Have a go at Rally-O!
Looking for something interesting to do with your dog? If you’re anything like me, you’ve looked into them all and probably thought:
A: “I’m so not co-ordinated enough” (Agility)
B: “That’s way to precise” (Obedience)
C: “I have two left feet” (Heel work to music)
D: “I don’t have a Border Collie” (All of the above!).
Mind you, I’m not knocking ANY of these sports (or Border Collies for that matter)as I firmly believe that any type of activity you do with your dog is a good thing, but sometimes it can be hard to find the RIGHT thing for you. Enter Rally-O: the perfect solution!
Rally-O (or Rally Obedience) is a new sport in the UK, but has been well established in its home country of America. It was originally devised by Charles L. "Bud" Kramer from the obedience practice of "doodling" - doing a variety of interesting warm-up and freestyle exercises. Unlike regular obedience where you have to wait for judge's orders, you instead proceed around a course of designated stations with your dog in heel position. The course consists of 10 to 20 signs that instruct the team what to do. So you may reach a sign like this:
Which means:
Dog asked to sit, handler walks around the dog while the dog remains in a sit, handler returns to start postion, team moves to next station sign.
Handlers (that’s you!) are actively encouraged to praise their dogs, and the emphasis is on demonstrating the bond between handler and dog, while exhibiting a flow around the course.
The very cool thing about Rally-O is that not only can ALL dogs can do it, no matter their breed, size or shape, but ALL handlers can do it too. Trust me on this one – if I can do it, so can you because between you and me, I’m not exactly the most natural dog handler in the world!
Have a look at some of these links and if you like what you see, why not have a go at Rally-o yourself?
Local classes are run by APDT UK trainers Tina and Ingrid Elias in Fernhurst on Thursday evenings at the Kings Arms Barn. You can contact them by telephone: 01428 648767 or email wagtailsk9@aol.com or via their website: www.wagtailscaninecollege.com
To learn more about Rally-O, have a look at the APDT UK's Rally-O website.
Hope to see you there!
Claire and Patch
STOP PRESS!!! An introductory Rally workshop is taking place in Haslemere on Sunday, May 23 2010 at The Haslemere Hall. For more information and how to book your place pleaseclick here.
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