You may have noticed that I have posted on the Peaceful Pack Facebook page about participating in the dog sport of Rally Obedience or Rally for short. Some folks may be wondering what this Rally is all about. Well, let me just give a little intro to this completely fun sport!

Rally is a fun, less formal version of traditional obedience trials and one of the fastest growing dog sports in the United States. Competitors traverse a course of 10 to 20 stations, each marking an exercise for the dog and handler team to carry out. Unlike traditional obedience, Rally allows the handler to talk to and encourage her dog along the way, use hand signals, and go through the course along a designed route on her own without a judge calling out the exercises. The not-so-strict rules reflect the philosophy behind Rally, namely that the focus in dog training should be on teamwork between handler and dog- and should be an enjoyable experience for both. Exercises include a variety of basic and advanced maneuvers like heel, stand, turn, sit, back up etc.

There are several sanctioning bodies for the sport in the US, including the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, whose program, APDT Rally, is open to all dogs, and the American Kennel Club, which tries purebred and PAL/ILP listed dogs. For more information and to find trials, visit www.apdt.com or www.akc.org.

For events located in Maine, check out Wag It in Lincolnville, ME at www.wagitinc.com and Finish Forward Dogs in Saco, ME at www.finishforward.com. 

Patricia McConnell is a gifted write, trainer, and academic. If you have not read her wonderful book, For the Love of a Dog, I would run right out and get your hands on a copy. She beautifully describes the emotional lives of our dogs and us! In the meantime I highly recommend her blog which may be found here: http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/ Have a great day and get out there and play with your pups!

Simon and I were having an immensely enjoyable walk this morning- sniffing about and dipping into streams. Well, maybe that better describes Simon’s experience than mine. I was enjoying the scent of cedar, pine and the sea all mingled together- and watching my dog have a blast! Rounding a corner we came across a group of folks and their three dogs. All the dogs greeted nicely- although one was a talker! I stopped and chatted a bit and then we prepared to part ways. At this point all the dogs were hanging together- Simon was closer to the others than to me. The group of people wanted to stop and get Simon back to me and I was able to tell them “Please feel free to move along, Simon will come with me, not to worry.” The great, cool thing was that I was completely confident in my statement. I knew Simon would come with me and not follow the other dogs. I did not cue him to ‘come’, I simply indicated that we were going to walk in the opposite direction. Simon eagerly followed me. Did I take the time to reward him- you betcha! I let him know that choosing to stay with me was the absolutely greatest decision: I verbally praised him, acted goofy and gave him a small treat. What enabled Simon to be successful, and underlying this interaction, was the strong relationship that I have developed with him. I have taken the time to get to know him and his ways. I know what he is and is not capable of. He trusts me to take care of things. I even think he enjoys hanging out with me. It is this relational foundation that makes training Simon possible. I encourage you to build a solid foundation with your dogs- all your training efforts will benefit from it!

The AKC’s Canine Good Citizen Program incorporates both responsible pet ownership for dog guardians and basic polite manners for dogs. The test is comprised of ten items ranging from demonstrating that your dog is able to sit, lie down and stay on cue to being able to walk on a loose leash through a milling crowd. Dog who pass the CGC Test may receive a certificate from the American kennel CLub and any dog may participate in the program. (more…)

Just finished reading a friend’s blog and am going to try to make a promise to myself to be a bit more diligent in posting. This has been a glorious week of snow, wind and mother nature making herself well-known. Fortunately, this has not deterred Simon and I from enjoying our morning walks.The last two mornings we walked along the ocean - the waves were truly impressive and the sun provided some warmth to offset temperatures in the low teens. Simon seems oblivious to the cold and pounces into the snow with paws and snout seeking out any small mammal lurking beneath. There was extra excitement as following the multitude of deer tracks finally led to a sighting. All the snow makes it hard for the deer to move about, but this one seemed as graceful as ever. Our training focus has been well - focus! Simon is progressing well and our working relationship is deepening. Yesterday during agility class he did not get the ‘zoomies’ and he kept checking in with me to find out what game we would play next. He is learning that I can be fun and that he gets to play more if he hangs out with me!