6-Week Class

Rally: Beyond the Basics

Start Date: April 1, 2023
Registration Opens: March 22, 2023

Class Description

Your dog has great rally skills in your living room, but now you’re not sure what to do next!  How do you progress toward your goals? What’s involved in going from your small training area to an entire course?  Whether you want to use rally to improve your dog’s basic skills or you want to eventually compete, you’ll learn how to take the next steps in this class.

It doesn’t matter where you are in your rally journey: I will meet you there!

The sport of rally is way more complicated than many people realize! First, heeling is the cornerstone of rally, so having a dog who heels well is important!  We’ll work on strengthening your heeling skills. For those of you with little dogs, you know that some of the popular heeling techniques just don’t work as well with smaller dogs, so we’ll dedicate time to focus on the littles too!

Time will also be spent refining and polishing other skills such as fronts, finishes, position changes, and stays.  Some of the more advanced skills will be introduced through games to keep your training engaging and fun!

You’ll learn how to go from completing one sign to completing many in a row, moving smoothly from one sign to the next and staying connected in between!  Those preparing for obedience will learn extra tips to keep them progressing to the precision that obedience requires.

We’re also going to prepare you for the skills you’ll need for trialing.  Even if you’re not even close to being ring-ready, you’ll learn how to get both you and your dog there!  Introducing distractions, generalization, and building longer chains will allow you to step smoothly in the ring when you both feel ready.

For the handlers, you get special attention too!  Many errors in rally are caused by the handlers, so you’ll learn all about the rules,
signs, and how to handle mistakes in both training and in the ring. We’ll even cover some mental prep stuff and stress relief!

Let me show you how rally can be fun and engaging, but also teach you and your dog to perform to the best of your abilities. Regardless of your eventual goals, this class will get you moving down that path!

Class Syllabus