Rally obedience

Rally obedience (also known as Rally or Rally-O) is a dog sport based on obedience. It was originally devised by Charles L. "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling" - doing a variety of interesting warmup and freestyle exercises.

Unlike regular obedience, instead of waiting for the judge's orders, the competitors proceed around a course of designated stations with the dog in heel position. The course consists of 10 to 20 signs that instruct the team what to do. Unlike traditional obedience, handlers are allowed to encourage their dogs during the course.

There are currently three sanctioning bodies for Rally-O in the United States: the American Kennel Club (AKC); the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT); and the newly formed Canine Work and Games (C-Wags) .

In AKC Rally, which is only open to AKC breeds, the team starts with 100 points, and the judge deducts points for mistakes, after qualifying three times at each level, the dog earns a title, which appears after the dog's registered name.

There are three levels in AKC Rally:

*Novice, the easiest class. The dog is on leash and there are 10 to 15 stations, the title is RN.

*Advanced, for dogs who have completed their novice title. Dogs are judged off leash, and the title is RA.

*Excellent, the highest class, for dogs who have earned their advanced title. 15 to 20 stations, including 2 jumps, are used in this class and the title is RE.

Additionally, there is the Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE) title, in which the team has to qualify in both Advanced and Excellent in 10 trials.

In APDT Rally-O, which is open to any dog and handler, the team starts with 200 points, and the judge deducts points for mistakes and adds bonus points that can be earned for optional exercises. There are three levels and there are additional titles for multiple qualifications at various levels. APDT Rally varies in some respects in the performance of some of the exercises and has some exercises, such as a retrieve, not seen in AKC rally. The most obvious difference between APDT and AKC rally is the ability to reward the dog with food in the ring under specific conditions in APDT rally.

C-Wags is a relatively new organization that appears mainly to be in the Mid-west. It has added variations on rally courses, such as Zoom - which has no stationary signs, and requires 4 legs to title.

APDT also has some trials in Canada, and Canada also has Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (CARO) and Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) Rally. CARO is similar in many respects to both AKC and APDT Rally, with the addition of some agility elements. CKC Rally began in early 2007 and is similar to AKC Rally.

External links

* [http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RO2999.pdf | AKC Rally Regulations]
* [http://www.canismajor.com/dog/rallyo.html | Canis Major rally overview]
* [http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/ROR999.pdf | Rally signs]
* [http://apdt.com/po/rally/default.aspx | APDT Rally]
* [http://c-wags.org | C-Wags Rally]
* [http://www.canadianrallyo.ca | CARO Rally]
* [http://www.ckc.ca | CKC homepage - search the events for upcoming rally events]