paced and stressful than Agility.

 

[Shai]

Really, whichever you want. Both are going to require focus, self-control, and body awareness. I started in rally with K & W...didn't take classes in it but was talked into entering an APDT trial with K & W (I had little interest in competing in anything at the time) and it was really a gateway drug, lol.

Mira has never done rally and probably won't but she has still learned most of the behaviors involved because they really do translate directly to obe, agility, etc.

 

[Dekka]

If you can do agility, obedience is way easier lol. And rally is pretty easy too. If your dog has a decent loose heel it doesn't take much to teach the few moves needed to get an RN.

They are more formal than agility, but could be excellent for Mia. ANd really good at underscoring the concept as working as a team.

 

[nikkiluvsu15]

I've looked into doing Rally, but I don't know if Harleigh would like it as much. She has great focus, but I think she likes to move more. I've had such a tough time trying to decide between Rally, CGC Prep and Nosework... its so hard to choose just one.

Interested in seeing all the responses to this thread - might give me a better idea with what to do with Harleigh.

 

[Brattina88]

I'm glad you made this thread!

Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to enroll Bailey in the CGC class that starts this Sat (what the trainer originally suggested) or the beg Rally-O class that doesn't start until next month.
I never was interested much in Rally, until I watched for a while - now I'm interested! This Sat feels VERY VERY soon. I wanted to really work with her more before the class (to ease my own anxieties lol) but time got away from me I guess.

I'm still afraid she's going to randomly act like she doesn't know any of these commands, and embarrass me :rofl1: Because I really haven't had her that long

 

[Beanie]

I will say that if you take a rally class but even have a tiny inkling that you might want to get into the OB ring later, insist on a tight heel NOW. Just because you don't "need" a perfect heel for rally doesn't mean having a perfect heel will hurt you, and you will majorly regret it later if you want to get into OB and have to instead fix your dog's heel. What we learn first is always what we know best... I CAN fix it but it's been a pain, and honestly I'm taking a break from it right now because I have other goals that are more pressing. And it's not like I'll cry if we never get our CD.

I really never thought I would compete in much of anything when I got Auggie... I just wanted to play... but then we caught the agility bug, and we did rally because I wanted to give him another trial experience that was positive, and now there's just a lot I wish I had done differently, LOL.

 

[Aleron]

If you can do agility, obedience is way easier lol. And rally is pretty easy too. If your dog has a decent loose heel it doesn't take much to teach the few moves needed to get an RN.

IMO competition obedience is actually harder than agility IMO. It requires more focus for a longer period of time. Rally it depends, Rally Novice is a very entry level title but it depends on what you want too. If your only goal with obedience is a RN, BN or even an RA and you don't care about scores, you can definitely get by with entering a dog who only has a "loose heel" and knows some basic commands. If you want to pursue obedience though and train to a high level of reliability, entering your dog before they really understand heel will set you up for problems down the road. I see this at the training club when people think it would be impressive to put RNs and BNs on their 6 month olds. The dogs get the titles but once they move to Advanced and/or start working towards a CD, it becomes painfully obvious that the dog has little concept of what heeling is and obedience work becomes a struggle for dog and owner.

I enjoy training competition obedience, specifically training focused heeling. I don't find it any less interesting than training dogs in agility or tricks or flyball or any other venue. I find people who do obedience and have the opinion that it is "boring" for the dog, especially at the lower levels tend to have dogs who aren't well trained in it - they reflect their owner's attitude If you aim to train for focused heeling, I don't think you or your dog will find it boring. If you go to group class where the 45 minutes of the class is "heeling" consisting of walking around in a circle with your dog, you and your dog might find it quite dull.

This is my "puppy" at just under 2 years old getting her RN title - complete with handler error I've used Rally as a way to get her into the ring before she's ready for a CD and be able to offer help with the areas she isn't solid on yet - circles and finishes for example. But her overall understanding of heeling is pretty strong and that is a large part of what the Novice level obedience is (Rally and competition OB).
YouTube - Whimsy Rally Novice New Title 12-19-10

 

[elegy]

yeah, rally isn't always easy. depends on the dog. depends on the handler. depends on the level. apdt level 3 has drop on recall, directed jumping, signals, retrieve. but that's what makes it so much fun!

rally with steve is quite a challenge because of the self-control aspect. especially if you put jumps in the ring. ha!

anyway, rally is definitely fun and i'd totally encourage you to try it out. i like regular obedience as well, but it's a different mindset and trials seem to be Such Serious Business for so many people, and i feel like i don't fit in.

 

[Saeleofu]

I absolutely LOVE rally Gavroche has his RA and Logan has his RN. The advanced level has one jump, and the excellent level has 2 jumps. And crap I have to leave for dog class I'll post more later

 

[colliewog]

The important thing with both agility and rally is the communication between you and the dog. You can talk to them while they're working (well, hollering while running in agility, but still encouragement). The main drawback in classical obedience is that my dogs are so used to a constant stream of conversation from me that they wonder what they did wrong when I don't talk in obedience. Yes, I know it can be fixed, but I really don't want to! I like the different exercises, the jumps at "lower" levels and things in rally as well.

I think the dogs enjoy rally more ... that's judging my own dogs and watching dogs performances in the ring. JMHO - Lots more happy tails in the rally and agility rings ....

 

[smeagle]

I don't think obedience is easier than agility, I think they are both very different sports in a lot of ways. Most people I know who do agility would not find doing well at obedience easy.

I think rally-o is a good step between training your dog and competing in a sport like obedience. I encourage newer handlers to give rally-o a go at our obedience club - it is not an official sport here yet but I am finding already it is a good sport to encourage people to have a go at trialling. That's not to say rally-o is an easy sport or that it is a lesser version of obedience, but I think some people find it less daunting than the obedience ring.

 

[ihartgonzo]

I did Rally with Gonzo and currently compete with Fozzie. Gonzo was MUCH better! Fozzie is more reliable, but Gonzo was faster. I think Mia would be great at Rally, it's pretty fast paced and has fun elements to it (like jumps). The biggest thing is getting a good heel down, like a dog that's glued to your left leg. Having a fast and intense dog makes it much easier.

Rally would be a very good intro to Agility. The best Agility dogs are also very under control and handler focused, which is essential in Rally.

 

[smeagle]

JMHO - Lots more happy tails in the rally and agility rings ....

I don't know about other countries, but obedience here is still trained in quite an 'old school' way by a lot of people and clubs. Often at trials you watch dogs that look like they are just going through the motions and it's sadly in the minority to see a dog working with a truly great attitude and relationship with the handler.

I think that is TOTALLY about the training methods used not about the sport itself.

Obedience can be just as fun as agility or rally-o, IMO, my dog loves doing obedience and one thing that we get lots of comments on is how hard she wags her tail the whole time she's working. And I have a breed that has a rep for being "hard to train".