How to Train Your Dog to Do Rally Obedience

Set aside a specific time for rally training. This training should be separate from other basic obedience training and should involve the tasks that are generally used in rally competitions.

Choose one task from a rally sign list to work on at a time. The American Kennel Club (AKC) offers a list of signs used in rally and their descriptions. Start from the easier tasks to ensure that you’re not asking too much from your dog too soon.

Keeping your dog on a leash will give you a better means of guiding her through the task.

Use a reward such as a treat or a toy to reinforce progress. Keep offering this reward when your dog makes any progress towards the task. For example: if you’re teaching 'halt', which requires your dog to sit in a heel whenever you stop walking, ask her to sit immediately after you stop, then reward. Reward whenever she does it without you even asking until she gets the gist of what you want from her each time.

Start rewarding your dog for the right behavior every time, then every other time, then every third time, then randomly, and eventually stop rewarding altogether. Be sure that she has a good grasp on the task with the reward before you do this. Taking it away too soon may move you back a step.

If you think your dog may do well off-leash, remove it and start again at the beginning with the reward. It may take some time for her to understand that she’s expected to do the task even without the leash. Bring the leash back into it if she’s having trouble progressing. Rally competitions at the novice level will sometimes allow teams to use leashes, so if you feel more comfortable with it, you can use it until you’re ready to progress.

Continue training the single task until your dog masters it. Don’t move on to another task until your dog can accomplish the task with or without the reward. This method can allow you to move on to a completely new task knowing that when you come back to the first one, your dog will have an easier time recalling the behavior.

Plan training sessions specifically for practicing tasks that are used in rally competitions.

Schedule a different task to work on each training session. Making progress on multiple tasks at once can provide a new, fun thing for your dog to focus on each time you have training and can keep you from feeling burned out by focusing too long on one thing. Try to keep the tasks you’re working on at the same difficulty level to prevent asking too much from your dog or yourself.

Switch up the rewards as you go along. Offer a variety of treats or different types of toys. If you do more than one training session a day, choose a different task for each one.

Because you’ll be working on multiple tasks at once, it may take your dog longer to perform without treats. Don’t worry about weaning off of them too soon. It can be a few weeks before he’s ready to go without them.

Some dogs do well regardless if they’re on or off leash. If you think he can handle the task in either scenario, mix it up! Otherwise, you can opt for just sticking to using the leash or not. It’s up to what you think your dog can reasonably handle.

If competing at the novice level, there are generally ten to fifteen stations in a course. The advanced class may be twelve to seventeen stations and the excellent level may include anywhere between fifteen and twenty stations. Look over the regulations for the competition you are considering entering to determine which tasks your dog should know for each level.

Mix your rally training in with regular obedience tasks. This method involves using rally tasks inside and outside the home during your dog’s everyday life as a part of her “job”.

Many rally tasks can be used for practical purposes. For example, learning 'halt' can be used to keep your dog from running out and into the street when she is off leash, while the various turns can be used to navigate obstacles inside and outside of your house while on walks. Feel free to write these down to remember the ultimate goal for each task.

Learning practical tasks may prove to be more difficult than learning rally just for fun. Be prepared to reward often and for longer than you might expect to use them using the other methods.

If you want a task to be valuable outdoors or in public, train in a safe public setting. Be sure that the area you’re training in allows dogs and never force your dog into a hazardous situation. Keep your dog on a leash at all times if the area is not fenced in.

Practical tasks may need constant reinforcement throughout your dog’s training. Even after a successful competition, be sure to continue to go back to the tasks she already knows and have her perform them during day to day life. This can ensure that she gets the mental stimulation she needs, with or without a competition in her future.