Obedience & Rally

Competition Obedience and its offshoot, AKC Rally, promote teamwork between dog and handler.  Testing the handler’s skill at training and the dog’s ability to perform a variety of skills, the performance of both team members is judged on accuracy. 

To encourage all dog owners to be active and have fun with their dogs, the Overlake Collie Club sponsors AKC Obedience and Rally trials in conjunction with its Annual Specialty show.  Open to all AKC-registered dogs (purebred and mixed), the trials attract a wide variety of breeds and offer increasing levels of challenge to both handler and dog.

Rally Trials

Participating in an AKC Rally trial is a good introduction to competitive canine sports.  With the ability to talk to and encourage your dog while performing, the emphasis is on having fun and working as a team.  Rally courses challenge handlers by having the dog and handler team perform specific exercises shown on signs throughout the course while the team is scored by a judge.  Unlike Obedience, the judge does not give commands during the performance.  At each level of Rally, the dog can earn an AKC title after three qualifying scores with at least two different judges.  Starting with basic skills in Novice, the levels get progressively more challenging – and fun!

Obedience Trials

Precision is the focus of an AKC Obedience trial as the judge directs the dog and handler to perform various exercises.  At the Novice level, the exercises include basic skills such as heeling, recall to the handler, a simple exam by the judge and sit & down stays.  As the team earns a title and progresses to the next class, the exercises become more difficult with exercises including jumps, retrieving, scent discrimination and handlers giving commands by hand signals.  While the training is challenging, the relationship between dog and handler grows with the time spent together and with each success.

Collies in Obedience and Rally

Collies love to work with their owners and learn new skills – this makes them a natural for any team activity. By rewarding a Collie with play or their favorite treat, precision training becomes a fun game and strengthens the relationship between dog and handler.

Overlake Collie Club All-Breed Obedience and Rally Trials

The Overlake Collie Club is proud to host AKC Obedience and Rally trials annually in conjunction with the Collie Specialty.  The trials are open to all breeds of dog (purebred and mixed) that are registered with the AKC.

                Click here for information about upcoming trials sponsored by Overlake Collie Club


For more information:

“AKC Rally– American Kennel Club

AKC Rally®” – American Kennel Club (video)

This is Rally” – American Kennel Club (video)

AKC Obedience” – American Kennel Club

This is Obedience” – American Kennel Club (video)