Front Cross

The Front Cross is The Most Useful Skill

change working sides with the Front Cross. move from the Clockwise Flank to the Counter Clock Flank with the dog turning towards the handler.


3 Keys for the Front Cross:

  1. switch from clock to counter
  2. drop is previous obstacle catch is next
  3. match hands in the center

Front Cross Switches from Clock to Counter

crossing means changing the working side. change your dogs direction with a Front Cross and keep them in front of you.

When your dog is on your left and moving towards you they are moving in a clockwise circle. If you turn towards your dog and put the dog on your right side, you’ve just done a front cross. If your dog starts towards you, they have switched to a counter clockwise circle and you have successfully executed a Front Cross.

Using the Front Cross, you can keep your dog on one side of the field. You can move your dog from one side of the field to the other. You can turn your dog in any direction. It’s an incredibly useful skill.

Work off of the Drop and to the Next Catch or Move

the term front cross comes from agility. it is normally understood as what happens between two obstacles. the cued Drop is the previous obstacle and the catch or the next move is the next obstacle.

For agility handlers it’s hard to interpret the Front and Rear Cross concepts without the obstacles. A good way to think about crossing and Disc Dogs is that the cued Drop is the previous obstacle and the catch or the next move is the next obstacle. So when you cross, you cross from Drop to Catch.

When you pick your dog up for a cross you are always picking them up from somewhere. In the course of a regular game of disc that somewhere is most often when the dog complies with the Drop cue. The line that the dog is on is where you start from. This more often than not means turning your body to Set the Flank, hooking up on the flank and then executing the cross at a time of your choosing. There’s no rush… move your dog around a bit.

Match Disc or Switch Hands in the Center

right in the center of the skill, when you change from pulling your dog with the right hand to pulling with your left. make sure that happens in the center of your body. pass that value from hand to hand.

When you switch from Flank to Flank make sure that your hands match at the center of your body and that your hands and the center of your body are pointing at the dog. This will help you pass the value from one hand to the other and hook up the dog on the other flank for more work.

Front Cross

When you switch sides you will turn towards the dog to make your match.