Learning
Rally Exercise #48
Now that you have had an opportunity to enjoy Rally Obedience, and have obtained your Rally Novice title, it is time to move on to those exercises that are in the advanced and excellent classes! By special request of one of our readers, Barb Weber, we are going to discuss exercise #48, the Moving Stand – Walk around the dog.
The AKC description of this exercise is; while heeling
and with no hesitation, the handler will stand the dog, leave and walk around
the dog to the left, returning to heel position.
The handler must pause in heel position before moving forward to the next
station.
This exercise is much like the Utility class exercise of the Moving Stand, but rather than the handler leaving the dog and walking approximately 12 feet, then calling the dog to heel after the judge examines the dog, there is no examination by the judge, just the handler walking around the dog, pausing, then proceeding.
As you start training this exercise, you will be heeling with your dog, turn toward the dog, and gently put your hand under the dog’s rib cage, telling it to stand. Practice this several times until your dog is comfortable with this motion. As you see the dog grasp the stand without you needing to reach down under the dog, take your left hand and as you are doing the stand, tell your dog stand/stay and hold the muzzle. If your dog will stand for you in heel position, you have mastered this step. Repeat this several times until your dog is depending less and less on your need to touch him to get him to stand. Your final product will be the dog standing on command in the heel position. Then just add in the stay as you walk around the dog. That should, at this point come pretty naturally to you and your dog as he has already mastered the novice exercise of sit and walk around the dog.