Rally O

My main advice would be to do at least one "match" before a trial.  A match is run just like a trial (try to find one outside of your own club, so with a different environment and different dogs) but doesn't count.  Some matches even give ribbons.  The reason is, you want to find out how YOU react to the environment.  Your dog will be very much affected by your attitude, posture, body language, etc, maybe even moreso than external factors like strange dogs and a new environment.  Going to a few matches helps you learn what to expect and how to develop a routine with your dog so you aren't giving off weird signals the day of a real competition.

Each dog is different.  I tend to show up rather early at the very beginning of ALL classes for a competition.  Other people I know are OK showing up right as their walk-through is starting.  Some people crate their dogs indoors with the others, some keep them out in the car.  Some people allow the dog to do a lot of sniffing and warm up off to the sides, some do none at all.

My other piece of advice is to memorize the course during walk-through.  I do this every time.  I don't have a set number of walk-throughs I do, I basically keep going until time is up or I have it memorized.  This is so that if I get flustered during the competition, I don't miss a sign or get lost on the course (I do the same thing for agility).  I tend to not pay much attention to the course maps you are given beforehand, only to see what signs are on the course.  I wait for the walk-through to memorize.  But I do check the map so that if there's any things on the course difficult for us, we can quick warm up outside. 

Make sure you ask the judge questions if something isn't clear.  For example, for some judges a 180-pivot left literally means you are turning on your toes.  For others, they will say they don't care how you do the footwork as long as your feet stay within an imaginary 1ft. square box.  Many judges are particular about certain things.  At our last trial we had a judge who was super picky about the moving exercises being moving, meaning absolutely NO pause or hesitation when doing the moving stand/down/sit walk around dog.  The judge said you'd lose more points pausing than if you said "down" and your dog sat while you walked around.

AKC Rally is scored started at 100 points and you just get knocked off points for mistakes.  You need 70 points to Q. However, you can be NQ'd for things other than not having enough points (so you could have 85pts and still NQ).  I have seen dogs been NQ'd for limping, handler giving a leash correction, handler verbally correcting the dog, etc.  If you have to re-do a sign, you lose 3 points.  If a sign is performed incorrectly, you lose 10 (so if you know you just blew a sign, like your dog sat instead of laid down, you would want to re-do it).  You can re-do a sign once (used to be twice).  If you miss a sign, I believe that is an automatic NQ (good reason to memorize the course!).  Beyond that, the points taken off really vary, depending on the severity of the mistakes. 

Liesje

The reason is, you want to find out how YOU react to the environment.  Your dog will be very much affected by your attitude, posture, body language, etc, maybe even moreso than external factors like strange dogs and a new environment. 

I'm sad I didn't see this thread when it was first made, as I love Rally.  Lies has already done a great job of explaining AKC Rally, and APDT and UKC are very similar (especially in points-off).  Some differences are that APDT starts at 200 points, and you are allowed to give rewards at the end of stationary exercises (ie. Halt, Sit-Down-Sit, Call-Front-Finish-Left, etc.).  APDT courses are also a bit longer, 18-20 signs.  UKC is basically the same as AKC. 

I would suggest downloading the PDF rulebooks from all three, or at least the venue you choose to trial in.  All three contain slightly different Level 1 signs, which can impact your training. 

The most important things I had to learn was to trial like I train, and to watch my lead.  I have a bad habit of picking up slack in the lead if Honor starts drifting away from me, which usually gets me nicked 1 point for a tight leash.  I've had to retrain myself to verbally redirect her back to me, as there is no penalty for talking to your dog.  And TALKING, that's a big deal for me.  My sister recorded Honor's second trial for me, and I was SHOCKED how much quieter I was.  When training, I'm a bubbly and slightly high-pitched talker, so it was definitely weirding out Honor when I was quiet in a trial.

I think Rally is SO much fun though.  It's a really enjoyable environment, and maybe I've been lucky but I've only met really terrific people at Rally trials.  I'm lucky that my dogs enjoy it as much as I do!

Yes, leash handling is a major part!  I've seen people NQ for "tight leashes" that were totally unnecessary!  I trial like this (and this is also how I trial for Schutzhund and Dog Sport obedience) - I use a 4' leash, not a 6' and it's 1/2" wide, and I hold it in my left hand.  My lead has a loop handle and there's a bit of braiding right before the loop, so instead of holding the lead in the loop, I fold that over and hold the loop against the braiding and hold this in my left hand.  That way there is enough slack to avoid unnecessary tight lead, but not so much that the dog is stepping over it, or I have to hold extra lead across my body in my right hand.  I simply pick a spot to hold the lead and DONT change hands or position, I just give myself the proper amount to start and that's it.  When I did Kenya's FO (an obedience routine like the Schutzhund BH, much longer than an AKC CD run) I held the leash this way and the judge commented on the fact that we lost no points for bad/improper/awkward leash handling.

This is what I mean (Kenya's last trial - waiting to start, and some so-so heeling...it was a weird day, but the leash handling was better than her focus at the time the pics were snapped).  I made a point not to change hands or creep up on the leash.