Clean Run Magazine - April 2007 - 15

Rear Crosses with Drive and Confidence Article and photos by Ann Croft Is it necessary to be able to do rear crosses on course to succeed in agility? I liken the idea of doing agility without the option of a rear cross to trying to play tennis with only a forehand and no backhand. Sure, you can play the game and experience success, but there are times when that backhand would really come in handy and take your game to a new level. People whose dogs run much faster than they can are typically eager to learn rear cross skills, while those whose dogs tend to run at heel or behind them are less eager to incorporate this skill. Teaching the foundation skills that precede training of the rear cross itself can turn a dog that is willing to drive ahead into one that is able to work ahead. These skills can also enable the dog that hangs back behind his handler to enjoy moving ahead and may free him to run at his full potential. © VICTOR STEEL PHOTOGRAPHY Primary Dog Skills Needed There are two primary skills that the dog needs to perform correctly when his handler uses a rear cross at a jump: the dog needs to be willing to drive ahead of his handler and the dog needs to respond to a cue that tells him a turn away from his handler is coming up after the jump. concepts to keep in mind are that the motivator should be stationary, the dog should be focused on it when released, and the reward should come where the object was placed, out in front. Don’t ask for a retrieve or for your dog to turn about and return to you for his reward. And if using food, be sure to always give the treat from the container and not from your pocket. Driving Ahead To help a dog learn to focus forward and drive ahead of his handler, I first like to learn what motivates the dog that can be physically separated from the handler. If all of the dog’s rewards come from his handler’s body, it is very difficult to teach the dog to look and drive ahead. Useful items may be a tug toy of any sort, or a container such as a pouch or plastic bottle filled with the dog’s favorite treats. • Teach the dog to drive ahead a few feet to his stationary toy placed on the ground when you give a cue, such as Go. Follow behind him and reward with a game of tug when he reaches the toy. • Alternatively teach your dog to interact with his food pouch or bottle to receive a food reward from inside. Then teach him to drive ahead a few feet to the food pouch or bottle placed on the ground when you give a cue, such as Go, and then catch up and reward from the container. Use your new game of sending your dog to his toy to teach him to send ahead to obstacles. Simply place your motivator beyond the exit of any obstacle. For example, at the tire take your dog around to the front of the obstacle, release him when he is focused on the motivator at the exit end of the tire, and follow behind to reward. Do this for single jumps, the tunnel, the weaves, and so on. See my articles, “Four-on-the-Floor Contacts” in CR December 2005, or “Achieving Fast, Reliable, and Independent Weaves” in CR February 2007, for a more detailed explanation. The important April 07 | Clean Run Turning Away The second important skill for your dog to master before starting rear-cross work is to understand and respond to a cue that means turn away from you. It is easy and natural for your dog to turn toward you when sequencing obstacles because he naturally likes to keep one eye on you while he runs. Your body position and the direction you are going aid him in knowing to turn in your direction and to follow you. It will help your dog in early rear-cross work if you teach him a verbal cue to turn away from you so that he can learn that although your body position may not appear to agree, you would like him to turn away. I like to teach the dogs to turn to the right and to the left as two separate behaviors, each with its own cue. Dogs seem to learn these two behaviors very easily although some people seem to have difficulty instantly identifying right versus left. I think this is because the dogs learn that a directional cue simply means a specific behavior just like Sit and Down do. Right means turn the head and the body a particular way; Left means turn the head and body a different way. In contrast, people tend to think about right and left as two alternative sides or directions, and we sometimes have to think a moment to know which is which. If you are one of those people and are concerned that you may make a mistake and call out the wrong direction on course in the future, don’t worry. You will have time in the walk-through to identify the correct direction and associated verbal cue and rehearse it before you run. 15

Clean Run Magazine - April 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - April 2007