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:
- switch from clock to counter
- drop is previous obstacle catch is next
- 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
On a Front Cross, your dog switches Flanks in with you in front of them. From Clock to Counter Clockwise Flank or vice versa. Taken directly from the canine agility world, the Front... More.
Using the Front
Front is a stable position directly in front of the handler. Front is an traditional obedience skill. Usually your dog sits in this position, but standing is often acceptable as well, especially in... More Cross
A Cross is an canine agility term that describes a change of working sides. Your dog moves from your left to your right (Heel to Side) or from Clock to Counter. Crosses are... More, 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
On a Rear Cross, the dog switches Flanks with the behind her. From clock to counter clockwise Flank or vice versa. Taken directly from the canine agility world, the Rear Cross is a... More 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
Out to the side of the handler is the Flank. If the dog is out to the handler's right or left the dog is on Flank. If the dog is moving with the... More, 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.
When you switch sides you will turn towards the dog to make your match.