What are all the letters?

Because we are active in a variety of sports and activities with our dogs, we have titles in different sports and through different venues. Some titles you may recognize and others you may not. There are a TON of sports and activities out there for dogs and their owners to do, but we are going to list out the different titles our dogs have, the organizations they are through and some of the criteria to earn those titles.

If you are not very familiar with titling, one thing worth noting is that for some titles, when they get the more advanced title that notation replaces the less advanced title. For example in rally, Tesla has earned her Rally Masters title. In order to get that title, she needs to have first received her Rally Novice (RN), Rally Advanced (RA) and Rally Excellent (RE) titles. Rather than having all of those listed out after her name, you will see the Rally Master (RM) letters which means that she has all of those other titles in addition to her Rally Master title.

American Kennel Club (AKC) Titles

Rally (Rally-O, Rally Obedience)

For information about rally: https://www.akc.org/sports/rally/

Rally Novice (RN): Exercises are performed on leash and you and your dog navigate a course with 10-15 signs. To earn this title, you must earn 3 qualifying scores. A qualifying score is a score at or above 70 points out of a possible 100 points. Your qualifying scores need to earned under at least 2 different judges.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap, Stitch

Rally Intermediate (RI): This is an optional titling class within Rally. Dogs competing in this level must have earned their Rally Novice (RN) title. Exercises are performed on leash and you and your dog navigate a course with 12-17 signs. To earn the title, you must earn 3 qualifying scores. A qualifying score is a score at or above 70 points out of a possible 100 points. Your qualifying scores need to earned under at least 2 different judges.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap

Rally Advanced (RA): Exercises performed in this class are off-leash with at least one jump and you and your dog navigate a course with 12-17 signs. Dogs competing in this class must have earned their Rally Novice (RN) title. To earn this title, you must earn 3 qualifying scores. A qualifying score is at or above 70 points out of a possible 100 points. Your qualifying scores must be earned under at least two different judges.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap, Stitch

Rally Excellent (RE): Exercises performed in this class are off-leash with two jumps. Dogs competing in this class must have earned their Rally Advanced (RA) title. You and your dog navigate a course made up of 15-20 signs. To earn this title, you must earn 3 qualifying scores. A qualifying score is at or above 70 points out of a possible 100 points. Your qualifying scores must be earned under at least two different judges.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap

Rally Advanced Excellent (RAE): To earn this title, after a dog has earned their Rally Excellent (RE) title, they are eligible to enter trials where they compete in Rally Advanced B and Rally Excellent B classes in the same trial. To earn this title, dogs must qualify in both Rally Advanced and Rally Excellent in the same trial 10 times. A qualifying score is a score at or above 70 points out of 100 possible points. The letters RAE will have a number added to it for the amount of times this title has been earned, for example, RAE2 = 20 double qualifying scores (QQ).

Dogs that have earned this title RAE: Tesla, Zap

Rally Master (RM): Exercises performed in this class are off-leash with at least one jump. Dogs competing in this class must have earned their Rally Excellent (RE) title. You and your dog navigate a course made up of 15-20 signs and a minimum of four Master level signs, a minimum of three Excellent level signs, and a minimum of three Advanced level signs. To earn this title, you must earn 10 qualifying scores under at least two different judges. A qualifying score is at or above 70 points out of a possible 100 points. The letters RM will be added a numerical number for the amount of times this has been earned, for example, RM2 = 20 qualifying scores, and so on.

Dogs that have earned this title RM: Tesla, Zap

Rally Championship (RACH): To earn this title, dogs must have earned their Rally Excellent title. Dogs must earn qualifying scores in the Advanced, Excellent and Master level in a trial (QQQ) 20 times. Dogs must also earn a minimum of 300 points with at least 150 points coming from the Master level. Points are awarded only to scores above 91. The point schedule can be found in the AKC Rally Rulebook. Dogs earning this title will have the title RACH preceding their name and a number designation will be assigned for the amount of times this has been earned, for example, RACH2 = 40 QQQs and 600 points.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla

oBEDIENCE

For information about obedience, go to https://www.akc.org/sports/obedience/

Beginner Novice (BN): This is an optional titling class. Dogs must perform for the following exercises: heel on leash, figure eight, sit for exam, sit stay, and recall with 40 points possible in each category, respectively for a maximum of 200 points. Dogs must receive at least three qualifying scores under two different judges in order to earn this title.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Zap

Canine Good Citizen

For information about canine good citizen, go to https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/

Canine Good Citizen (CGC): The Canine Good Citizen test is a test to assess your dog's good manners in 10 categories: accepting a friendly stranger, sit for petting, appearance and grooming, loose leash walking, walk through a crowd, sit/down and stay, recall, reaction to another dog, reaction to distraction, and supervised separation as well as you signing the responsible dog owner's pledge. Your dog must pass all 10 items under a CGC evaluator in order to earn this title and it must be done on leash and without the use of food, toys, or any training aids.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap, Stitch, Benny

Community Canine, also known as Advanced Canine Good Citizen (CGCA): This test is for dogs that have earned their Canine Good Citizen title (CGC) and is meant to demonstrate that you have a well-behaved dog out in the community in a more stimulating environment. Your dog's good manners will need to be assessed in 10 categories: Waits under control while owner fills out a form, eats a snack or visits with someone; walks on a loose leash in a natural situation with no pulling; walks on a loose leash through a crowd; dog walks past distraction dogs present and does not pull on the leash; performs a sit stay on the left hand side with 3 other dogs for 30 seconds while owners have a conversation; allows person carrying something to approach, place the object down and pet the dog; walks past food on the ground and follows instructions to "leave it"; perform a 20-ft sit or down stay where owner picks up object and returns to dog with object; recall 20 ft with distractions present; and sit or stand stay while owner exits or enters through a doorway until released. Dogs must pass all 10 items under a CGC evaluator in order to earn this title and it must be done on leash and without the use of food, toys, or any training aids.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix

Urban Canine Good Citizen (CGCU): This test is for dogs that have earned their Canine Good Citizen title (CGC) and is meant to demonstrate a dog's manners in a city or town environment where there are cars, street noises, etc. Your dog's good manners will need to be assessed in 10 categories: exit/enter doorway with no pulling through a dog-friendly building; have an appropriate reaction to city distractions; cross a street under control and waiting before crossing the street; ignore food on the sidewalk; person walks up and pets the dog; can take stairs, steps or an elevator under control; is housetrained; enters and exits form of transportation like a car or subway under control and remains under control during the ride. Dogs must pass all 10 items under a CGC evaluator in order to earn this title and it must be done on leash and without the use of food, toys or any training aids.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla

Trick Dog Titles

For information on trick dog titles, go to https://www.akc.org/sports/trick-dog/

Novice Trick Dog (TKN): Dog performs 10 tricks on the Novice Trick Dog list, with the option of 2 "handler's choice" write-in options. Each trick is performed twice in front of an approved evaluator. If a dog has their Canine Good Citizen title on file, they only need to perform 5 tricks.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap, Stitch, Benny, Wendy

Intermediate Trick Dog (TKI): Dogs perform 10 tricks from the Intermediate Trick Dog list, with the option of 2 "handler's choice" write-in options as long as they are at an intermediate level. Each trick is performed twice in front of an approved evaluator.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap

Advanced Trick Dog (TKA): Dogs perform 10 tricks from the Advanced Trick Dog list, with the option for 2 "handler's choice" write-in options as long as they are at an advanced level. Each trick is performed twice in front of an approved evaluator.

Dogs that have earned this title: Tesla, Phoenix, Zap

Dock Diving Titles

These are titles that are earned through North America Diving Dogs (NADD) that are recognized titles through the American Kennel Club (AKC). For information on these titles, go to https://www.akc.org/sports/title-recognition-program/dock-diving/

Dock Novice (DN): Dog jumps 1 in. - 9 ft. 11 in. in the Open Division earning qualifying jumps 5 times.