Next Stop: Rally and Obedience
Prince suddenly ripped through his front screen door to defend his home turf from a neighbor’s invading cat. Soon after a loud sidewalk skirmish subsided and the screen was repaired, the dog’s ten-year-old owner, Curt, and his mom, Minnie, decided it was time to enroll their Labrador Retriever in a local Obedience Class.  What started as a project to save Prince from the local ‘dog police’ blossomed into many moments of special memories between mother and child as they embarked, with Prince, on a new path of obedience skills.

In our last Barking Bulletin(Q1, 2008) we talked about the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) program for dogs.  For many, the next station for improving social skills for their dog, within a framework of exercise and family fun, is Rally and Obedience.

What is Rally?
Rally is a fun and relaxed program to improve a dog’s obedience.  The goal of Rally is to complete a course of ten to fifteen relatively straightforward exercises, presided over by a judge.  It emphasizes ‘team spirit’ and unlimited verbal and hand clapping communication between the handler and the dog.

Different levels of Rally events are offered: Novice, Advanced and Excellent. Rally is great for owners who are looking for fun activities within the society of other dogs and their owners. It is also perfect for the weekend hobbyist who enjoys engaging in competitive events. For more information on Rally and how to join the one million plus other AKC affiliated dog club training or contests each year, click here.

What is Obedience?
After Rally comes the Obedience program. Have you ever watched police dogs at work or search and rescue dogs, perhaps on TV, and been fascinated by how they work so well with their handlers, quietly, with great focus and purpose? Perhaps you and your dog could also work as well together as a team. Obedience adds the polish to your dog’s behavior through advanced training classes and competitive regional and national events such as AKC’s National Obedience Invitational.

Rally is to Obedience training what ‘freestyle skating’ is to the disciplines of compulsory figure skating, with its meticulous figure eights. Obedience requires owner/dog teams to complete more structured and disciplined exercises such as: 
 
Level I - Novice

• Heel on leash and Figure Eight – can your dog watch you and adjust his pace to match yours, while walking calmly by your side?
• Recall – will your dog respond immediately to you at all times when you call him?
• Long Sit (1 minute) – will your dog sit and stay when told? (useful when you have visitors at home.)

Level 2 - Open

• Retrieve on Flat – a stay, retrieve and fetch exercise
• Long Sit – 3 minutes in one position as you leave the room
• Drop on Recall – might be a life saving command for a dog in a dangerous situation

Level 3 - Utility

• Signal Exercise – dog has to respond correctly to signals to stand, stay, sit and come. No voice commands are allowed
• Directed Retrieve – dog must follow a signal to retrieve a glove and return it promptly to you
• Directed Jumping – dog must go away from you, turn and sit, then clear a jump you ask him to clear and return to you promptly

As with Rally, Obedience events are judged and scored with different ‘titles’ offered for advancing from one level to the next, much like a young boy in a Cub Scout program.

For more information on Obedience, and how to get started with training in your area clubs, or to find local events click here.

Byproduct of a CGC/Obedience Certificate
Having a well-trained dog with a certificate in Obedience may help you obtain liability insurance for your dog in your Home Owners Policy. For more information on this important topic, visit the AKC web site now.

Where is Curt today?
The young boy who helped train Prince not to jump through screen doors, Curt Curtis, is now Assistant Vice President in charge of Companion Events for the American Kennel Club, overseeing the running of nearly 7,000 Companion events with over 1 million entries in the USA each year.

And what of Curt’s mom, Minnie?  Curt recalled how she passed away a few years ago, but not before making a mark in the obedience world. Minnie entered her dogs into various competitions and inspired others to do so until she was 88 years of age. During her last eight years, she was legally blind and deaf and used a sports wheelchair (chosen for its speed and maneuverability) to get about the Obedience courses. Such was her passion to carry on in the hobby she loved.