Hound Dogs dRule
  • Home
  • Hounds▾
    • Hounds
      • Scenthounds
        • Scenthounds
        • Alpine Dachsbracke
        • American Black and Tan Coonhound
        • American Foxhound
        • American Leopard Hound
        • Anglo-Francais de Petite Venerie
        • Ariegeois
        • Artois Hound
        • Austrian Black and Tan Hound
        • Basset Artésien Normand
        • Basset Bleu de Gascogne
        • Basset Fauve de Bretagne
        • Basset Hound
        • Bavarian Mountain Hound
        • Beagle
        • Beagle Harrier
        • Billy
        • Blackmouth Cur
        • Bloodhound
        • Bluetick Coonhound
        • Bosnian Coarse Haired Hound
        • .
        • Briquet Griffon Vendéen
        • Chien Français Blanc et Noir
        • Chien Français Blanc et Orange
        • Chien Français Tricolore
        • Dachshund
        • Deutsche Bracke
        • Drever
        • Dunker
        • English Coonhound
        • English Foxhound
        • Finnish Hound
        • Gascogne Saintongeois
        • Grand Anglo-Français Blanc et Noir
        • Grand Anglo-Français Blanc et Orange
        • Grand Anglo-Français Tricolore
        • Grand Basset Griffon Vendéen
        • Grand Bleu de Gascogne
        • Grand Griffon Vendéen
        • Griffon Bleu de Gascogne
        • Griffon Fauve de Bretagne
        • .
        • Griffon Nivernais
        • Haldenstøver
        • Hamiltonstövare
        • Hanoverian Hound
        • Harrier
        • Hellenic Hound
        • Hygen Hound
        • Istrian Coarse-Haired Hound
        • Istrian Short-Haired Hound
        • Italian Hound
        • Montenegrin Mountain Hound
        • Mountain Cur
        • Otterhound
        • Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen
        • Petit Bleu de Gascogne
        • Plott
        • Poitevin
        • Polish Hound
        • Polish Hunting Dog
        • Porcelaine
        • .
        • Posavaz Hound
        • Redbone Coonhound
        • Rhodesian Ridgeback
        • Schillerstövare
        • Serbian Hound
        • Serbian Tricolor Hound
        • Slovakian Hound
        • Småland Hound
        • Small Swiss Hound
        • Spanish Hound
        • Stephens' Cur
        • Styrian Coarse-Haired Hound
        • Swiss Hound
        • Transylvanian Hound
        • Treeing Cur
        • Treeing Walker Coonhound
        • Tyrolean Hound
        • Welsh Hound
        • Westphalian Dachsbracke
        • Sighthounds
          • Sighthounds
          • Afghan Hound
          • Azawakh
          • Borzoi
          • Chart Polski
          • Greyhound
          • Hungarian Greyhound
          • Irish Wolfhound
          • Italian Greyhound
          • Rhodesian Ridgeback
          • Saluki
          • Scottish Deerhound
          • Sloughi
          • Spanish Greyhound
          • Whippet
        • Pariahs & Primitives
          • Pariahs & Primitives
          • Basenji
          • Canaan
          • Carolina Dog
          • Cirneco Del’Etna
          • Ibizan Hound
          • Norwegian Elkhound
          • Peruvian Inca Orchid
          • Pharaoh Hound
          • Podenco Canario
          • Podengo Portugueso
          • Thai Ridgeback
          • Taiwan Dog
          • Xoloitzcuintli
  • K9 Classroom▾
    • General Information
    • Cynology
    • The Domestic Dog
    • Black Dog Bias
    • Breed Type
    • Canid Hybrids
    • Hypoalergenic Dog Breed
    • History and Evolution
    • Origin of the Domestic Dog
    • Dogs and Humans




    • Dog Types
    • List of Dog Types





    • Behavior
    • Domestic Dog Behavior
    • Communication
    • Pack
    • Bark


    • Biology
    • Scenses
    • Coat
    • Coat Colors and Patterns
    • Anatomy
    • Gait
    • Dewclaw
    • Nutrition
    • Dangerous Foods-Toxic Substances
    • Dog Food
    • Biscuits


    • Health
    • Dog Odor
    • Skin Disorders
    • Vaccinations
    • Rabies
    • Aging
    • Canine Reproduction
    • Training
    • Obedience Training
    • Canine Good Citizen
    • Clicker Training



    • Working Dogs
    • Working Dog Types
    • Assistance Dogs
    • Guard Dogs
    • Pastoral Dogs


    • Dog Sports
    • List of Dog Sports





  • Policies▾
    • Policies
    • Site Map
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimers
You're browsing: Home » K9 Classroom » Rally Obedience

Rally Obedience

  • Tweet

Musical Canine FreestyleSchutzhund

Article: Dog Sports » Rally Obedience


Rally Obedience Signs (click to enlarge)

Rally Obedience Signs (click to enlarge)

Rally obedience (also known as Rally or Rally-O) is a dog sport based on obedience. It was originally devised by Charles L. “Bud” Kramer from the obedience practice of “doodling” – doing a variety of interesting warmup and freestyle exercises.

Unlike regular obedience, instead of waiting for the judge’s orders, the competitors proceed around a course of designated stations with the dog in heel position. The course consists of 10 to 20 signs that instruct the team what to do. Unlike traditional obedience, handlers are allowed to encourage their dogs during the course.

There are currently five sanctioning bodies for Rally-O in the United States: the American Kennel Club (AKC); the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT); and the newly formed Canine Work and Games (C-Wags)and Canines and Humans United (CHU). The United Kennel Club (UKC) added rally obedience to their program as of January 2009, and the Swedish Working Dog Club (SBK) added it in July 2011.

In AKC Rally, which is open to AKC breeds and mixed breed dogs registered in the AKC Canine Partners program, the team starts with 100 points, and the judge deducts points for mistakes. After qualifying three times under two different judges, the dog earns a title, which appears after the dog’s registered name. Each qualifying trial earned is known as a “leg.”

There are three levels in AKC Rally:

  • Novice, the beginner’s class. The dog is on leash and there are 10 to 15 stations, the title is RN.
  • Advanced, for dogs who have completed their novice title. Dogs are judged off leash, and the title is RA.
  • Excellent, the highest class, for dogs who have earned their advanced title. 15 to 20 stations, including 2 jumps, are used in this class and the title is RE.

Additionally, there is the Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE) title, in which the team has to qualify in both Advanced and Excellent in 10 trials.

In APDT Rally-O, which is open to any dog and handler, the team starts with 200 points, and the judge deducts points for mistakes and adds bonus points that can be earned for optional exercises. There are three levels and there are additional titles for multiple qualifications at various levels. APDT Rally varies in some respects in the performance of some of the exercises and has some exercises, such as a retrieve, not seen in AKC rally. The most obvious difference between APDT and AKC rally is the ability to reward the dog with food in the ring under specific conditions in APDT rally.

UKC Rally follows a similar pattern as the AKC program. There are three levels of competition, three legs are required for a title, and there is an extended championship title. UKC rally is open to any dog and handler. The exercises in UKC rally vary slightly from the other organizations, mostly involving which exercises are in each level.

C-Wags and CHU are relatively new organizations that appear to be mainly in the Mid-west. It has added variations on rally courses, such as Zoom – which has no stationary signs, and requires 4 legs to title.

APDT also has some trials in Canada, and Canada also has Canadian Association of Rally Obedience (CARO) and Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) Rally. CARO is similar in many respects to both AKC and APDT Rally, with the addition of some agility elements. CKC Rally began in early 2007 and is similar to AKC Rally.

In the UK, Talking Dogs Rally (TD Rally) produced their own version which was launched in January 2010. For greater clarity, all signs have been redesigned and colour-coded: Level 1 = green, Level 2 = blue and Level 3 = yellow. Uniquely, to encourage teams (one dog and one handler) to compete against their own scores rather than against other teams, TD Rally does not designate competitors as first, second or third. Instead, teams gain Good, Outstanding and Ace rosettes for achieving scores over 170, 180 and 190 respectively (all teams start with 200 points.) Teams scoring over 181 points are included in the UK TD Rally National Rankings. As with other versions there are multiple opportunities for teams to win Titles including Puppy and Veteran. TD Rally put great emphasis on training their Judges in order to provide competitors with standardised, objective and fair judging throughout the UK.


See also

  • AKC Rally Regulations
  • Canis Major rally overview
  • Rally signs
  • APDT Rally
  • C-Wags Rally
  • CHU Rally
  • UKC Rally
  • CARO Rally
  • CKC homepage – search the events for upcoming rally events
  • Talking Dogs Rally
  • UK Rally APDT UK
  • UK Rally frames
  • Rally classes Hertfordshire

This article is licensed (except where noted) under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Rally_Obedience

Sign Up Today!
Was this information helpful? Or do you have questions? Please consider registering for our forums and start a discussion today about Dog Rally Obedience


Rally Obedience was last modified: April 28, 2014 by Roostertail
  • Awards

  • Tags

    Afghanistan Africa America Ancient Egypt Ancient Greece Assistance Dogs Austria Bark Behavior Belgium Biology Bosnia Breed Type Canary Islands Catahoula Companion Dog Coonhound Croatia Cur Dog Sport Dog Types Egypt England English-French Evolution Finland Foxhound France Germany Greece Guard Dogs Hairless Health History Hounds Hungary Iberia Imperial China Ireland Israel Italy Lap Dog Malta Montenegro North Africa Norway Nutrition Palestine Pariah Persia Peru Poland Portugal Primitive Rabies Ridgeback Roman Russia Scenthound Scotland Serbia Sicily Sighthound Slovakia Spain Spitz Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand The Domestic Dog Training Transylvania Wales Working Dogs
Free counters! Free counters!
    • Who's Online

      1 visitors online now
      0 guests, 1 bots, 0 members
    • Site Viewing

      For the fullest experience and complete functionality,
      this site is best viewed with Firefox or Google Chrome:

      ...and best of all, they're free!
    • Page Validation

Privacy PolicyTerms of ServiceDisclaimersSite Map
Copyright © 2021 Hound Dogs dRule

Powered by WordPress

Designed by Roostertail Productions