Therapy Dog Lily waits her turn to enter the Rally Course
I have been taking King to Rally Classes every Wednesday morning for the past couple of months. He loves class. He loves being with me, and going everywhere I go. He and I have become hooked on this terrific morning class taught by Tibby Chase, a longtime dog trainer and AKC obedience trial judge. She puts us through our paces. Quick moving, thorough, and upbeat.
Rally is such a great class to take if you are thinking about doing Therapy Dog work. Therapy Dog work requires all sorts of movements beyond the basics of sit, down, stay, come, heel. Rally goes beyond those with about turns, left turn, right turn, 360 degree turn, stop/go around your dog, come front/finish left, figure 8, serpentine. The commands go on and on. Both handler and dog are thinking all the time, ready to make the next move. And, best of all, Rally Class builds teamwork and strengthens the bond between you and your dog. I notice a big difference in King’s Therapy Dog skills as we spend more weeks in class together. Tibby gives great tips and pointers, and is always so encouraging.
Today, I gave Lily a chance to go to Rally. I hadn’t taken her to a formal class in about a year. She was just as psyched about it as King is. Lots of liver (yum!) and lots of praise. Lily eats up both in equal measure.
The hour-and-a-half class always sails by so quickly. The first 45 minutes is taken up with skill building. We are taught several new maneuvers each week and spend time practicing them there in the ring together. Then, Tibby sets up a Rally Course that includes commands we have just been taught. Leaving our dogs in a down/stay, or a sit/stay, the handlers head into the ring to preview the course. Each command is written on a large card which is placed in a numbered stand. The handler/dog team must run through the course in numerical order. Once previewed, all handlers sit at the side of the ring with their dogs and watch as each team individually works through the course. Everyone is having such fun. King and I can’t wait ’til Wednesday rolls around each week (and now Lily…. it will be hard deciding who to take).