Rally is Harder than Obedience!

If that didn’t get your attention, I don’t know what will. This isn’t intended to stir things up or to be controversial, it’s a very skewed opinion piece intended to provoke thought and hopefully a little more consideration and appreciation for those who love Rally — even if that only means giving each other a pat on the back.

Rally people should stop to think about, and appreciate, how much they’re accomplishing with their dog, and never accept being told what they’re doing is less-than or easy!

First, I think it’s an unjust characterization that Rally is easy, or easier. Rally isn’t easy. I’d say it’s approachable, which gets so many people willing to give it a try and why I think the sport grows. I can remember the first time seeing the Rally class in my club and thinking wow that looks fun, I want to try that. I never planned to do Rally; I didn’t know I was doing it until I was doing it.

Because it’s approachable and seemingly easy, so many are taught that once their dog can do what I call “The Novice Seven” competently, (heel, sit, down, call front, finish-left, finish-right and stay while walking around their dog), they’re ready for a trial. Some do ok. Some get swallowed alive.

I was led down that path of pixie dust and unicorns and did better than ok — at first. Then I got swallowed alive. Fortunately, I was spit out. Trialing is not easy; Rally is not easy!

I didn’t let getting swallowed up deter me, I persevered and found my way. Knowing those paths and the emotions that accompany them are what I think uniquely qualify me to teach. And I teach to prevent others from the failed path, and to hopefully show a path that leads to fun and success.

Anyway, here’s why Rally is harder…

While it only requires seven behaviors at first, you have to prepare for them to be performed in a wide variety of behavior chains, sequences, contexts and within challenging layouts. Most of which don’t exist in Obedience. Rally exhibitors show up a trial without the slightest idea what they’ll be asked to do that day — and have to train and prepare for all of them.

As a Rally handler, you have to build a vocabulary of Rally signs, (forty-two at the Novice level, one-hundred-and-five in all), just so you know what the heck you’re doing. And then make a training plan for anything and everything — and teach and prepare your dog for all of it. Rally is like learning a language for human and their dog!

In Obedience, there are 5 or 6 exercises depending on which level. In some cases, there are exercises within exercises so it’s not quite that simple — but every time an Obedience exhibitor shows up to a trial, they know exactly what they’ll perform. They may not know in which order they’ll be performed, but training can be compartmentalized and highly specific.

Yes, Obedience is very demanding, and the exercises can be ridiculously challenging to achieve, as is the precision in which they’re to be performed. The requirement for precision between the two sports isn’t even comparable. But if there are only a few exercises to perform, and you know what they are, maybe they should be more precise?

Let’s talk about commands and signals. Just because you can’t talk (much) in Obedience and you can communicate freely in Rally, doesn’t make it any easier. If the behaviors and exercises are the same every time and all your dog has to do is sit at the end of a heeling exercise, you shouldn’t have to tell them to sit. Yes, oversimplified.

Sure, the precision requirement for heeling in Obedience is much more demanding. But it only requires a left turn, right turn, about turn, (in only one direction), fast, slow, in a figure 8, and with a halt/sit at the end. That should require more precision and it should be done without a lot of chatter. Again, oversimplified for effect.

In Rally, you have all those turns, plus a crap-ton more. 45°, 90° 180° 270°, 360° and in both directions — and sometimes one after the other. Then there are pivots, and turns from halt, or stand, and a variety of serpentines and side steps.

Sometimes you call your dog front, or they might have to stand, or down while you walk around or leave, or even a combination of positions. Sometimes heeling requires just a simple halt with a sit — 1 out of 105 signs. And with that many signs, I’m just scratching the surface of what’s expected and required.

How many variations of a finish does one have to train for in Obedience? Am I getting this right, only one? A finish right OR left, not both, and every time with a sit? It should be precise and without much communication.

In Rally, there’s a recall just like in obedience and a recall over a jump. Then there’s calling your dog front while heeling and another where you call your dog front from sitting in heel position. Some are followed by a finish left, or a finish right, it might include a sit, or it might be a finish forward. Oh, and sometimes there’s no finish at all and you walk around your dog after calling front.

That’s a lot to keep track of and a lot to prepare and train your dog for.

Yes, I’ve omitted a lot of incredibly challenging behaviors in the upper levels of Obedience and in no way diminish the sport. I mentioned this was an opinion piece, highlighting those doesn’t support the opinion.

They say Rally is a skill building sport for Obedience and Agility. Maybe Obedience and Agility should be considered skill building sports for Rally too.