Too often, dog training seems like it’s all about saying “No.”

“People have the knee-jerk assumption that they seek training to fix something,” says Victoria Schade, author of “Bonding With Your Dog.”

But if all you think about is stopping bad behavior, you miss the real joy of training: being able to talk to the animals. “Training is about changing the way you communicate with your dog. It’s giving you a common language,” says Schade.

So how do you train your dog by saying “Yes” rather than “No”?

One way is to get involved in canine sports. And the good news is that they’re more available to dog owners than ever before.

The classic traditional obedience exercise is to sit, stay, and do nothing silently. For the conscientious dog trainer, this level of teaching might be a little, well, boring. And if you’ve seen those agility competitions on TV, where dogs run, jump and climb a course of obstacles, you might worry you’re not as athletic as the handlers who are racing alongside.

But a relatively new canine activity, Rally Obedience, combines features of both of those levels of training in a way that’s fun and teaches your dog useful skills. In Rally, you and your dog perform commands in sequence, somewhat like in agility, but without complicated equipment.

“It’s real-life training, put to a numbered course in a ring,” says Linda Sperco, national Rally coordinator for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, which first introduced Rally competitions in 2001. “For instance, you are heeling with your dog on the leash, not pulling, and you come to a sign that asks you to stop and ask your dog to sit.”

Rally exercises like this are practical — think how handy it would be if your dog would stop and sit nicely every time you wait to cross a street. This also allows you to incorporate the training into your daily routine. “You can practice when you’re walking your dog, or just out goofing around in the backyard,” says Sperco.

And one important feature is that unlike traditional obedience, there are no restrictions on talking to your dog. “Rally allows unlimited communication,” says Sperco. You can repeat commands and encourage your dog all you want, just like in your everyday interactions.

Competitions in Rally Obedience are held all over the country by APDT, the American Kennel Club, and the United Kennel Club. And the AKC has recently joined the other groups by changing their rules so that mixed-breed dogs as well as purebreds can compete.