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To front or not to front, that is the question! After training three Golden Retrievers in agility I have realized the full benefit of the front cross. Our Goldens are all very excited to play agility but sometimes we just don’t get the speed that we’d like. After all, they are Goldens and it’s a great day to play and jump and run and enjoy life, but not necessarily in a big hurry to do anything. We were first introduced to the front cross in a small indoor class held in a room that was about the size of our garage. We didn’t realize the full impact of this agility tool until we began to train it in the great outdoors with lots of space. It’s now a permanent fixture in our training and I don’t know how we got along without it during those first crucial months of training and competing. Front crosses are great when the handler needs to change direction on the course or to put the handler in a better position to handle an upcoming obstacle, and it’s a most beneficial tool in helping to speed up the dog. I’ve noticed in the sessions that I teach that there is a lot of apprehension to try the front cross. Some say they don’t feel light on their feet and they are afraid they’ll look ridiculous. Wow, now that’s odd coming from someone doing a walk-thru who can be seen by spectators walking around in circles in a small square area of strange looking objects, waiving their hands wildly in the air, talking to themselves, jumping, bending over at the bottom of a large wooden object and saying touch to an imaginary dog. Not to mention the clothes one might be seen wearing to an agility trial. (But clothing is another topic for the future). How can one look more ridiculous than that? So I say, put on your dancing shoes and give the front cross a try, I assure you it’s worth the effort. The best way to learn a front cross is without your dog. He’s going to get it a lot quicker than you are. Place 2 jumps at an angle to each other and practice the front cross making sure your body and feet are giving the correct cue to the dog to get from point A to point B, after you have the footwork confidence then practice it with the dog. It’s all about timing and cueing and giving the dog the best path toward the next obstacle but the best thing about the front cross with a Golden is that it tends to speed them up and that’s good a good thing. No, that’s a great thing. Because that extra 3 or 4 hundredths of a second every time you do a front cross can mean the difference between placing and not placing or making time and not making time. I start training puppies as soon as they are old enough to walk along side with me. As I walk along in a straight line with the dog at my side on leash I slowly start by stepping in front of the dog and turn to place my body on the opposite side of the dog. Using the leash to keep from stepping on the dog and to keep the dog walking in a straight line as I turn in front of her. As the dog gets older I speed up my pace and do the exercise off leash. By the time the dog is old enough to begin practicing on real jumps the front cross cue is already learned. The same exercise can be used with older dogs. Not only does this exercise teach the dogs to look for the foot and body cues but it also teaches the handler to do the front cross without much effort. A win-win for everyone. |
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