Rally

[ruby55]

Well, we did it; finally got my schedule set so we can start taking rally classes. Last night was our second class, the instructor keeps these dogs working for about 45 minutes. By the end of the class, Ruby is over it; she lays down whenever she thinks she can get away with it.
It's a little more difficult than I imagined, trying to shape an exercise, keep up the speed, keep Ruby from trying to play with the other dogs (she's such a party girl!). Since this is a novice class, the instructor permits bait, so I've been using string cheese. It's a special treat; the only time she gets it is when we're practicing.
We printed off all of the signs, & are working on them in the dog yard with the other dogs inside. I tried it on the property in front of the house, but as soon as our friends, who are camping on the property, see us out, they want to come & watch. Ruby is such a people person, she starts to pay attention to them instead of me.
The biggest problem we're having is Ruby's size. Since she should be on a close heel, it's hard to judge space so she can turn to get into position on some of the exercises.
We're going to keep going however, I'm determined to make this work, & be a fun thing for us to do. When I'm comfortable with Ruby, I'm thinking of starting Sunny too. The instructor told me last night: "When you get this girl out in the ring, everyone's going to want to watch her. She will be a star; let her shine." Crap; I just wanted to be able to work with the dogs, not carry a responsibility like this.

 

[jsarra]

Glad your enjoying Rally! We are just finishing up our classes for Novice and have our exam next week.....YIKES im soooo nervous lol. Hank our 15 month EM enjoys it. Our problem is he is sooooo big and un coordinated that some of the moves are hard. We practise a lot at home but its -20 outside right now so were limited to inside which is hard because of his size. The instructor says he is doing well and will be better as he grows older because right now he acts like a giant puppy. Last week he decided to start chasing his tail during the 1,2,3 step Halts LOL! I almost died. His sits are soooo crooked! And he is soooo slow to sit.....like SLOTH slow hahaha. But over all I have enjoyed it and come to terms that Hank is no lab or poodle that works at super speed
I originally signed up because hank had hit a "stubborn" teen streak and I wanted more socializing and something different and more up beat then regular obedience that we have already done 3 classes of.

 

[ruby55]

Our problem is he is sooooo big and un coordinated that some of the moves are hard. Last week he decided to start chasing his tail during the 1,2,3 step Halts LOL! I almost died. His sits are soooo crooked! And he is soooo slow to sit.....like SLOTH slow hahaha. But over all I have enjoyed it and come to terms that Hank is no lab or poodle that works at super speed

YES!YES! THAT'S IT! She doesn't chase her tail (that's hysterical, BTW), but she's totally infatuated with Zoe the boxer, & every once in awhile, goes into a play bow when she catches Zoe's eye. And there's just not enough room to come around to my side. She always runs into me, knocking me sideways. Gotta work on that. Plus she just doesn't want to speed up. Plod, plod, plod....even the instructor can't get her off of slow. It's fun though, & I'm looking forward to the time when she *gets it*. I don't care if we don't get a title, but I'm not looking forward to being in the spotlight, getting a ton of criticism from other folks, if we screw up in the ring.

 

[KristinandCianna]

Cianna and I are in a Rally 2 class!! I love it!! Are you doing AKC Rally, or APBT Rally?? Cianna does IPO and has her BH, so when we are on, she looks really good because she already has good heeling and position, but when we are off, OMG it's a disaster!! C looks away, sniffs the sign, sniffs the instructor, OY. I find that a lot of the time it's because I'm nervous because I don't know what I am doing.

 

[Ron Ackerman]

Vulcan and I enjoy Rally tremendously. I have found it extremely helping in preparing for the obedience parts in other sports. After earning the RA in AKC and the URO3 in UKC, we are now working our through the ASCA Rally titles. I really like the ASCA stations. The courses are a little tighter than the other organizations', which require more precision control and some of the signs really make you think. Many people think that Rally is easy but at the third level it ain't no piece of cake. Obedience with that many distractions is good for the street as well as sports like IPO and PSA.

 

[KristinandCianna]

I do NOT find Rally easy!!! Haha, I have a hard time following the signs, LOL, I actually find IPO OB a little easier, we have our BH, MUCH easier for me. And I agree, some of the signs will help me and my dog in IPO. It's easier in that it is not as physically challenging as IPO ( no meter jump or a frame) but it is still a challenge, especially to score well.

 

[Hector]

I don't know if you've seen this video

[video=youtube;JtMahDzyX-0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtMahDzyX-0[/video]

 

[jsarra]

So we had our novice rally exam today! We passed...... Well sorta lol. We Passed all the signs (with minor deductions) but failed the time. A pass is 4 min and we did it in 5:50 lol. Hank literally moves at turtle pace!! Omg. He got distracted a few times too. He noticed Grammie and dad then another dog...... Ugh man!!! Anyway we had fun and were moving on to advanced where we will do a lot more obedience and off leash work! Anything to keep the socializing and training going.

 

[ruby55]

Good job jsarra! We went back to square one, working on a tight heel. Ruby's always been permitted to wander a little away from me, she's so good about not pulling that I've always given her a little head room. Now I'm paying for it.
I've been working with Sunny too, even though he doesn't go to class. He does better than Ruby on some of the exercises, mainly just because he wants to please so much. So I now have visions of trying to put them both in competition one day.
The training club I go to does AKC rally, and are thinking of starting UKC rally too. I've heard there's not much difference, but I'm just going to continue working on AKC for now. We already get confused.

 

[Alla Zilberg]

I do NOT find Rally easy!!! Haha, I have a hard time following the signs, LOL, I actually find IPO OB a little easier, we have our BH, MUCH easier for me. And I agree, some of the signs will help me and my dog in IPO. It's easier in that it is not as physically challenging as IPO ( no meter jump or a frame) but it is still a challenge, especially to score well.

Really Kristin? You find Rally hard? That is so strange! I did NOT train at all for Rally. Read the signs the night before and got his title in one weekend. I found it dispassionately easy.

IPO is SO precise - you get points off if the dog is slightly crooked, if the dog is not full speed, if you look at a dog (handlerar help), no double commands whereas in Rally you can talk to the dog as much as you want, use full body language, straightness of positions does not really matter, nor does the speed really, etc. I think you are just being stressed about signs, cause really - rally was created to be an easier version of CKC / AKC OB as entry numbers were falling...Its not even comparable to IPO

 

[Ron Ackerman]

Alla,
I felt exactly the same way about the BH, no training and dispassionately easy. In what level(s) of Rally and with what organization(s) have you titled?

 

[Alla Zilberg]

Ron, I only did RN as there are no trials here for higher levels. I will have to do 1st level in CKC to continue to higher levels, but I am not sure I want to dedicate my weekend to a CKC event....

I did CARO. It was supposed to he harder than CKC...Here is the website, Opening Page

IPO is much harder. In Rally you can talk to your dog the whole way, reward it between exercises, praise it, repeat commands, etc. I got high in trial my first ever Rally ran, beating people who train only rally and professional trainers... Reading the signs can get hard and stressful, and I think this is what Kristin is finding hard about the sport, not the actual training for the dog

Ron, out of curiosity - do you know your score in BH and who was the judge? Sometimes judges are easy in BH not to discourage people and let lots of things slide. I am not implying at all that this was your case as I know how very well trained your boy is - just general observation

 

[Ron Ackerman]

Alla,
I really didn't even case what my score was. It was in the thirtys and raining the day we trialed and all I wanted was my scorebook, certificate and to go home and get warm. Vulcan wasn't happy with the Honor exercise in the cold mud for sure. I believe he was the only one of five to pass that day, so I was told. We sat in the car till we were called to trial and got back in there until they presented the awards. The Judge was Fred Marashi from the Houston, TX area.

 

[KristinandCianna]

Yes, I was referring to the signs lol. I personally have an easier time remember an IPO routine, then I do following the signs in not such a big area, call me special LOL. IPO is absolutely WAY harder. Cianna and I could trial in Rally right now and pass,Cianna could probably do more then pass ( me idk) but could not go step on the field and do our 1 and pass yet and we have been training for IPO for much longer. That being said, I wouldn't say Rally is super easy for the human lol, maybe for a well trained dog. LOL

 

[KristinandCianna]

lol. I have a learning disability, so yes I do find it hard. And I have seen others have a hard time with it as well. That's great that you don't. I train Rally for ME not for Cianna, Cianna has no trouble. And when I train for it, I train just like I do in IPO, no encouragement, no body cues. I am simply saying that I personally have an easier time walking an IPO BH on an IPO field. Ciannas was one of the best that weekend, judge said it was nearly flawless. We don't have our one yet because of how hard it is to put it all together for the IPO 1, I was certainly NOT saying IPO is easy.

 

[KristinandCianna]

Great job!!

 

[KristinandCianna]

My great job was directed to Jsarra!!! Ruby, keep us posted I am sure you and your girl will do great!!

 

[joshuagough]

*Waves* @ the "Corso Police"

 

[KristinandCianna]

Anyway, Alla, I remember when you and Safir got high in trial for your RN, that is awesome! I am much better in Rally now that I can read the signs LOL ( i know i know i am a bit ridiculous), and Cianna is very good. I look forward to trialing soon. Rally is a great sport, anyone who likes to work with their dog should try it, even dogs with disabilities can do it at least in some venues. My friends GSD is in class with Cianna and I. He was originally an IPO dog, but has severe HD now, and cannot do it anymore, so she is doing Rally with him now and he is LOVING it!!!! He feels like he has a purpose again and it is really nice to see.

 

[ruby55]

The hardest part is getting that tight heel. We've always trained our dogs to stay a little bit away from us, so we're not tripping over them, when we walk. Now I'm asking her to stay as close as possible to me. Also, I can almost see the wheel in her head turning, saying "Do I really want to do what my human is asking?" While I love the fact that these dogs have a knack for decision making, sometimes it's a pain in the butt. One more class to go, and we're still not ready for the ring. And of course, most of the problem is me, not her. I'm thinking I'll go on to take some obedience, if it's available on my days off.