Rally-o

[648117]

Does any one do Rally-O with there dog?

Holly's obedience trainer really wants us to do Rally-O. She mentioned it again today.

But I don't know if she would be good enough, especially at paying attention and around distractions.
And I do get concerned that she will end up doing too much too soon.

So if any one does Rally-O, do you have any advice?
How old was your dog when you started training and how old when you started competing?
And do you do any other sports with your dog?

 

[Anneke]

I don't do Rally-O, because we don't have a class in the area. But I always thought it looked like a fun thing to do.
It is obedience on the go. You have to walk a course and perform basic obedience execises at specific points.

I don't think this is too straining on any dog!
Remember you will be training this, so you will be training your dog to cope with the distractions.
And isn't it the challenge then, to get your dog to pay more attention? Who cares if she is good enough, as long as you two are having fun!!
Over here in holland you can start competing with a dog as young as 6 months. And the jumps will be adjusted to the dogs hight and ability, but I guess the jumps don't come in the novice class yet.

Right now I'm doing agility with Jinx and we will be competing soon. We have been doing demo's. It's great fun to show people how much fun a dogsport can be!
Are we good enough to compete, well yes. Are we good enough to win? I don't know. There are a lot of dogs and handlers out there, who are far better than we are.
BUT we are having fun!!! I don't care if we end up being last, as long as we had a good run and had lots of fun!!!

Like I mentioned a few times in this post... The most important part of training with your dog is to HAVE FUN!!!

 

[648117]

Thanks for replying.

I think I'm going to talk to our trainer about it at our next class.

Holly already does agility, she just started her second 6 week block of classes. I think she will probably compete in agility pretty soon after she turns 18 months (so not for another 9 and a half months) she seems to be a bit of a natural at it compared to the other (larger and older) dogs in her class.

So, I guess I'm just sort of concerned about whether doing agility and Rally-O at the same time and with a young dog will be to much.

 

[SD&B]

So, I guess I'm just sort of concerned about whether doing agility and Rally-O at the same time and with a young dog will be to much.

It really depends on your dog (and you). Some dogs can handle multiple things and really thrive on it. On the other hand, some dogs have a dislike of a particular sport. You might be surprised at what she can do. Keep it simple and fun. I don't think she is too young. In agility, she will be required to maintain a connection with you even with distractions. She is not too young to work on that.

It is good that you are concerned about how much she can handle. Again, keep it simple and fun and watch for signs of stress. Back off if you see stress. Other than that, go for it.

Also, don't be afraid to quit a sport if the dog doesn't seem to enjoy it after a time.

I know quite a few people who do more than one sport at a time or who switch sports.

 

[Anneke]

Yes, My dog loves doing different things. So I did agility and obedience training. The only reason we don't do both anymore, is that we are a little tight on money right now.
I did make sure to have at least one day of rest between them. So we did obedience on thirsday and agility on saturday.
In time I want to start frisbee too, but I did want to wait untill Jinx was fully grown. I didn't want to do two physically straining sports with her before she was all grown up.
My girl is two now. So she should be able to handle it.

When I got Cooper I had my mind set on playing frisbee, but it turned out, that he does NOT like it He will chase a ball anytime, but a frisbee??? Nope I had a hard time with that, because I really, really wanted to do that. So I switched to agility and he loves that!
Unfortunately we had to stop, because he had backproblems. I might start him again, but with very low jumps. We have been working hard to get his muscletone up, so he might be able to handle it now.

 

[Boo]

I just started my first Rally class this morning with Boo. I think it's going to be fun! He's only 10 months and the youngest in the class, but everyone says it's a great bonding sport for dog and handler.