Obedience & Rally Trials

By Dean Miller, Owner of Club Canine, ClubCanineHouston.com

About Obedience Competition

Obedience exercises are the skills by which the dog/handler demonstrate their working aptitude, confidence, trust and overall stability in their relationship with one another. At the entry level, it’s fundamentally rooted in life skills needed for the dog/handler to live and exist as cooperative partners and then grows through higher levels of skill that command complex directional and task oriented exercises both on and off leash.

History

Little documentation regarding formal dog training can be found prior to the WWI. At that time, most dogs were responsible members of the family with important jobs to do. They guarded property, provided personal protection, herded livestock, eradicated vermin, helped in the hunt, pulled carts and sleds and located lost people. However, during WWI, people began needing dogs to help them in a different way and to be more of a companion. As dogs joined the family for companion purposes rather than to work, the role change predicated behavior modification and hence, today's obedience work.

How It Works

The dog and handler must demonstrate an in-sync routine of exercises and tasks with one another through the instruction of a judge. In many cases, the handler is only capable of communicating a single verbal or physical (hand signal) command of the dog to execute said exercise. As well, there is a specific degree of precision and speed at which the exercises and tasks must be completed and the dog demonstrating a positive and willing attitude towards performance. There are 3 primary levels of obedience, Novice, Open and Utility. There are now some added levels pre and post to those three to help encourage participation as well as additional preparation for the 3 primaries.

About Rally Competition

As a spin-off to Obedience, Rally Obedience is a sport in which the handler/dog team follow sequential signs with exercises pictured on each, to be performed at the handlers instruction. All disciplines and levels are moved through in order to achieve titles which can lend credibility to the specific dog and handler, trainer, training program as well as breed and breeder, through their performance scores.

Started in 2005, AKC Rally is a fun family sport and participation increases each year. All dogs are welcome to participate in AKC Rally, whether purebred or mixed breed. It’s a perfect starting point for those who are new to canine sports, as AKC Rally provides a challenging introduction to all AKC Companion Events for dogs and handlers to strengthen their skills.

How To Enter

To enter, a dog should already have either an AKC or FSS registration number, a Canine Partners (CP) Listing number or a Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL) Number. For more information on AKC Obedience, visit AKC.org/sports/ obedience. For more information on AKC Rally®, visit AKC.org/ sports/rally. These events are held Thursday - Sunday at the show.