The internet tells me a lot of things. High Quality Watches! Fast and easy way to enlarge your penis! Acai your answer for losing weight fast! And the war between the handling systems!

You see, my non dog agility friends, we have APHS and GD and the internet says they are at war. It is like Bloods and Crips. The Giants and the A’s. Palestine and Israel. Everyone lives together in the same hood but they see things different and then they go to WAR! Since I live in a love bubble of joy and unicorns that barf up rainbows, I didn’t even know I was at war, but guess what. I am. I am a disciple of GD and I keep a sharpened spear in my love bubble so when the internet points out to me that my leader and my dog agility boyfriend, Greg Derrett is flawed, you lookie outie.

The super cool thing about a war on the internet is that you have super experts duking it out with non super experts, crazy people, people who can’t spell and pretty much anyone who has access to a typing machine that magically hooks up to the other magical typing machines via the magic of cables and super brain waves and rockets. This wasn’t invented when I was born. But I would like to point out that cars definitely were. Although cel phones weren’t. But the war can be fought here, in the bandwidth, and then you just go out to lunch! Sorry Bloods, Crips, Palestinians and Israelites, and all the other victims of dichotomies that I use here in poor taste. Your wars handled in an uglier and bloodier fashion and I will go bury my head in my love bubble for a while and think nice thoughts for you.

Done.

Every so often, I address an important piece of Greg Derrett’s handling system here. I would like to say this is because he asked me to, but I would also like to say that my rock hard ass looks smashing in a booty butt bikini. It is actually because I am supposed to be doing some important work for work on the computer and instead I will address an important piece of Greg Derrett’s handling system here.

Today, let’s talk about how to change our dog’s direction.

When I trained my first agility dog, Ruby, we didn’t really get the whole handling system thing. We got about 1/3 of it. We learned many things together and some of those things, not so great. I just ran some courses with her today and while while we basically use GD, I know I tend to run in close with her and stay behind her a bit more than my other dogs and do a lot more rear crossing. Which Greg would say is ok, because he is super nice.

Tangent Alert!
Also, can I just tell you Ruby is SO HAPPY to still do agility at practice and is staying sound and speedy over 8″ jumps.
End Tangent.

But a useful thing that we know from his system is one of my favorite things about dog agility. The ability to send my dog out where I want them to go, and lickety split reposition myself in front of them so they totally get it, nice and early, where we’re turning. I am such a front crosser. I love to run fast and send and get my dog to turn so nice and tight and smart because I am clear and consistent! Because they see me head out there and they know a turn is coming and all they have to do is jump straight where I tell them and then turn where I tell them. I make it so easy for them!

I think I started to catch on to the total consistency thing with Otterpop. And then I started running Hobbes who is uber super trained to be consistent. And then I trained Gustavo who indeed, has been like training a rainbow barfing unicorn in a love bubble on speed, and had I not had a consistent system for him, god help us all.

When you’re front crossing, you just have to make sure that you always get to the optimal front cross position, and that your arm switch motion is not giving the finger and please don’t point your shoulders like a crackhead. An important term here is your front cross line. This is not a system you can color outside the lines on. Unless you’re running snookers. Or gamblers.

If you are rear crossing because you can’t get out there in front in time, make sure you are not running Hobbes because rear crosses make him sad unless they are in the place he likes them. And keep your shoulders straight! Straight! No swivel shoulders on a rear cross. Just step neatly across your dog’s path and if it is Ruby, they will be happy. The other dogs will be pretty happy, but they would prefer you are front crossing them. Oh, and make sure no one, especially Gustavo, tries to go in the No Go Zone!

Disclaimers: In case you are from PETA, that’s not a real gopher. If you worship at the temple of Linda Mecklenberg, Greg Derrett isn’t really a gopher. I don’t really have a sharp spear but I do live in a love bubble. And it’s not my fault the unicorn was barfing.