WEAVES & RETRIEVES

Are you ready to RACH and roll? Rally has undergone a facelift and it’s just not the program that it was before. If your past experiences with Rally events have been boring for you and your dog, not fun and just not worth the time, then look again and read up on the new Rally exercises and titles!

I have personally competed with my dachshunds in Rally events since its inception. After each of my dogs earned the RAE, I strayed away from the program and worked almost exclusively in obedience. I felt that Rally was simply not challenging enough, so it lost its luster. However, I recently became reacquainted with the program and I have now come away with a new impression.

Rally was originally introduced by the AKC in 2005. At that time, there were three (3) levels, Novice, Advanced and Excellent, leading to the highest title, the RAE. From my viewpoint, it became mundane, and viewed with not much excitement, as the sits, downs and walk-arounds were doldrums. Apparently that was the opinion of many exhibitors, as well. Therefore, the AKC took a second look at the program, putting a lot of time and thought in invigorating its Rally program.

In November, 2017, the RACH was introduced. Along with the RACH title, also came the new Master class signs1. To attain a RACH, the dog must maneuver through courses of about 20 signs that are fairly challenging and with increased difficulty at the Excellent and Master Levels. In the Master classes, you can still talk to your dog, but you cannot clap or pat your leg. You also cannot redo any sign that may have been incorrectly performed (IP) by your dog; you will just suffer a 10 point deduction which takes you out of earning Master points, as you need at least a score of 91 to earn points.

The RACH (pronounced “rock”) has become the “brass ring” for those trainers who want to have a meaningful goal at the end of the rally journey. This is the Rally Championship, with the title preceding the dog’s name, as with MACH (agility), OTCH (obedience) and CH (conformation). In order to attain a RACH, the dog must earn 20 tripleQ’s plus 300 points. A triple Q is a qualifying score, earned in Rally Advanced B, Excellent B, and Master, all at the same trial. The requirement for 300 points would, in and of itself, not be so difficult, except that 150 of those points must come from Master classes. Aaah, the rub! Here’s the breakdown to earn RACH points:

Points can be earned in any of the three classes; there is no more or less weight given to one class or the other. So if you get 100 in Advanced B, you will get 10 points, which is the same as getting 100 in Excellent B or in Master. This information is from the AKC Rally Regulations (orange cover) booklet, amended to February 9, 2021. The AKC enhanced the Rally program in February, 2019 to make it somewhat easier (and less expensive) to earn a RACH. The changes included:

RACH points can be earned from the Advanced B class, as well as Excellent B and Master classes.

The point schedule was amended to award more points on a given score. Points are now calculated once the dogs earns RE title (instead of requiring the RAE first). The number of Master points required for a RACH was reduced to 150.

It is pretty much agreed among Rally exhibitors that it is not too difficult to acquire the 300 points need; the difficulty is in earning half of them out of the Master class. On a practical note, most exhibitors, after earning the 20 triple Q’s and 150 points from the Advanced and Excellent classes, just enter their dog in Master, to save money and acquire the balance of those needed Master points.

Some of the signs in the Excellent and Master signs can be tricky. So even if you

READY TO RACH

MASTERING RALLY AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

By Karen R Scheiner

Classes

Advanced B Excellent B Master Class Score 100 99 98 97 95-96 91-94 Points 10 9 8 7 6 5

you have a very well-trained dog, you should read the regulations booklet and practice the signs. As you go through the course with your dog, he is not permitted to do any sign over in Master, but in the other classes, if you think it was incorrectly performed, then definitely do it over. A “do-over” will cost you just 3 points, so you can still earn RACH points. But one incorrectly performed (IP) sign will cost you 10 points, and then you get no points toward the RACH. It becomes a fairly expensive venture, particularly if you lose points for IPs.

Some of the more challenging signs for dachshunds to practice:

#205. Back up 3 Steps. Fortunately, you don’t lose too many points when the dog is out of heel position (like in obedience). Just get the dog going backwards. Try training against a wall on the dog’s left, so he can’t get too far afield! Keep the dog in heel position and carefully walk back three steps.

#206. Down While Heeling. The dog must lie down and stay; the handler, without pausing, continues about 6 feet to the Call sign, turns and faces the dog. Without moving his/her feet, the handler may command or signal the do to finish (either left or right.) Essentially, keep on walking when you give the “down” command.

#210. Send to Jump. This one is a little tricky because you need to stay at least 3 feet from the jump laterally. At the sign, the dog must leave the handler to jump. The dog must clear the jump on the first attempt, in the proper direction, without stopping. The handler cannot pass the jump until the dog has returned to heel position. Read this one carefully! #216. HALT – Dog Circles Right – Sit. From a #319. Side by Side 360° Right Circle While heeling, both the dog and handler stop forward motion and make a circle going to the right. The dog has to spin inwardly, toward the handler. Often, when the handler is circling right, the dog may get out of place losing their focus on heel position.

#320. Side by Side 360° Left Circle- While heeling, both the dog and handler stop forward motion and make a circle going to the left. This sign is a little easier than the preceding right circle sign. Since the dog is already on your left, he just spins away from you.

These are just a few examples of the more challenging signs. You can find the Rally Regulations booklet on the AKC website and download / view on your computer at your leisure. The signs are also available on the AKC site to be printed.

At all times, whenever you are training a skill to your dog, make it fun. Take breaks, throw food to be chased, or see if they can catch in their mouth. Some dogs love to spin, so practice that as if you were doing a left spin or right spin sign. Rally was originally meant to be a bridge between Obedience and Agility, but it has come into its own dimension. A RACH has become viewed as significant achievement for many competitors with its own Championship title and even a National AKC competition.

The Intermediate level was introduced later, for those dogs not ready to perform off-lead. The Intermediate level sequentially follows Novice, but it is an optional titling class. If your dog can compete off-lead, then after Novice title, you can enter Advanced classes.