Blind Cross Body Line

This week we started working on the "blind cross body line" technique. My instructor feels now that it's the best way to handle serpentines and threadles. This theory is credited to Greg Derrett. I know his is the system she feels is better, as opposed to Linda Mecklenberg's system.

Basically, before we were cueing the serpentine by using the inside hand and turning our shoulders toward the dog, while keeping our feet moving forward, like a false turn. With the body line method you use the inside hand but actually turn your entire body, continuing your forward motion by backing up. It's kind of like doing half a front cross. The whole premise is that the dog should drive to your reinforcement zone, which is always in front of you. In Linda's method the dog drives to the heel position, as I understand it.

I see the benefits to both methods. I think really just having a method puts you ahead of the game. But it's really hard to run forward, then switch and back up for a few steps and then run forward again! Plus, Shelby understood the other way just fine. I don't know-my instructor thinks this new method will help with 180s or something down the line. I'm keeping an open mind.