Preventing Anticipation in the Rally Ring
This issue’s tip is contributed by Samantha Scicchigno of Staten Island, NY, who has taught AKC Rally at Staten Island Companion Dog Training Club for 10+ years and frequently puts on workshops and seminars at other clubs in the NY/NJ area. Most recently, she and her All American Dog, Red, earned second place in the Master class at the 2023 AKC Rally National Championship. Sam believes that rally can be adapted to suit the needs of any dog and handler team – from the most polished, precise seasoned teams crossing over from other sports, to the newbie team starting out on their competition journey. Here she gives us great tips on helping your dog not anticipate the next move at rally stations.
It’s a familiar sight – a handler practicing rally with their enthusiastic dog arrives at a “Call Front – Finish Right Sit” sign. The dog responds instantaneously and positions himself in front, and then, before waiting for an additional cue, proceeds to finish to heel himself! The only problem? The sign asked for a “finish right,” and the dog instead performed a “finish left.” Yikes!
In the competitive dog training world, we call this “anticipation” – when a dog thinks he knows what’s coming next and performs the next activity by himself, instead of waiting for a verbal or hand signal from the handler.
While anticipation is, in some ways, a good problem to have to work through – it means the dog is ready and willing to play the rally game with you – we need to make sure that the dog is waiting for our cues to perform what’s next so that the signs are performed correctly.
Here are a couple of tips to fix anticipation problems.
Make sure you are completely confident in your rally – practice alone!
There are lots of ways to study rally at home. The AKC Rally signs are available in downloadable PDF format, with detailed descriptions of the behaviors needed. Videos of signs from all levels of competition are available to view on-line as well. Utilizing these resources to learn rally without your dog is a great way to hone your skills to be a precise and present handler for your dog.
Pausing for long periods to read a sign, or hesitating because you’re not sure what comes next at a sign, both invite the possibility that the dog will take matters into his own hands and do whatever he logically thinks comes next. This stems from handlers being unconfident in their understanding and recognition of the rally signs. By making sure you are quick and accurate in the information you are giving your dog, your dog will be more likely to follow your lead on the Rally course.
Just as you would do during a course walkthrough at a rally trial, practice the verbal signals, foot work, and hand signals you need for a rally sign without your dog. Sooner or later, it’ll all feel like a well-choreographed dance, and you’ll recognize the signs quickly while you are playing rally together with your dog.
Learn to break rally signs down to their smallest components.
Practicing “whole” rally signs is a good strategy to teach the human half of the team the skills needed for success in the ring. However, when working with your dog, taking time to occasionally train and reward “pieces” of a sign is actually very beneficial to stop the dog from trying to guess the next behavior.
In the example above, our fictional dog decided to perform a finish on his own from the front position. To combat this, our handler might try performing some “Call Fronts” and rewarding the dog while in front. After having the dog wait in front position, they can break out into a game and play with their dog, never actually performing a finish. This helps teach the dog that being in front is just as important and rewarding, and he’ll learn that a finish doesn’t always come next.
While fronts and finishes are a common place at the novice level to see anticipation behaviors, there are many different signs at the higher levels of rally where this might occur, too. The reason for this? At the higher levels, the signs are more complex, with more behaviors required at each individual station.
Let’s take a look at Intermediate/Advanced sign #104: “HALT – Turn Right 1 Step – Call to Heel – HALT.” At this station, the dog first must sit, then must wait while the handler steps away, and lastly must respond to a verbal or hand cue to come sit in heel position. As you may have guessed, this sign is a place where lots of dogs anticipate the “call to heel” segment. To combat this, don’t always call your dog! Teach him that waiting is just as valuable. After taking your right step, take a step back to heel position and reward your dog for staying put.
There are lots more examples of rally signs that ask for multiple behaviors, just like #104. While studying rally without your dog, challenge yourself to count all the different things that a dog must do at a rally station, and, as above, practice and reward different pieces of the whole sign performance.
The great thing about rally is that you can practice your skills at home in addition to classes and run-throughs at your local club. Try these training strategies to sharpen your handling and keep your dog on their toes. Your performances in the show ring will almost certainly improve!