Obedience & Rally

  • AKC Obedience and AKC Rally are sports where a handler gives a series of commands and signals to their dog under the regulation of a judge.
  • Some examples of these commands and signals would be: heel on leash, heel free, figure eight, sit, stay, recall, etc.
  • In formal Obedience there is a judge in the ring with the dog/handler team instructing the handler through a series of commands. The handler is only allowed to give specific commands to their dog.
  • Helen Whitehouse Walker created the first obedience “test” in New York in 1933 to show the intelligence of her poodles.
  • The first AKC licensed obedience trial was held in 1936 with approximately 200 entries in 18 trials.
  • Rally is a less formal version of Obedience. In Rally there is a series of stations laid out in path. The dog/handler team follow the path – with the handler giving commands at each station. Handlers are encouraged to talk to their dogs and encourage them through the course. 
  • Rally was created more recently by Charles L. “Bud” Kramer. It was born from the obedience practice of “doodling” – doing a variety of interesting warmup and freestyle exercises.
  • Obedience and Rally are rewarding activities with a Toller. Tollers are eager to learn and they have a desire to please.