Obedience has roots in Europe in both Germany and England where dogs were very often working dogs rather than pets, and the required exercises reflect this.  By the mid-20^th century the pattern and exercises for the three levels of competition were established in England and obedience was offered for the first time at Crufts.  The basic exercises were soon adopted by the American Kennel Club and then by the Canadian Kennel Club.

There are three levels in obedience work, Novice, Advanced,  and Excellent, and the exact exercises and the order of their performance do not vary (except by level) so the dog always knows what will come next.  The exercises include heeling, staying in position while the handler moves away, coming when called, and at the higher levels, retrieving and jumping.

Cavaliers have a long history in Canada of participation in Obedience competitions, most often with excellent results.  CKCSCC awards several annual trophies in obedience: the Phoebe Trophy, awardsd to a Club member receiving a new CDX degree completed in the calendar year with the highest 3 qualifying scores; the Isabella Trophy, awarded to a Club member achieving the highest number of obedience points during the calendar year; the Greystone Trophy, awarded to a Club member receiving the CD in that year combining the first 3 scores to arrive an average; the Waawaaskone Trophy, awarded to a (Canadian) Club member achieving the highest qualifying score for the calendar year; the Piccadil Trophy,  awarded to the person (Club member or not) achieving the highest combined score at the National Specialty; and the

Honey Pot, awarded for the most humourous performance at the National Specialty trials, Club member or not.

Rally Obedience is relatively new, well under 10 years old, and was intended to be a relaxed version of obedience. 

It was recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club in 2007, although Cavaliers were already competing through CARO (Canadian Association for Rally Obedience) for several years before that with excellent results.

Rally-O promotes the idea that the dog and handler are a team based on mutual respect.  Handler and dog move along a set course of signs indicating what is to be performed at each station with the handler encouraging the dog with words or petting without penalty, as long as command words or hand signals are not used more than once for each station. 

Rally-O incorporated elements of agility (jumps) at the advanced levels and free style dance (side steps, pivots, and tricky turns). There are three levels of Rally Obedience, Novice, Advanced, and Excellent.

Canadian Cavaliers and their handlers have embraced Rally-O with  great enthusiasm and have performed with excellence.  CKCSCC awards one trophy (so far) in Rally Obedience, the Toby Trophy for the Cavalier achieving the highest three total scores at the Novice level.