Rally Training Up to level 3 - 08/01/25

Service Description

Please Note - there will be a break on the 5th of February 2025. Rally is the very latest dog sport to be recognised by the Kennel Club. You work as a team to navigate a course with numbered signs indicating different exercises to perform; think of it as a sort of 'obedience exercise obstacle course'. Rally can be a different route to training your dog. It is very effective at improving your dog’s obedience and focus around other dogs. Rally suits dogs with basic training and is very inclusive for handlers. Dogs would be expected to be able to sit and down, recall over a short distance, and stay for 15 seconds before enrolling or have a Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze Award. Dogs already competing at levels one to three should book for these sessions. Dogs competing entirely off the lead should book the level 4 plus course. Rally training happens on Wednesday evenings - 6.15 pm to 7.45 pm, with a maximum group size of 12. The first half of the session is group training, where all the skills for the signs are taught. The second half of the session can be in different formats. There will be sessions where parts of a course are practised in small groups and other sessions where complete courses will be run individually. Occasionally, we will run mock competitions, and participants are given the opportunity to scribe or judge if they wish. Handlers will be expected to help set up and clear the necessary equipment for the second half of the session. We are the first group in County Durham to offer this type of training. Many of our handlers compete with their dogs, and some are judges or scribes. You do not have to be interested in competing to attend these classes; just want to train your dog in a fun and engaging way. These classes would also fit handlers who want to do something extra with their dog but for whom agility would not suit. For those who wish to compete, we volunteer to run the Rally Competition for Durham County Canine Society every year and are there to support you in this journey. Progression to the level 4 Plus group can be via the competitive path, but for those not competing *, they can request a move when the dog is working well and can pass a level three course (on a mock competition night) with an excellent score. * only competes at Durham County Show Beginners and experienced dogs are welcome, but these are not courses for dogs with reactivity issues or behavioural concerns. For such dogs, please refer to our behavioural services.