Tell me about Rally

I would take Callie. You might be surprised.

Like I said, it's fun either way.

 There's the remote chance of taking both dogs, if I sign somebody up in a day time class to start on Monday (waiting to find out though if I am taking some work during those hours). The other one starts 2 weeks later, and is on Monday nights. This seems like a crazy idea though. If it were not 45 minutes away, I might consider this idea, but this seems crazy. I think I'm definitely signing someone up in it, because I do really like one of the trainers who is teaching it. She actually has one of her dogs in the beginner fly ball class that Callie is in. That said, I'll have to get her vote on Friday night for who I should sign up.  They do have an open house even to learn about Rally, but I can't make it to that.

I'm hoping for more votes on this one. Luke is my baby, and I have no qualms in saying I like him better. He's a better trained dog with a better temperament, though we could expect that from a pure bred dog whose parents were selected for these traits (his breeder runs a therapy program for children with special needs, and he was going to be a keeper). He turns on the excitement when he needs to turn on the excitement, but is just as content to lounge. Callie on the other hand is to me, a very high strung dog (get her excited, which takes very little, and she is bouncing up in your face). But, she is a purebred mutt (as in, the result of an accidental breeding of two mutts). That we know of from her siblings (my cousins still have 3 of them) she is the least high strung actually. She's a nice dog to work with for sports, once she gets her head together and realizes bouncing around is only permitted after you finish your job.

Of course, if only I thought I could make it home from work on a Wednesday morning to get someone and take them to nose work, I could take them to different things.

 AKC or APDT Rally? If it was APDT, I'd say go for it with Callie, you'll have a blast!

AKC rally is a little more 'strict' so you might enjoy it better with Luke.

Either way, rally is loads of fun!!

APDT rally is a really good and supportive group of people.  I took Rummy to his first (and my first) Rally-O competition back in November when he was only 6 months old and was just amazed at how many people cheered us on.  We were not great but it was all in fun and Rummy enjoyed it.  Some people were very serious about it and other did it for fun and no one really seemed to judge anyone's intent.  I really enjoyed it! Not sure about AKC rally, but I do hear it is a little more strict and serious.

Take a look at the APDT website and look up rally-o. They have everything online you need to know, including the whole rulebook in pdf. format and symbols you can print out to help you get started.  That would give you a very good idea of what it is all about.

 I'm not sure which type it is. It doesn't say on the course description (I suppose if I ever did enter someone in competition, I could decide that?). It looks like most of you are voting for Callie though, so I think it will be her as long as the instructor doesn't cast a strong vote otherwise.

griffinej5

 I'm not sure which type it is. It doesn't say on the course description (I suppose if I ever did enter someone in competition, I could decide that?). It looks like most of you are voting for Callie though, so I think it will be her as long as the instructor doesn't cast a strong vote otherwise.

Having done AKC, UKC, and APDT rally, I think I enjoy APDT the most still. It has the most relaxed atmosphere, and I do love being able to have food in level 1. It's a nice way to bridge a dog into a full rally course. UKC and AKC are very similar, with shorter courses than APDT but no food of course. APDT does have the harder level signs in my opinion, which I do like. I haven't had a chance to go to an APDT trial in a long time (sad!) because we show so heavily in conformation right now, that I'm always at UKC/AKC shows. But it's a BLAST either way.

Rally is the non-negotiable sport for ALL of my dogs. Although I may not compete with some of them, they all are functional in the sport. It's just a great way to build focus and knowing all the stations offer more options for NILIF reinforcers. In fact, I require my dogs to do rally BEFORE going into agility. And it shows in their start line stays and the ability to focus and work with me.

As for the calm vs the wild, it depends a lot on what you're looking to learn initially. If you're really new to it, and want to be able to focus on learning the signs and the execution you might want to consider Luke. But I also think rally is great for high-energy dogs, so if you think you are comfortable with the signs and all Callie might be a great choice.

Sometimes those high-energy dogs surprise you! I was scared to death of entering Shiva (WILD child) in rally at the Sibe specialty, and she shocked the heck out of me by getting a 98 and 99 and highest scoring dog in trial both days.

Oh, I have trouble with telling right and left. Is that going to be a problem? 

It looks like there are lots of APDT trials in the area. The place where we would train hosts APDT trials (the Colmar, PA place if you're looking at the list), and there are also APDT trials at the training center in one the neighboring counties (the Exton, PA place). If I chose to enter anyone in competition, we'd basically have something at least once a month within an hour of us (maybe more, I have no idea where those NJ trials are). At least the trials where we would train are an indoor location, and I assume the other would be also since it is for fly ball.

In AKC, we'd have something definitely every month available for Luke, but not always for Callie, unless I can get her registered as a golden. I know for sure she is not a golden.

I love Rally, and everything it stands for. It's not as intense as flyball or agility, but it's a great sport that allows you and your dog to have a lot of fun. I've done it with Shimmer and Kash, two totally different personalities. Shimmer is more reactive, more sensitive, and needs to learn in a particular way because she stresses easily.  Kash is young, athletic, more driven, and more intense. Both have benefited from it immensely.

At a minimum it will be fun, and will help your dog learn some good manners. At the most, you can compete, have fun (the biggest part of Rally!), and earn titles. I've done Rally training with Gaci, even though she'll likely never see the ring, because the exercises are pretty fun to teach and there are lots of ways to challenge yourself!

I would recommend Rally as a fun endeavour to anyone looking to improve training and have fun with their dog.

 The vote from the trainer, and I had to pry her to vote, was for taking my the one who is my favorite. Technically, Luke is the only one who belongs to me, and there's no doubt about who is my favorite (I don't think she was intending to vote for him based on saying that, but I am fairly certain she knew my favorite). So, he's at least up first. I'll see how I like it, and maybe I'll train her or bring her next time.

The AKC now allows mixed breed dogs, through their "Canine Partners" program. Mixed breeds competed at the national obedience and agility invitationals, last year :)

griffinej5

Oh, I have trouble with telling right and left. Is that going to be a problem? 

It looks like there are lots of APDT trials in the area.

 Jumping back in with an update now that we're a few weeks into class. Weeks one and two, I was about ready to quit. Not because he couldn't do it, but I found it honestly boring as all get out. Week three it's getting a bit more fun, but I am not 100% sure I am signing up for the next session, or maybe I will try it somewhere else. The trainer didn't excite me much the first two weeks. I also think it would be a good idea to start training in different locations as soon as possible, so if the scheduling works, I might go somewhere else.

Luke still isn't sure why we're going into a different part of the building on Mondays, and why we're doing this weird stuff, instead of playing Flyball like we do on Fridays. He likes Fridays better than Mondays.

I'm having lots of trouble with the sit and down walk-arounds. He keeps shuffling to try to keep eye contact with me. Everything else so far, he's okay with (we need to straighten the sits, bring the fronts in closer, but I know how to do that). I think I basically have to teach him that the quickest way to get back into eye contact with me is to just wait for me to get back around, but if anyone has any tips on this, I'd love to here them. 

Xebby, if you do happen to venture out this way for some trials, let me know. If it included a chance to meet a fellow i-dogger, it might motivate my decision to sign up for something I was debating, and if I don't sign up, I'd love to  meet you and the shaggy dogs anyway if you're around.