Rally
Rally Obedience
Rally Obedience (commonly called Rally) promotes a positive relationship between the dog and its owner, and it is a great way for the beginner to start trialing with their dog. Rally was designed as a way to introduce people who are working through their obedience levels into the world of dog sports and for everyone, whether they are seasoned triallers or not, to simply just have fun with their dog. Rally O provides an environment where the handler can encourage their dog by talking and rewarding by voice, but not handling the dog in any way.
Rally is often described as a combination of Agility and Obedience. A Rally course is set out with numbered stations including a start and finish. Handlers have the opportunity to walk the course to become familiar with it before competing. Dog and handler then navigate the course by following the numbers and carrying out the exercise shown on the sign positioned at each of the numbered stations. Dogs work in the “Heel” position between exercises.
At the entry level of Novice, dogs negotiate a course having between 10 and 15 signs (not including the start and finish) and work on lead during the test. There is a total of 57 signs available to be placed on a Rally course gradually increasing in complexity as the level of Rally becomes higher. The higher levels of Rally, Advanced, Excellent and Master use up to 24 signs including many of the more complex ones and the dog is required to navigate the course with the handler off lead. Encouragement by the use of word rewards and hand signals are permitted, but not touching the dog in any way.
In Rally competitors complete the course on their own while a Judge scores the round, but does not give voice commands or offer assistance. Rally has a far more relaxed atmosphere than other dog sports and each run is a different series of exercises and you never know what the course will be until you do the preliminary walk through.
Rules for the conduct of Rally Trials can be downloaded from the Dogs Australia website.
Competition Obedience is available at club level, you may wish to compete at Dogs Victoria competitions.
OTEC Extreme Weather Policy
This document is intended for use by clubs where extreme weather occurs at a trial/s where the health and safety of officials, competitors and dogs could be affected. In applying this policy, it must be remembered that both people and dogs are affected in similar ways by weather conditions such as high temperatures; high humidity, hot and gale force winds, thunderstorms, lightning or intense rain/flooding.
This policy applies when the temperature exceeds 35 degrees. The club must provide a suitable outdoor thermometer to monitor the temperature as per the current OTEC Extreme Weather Policy.
When the Obedience, Tracking and Endurance Committee Extreme Weather Policy is invoked, all requirements of that policy must be adhered to. (Regulation 9.1.3.2)
Click here to read the complete OTEC Extreme Weather Policy.
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