Rally Advice

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Snow Dogz

Boxer Buddy
Hey! So I have been training Bella for AKC Rally for quite some time now, but finally picked up the training sessions and entered her first trial, novice A, the 3rd week of February. There isn't a local training class but I did find a drop in Rally class in a couple weeks about an hour from where I live, so I will be taking her to that for practice. I am more concerned about the trial itself, since I haven't had a rally mentor to teach me all the little stuff!

Some of my main concerns:
Re-doing a station, I think I read you have 3 tries in AKC. When do you know to "retry" something?

Collar- I've been using a nylon w/chain martingale style collar to train in, I THINK think this is approved to show in... but do most people just show in a flat buckle collar?

How to hold the leash/ my arms? It seems that many people keep their left arm bent at the elbow, but which hand to carry the leash in?

Luring? I had read somewhere that if you have your fingers in a position like they contain a treat and you lure your dog, its a handler error. In a trail, do I need to keep my hands in a fist or wide open to not look like I'm luring?

PHEW! Ok that was my freak out vent. ANY advice please share it! Both Bella and I are used to the AKC agility environment, but Rally will be new to us. I've only been able to even watch in person part of 1 trial.

Thanks!
 

TwoDogs

Boxer Insane
If you hold your hand like you have food in it that would fall under "Luring" and is a substantial deduction of 6-10 points.

It is generally better to keep the leash in your left hand with enough slack in it so that you don't inadvertantly cause the leash to become taut (1-2 pt deduction) but not so slack that you run the risk of the dog (or you) getting entangled.

You can only repeat any given station once. Repeat of a station is an automatic 3 pt deduction not including any deductions you might receive during your second attempt. Repeat of a station includes the approach and performance of the entire station. Repeat of a station is done before approaching the next station.

Rally is fun, but the deductions can really add up. You don't want to lose valuable points because of poor leash handling, so have someone watch you as you practice or video yourself as you perform some stations. The maximum deduction for any station is 10 points, but individual deductions add up. You could lose 1-2pts if your dog is slow to sit. If he was also out of position you could lose another 1-2pts. If, because he was out of position, the leash went taut then you could lose another 1-2pts. If he also had a poor sit that swung wide then you could lose another 1-2pts. That's a total deduction of anywhere from 4 to 8pts depending on the judge.

It pays to know your deductions and know your dog. It might be a better choice to wait an extra couple of seconds for your dog to sit (providing you know he will eventually) and only get a 1-2pt deduction for "slow, delay, resistance to respond" rather than resort to "luring" your dog for a whopping 6-10pt deduction.

If you go to American Kennel Club - akc.org and review the Rally Regulations and Rally Judges Guidelines, you will get a good idea of things to expect at a Rally trial. I recommend going to a trial as a spectator before you enter as a competitor.

Good luck!
 

johann

Boxer Insane
I do APDT rally, but some of it is pretty similar to AKC rally.

If you are anything like me, be prepared to get lots of tight leash deductions for your first few runs....I used to lose a ton of points due to poor use of my leash (Johann would be in heel, but somehow I kept the leash taut). I keep the leash in my left hand, but very loose and use a thinner leash than usual (very thin/light nylon). Left hand is held up and somewhat across my body.

Definitely avoid the appearance of luring, keep your hand open for cues (no pinching thumb and finger together to look like you have a treat).

Good luck and have fun!
 

Snow Dogz

Boxer Buddy
Thank you so much for the advice! I am taking it all into consideration. For the most part, I am just excited to be having fun doing something new with Bella. On Friday we went to the next town to their drop in Rally class. She had never been to this training center and I was VERY nervous, but besides the first 1/4 of our first run, when she was kinda looking around/wanted to sniff (partly because I was so nervous I wasn't giving her much for commands ha ha), she did SO GREAT! Here is a video of our last run that evening. Obviously we will work towards no more treating and I realized that even when it feels like your leash is long, its still pretty short, so I'm gonna mark a spot/tie a knot and start getting used to it being even longer :)

Bella at her first Drop In Rally Class - YouTube
 

TwoDogs

Boxer Insane
Good job! Your leash looked much better during the second half of the run. Yes, I see it was partly because Bella was more attentive and in a better position, but also because you let out a little length. I like to try and keep the snap on the leash in a vertical position hanging straight down. If I see that the snap is anything other than vertical, then I know I need to work more on that maneuver--either what my hands are doing there, or getting the dog in closer at those spots.

Bella has lovely rear end awareness and does a nice job getting her back end tucked in nicely throughout the whole run. My guy seems to sometimes forget he has a back half at all!

One thing I noticed, on the Left About Turn at 0:39 seconds you reach for your treat in your pocket with your left hand before you lure/cue Bella around with your right. She has just a moment of hesitation where she is looking to the left hand and doesn't realize the right hand is also cueing her. If you clean that up a bit in practice, it will help her to recognize that cue as soon as it is given and ensure that she gets around you nice and quick.

Also, watch her "downs". On both the Halt/Sit/Down and the Halt/Down/Walk Around Dog Bella was not parallel to you. It's hard to tell from the video, but it might be that her sit is just a bit out of position and so when she downs it becomes more apparent, or it might be that her sit is straight but when she downs she turns in slightly. If it is the latter, watch where you reward the down. Sometimes feeding with the left hand and to the left side of the dog's mouth will straighten the position.

Good luck and keep up the great work!
 
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