Who else does Rally?

 We do! We do!! *bouncing up and down* Jackson has his puppy rally title and has JUST moved up into Competition Rally Class

Mixed breeds can participate in APDT, not really sure about AKC.

Tina has started in rally class too. But like I said, the trials near us are mainly APDT.

Rally really is a lot of fun and everyone I've met so far, at competitions or in class, are so encouraging and helpful. Most of the signs are basic obedience stuff, some of the signs are evil, *cough* left pivot *cough*.

Give it a try though!! If you enjoyed showing off during basic manners classes, then you'll LOVE this! Jackson loves doing it, we both have fun. It's a win-win in my opinion.

Susan

 Sorry, what is APDT stand for? :-s And good job Jackson!

 I think I might wait to do this until Simba is a bit better at listening. 

They also have this:

Obedience for Rally 1 the class will be geared to the novice competitor who wants to improve their on-leash heeling and the advanced competitor who needs reasonable attention & reasonable off-leash heeling skills to succeed. Will be working on heeling with attention from sign to sign, left & right turns, 360's & 270's. Working thru distractions & introducing light proofing. Working on a reliable recall & set up, keeping the dog happy & motivated in the ring. Some sign work including introduction to pivots & back ups. Introduction to attention, heeling with attention, straight sits/downs, reliable "come" commands, novice & some advanced signs.

So maybe if I do Rally I'd start here. 

We do!!!  Finn LOVES rally.  We have competed in two competitions so far placing third and then fourth in Novice A.  Both were in AKC.  Mixed breeds can now compete in AKC through their AKC Canine Partners program here: 

http://www.akc.org/mixedbreeds/index.cfm?nav_area=mixedbreeds  You will need to register Simba in order for him to compete.  It's easy (all done online) and cheap, $35.

Rally is all about control of your dog and how well YOU know the signs and what you need to do and how you lead your dog through the exercises.  With all of the tricks and training you have done with Simba, I think you will really like rally.  You can also look up "AKC Rally Signs" on the AKC site to see what kinds of things you will be learning (like left turns, heeling, 360's, about turns, etc).

In the more advanced stages there is a sit your dog and walk away for three mins and a down and walk away for three mins.  There is also work with the dumbell, which Finn LOVES.

APDT = Association of Pet Dog Trainers

Finn is competing at an APDT event in November.

I do both Rally and Agility, and love them both. Let me be totally honest though that Rally and Agility are nothing alike, and have totally different rule structures. LOL. The only similarity is that you and your dog work together, and you follow a set course. After that, everything's different!

I do CKC Rally, so it's different than both AKC and APDT, but I love it and Shimmer loves it and we have a great time. The rules for Novice can be pretty lenient, but it depends on the judge and how much work you put into it, whether you want to just "get titles" or actually be competitive and win HIC's, or just have fun regardless of placing. It's up to you how strict you get and how formal you make your training. Shimmer got Q's in her first two (and only) trials so far, with a perfect 100 and HIC, but that comes with lots of prior training for traditional obedience and agility so we had a foundation and working relationship already in place.

The hardest part in Rally was not teaching my dogs the behaviours (that's actually the easy part for me!), but teaching myself to follow the directions. LOL. Sad, but true. The points Shimmer was deducted in her first trial was caused by me, by reading a sign wrong. And a class is super beneficial for that, because you get help in learning to do the steps/patterns right by somebody who knows what to look for.

Rally is a great time for both handler and dog, and it tends to be more lighthearted than some of the traditional obedience trials. That's what drew me in, as I was never a fan of the traditional obedience competitions.

Kim_MacMillan

but teaching myself to follow the directions. LOL. Sad, but true.

I've done UKC and APDT rally with Honor and Eli, and Nike is in a competitive rally class right now.  Eli has his URO1, and Honor has her URO1, RL1, 4/10 Qs for RL1x, and 1 leg to her URO2.  We took a break for a while to spice things up and concentrate on agility, but we're back training now for RL2/URO2, and hopefully her UCD at some point.  What Kim said about how formal and strict you want your training is very true.  Eli and I did his URO1 because he had a fun time, and just enjoyed being with me.  It's not his true love (like agility is!), so we've stopped there and I doubt we'll trial further.  But Honor and I are training for her UCD now, and I've always tried to train her rally in a more strict fashion to get her ready for obedience.  Nike would be a rockstar if he wasn't still so shy, but we're working on it, and that's why he's in class!

It is a blast though, and easily one of my favorite sports.  I love being able to talk to my dogs and encourage them.   It's truly a TON of fun. :)

UKC and APDT accept mixed breeds, and I believe C-WAGS does too, which is a venue I'm debating on trying some time in the future.

You should try it! :-)

 Thanks for the info guys! I'm still not sure though, because while I'm sure it'd provide a huge amount of bonding for us and mental stimulation. Simba needs a lot of physical stimulation, so we might be better off with agility. Unless you guys think otherwise? Could rally provide enough exercise for Simba? He's a high-energy dog.

With Simba being not even a year old yet, I'd hold off on the Agility.  Dobes are somewhat like Boxers in body/bone composition and the standard rule with Dobes is NO jumping more than the dog's shoulder height until after 18 mos.  It will require a lot of effort on your part to teach him basic obedience for Rally, and while not as physically demanding as Agility, it can be mentally exhausting.

You CAN enter your mixed breed dogs in AKC Rally, if the hosting club allows more than just a single breed (specialty).  Some shows are only for specific breeds, others are for ALL AKC Registered breeds and All American/Mixed Breeds.  Check this link from the AKC regarding their Canine Partners program for mixed breeds: http://www.akc.org/canine_partners/

from the website: "Who can join the AKC Canine Partners program?

AKC Canine Partners welcomes

• Mixed-breed dogs (Dogs from more than one AKC-recognized breed. This includes hybrid mixes.)
• Purebred dogs not eligible for AKC registration
• Dogs not eligible for AKC Foundation Stock Service (FSS)
• Dogs not listed in PAL (AKC Purebred Alternative Listing) at the time of enrollment in AKC Canine Partners.

To be listed in the AKC Canine Partners program, dogs must be spayed/neutered, or if it is a puppy, will be spayed/neutered when recommended by the owner′s veterinarian. If requested by the AKC, owner will provide written verification of spay/neuter. To be eligible to compete in AKC Companion Events, dogs must have an AKC Canine Partners listing number, and be spayed/neutered."

 That is a good point, I suppose I should wait for Simba to be older. He's still filling out. So maybe, for now this will be good for him. How come mix breeds aren't always allowed in akc events? I mean obviously aside from being a mix breed, is it because they have nothing to judge? Since there is no standard? Or is it something else?

Finn is also high energy.  On top of his daily walk and fetch session, we do about a half hour of training every night.  It truly does tire him out and he absolutely loves it (so I'm sure that helps, since he gets himself all amped up to work).  On the nights of class he sleeps the whole way home or he will sit verrrry quietly in the back seat.  It definitely tires his hyper butt out!

punkchica321

 Thanks for the info guys! I'm still not sure though, because while I'm sure it'd provide a huge amount of bonding for us and mental stimulation. Simba needs a lot of physical stimulation, so we might be better off with agility. Unless you guys think otherwise? Could rally provide enough exercise for Simba? He's a high-energy dog.

Jackson has taken and competed in rally. He has also taken doggie gym/performance pup classes (sort of an intro to agility class). His jumps were limited and no weaving was allowed. He enjoyed it but truthfully, once we were home, he was ready to rock n roll. After rally  classes, he sleeps in the car, sleeps at home...

Remember, he's a 9 1/2 month old border collie pup, the mental aspect and physical control he has to exert over himself in rally wears him out way more then agility stuff did.

I, too, would caution against doing agility with Simba until he's grown a bit more.

punkchica321

How come mix breeds aren't always allowed in akc events?

Someone correct me if I've over-simplied this, but here's my take:

AKC has always been for the love of the purebred dog.  Dog shows were about conformation first - and that means, how does a dog compare physically (and to some degree temperamentally) to its breed standard.  Then other sports became part of AKC evaluation of dogs - again, to show worthiness against its own breed standard.  ie, People expect whippets to be great at lure coursing, bloodhounds great at tracking, etc, etc.  The more sporting titles at the other end of the dog's official registered name, the more proof of its worthiness for breeding, etc.  It's only been the last few years, that in order to increase their entries (ie, get more $$ coming in the door), AKC developed this program to allow mixed breed dogs to compete in sports ONLY.  Clearly, there's no way to compare to a breed standard, since these are all mixes, but they felt the pressure of mixed breed/mutt owners (to be honest, I think the Labra/Goldendoodle fad really pushed this) to allow their dogs to prove that they're just as good at Obedience, Tracking, Agility, etc, as a purebred dog of a specific breed.

 A lot of AKC folks are angry about it - because it changes the original intent of the AKC on a huge pivot point.  Others already know that the AKC has been about generating $$, so they see this as no surprise. 

Why some trials allow Mixed Breeds and others don't - well, AKC leaves that up to the individual AKC club hosting the event.  Sometimes their event is only for a particular breed.  Sometimes only for a particular group (say, only Toy Dogs).  Othertimes it's open to all AKC-Recognized Breeds.  At that point, the club has to decide if it wants mixed-breeds to compete against purebreds in the sports.  Some are made up of members who are not happy about the change and do NOT want "mutts" in the ring.  Others are welcoming and want more participants, more competition, and more $$ for their club for each additional entry fee.  It takes an awful lot of effort to put on a show, and as many people as they have participating, only a tiny percentage offer their time to work at these shows to get them ready, set up, running smoothly, and broken down again once all is done.  Some clubs have agendas with their trials that make them more or less likely to include mixed breeds.

 Well, since Caleb just got his RN in August, so I guess you could say we do Rally.  LOL  Like someone else said, the only similarity between Rally & Agility is that you run a set course.  Just from what you've said, I think Rally would be perfect for Simba.  It really is a lot of fun, and not as boring for the dog as traditional obedience. 

miranadobe

punkchica321

How come mix breeds aren't always allowed in akc events?

...Why some trials allow Mixed Breeds and others don't - well, AKC leaves that up to the individual AKC club hosting the event.  Sometimes their event is only for a particular breed.  Sometimes only for a particular group (say, only Toy Dogs).  Othertimes it's open to all AKC-Recognized Breeds.  At that point, the club has to decide if it wants mixed-breeds to compete against purebreds in the sports...

Yeah, that's pretty much it- it's left up to the individual club.  My take on why some allow mixed breeds at their all breed trials and others don't is entries.  I'm thinking the clubs that traditionally have no problem filling their entry limits don't allow mixed breeds.

The one we entered, everyone was very nice about Finn's mix.  Everyone asked about him and one lady said "thank you for being out first (and only) mix breed!"