Rally involves you and your dog working 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’ including simple exercises.
The Kennel Club has a page dedicated to rally, here you can find all inforamation to start you on your Rally journey Rally | Events and Activities | The Kennel Club
Janice and Lexi’s Rally Journey
I was competing in Obedience and Working Trials with Lexi and had been aware of Rally but didn’t really think I’d like it. I thought the courses looked complicated and with having a long dog I didn’t think we would be able to navigate our way through the signs without knocking them all over. A few friends told me how good it was and how much they enjoyed it and persuaded me to have a go. What a journey that turned out to be!
I had my first Rally class in May 2018, attending weekly classes and the occasional training day we soon picked it up. She actually picked it up much quicker than I did because to her it was mostly heelwork, she didn’t have to read the signs and try to figure out what they all meant.
We entered our first competition on 19th May 2018 and qualified with an excellent score of 202 (out of a possible 210). We progressed through the levels at quite a surprising speed and were competing in level 6 by July 2019.
The one exercise she absolutely loved was the jumps. If the course had jumps I had to curtail her enthusiasm just to keep her in the ring. Although they were only 40cm high she would set off at such speed and take off with enough gusto to clear twice that height then struggle to stop before the rope (leaving the ring is a disqualifier). The static exercises weren’t quite as exciting, approaching a sign and having to sit then down then sit, she would look at me as if to say “Why”, she would do it though. All the rest of the exercises we did together and that’s what she liked, the turns, the circles, the figure of eight, the spiral, the walk back, all done together. I often hear people say a Hovawart will work with you but not for you, that was certainly true for Lexi.
Lexi just loved the sport, probably more than me because my nerves always got the better of me but they never got to her. As a typical Hovawart she went along with me and just enjoyed whatever we were doing. So long as she was with me and actively doing something she was in her element.
There is a competition for Top Rally Dog and Best Opposite Sex in the sport where competitors are encouraged to submit their excellent scores from all level 6 competitions in that year. Having only competed at level 6 for 6 months I didn’t think we would be anywhere close to the top scorers but entered anyway. At the first competition following the closing date I was told that we had won the Best Opposite Sex title, we were absolutely overjoyed, the trophy was awarded to us at Crufts in 2020.
Unfortunately, only a few weeks later the country went into lockdown and all training and competitions were cancelled. Lexi has since retired from competition although she does still enjoy training at home and the occasional ‘Have a go’ courses at shows. I’m now training my young dog much to Lexi’s amusement.
