Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 77

FRONT CROSSES Part 1: Positional Cues and Deceleration By Greg Derrett, photos by Susan Garrett Timing of Having spent the past months conducting seminars in several countries, I was inspired to write an article about front-cross timing. This inspiration was due to the difficulties and confusion I observed many people are having with front crosses, and also I wanted to help people understand the reasons for the common mistakes they are seeing and making due to timing errors. Let’s start at the beginning with training theory. Whatever your method of training, when thinking of teaching animals we should all agree that when we give a cue the animal should respond instantly. Agility handling is just a form of training, so when you give a cue you should get an instant response from the dog that you then reward instantly. The level of reward should be high enough and repeated often enough that the dog wants to respond immediately. For example, whatever your method of training, most of us initially spend time teaching the dog the Sit cue. When I say Sit, my dog will sit and I give him a treat. If my timing of reward and salience of reward is good enough, the sit behavior will continue to exist on cue. As handlers prepare to do a front cross, they have to slow down to rotate. This deceleration should be a huge cue to the dog that a turn is very likely to happen. If you combine this with a dog that understands positional cues you will then have a dog that will turn tightly on the front cross. November 08 08 Clean Run Run November | | Clean Cues for a Front Cross As we prepare to do a front cross there are lots of subtle cues to inform the dog a turn is going to happen. Let’s just revisit the sit. Think of all the subtle cues you give when you are about to ask for that behavior. Set up the dog for a sit indoors and time his response to your cue. Then put the dog out in the yard with other dogs. While he’s chasing those dogs, lean out the window and shout Sit. Was he as quick to get that butt on the ground? I’m guessing not! There are lots of subtle cues to indicate a front cross is likely, but the main two we use for the front cross in my handling system are a positional cue and deceleration. The Positional Cue Maintaining a consistent position in relation to your dog when you start to execute your front crosses is an important part of a positional cue. Front crosses should rely on a couple of rules that if followed teach the dog that positional cue. • Rule 1: Stay as close as possible to the next obstacle. This enables you to stay on the most efficient line because you do not have to run to each jump with the dog. The faster you get around the course, the faster your dog will. • Rule 2: Only do a front cross where your dog has a change of direction. There are many reasons for this, but the first of the two main reasons is that when you do a front cross, your dog should turn. If you do a front cross on a straight line, the dog will learn not to turn when he sees a front cross; I think this is one of the main reasons for wider turning dogs. The second reason is the detrimental effect straight-line front crosses have on the positional cues explained below. In agility, an arm change is a cue for a dog to turn, and as such, it should get an instant response. There is a certain amount of training to teach a correct response, but with good groundwork (circle work and shadow handling) we can teach this quickly. I have some nice footage of my young dog Detox at seven weeks old, running around with me, turning perfectly on shoulder turns and front crosses. It really is just “follow me if you like me” training! Handling theory is ever-evolving, and due to our current understanding of positional cues, we now use fewer front crosses than we did four to five years ago. If we cannot get to the correct position in time to decelerate, then we should do a rear cross. 77

Clean Run Magazine - November 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - November 2008

Clean Run Magazine - November 2008
Contents
Editorializing: It’s Not All in a Word
Tip of the Month
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Backyard Dogs
Cece’s Gym Exercise of the Month: Stair Work
Trainer's Forum
Skill of the Month
Stem Cell Therapy for the Canine Athlete
Handling Your Dog in Awesome Style, Part 8: Basic Turns with Turning Obstacles
The Challenge Is the Choice: Discrimination Learning
The Purely Positive Myth
Foundation Fundamentals: Retrieving
Power Paws Patterns: Number Ten
Interpret Agility to Motivate and Inspire
Distance Challenge
Focus on Weaves
Hand Touch: The Best Game Ever
When Pigs Fly: Choosing Your Crosses
Timing of Front Crosses, Part 1: Positional Cues and Deceleration
Shelter Champs: Lucky and Chewie
Four-on-the-floor Contacts: A New Method for Training the End Contact Behavior, Part 3
Tuna Fudge Recipe
Course Diagram Keys
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Clean Run Magazine - November 2008
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 2
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Contents
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 4
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Editorializing: It’s Not All in a Word
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Tip of the Month
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Agility…
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Backyard Dogs
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 9
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 10
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Cece’s Gym Exercise of the Month: Stair Work
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 12
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 13
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Trainer's Forum
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 15
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 16
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 17
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Skill of the Month
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 19
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 20
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Stem Cell Therapy for the Canine Athlete
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 22
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 23
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Handling Your Dog in Awesome Style, Part 8: Basic Turns with Turning Obstacles
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 25
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 26
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 27
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 28
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 29
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 30
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 31
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 32
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - The Challenge Is the Choice: Discrimination Learning
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 34
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 35
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 36
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 37
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - The Purely Positive Myth
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 39
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 40
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 41
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 42
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Foundation Fundamentals: Retrieving
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 44
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 45
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 46
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 47
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 48
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 49
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Power Paws Patterns: Number Ten
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 51
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 52
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 53
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 54
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Interpret Agility to Motivate and Inspire
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 56
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 57
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Distance Challenge
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 59
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 60
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 61
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Focus on Weaves
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 63
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 64
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Hand Touch: The Best Game Ever
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 66
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 67
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 68
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 69
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - When Pigs Fly: Choosing Your Crosses
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 71
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 72
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 73
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 74
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 75
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 76
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Timing of Front Crosses, Part 1: Positional Cues and Deceleration
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 78
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 79
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 80
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 81
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Shelter Champs: Lucky and Chewie
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 83
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 84
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 85
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Four-on-the-floor Contacts: A New Method for Training the End Contact Behavior, Part 3
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 87
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 88
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 89
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - Course Diagram Keys
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 91
Clean Run Magazine - November 2008 - 92
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