Honestly I've noticed something about handling systems and a stereotype or two against certain types of crosses. First off, I've noticed there is a certain negative reaction to rear crosses that just wasn't there a few years ago. People assume that if you rear you are going to be slow, that being in front of the dog is the best way to get them to be faster and tighter. Honestly, I think it is just that so few people understand how to rear effectively that they are basically useless for a lot of handler, which is a shame because they are such an important skill. They can be just as fast, if not faster than front crosses. But for the last six years or so it has been, front, front, front, front, so you can go faster and be in control. Yeah that works fine and dandy unless you have poor relative speed to dog, then you're out there throwing in late front crosses that are poorly executed or sending your dog shooting off course.
Another one is blind crosses, totally tabooed. Not so much anymore, at least in my area, but I constantly end up talking to people who never see them being done. Which is weird, but I can understand the fear. "Blind crosses cause off courses." Used to be very true, but really if you are doing the blind cross effectively in the right place the dog shouldn't even see the off course jump. I think a common mistake people make is they put the blind cross where the front cross should go. One problem. Blind =/= Front. (Usually at least: Blind=Go. Front=Turn. ) So when people go whipping around a corner expecting the dog to switch sides and make the turn, they find the dog sailing off in the completely wrong direction. I just feel like blinds have gotten a bad reputation due to our lack of understanding. I'm guilty of using them wrong, sent Whimzy off course on Saturday. Granted I was playing around because we had already NQ'd, but even so it was a major "OPPS" moment on my part.
One thing that really gets me is how people run with just rears, or just fronts. Please team me your ways?? Because there are just some course I can't front on, even with Jenna. And on the flip side their are some courses that really don't work well with all rear crosses. There is a time and place for each skill, fronts and rears and blinds, knowing how to use them all adds a lot of balance to a handling system and makes trusting your dog on course a lot easier. Another benefit, is that you will always have a backup plan if things start to go wrong. Having the extra skills adds a safety net to every run, the ability to switch handling modes and save the run.
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