Imagine a laser pen pointing from your chest to the ground about five feet in front of you; this is the point which dogs seek.

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In training sessions we teach our students to imagine where the chest laser point is pointing, and to think about if that really is the place where they want their dogs to go next.

By turning your chest towards your dog when running, you can bring your dog’s running line closer to yours. We use this natural reaction, for example, in “Pull Throughs” when we are handling dogs with False Turns.

In many techniques you turn your shoulderline so that your laser point points into your dog’s running line. In a Lateral Push, for example, your laser point should point to your dog’s takeoff place, not forwards.

Some dogs naturally slow down when the handler’s chest is pointing towards them, so we use other handling techniques whenever possible with these dogs. Be aware that turning your chest towards the dog is a strong natural slow down cue that is used when preparing for a tight turn. If you turn your chest towards the dog too much, or too early, the dog is likely to take a refusal.

Janita says: In the Forced Front Cross example, your laser point should be towards the end of the wing while you are committing your dog to go around the wing.

If your chest is towards your dog, your laser point is actually pointing to the wrong side of the jump and your dog will likely complete the jump from wrong direction. If your laser point is pointing straight forward, your dog will run past you and either do a wide curve before the jump or go to the wrong obstacle in front of you.

When you start the Front Cross, you should turn your laser point towards the dog’s landing point. If your chest is pointing straight ahead where you are running, your dog tries to reach your laser point area and takes a refusal in that jump.