Are you looking to try a new dog sport to sharpen your training skills, build teamwork, and practice useful manners behaviors? Oh … and have fun doing it?! Try Rally!
Rally was created by obedience competition enthusiast Bud Kramer in 2000. His goal in creating this new dog sport was to appeal to dog owners who abandoned the sport of competitive obedience to pursue more fun, yet challenging options such as agility.
What is Rally?
In Rally, a dog and handler team move together through a course made up of 10-20 signs, or stations. The team navigates through the course of stations in which each numbered sign indicates a behavior or sequence of behaviors to perform such as:
- Stop, sit then down your dog and circle your dog while he stays in place
- Heel in a full 360 degree turn
- Perform a “figure eight” turn, or a weaving serpentine
- Leave your dog on a stay, walk away, then call your dog to a sit in front.
Teams start with a “perfect” score of 200 with points deducted for faults along the way. There are also “bonus” exercises available so teams can earn a score of 210 if they perform with no errors.
The Benefits of Participating in Rally
There are lots of reasons Rally enthusiasts get hooked on the sport. Courses are always different, making for a more challenging and interesting experience for the dog and handler. Handlers can talk to their dogs during the course, encouraging and praising their dogs for a job well done, making it less formal and more motivating for the dog—making a difference in their team relationship.
Rally is for everyone! It’s for senior dogs to participate in an activity that fits their slower pace and physical abilities yet allows them to keep them active and involved in a sport with their owners. It’s a low impact activity and it’s not high drive like agility without the rigidity of traditional obedience competition.
And Rally is for people of all ages and physical abilities from teens to the elderly including persons with disabilities. For both people and their dogs, Rally is a totally inclusive sport. Despite being a competitive sport, there is a strong sense of community among Rally devotees, creating a supportive and welcoming atmosphere.
Try Rally. We think you’ll love it!
