Rally - what it is all about:

Rally is a new form of obedience. It's based on the "doodling" done by obedience trainers for years. Charles "Bud" Kramer took those training exercises and created Rally-O, where the team of handler and dog negotiate a course, similar to the road Rally courses.

APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) was the first organization to offer Rally trials. The first titles were awarded in Ellenville, NY on September 23, 2001. WWKC (World Wide Kennel Club) was the second to offer titles. AKC (American Kennel Club) was the third, awarding their first titles on January 2, 2005, at trials in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and South Dakota. AKC had offered Rally as a non-regular class for several years before making it titling. Currently, UKC (United Kennel Club) and ASCA (Australian Shepherd Club of America) are working on their own Rally programs. APDT and WWKC allow mixes to participate, as will UKC and ASCA.

In Rally, teams of dog and handler negotiate a course designed by the judge. Upon the judge's "Forward", the team starts, and follows the course. Along the course are numbered exercises. When the team comes to a station, they must do the exercise that is described on the sign. Upon completion, the team will heel to the next sign. This course will be different at each trial, giving a lot of variety to the sport. In Rally, the handler is not only allowed to talk to their dog, but they are actually encouraged to do so! Handlers may encourage, assist, and praise in the ring. Handlers will be given a chance to "walk" the course before their turn in the ring, to familiarize themselves with the course layout, exercises, and handling that will be needed for their performance.

AKC Rally

There are three levels of Rally in the AKC program - Novice, Advanced and Excellent. Each level is divided into the "A" class and the "B" class, depending on the experience of the dog and/or handler. Three "legs" (qualifying scores of at least 70 out of a possible 100) under two different judges are needed to complete each title.

Novice

The Rally Novice "A" class is for those dogs and handlers who have never earned an AKC obedience title (CD, CDX, UD, UDX, OTCH). The handler must own the dog, or be a close relative of the owner. This class is for those truly new to showing. After completing the title, a team may continue to show in this class for another 60 days, then must either move up to Advanced or Novice B.
The Rally Novice "B" class is for everyone else. Dogs who have obedience titles, and handlers who have previously earned obedience titles show in this class. A team may continue to show in this class until they earn a "leg" toward their Advanced title.
The title earned in this class is "RN", and is placed after the dogs registered name.

There will be between 10 and 15 stations in a Novice course, plus the Start and Finish signs. There are 29 exercises that are available for use in a Novice class. No more than 5 of those stations may be "stationary" (halt, or no forward movement). Generally, the courses will be the same for both the "A" and the "B" classes at the same trial.

Advanced

The Rally Advanced "A" class is for those dogs who have never earned an AKC obedience title (CD, CDX, UD, UDX, OTCH). The handler must own the dog, or be a close relative of the owner. After completing the title, a team may continue to show in this class for another 60 days, then must either move up to Excellent or Advanced B.
The Rally Advanced "B" class is for everyone else. Dogs who have obedience titles show in this class. A team may continue to show in this class indefinitely.
The title earned in this class is "RA", and is placed after the dogs registered name.

There will be between 12 and 17 stations in an Advanced course, plus the Start and Finish signs. All 29 Novice exercises plus an additional 14 Advanced exercises are available for use in an Advanced class. No more than 7 of those stations may be "stationary". There shall be one obedience jump used in this class. Generally, the courses will be the same for both the "A" and the "B" classes at the same trial.
The jump heights are considerably lower for most dogs in Rally than they are in traditional obedience. Dogs who are under 15" tall jump 8"; dogs who are 15 to under 20" jump 12", and dogs 20" and over jump 16". The class may be arranged by jump height.

Excellent

The Rally Excellent "A" class is for those dogs who have never earned an AKC obedience title (CD, CDX, UD, UDX, OTCH). The handler must own the dog, or be a close relative of the owner. After completing the title, a team may continue to show in this class for another 60 days, then must move to Excellent B.
The Rally Excellent "B" class is for everyone else. Dogs who have obedience titles show in this class. A team may continue to show in this class indefinitely.
The title earned in this class is "RE", and is placed after the dogs registered name.

There will be between 15 and 20 stations in an Excellent course, plus the Start and Finish signs. All 29 Novice exercises, all 14 Advanced exercises, plus an additional 5 Excellent exercises are available for use in an Excellent course. No more than 7 of those stations may be "stationary". There shall be two obedience jumps used in this class (may be two individual jumps, or one jump taken twice. There will also be an "Honor" exercise, which is a short stay, sit or down with the handler either beside or in front of the dog, during the performance of the next dog. Generally, the courses will be the same for both the "A" and the "B" classes at the same trial.

RAE

Once a dog completes the RE title, they may continue to show in both the Advanced B and Excellent B classes indefinitely. If a dog qualifies in both classes at the same trial, they earn a "leg" toward the RAE (Rally Advanced Excellent) title. 10 such "double Q's" will earn the RAE title. 10 additional "double Q's" earn the RAE2 title and so forth.

APDT Rally

APDT rally also has 3 levels - Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. The "A" class is for those dogs who have not earned that level's title yet, the "B" class is for those who have that title, and are working toward that level's championship. 3 legs under 2 different judges will earn that level's title. A perfect score in APDT rally is 200 points, and a minimum of 170 is required to "qualify". Additionally, a "bonus" exercise may be done, at the handler's option, at the end of the course for an extra 10 points. Titles in APDT also follow the dog's name. The Level 1 title is R1, Level 2 is R2, and Level 3 is R3. There are also several additional Championship titles available, both at the individual level, and overall. See the APDT site for details. (This portion of the site is still under development - check back later for more information.)

Links

For the complete AKC rules, go to the AKC website.

For the complete APDT rules, go to the APDT Rally site.

Additional links where you can learn more about the new, exciting sport of Rally: (Note: you must use the back button on your browser to return here)

Rally Obedience

Rally Obedience Mailing List

Bud Kramer's Rally Obedience (Bud Kramer is the "inventor" of the original RallyO)

Kay Ford's RallyO Site