Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - RA290: Get Ready to Rally

Course Details

Are you passionate about Rally and eager to level up your skills? Would you like to follow easy, step-by-step lectures so you know exactly how to train the more advanced skills combined with personalized instruction?

Once you've mastered the Novice level, it's only natural to crave the challenge of Advanced and Excellent courses. This is your chance to stay ahead of the curve with a class specifically designed to prepare you for the next stages in your Rally journey.

Imagine entering the Rally ring, confident and fully prepared, knowing you can handle any Advanced or Excellent sign with ease. In this course, we’ll focus on AKC signs, but we’re also flexible—if you’re competing in another venue, just let us know, and we’ll tailor the content to meet your needs. Each week, you'll dive into sign introductions, hone your skills, and learn how to execute each sign flawlessly. Our lectures and video examples will guide you every step of the way, covering not just the basics, but also advanced strategies like transitioning to off-leash, staying connected with your dog, reducing reinforcement, and handling the unexpected.

Don’t wait until you’re in the ring to realize you’re not ready. Enroll in the class now and step into the Advanced or Excellent rings with the confidence of a seasoned pro!

Here’s a video of an Excellent run in AKC Rally. This is one of my students with her Chessie.

Here is the trailer for this class!

Teaching Approach

Lectures will be released weekly on the first day of each week. There is one lecture for each Advanced and Excellent Rally sign, which includes a description of the sign, several demo videos, a written explanation of how to teach the skills needed for the sign, several short videos showing the training steps for the sign, and tips for performing the sign correctly to minimize point losses. In addition, there are several written concept lectures. Videos do not include captions or voiceovers. Rally is a physical sport which requires walking but accommodations can be made for those with mobility issues. I have coached students in wheelchairs and with canes and people using mobility devices can have successful rally experiences. This class would work best with students that prefer written out instructions with video examples of each step who prefer a systematic approach to rally training. I will provide written feedback with video examples if necessary.

This class will have a Teacher's 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.

Instructor: Nicole Wiebusch

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)

Syllabus

View Full Syllabus

Week 1

1.1 Halt Down Sit
1.2 Halt Stand
1.3 Halt Stand Down
1.4 Halt Stand Sit
1.5 Transitioning to Off-Leash

Week 2

2.1 Send Over Jump Handler Passes By
2.2 Halt Call Front Finish Right
2.3 Halt Call Front Finish Left
2.4 Halt Step in Front Finish Right Forward
2.5 Halt Step in Front Finish Left Forward
2.6 Send to Jump
2.7 Halt Dog Circles Right Sit
2.8 Supplemental Lecture on Broad Jump
2.9 Removing Reinforcers

Week 3

3.1 Halt About Turn Right Forward
3.2 Halt About U Turn Forward
3.3 Halt Turn Right One Step Call to Heel Halt
3.4 Halt 90 Degree Pivot Right Halt
3.5 Halt 90 Degree Pivot Left Halt
3.6 Halt Sidestep Right Halt
3.7 Halt 180 Degree Pivot Right Halt
3.8 Halt 180 Degree Pivot Left Halt
3.9 Staying Connected to Your Dog

Week 4

4.1 Halt Pivot Right Forward
4.2 Halt Pivot Left Forward
4.3 Right Turn Dog Circles Right Forward
4.4 Left Turn Dog Circles Right Forward
4.5 2 Side Steps Right Forward
4.6 Stand Right Turn Forward
4.7 Stand Left Turn Forward
4.8 Tips for Not Getting Lost on the Rally Course

Week 5

5.1 Offset Figure 8
5.2 Backup 3 Steps
5.3 Double Left About Turn
5.4 About Turn Right About U Turn
5.5 About U Turn About Turn Right
5.6 What To Do When it All Goes Wrong!

Week 6

6.1 Halt Stand Walk Around
6.2 Halt Leave 2 Steps Call to Heel Forward
6.3 Moving Stand Walk Around
6.4 Moving Down Walk Around
6.5 Down While Heeling Call to Finish Sit
6.6 Stand While Heeling Call to Finish Sit
6.7 Stand Leave Sit Call Front Finish
6.8 Stand Leave Down Call Front Finish Sit
6.9 Sit Stay

Sample Lecture

RA290 Get Ready to Rally - Advancing to Rally Excellent!

Skill: Sit at Heel, 180 degree About Turns from a Halt

Sign: Halt About Turn Right Forward

AKC

Description

While heeling, the handler halts and the dog sits. The dog and handler turn 180° to the right and heel forward. (Stationary)

Video demos

Here is Strive demonstrating what this sign should look like.

AKC Demo

Training the Skills

Your dog should have all the skills needed to perform this sign. If you are struggling with any part of the exercise, remember to break it down. The skills needed are the sit at heel and going from a halt directly to an about right turn.

I like to break down the turn from the halt. Here’s a video of me working on that with Excel. Note that I am going through these steps fairly quickly since he has the foundations that we practiced in RA260 on the about turn.

Once I make sure my dog can comfortably go from a halt to an about turn, then I’ll work on helping him come out of the about turn straight. Many dogs will flare out their rear ends when they are coming around the turn, so one way we can help them keep their bodies straight and under control is to do a sidestep directly after the about turn.

I use the hand touches to keep his head up and to add a bit of energy to the heeling.

Notice that when I work on these turns, I start slow and will add speed as my dog gains confidence and understands the movement.

Tips

Be sure that you are not taking a step forward after your halt and before you start your turn. Your first step should start your about turn.

If your dog tends to lag on about turns, do not wait or slow down! You looking back at the dog and dropping your left shoulder will cause the dog to fall further back. Instead, break down the turn so your dog understands how to drive around. You can use hand touches to help your dog. You can also use placement of reward to your advantage, by either rewarding high or rewarding forward.

Homework

Show me this sign! If your dog struggles, we can break it down and help the dog out. Video what you’re struggling with and show me so we can work through it together.

Testimonials & Reviews

Read All Testimonials

A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...

Outstanding course to help learn the Rally Advanced and Rally Excellent exercises. Great videos to show correct execution of exercise with added tips and explanation of building blocks needed to be successful. Instructor has good constructive comments on students videos and always encouraging. Well worth the cost and time.

Nicole has put together awesome video demos for each rally exercise. They are all really clear on how to perform the sign, and include helpful tips on potential problems. She also gives great feedback on how to improve and/or work through issues that the team is having. This is definitely a course that I will refer back to many times!

This instructor shows a high degree of comittment to her students. She also has great suggestions for addressing issues.

If you are considering taking this class with Nicole, do it! The material is really great, her instruction is excellent, and her feedback is very helpful. I learned a ton and had a lot of fun with my dog doing it.

This is the third class I've taken from Nicole. She is a very good instructor. I love her videos-they are super short so it was easy to watch them multiple times if I wasn't sure of something. I think her comments about the signs were the most valuable thing about the class-she gives little tips for remembering the signs or groups of signs that stay with me when I am in the ring. It's a well organized well thought out class-Thanks Nicole!

Registration

There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please subscribe to our mailing list for notifications.

Registration opens at 11:30am Pacific Time.

The instructor will be participating in the FDSA in-person training camp in Oregon from October 6-8 and will not be available to answer class forums. Class will be extended to compensate and will end on November 13, 2023.

RA290 Subscriptions

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Tuition	$ 260.00	$ 130.00	$ 65.00
Enrollment Limits	12	25	Unlimited
Access all course lectures and materials	✔	✔	✔
Access to discussion and homework forums	✔	✔	✔
Read all posted questions and answers	✔	✔	✔
Watch all posted videos	✔	✔	✔
Post general questions to Discussion forum	✔	✔	✖
Submit written assignments	✔	✖	✖
Post dog specific questions	✔	With video only	✖
Post videos	✔	1 per week	✖
Receive instructor feedback on	Questions All videos	Questions All videos	✖

Find more details, refund policies and answers to common questions in the Help center.

Course Schedule

RA290: Get Ready to Rally - Advancing to Rally Excellent!