- Location
- East Sussex
Now to my husband's disappointment, this doesn't mean the dogs talk 
! The Rally competitions that I've done to date have been run by the Kennel Club, but Talking Dogs Rally is a privately run organisation. The signs (exercises) are very similar to Kennel Club ones, the biggest difference being that the dogs are required to walk at heel on both right and left sides of the handler, whereas in KC the dogs always heels on the left. One other big difference in the rules is that handlers can carry treats in their pockets and reward dogs when in a stationary position (sitting, standing or lying down) without losing marks. And you can also choose to give a treat at other times, but do lose 2 marks per reward for that. Unlike KC it is not a competition (no 1st, 2nd 3rd places) but a trial, where you work to try to achieve a certain standard and if you meet it you are awarded 'good', 'outstanding' or 'ace' rosettes depending on your score.
So this weekend I'm going to give it a try with Rajah, at a trial near Sherborne in Dorset. I booked it some time ago when Rajah seemed very flat as I thought it would be good to take him into a ring where I could reward liberally with food. Since then of course he's had a good KC show and achieved the score he needed for his KC Rally L3 Excellent title. However I think it will be a fun low-pressure event and I hope it will build his enthusiasm. I'm going in with the intention of rewarding as much as needed for full engagement, rather than chasing a score. We have to start at the beginning again so he will be working on lead. I haven't done much practice and he thinks being asked to heel on my right hand side is very weird!
talkingdogsrally.co.uk
! The Rally competitions that I've done to date have been run by the Kennel Club, but Talking Dogs Rally is a privately run organisation. The signs (exercises) are very similar to Kennel Club ones, the biggest difference being that the dogs are required to walk at heel on both right and left sides of the handler, whereas in KC the dogs always heels on the left. One other big difference in the rules is that handlers can carry treats in their pockets and reward dogs when in a stationary position (sitting, standing or lying down) without losing marks. And you can also choose to give a treat at other times, but do lose 2 marks per reward for that. Unlike KC it is not a competition (no 1st, 2nd 3rd places) but a trial, where you work to try to achieve a certain standard and if you meet it you are awarded 'good', 'outstanding' or 'ace' rosettes depending on your score.So this weekend I'm going to give it a try with Rajah, at a trial near Sherborne in Dorset. I booked it some time ago when Rajah seemed very flat as I thought it would be good to take him into a ring where I could reward liberally with food. Since then of course he's had a good KC show and achieved the score he needed for his KC Rally L3 Excellent title. However I think it will be a fun low-pressure event and I hope it will build his enthusiasm. I'm going in with the intention of rewarding as much as needed for full engagement, rather than chasing a score. We have to start at the beginning again so he will be working on lead. I haven't done much practice and he thinks being asked to heel on my right hand side is very weird!
What is Talking Dogs Rally®? – www.talkingdogsrally.co.uk
talkingdogsrally.co.uk
