Experiments with Blended Front Crosses

Samurai and I had a chance to try out some of the "new" blended front cross strategies yesterday. I say, "new" because it seems to be a trend recently, even though I'm fairly sure it's not really entirely new.

The movement feels familiar, and I'm sure I, like others, have probably lapsed into it on our own when editing down a choppy, too "crossy" sequence. Sam even picked it up as if the moves involved were familiar.

We did some experiments with this technique that were hidden in the handling suggestions contained in the Backyard Dogs feature in this month's (June 2011) Clean Run. The suggested handling starts with diagram #4.

I was having a really hard time "getting it" from the description and the diagrams। But I finally forced myself to start moving along with the instructions as best I could, and it came together pretty quickly. Basically, once you fail to complete the first cross and stay in the backing up position, it really only leaves one way to logically finish the maneuver.

With the blended cross, instead of turning toward the dog, as you would to initiate a front cross, you continue to face the dog as you move toward and across the face of the jump.

Basically, a blended cross becomes an option when the course flow suggests that two front crosses be taken back-to-back -- as in one FC at the approach to a jump and another on the landing side.

The advantage to this is that it can work to smooth handling, and accordingly, the line.

What are the disadvantages?

Well, like any front cross, the success depends on the handler's ability to be ahead of the dog and in the right position to successfully complete the maneuver.

If the handler's mobility is limited, or the dog is much faster, the handler may intersect with the dog too far forward of the jump and cause a stall, a big loopy turn or an off course।
For situations where the handler is slower, it almost requires the opportunity to gain some distance on your dog, prior to set up for the maneuver to guarantee you can get into position.

If the handler is able to move fluidly into position, it is, indeed a "cool move" and turns the dog quickly. There seems to be less lag time than in stacking two front crosses and the slingshot momentum seems to "launch" the dog off faster than a cross.

Where would it not be a great choice?

When the dog is moving slowly or lacks motivation. There is a lot of cued collection in the nature of this turn (which makes it great for a fast, wide turning dog). This might drain the momentum of the less drivey dog.

Also, if the handler is much faster than the dog, as I am with Taylor, the rather static nature of the turn might expand your wait times as you are relatively suspended as you wait for the dog to come into position. The tight turn might also bleed off valuable speed from dogs who are laterally inflexible or who otherwise tend to decelerate or resist tight turns.

With Taylor, two front crosses provide more forward movement and drive.

It seemed to work best for me with Samurai (who is a lot faster than I am) in the tighter, more technical set ups (Diagrams #5 and 6) as opposed to the more straight line approach (Diagram #4).

Another caution is that the backward motion over the jump can raise the risk of an off course if the handler does not have good control and consistency of arm movement and cueing.

If the handler's movements are loose and not generally clear, it would be unfair to blame the dog if it took an off course on a jump behind the handler, thinking it was a set up for a blended cross.

For this reason, I would put this move in the "Advanced Handling" category, and best for handlers how already have a stable system of cuing, but who want an additional option for deleting unnecessary back-to-back crosses, and smoothing the line for added clarity and speed.

I would not recommend it for new handlers who have not yet gotten past the "flippity floppity" arm stage that so many handlers of a certain age go through.

Since the blended cross handling strategy is a popular idea right now, it's certain that trendsetter judges will be working it into course designs at upcoming trials. For some, this will be deciding factor on whether to add this tool to their handling tool kit.