Clean Run - November 2016 - 25

lessons often in training sessions designed to do only that.
This is because when I practice sequence work I am handling
the dog as I would in competition, combining the verbal and
physical rear cross cues. If I do not separate out the verbal and
physical cue training I will never know which one may have
gotten weak in the process of sequence and course work.
I have been amazed over the years how close some dogs
need their handlers to be for them to pick up the physical
rear cross cue while other dogs read the physical cue easily.
I believe that some dogs either have better peripheral vision
or they are less aware of what is behind them because of
what is in front of them. I am sure the breed of the dog plays
a big role in this area. In addition, many dogs can pick up
an "easy" rear cross, when the direction of the course is logical to them, making the handler believe the dog is picking
up the cue when the dog is just going where he wanted to
because of the course flow and which lead he is on. I have
found that whether or not I could hold my dog accountable
for picking up his physical rear cross cue, when the next oncourse obstacle was a non-obvious obstacle, was in direct
correlation with how close I was to him physically.
I now combine my physical cue with my verbal cue when
executing most of my rear crosses. The exception is when the
course flows in an obvious direction or when I am very close
to the dog and turning the right way is a bit of a no-brainer.

#8
I have been asking students if their dogs prefer to be chased
or do the chasing when playing with other dogs to determine if rear crosses could be used more often for that team.

I have, in the past, assumed that shyer, softer dogs preferred
their handlers to stay way ahead so that they could chase
the handler. What I have found in examining the play style
of different dogs is that many softer dogs actually prefer to
be chased; they don't want to do the chasing; they aren't
comfortable with it. So I have taken some insecure dogs,
taught them to take obstacles ahead of their handlers, and
turned their agility into a game where their handler is chasing the m (rear crossing). Handlers also work on fun chase
games at home and the park to improve their dogs' chasing
confidence.
There are too many factors at play for me to say that all insecure dogs prefer to be chased and will therefore excel at
rear crosses. I'm saying I have been using it with nice results
and it is worth trying with dogs that you think could run
faster. It could be that teaching the dog to go ahead of the
handler was a part of the confidence boost. Who cares? The
more fun the dog is having the faster he will go. If your front
crosses put you in your dog' s way, I would bet money he
would prefer rear crosses to front crosses in general.

#9
The truth is rear crosses have gotten quite sophisticated.
There are many ways to cue and execute a rear cross. You
absolutely can control the size of the turn with a rear cross
or some form of a rear cross. How you set the line, where
you are before, during, and after you cross your dog's path
will determine if you get a tight turn or a soft turn.
Next month we will look how to train and handle rear
crosses! D

Sandy Rogers has been teaching obedience and agility since 1991. She founded ACE Dog Sports in San Francisco, California in 1999. Her dogs have competed in all
the USDAA and AKC National Championship finals multiple times in four jump heights. Sandy and Jack Russell Terrier Quill competed on Team USA at the World Agility
Open in 2011, 2012, and 2013. They won the individual gold and silver medals in 2012 and bronze in 2013. Quill won the USDAA Grand Prix in 2013, placed third in 2007,
and placed second at the 2012 and 2014 AKC Nationals. Border Collie Brink placed third in the Grand Prix in 2000 and won 16" Speed Jumping in 2007 and 2008 and
Performance Grand Prix in 2007. Sandy has two DVDs available: Training the Extreme Dogs and One Jump Two Jump. Her new video, Feet First, will be released in 2016.

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