# Kodi's new Rally Pics



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Here are some cute photos I got from the photographer at our trial a couple of weeks ago:


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## andra (Aug 23, 2010)

How cute! I love the 4th picture when you are bending over and Kodi is looking up at you.

For us new people or at least me, could you explain what the 'rally' is. I know it is some kind of competition but would like details. Thanks! 

andra


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

Karen, I love the pictures!!!!! Man does Kodi have eyes for you. My guys only have that kind of focus at home when I have food. Kodi is cetainly a doll. It looks like you both were having fun. I hope your feeling better.


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## Pipersmom (Jul 27, 2009)

Great pictures-what a good boy Kodi is. I would love to know a little bit about what rally entails too.

The only way Piper would focus on me like that would be if I was holding a steak.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Karen - what great photos! They show how well the two of you work together - with his eyes glued to you. I would think he attracts a lot of attention at these events - what a handsome boy he is! Thanks for sharing with us.


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## pjewel (Apr 11, 2007)

Karen, every time I see photos of you and Kodi, my heart swells. It's hard to tell who's more in love. Wish I could see a rally in person.


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## Rita Nelson (Jul 13, 2009)

Kodi is SO focused on you, Karen. All that training has really paid off. He's such a handsome boy.


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## katkoota (Feb 25, 2010)

Love how focused he looks on you ^_^ Well done!!


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## holt24 (Jan 21, 2011)

this is new to me but I noticed right away the look  you can feel the love and trust between the two of you! He is very handsome!

Thanks for sharing, Jenny


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks, everybody! I love that little boy more than I ever thought possible!!!

Rally is a form of Obedience competition. It is a little less structured than "Formal" Obedience, and they don't take points off for tiny, nit-picky things the way they do in formal obedience. (for instance, the heel work doesn't have to be QUITE as tight as in formal Obedience)

The way it works is that the judge will have set up a course that contains signs from your level. (you can find the signs and rules on the organization web sites) Everyone gets to walk the course and ask the judge any questions they might have ahead of time. Then you work through the course with no instructions from the judge, other than telling you to start. There are turns, changes of pace, and different "stationary exercises", like sits, downs, pivots, etc. There are also heeling patterns like serpentines and spirals. 

As you go up through the levels, the signs get more complicated, and the courses longer. At the lowest levels, you perform on leash, but must maintain a loop in the leash. A tight leash at any time will cost you points. A consistently tight leash will disqualify you. After the beginning levels, the courses are done off-leash.

There are at least 4 different "flavors" of Rally... AKC, APDT, C-WAGs and UKC. All have slightly different rules, but they are all pretty similar. Again, go to any of the organization web sites and you can find the rules and signs on the sites. 

The form of Rally that Kodi and I have been doing is APDT, and he won his Level 1 title by the time he was 15 months old (that's what the "RL1" means after his name) He did it with all scores over 190 (out of 200... A qualifying score is 170) which also earned him an Award of Merit. I'm pretty proud that he was able to do that well at such a young age. We are now working on his Level 1 championship (we need 10 qualifying scores) and at the same time, we are training for Level 2, which is off leash, and includes jumping. We'll also start competing in AKC Rally this spring. There are some things about AKC that are harder, and some that are easier, so I think it's pretty much a wash. After APDT Level 1 (or AKC's "Novice" level) APDT courses are definitey harder than AKC courses. So it will be a while before we're ready to move up to the next level!

As far as training for attention is concerned, it does take LOTS and LOTS of time. (and cookies:biggrin1 You can start by just using a clicker and small treats, and every time your puppy looks at you, you click and treat. Then you put a word on it, like "look!". When they really understand that, you move on to teaching the various basic obedience commands. Any dog who is reliable about basic commands, and will reliably walk on a loose leash is ready to try Rally. At that point, it's a matter of learning, as a handler, how to move your dog through the course smoothly, giving them enough direction to be able to perform to the best of their ability.

But things can always go wrong!!! These photos are from a 2 day trial a few weeks ago. He got very high qualifying scores both days. Then this last Sat., there was something on the floor that he just couldn't/wouldn't leave alone!!! I had to withdraw from the competition, because I just couldn't get him to focus on me! It's the first time he hasn't qualified... I guess we had it coming sooner or later!ound:

He's still young, and all it means is that I have to practice more in more distracting environments!


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

Kodi has such love in his eyes for you, the photos show so much understanding between the two of you, it's as if he only has eyes for you, you can see that he truly is a dear little dog.And although he is a totally different colour to our Dizzie there is something very similar in his appearance to Dizzie,I can't put my finger on what it is.I just had another look at the pics and I think it is the shape of their heads and the length of their noses.Really delightful pictures with no nonsense!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

clare said:


> Kodi has such love in his eyes for you, the photos show so much understanding between the two of you, it's as if he only has eyes for you, you can see that he truly is a dear little dog.And although he is a totally different colour to our Dizzie there is something very similar in his appearance to Dizzie,I can't put my finger on what it is.I just had another look at the pics and I think it is the shape of their heads and the length of their noses.Really delightful pictures with no nonsense!


I agree, I think the shape of Dizzy's head IS very similar to Kodi's!


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## brugmansia (Dec 6, 2007)

Absolutely beautiful pictures!!! He is so focused on you. I always melt when Dickson and Luna give me that attention.


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## psow9421 (Mar 24, 2010)

Hi Karen! I love your pics! You and Kodi look great. I would like to try Rally. I did take some obedience classes, but I think I would like something less structured. 
We missed you last night.
Pam


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## LilyMyLove (Jul 11, 2009)

He is so attentive to you Karen. Amazing job, what a beautiful well trained dog-he is an ambassador for the breed!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

psow9421 said:


> Hi Karen! I love your pics! You and Kodi look great. I would like to try Rally. I did take some obedience classes, but I think I would like something less structured.
> We missed you last night.
> Pam


Hi Pam, I'm still getting over this cold, and decided I really needed to go to bed after a long work day. I AM getting better!

There are Rally Run-thoughs at MasterPeace on Sunday afternoons twice a month, if you're interested in giving it a try! And Karen Squier is doing another APDT Rally training party on Feb. 25th if you're interested in joining us for that. I bet your girls would be great at it!


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## Mom2Izzo (Jul 1, 2009)

Those pics are AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing with us Karen!


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

Love, love it!!! I found a rally class so very close to home but seemingly it's for UKC dogs only, or could I be wrong? My dogs are CKC registered and I am so not sure if we would be welcome, anyone know? It's a good starter show IMO to make our mistakes and just get out there. LOL...predicting mistakes just seems wrong doesn't it.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Cailleach said:


> Love, love it!!! I found a rally class so very close to home but seemingly it's for UKC dogs only, or could I be wrong? My dogs are CKC registered and I am so not sure if we would be welcome, anyone know? It's a good starter show IMO to make our mistakes and just get out there. LOL...predicting mistakes just seems wrong doesn't it.


I believe you have to pay a one-time fee to register as a competitor with UKC... just so they can track your scores. But I believe that anyone can compete with them, with any dog. This is true with the other organizations too. I'm also pretty sure that I saw that CKC offers Rally too. I can't imagine they wouldn't take any dog in a class as long as they had room! Our training center offers AKC and APDT Rally "run throughs", but you don't have to be registered with one or the other to participate, it's just to learn the differences between the two "flavors" of Rally in terms of signs and rules.

EVERYONE makes some mistakes to start with... That's how we learn!


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## Sox (Jan 29, 2010)

Great pictures, Karen - I'm so glad you posted them! Kodi is such a sweetheart!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks, Laura! We haven't seen any new pictures of your little one in a while... He must be all grown up now!


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## LuckyOne (Sep 3, 2009)

Great pictures Karen! Kodi is a beauty!


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## Ninja (Nov 1, 2010)

Wow those are great pictures. Kodi should be next to the definition of Havanese. He is so so devoted to you like a true hav and it is so sweet to see that. Love the pictures!!


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