RallyO preparation

[Philly B]

I've signed Philly up for RallyO starting Sept 9th. Has anyone done this before and can suggest a few things I can work with him before we start?

[Byrd]

I took Rally-O classes and I know that MafiaPrincess has her RN title.

Work on your straight sits, make sure the dog is no more than 45 degree angled from you. Work on downs without having to motion (down him just by saying "down"). Most importantly, heeling, rally is done on a loose leash and points are knocked for tight leash (which is where we have our problems).

Good luck.

[PetFriendly]

From what I've seen at lessons I've watched, good focus helps too, which I guess is sort of part of good heeling... A friend in agility also does Rally-O, she and her dog are quite good... But its not as fast paced as Agility, hence the focus and heeling calmly.

[Kandy]

No advice, but good luck! I bet Philly will do very well at it!

[MafiaPrincess]

We have a novice rally title. We were the dunce of the rally O class though. We couldn't heel.. We couldn't even pretend to heel and walk on a loose leash. We also had no focus.

If we were to redo it, I'd work on getting a passable heel.. and work on attention games before classes.

We finished classes.. Took what we learned, worked on our own to get a heel.. and got two of the three legs to our title a month later. But we worked hard to fix it.

[Philly B]

Thanks for the pointers. Phils heel is not too bad when wearing his Gentle Leader, but stinks when on his collar.

[BeagleMum]

Andrew, are you using the GL body harness or the head one? I wonder if they will allow you to use it in the class.

[MafiaPrincess]

They allowed head halters in our class..but made it clear if anyone had any want to compete ever, you'd be starting from what might feel like scratch having to relearn with out it. One person out of a class of 5 used a GL. He'd try taking it off sometimes, wasn't going as well as he would have liked.

[Lissa]

I know I'm late but I was out of town last week... Dodgie and I will be there too! YAY for the HOUNDS!!!!!!

You could keep the GL on Philly but have the leash attached to his collar (or double leash him so you can switch back and forth instantly) at first to help him along without relying on it exclusively.

The instructor is a rally judge for CARO and the CKC so she will likely be into the details - and while I think its important to absorb everything she says, I'd keep to Philly's agenda (only apply it when he's ready, not because its the "structure" of the class). So don't worry, Philly WILL BE GREAT!!!!

Dodger and I are going for the socialization aspect and there are some things I will change (for instant, I will be expecting a bow instead of a sit or down at times because of his lameness)... So really its all about having fun and working with your dog - if he excels with the struture GREAT, if not adapt it!

I agree that attention is key! Beyond that work on getting the "heel" position in the dogs brain - for instance, if you step to the right, will your dog stay in heel position?? We often teach heel as a straightforward motion, and often neglect turns, sprials, serpentines and non-forward motions... Reviewing fronts and finishes will also help... For fun, lay the foundations for a stand/sit/down stay in motion and return to heel (usually comes up when an instructor sets up games)
Dodger hates heeling - he gets so bored and usually tries to climb the stairs, a-frame or the wheelchair - desperately hoping that he will turn it into a shaping exercise LOL... It will be FUN

[Philly B]

Thats great Lissa! I look forward to seeing Dodger in action.

I use the Head GL with Phil. I've been working the last few days on his Heel without it. He's not to bad but likes to keep tension on the leash.