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Rally Obedience is a ton of fun! Depending on what organisation you are going to compete in, you can have food! APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) allows food, you just go after everyone who isn't using food. Regardless, you should start weaning the food away anyways. The trick with getting rid of the food is to not let your dog know! Slowly phase out the cookie in the hand- make the food reward less obvious. Be spontaneous in your reward, vary between higher and lower value tidbits. Usea toy sometimes. It is really important to keep the dog guessing as to when and what the reward is going to be. In my agility and obedience classes I suggest people to use a goodie container- a small container that you can fill with goodies but the dog can't get into without your help. Start slow- just a few steps of heeling, run over to the container, open it up and let the dog have a few nibbles. As our dog starts to understand that the cookie isn't on your person, but he is still going to get rewarded you will have a dog that will work even without an obvious reward!
Have fun! Rally is a great sport that is alot of fun for you and the dog!
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