RA310 From Good to GREAT! Increasing Your Rally Scores

Increase Your Rally Scores with Confidence

Course Details

Increase Your Rally Scores with Confidence

You love rally and enjoy training with your dog—but when it comes to your scores, something’s just not clicking. Maybe you’re losing points and you’re not sure why. Maybe the signs blur together or your dog’s fronts and finishes are a little off. You know you and your dog are capable of more... you just need a path forward.

This class is your game plan for turning good runs into great ones—and boosting your scores in the process.

Did you know that most rally points aren’t lost because of your dog? They’re lost due to handler errors. Whether your average score is in the 90s or the 70s, this class will help you identify exactly where you’re losing points and what to do about it.

You’ll learn:

The most common reasons handlers lose points—and how to fix them
How to really learn and remember those pesky signs
Weekly sign challenges to sharpen your handling skills
Strategies for remembering courses and managing ring stress
Training solutions for common issues like crooked fronts, laggy heeling, or sloppy spins

We’ll also break down each AKC Rally Virtual Novice and Intermediate course—discussing tricky sections and offering feedback so you can submit with confidence. Want to submit Advanced or Excellent runs instead? You can get detailed feedback on those too.

And best of all? Gold spots get individualized coaching on any rally-related issue—whether it’s a tricky sign, a struggling skill, or an overall connection problem.

Whether you're a newcomer looking to build strong habits from the start or a seasoned competitor chasing cleaner runs and higher scores, this class will give you the tools, strategies, and support to level up your rally game.

Let’s turn frustration into clarity—and those “almost” scores into personal bests.

Teaching Approach

This is a skill-based class. Lectures are released once weekly. Each week there will be a variety of short lectures which contain tips on preventing common errors and training better behaviors. There will be lots of video examples. Most videos are short but some may be up to a couple minutes. The videos do not require the ability to hear them in order to understand what’s going on. This class will systematically cover the most common reasons that points are lost in rally and what to do about it.

This class will have a Teaching Assistant (TA) available in the Facebook study group to help the Bronze and Silver students! Directions for joining will be in the classroom after you register.

View the trailer for this class!

Syllabus

This syllabus may be modified and is subject to change.

1.1 Know the Signs

1.2 Ring Entrance/Setup Routine

1.3 Tight Leashes

1.4 Improving Heeling

Week 1 Challenge

2.1 Staying Connected to Your Dog

2.2 Getting Dizzy with Spirals

2.3 Figure 8, Cloverleaf, and Serps

2.4 Crooked Sits

Week 2 Challenge

AKC Virtual Novice Course 1

AKC Virtual Intermediate Course 1

3.1 Tips for Remembering Courses

3.2 1-2-3 Step Signs

3.3 Stop and Down

3.4 Keep Those Feet Still!

Week 3 Challenge

AKC Virtual Novice Course 2

AKC Virtual Intermediate Course 2

4.1 Pivots Versus Turns

4.2 Call to Heel Signs

4.3 Pace Changes

4.4 Walk Around PAUSE

4.5 Supplemental Lecture: Moving Positions

4.6 Supplemental Lecture: Leave 2 Steps Call to Heel

Week Four Challenge

AKC Virtual Novice Course 3

AKC Virtual Intermediate Course 3

5.1 Jumps

5.2 Backing Up and Side Steps

5.3 Moving Positions

5.4 How to Handle Mistakes

Week 5 Challenge

AKC Virtual Novice Course 4

AKC Virtual Intermediate Course 4

6.1 Crazy Spins

6.2 Sit or Not?

6.3 Common Deductions

Week 6 Challenge

AKC Virtual Novice Course 5

AKC Virtual Intermediate Course 5

Prerequisites & Supplies

There are no formal prerequisites for this class, although dogs and handlers should be familiar with novice rally behaviors at a minimum. Part of the class will focus on increasing the accuracy and precision of different behaviors. You will need several objects like cones or buckets. The optional weekly courses will only consist of a few signs, and can be broken up, so a large training space is not required.

Sample Lecture

From Good to GREAT! Increasing Your Rally Scores

Keep Those Feet Still!

Finish/Sit in Heel/Positions Signs

There are many signs that this tip applies to, including any sign that involves a finish with a sit. Anytime you call your dog front, once you’ve stopped moving (if that sign allows backward movement), you cannot move your feet again as your dog finishes and sits. Many people get happy feet and shuffle a little bit as the dog is finishing.

Here is an example of one such sign: Call Front Finish Right Sit. Note that once my feet stop moving on the front, they stay stationary until the dog sits.

Here is another example on a more advanced sign, the halt, circle right, halt. Note that once I halt, my feet don’t move.

One more place where you’ll see this is on the advanced signs like Halt Call Front Finish Right. In this case, your feet can’t move from the time you halt and the dog sits. The dog will front and sit, then finish and sit, all while your feet remain still.

You will also need to keep your feet still on any sort of position changes, such as Halt Down Sit.

There are a couple Excellent signs in which keeping your feet still is important, such as the Stand Leave Down Call Front Finish Sit. In this case, once you’ve left the dog and turned to face him/her, your feet need to stay still. Here’s what that sign should look like.

There are a couple Master signs which involve your feet staying still until the dog sits in heel. One example would be Halt Leave Recall Finish Right Sit. Here’s the AKC version of what that sign should look like:

Finish and Forward Signs

Some signs specify that the handler should heel forward “once the dog clears the handler’s path.” In that case, keep your feet still until the dog clears your path then heel forward.

Here are some examples.

Call Front Finish Forwards from Novice

Step in Front Finish Forward from Advanced - in this case your feet should be still once you’ve moved to front position until the dog clears your path.

There are some master signs which require you to remain stationary until the dog clears your path. The Recall Over Jumps are good examples. With these signs, you leave your dog and turn to face him/her. You then call the dog front, tell the dog to finish, then turn in the correct direction after your dog clears your path. Here’s a video of the AKC version of one of these signs:

Another example of being still until the dog crosses your path is the Master signs that have you call the dog front, take two side steps, then finish. Once the dog has completed the final sit in front after the side steps, the handler needs to keep his or her feet still until the dog clears his/her path on the finish. Here’s an example of one of those signs:

The last Master sign we see that fits in this category is Backup 3 Steps Stand and Leave Call to Finish Forward. During this sign the handler should not move his or her feet until the dog moves to finish. As soon as the dog clears the handler’s path, the handler may step forward. Here’s a video of that:

Instructors

Nicole Wiebusch

Faculty

Nicole Wiebusch CPDT-KA (she/her) has been active in dog sports for over 25 years. What began with 4-H quickly grew into a lifelong passion for dog sports. (Click here for full bio and to view Nicole's upcoming courses)...

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