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. 

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…)

American Temperament Test Society will be testing dogs at Happy Tails on October 10th. You will have to check out Happy Tails website or American Temperment Test Society website for more info. Tracy

This is a fun product from Premier that promotes mental stimulation for your dog. I found mine at Green Acres Kennel Shop in Bangor. Not only do they have the most friendly staff, they also have great prices. Stop by and visit them if you are in Bangor!

Welcome to Peaceful Pack’s blog. It is my hope to post training tips, general dog information and musings about life on the Maine coast.
See you soon, Tracy & Simon