What Is Rally Obedience?

There is something new brewing on the dog performance stage. It is a combination of obedience and agility. It is not without its critics and its enthusiastic supporters. Some people say that obedience is too formal and serious. Rally obedience is out to change that. Rally obedience is similar to agility in that a judge sets up a pattern in advance and handlers get to walk the course before they go into the ring. The difference is the course isn't made up of obstacles, but exercises. After the judges forward command the dog handler team moves from station to station on its own completing each exercise. Praise, double commands and lots of encouragement are allowed.

Rally obedience is usually timed. There are two levels. Level one is on lead and level two is off with more stations, including at least one jump. The course time is decided by the judge based on a slow walk through of the course with three seconds added for every sit, down, front, finish or stand. Competitors are scored using the time it takes them to complete the course. Any faults add seconds to the run time. A missed or incorrectly performed station can add ten seconds. Three seconds are added each time you re-try a station, touch the dog, leash correct, knock over a cone, lose control or have a behaviour problem.

Rally obedience can also be non-timed and is scored like obedience, with points deducted from an out of 200. Some obedience people have reservations about the sport. They feel there is too much dog-handler interaction and all the talking and extra commands can confuse a young dog that hasn't matured in the obedience ring. Most handlers love it because it has challenges of its own, including no mental breaks as you progress through the course. Dogs need to have a solid attention span and focus and enough stamina to get through the course. Well-heeled obedience dogs will have a hoot.

It’s a lot of fun and sure to become big in Canada.

For more information click here to visit:
The Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (CARO)