CR Central Rear Cross Practice

This morning, still exhausted, I managed to drag my butt around my yard and set up the CR Central exercises in the Oct 2010 issue of Clean Run.  It's all about REAR CROSSES.  Sheryl is coming tomorrow morning and we'll have a good training session with this one.  I mean, how can D know what H wants him to do when H is behind him.  Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do.  Are they psychic?  Have eyes in the back of their head?  Do they sense our auric field?

We decided to meet at the field at 3 this afternoon, both of us tired, dogs lethargic, temp about 86.  It was too hot to practice the full course on Field 1, which at this time of day is in full sun.  So we set up the same CR Central course on field 3, in shade.  It is a lot tougher than it looks on paper.  See diagram.

In this exercise, the object is to do a Rear Cross (RC) after 5, then direct D to take 7a, 7b, 7c, or 7d.  The problem we ran into in every case was our D's lost momentum after 5 because we were hanging back trying to RC.  In most cases they would not take 6, and they were head checking us all thru the runs.  What was that all about?

7b, 7c and 7d weren't hard to pull D toward after 6, but pushing to 7a (purple) was a bitch, nearly impossible!  After your RC, you are trapped behind the wing at 6, and to avoid tripping over it you must run outward, pulling D outward, then arm change, run and push back inward to indicate 7a.  Very clumsy!

The way I was able to handle this move best (not pictured) is NOT to RC after 5, but run by and direct over 6, then arm change to indicate 7a.

Well, one good thing is, Lucky did the best out of Maxie, Charlie and Lucky today.  That was a first!

Crap.  Only 12 days til the Kiln trial!  I gotta get focused, rested up, and get out there and practice.  So much I don't know. Don't worry about WHY it works, just do what works.