A rally course has between 10 - 20 "stations" with signs describing the exercise that should be performed in close proximity to the sign itself, either directly in front of the sign or off to the left of the sign.  The judge sets up the course, and handlers are encouraged to walk the course and ask questions of the judge during this walk through period.  You will also be able to pick up a copy of the course when you check in, so that you can refresh your memory on any exercises, and practice while you wait with your dog.

"Scoring is not as rigorous as traditional obedience. Communication between handler and dog is encouraged and perfect heel position is not required." There are 3 levels of competition, Novice (RN), Advanced, (RA) and Excellent, (RE). The number of stations increase with each level, and the level of difficulty increase. In the first two levels you can clap your hands and pat your leg as encouragement, and talk to the dog, but you cannot touch the dog at any time, at the Excellent level physical encouragement is not allowed.

Everyone starts out with a perfect 100 score sheet, and points are deducted for for mistakes, such  as doing an exercise incorrectly, the dog not sitting, or missing an exercise, etc.  A "Qualifying Leg" is a score of 70 points. Three qualifying legs are required for the each level, under 2 different judges.  Each dog is timed, but times are only counted if two dogs earn the same score. Ribbons for 1st - 4th are given out at the end of each division. Rally advanced and excellent are performed off-leash.

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