# Stacking help



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Any advice on getting a dog to stand nicely in the front and hold his head up? I love Nikon's conformation, and now that he has matured nicely I'd like to show him more (will show him for his V rating pending his breed survey in November and have lots of UKC show opportunities). I know how to setup his front legs and rear. I usually walk him into a stack in the front, do some minor adjustments there if necessary, and then adjust the rear. My issue is that he is usually "slouchy", like he looks bored so he posts/bridges a bit and his head is kind of droopy. Now at home if he sees something and looks alert, he does a beautiful natural stack with his head held strong and high, but when I'm hand-stacking him I have a hard time getting that. I can get decent photos if I set a toy on a ledge 10 feet in front of where I'm stacking him or tell him to stay and then throw something out in front of him, but of course in a show I can't do any of this or double handle. I see all the time the ASL people put their leads real high up and hold the dog's head high but if I try that he just looks annoyed. I'm not sure if it's a training issue or if his conformation just doesn't lend itself to a real pretty hand-stack.

Here's a recent stack. Please ignore the rear, I don't like it, it's not right (and he looks extra long here for some reason) but that's not usually the issue. See how in front his wither looks flat because he's sort of hunched down/forward? This is not even that bad (usually it's worse). I want him to stand tall in front and if I pull up on his head it ruins the angle of his shoulder and front legs.









This is one of my favorite pictures even though the angle of the photo is off and I'm not out of the way yet but as far as his angles and anatomy, this is what I see when I look at my dog









Not a perfect stack but this is him standing on his own accord looking at something









So I guess I'm looking for tips on getting his head up or just general tips on stacking this particular dog.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

What kind of collar do you use?


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

Try teaching him to stack himself and even though you can't use bait in the UKC ring, if he thinks it is in your pocket he will probably lean forward. You can also try teaching him while he is wearing his pinch collar with a short lead. When he tries to lean back it would be into the prongs which should puch him forward again. let me know if any of these work. if not, I;ll try again.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I'll use any collar I need to I guess. I have Fursavers, thin leather slips, and a thin rolled leather martingale.

We are usually allowed to bait in UKC. I've never had a "no bait" judge; I've had one that allowed using bait but not actually feeding it. He will stack and lean for bait but he tends to lean more forward than stand tall if that makes sense?

He's pretty tough with a pinch, doesn't respond to a pinch as far as self-correcting, so if he leans back into a pinch he's only going to lean back more (oppositional reflex). I've used a pinch for directional corrections (example: to get a better sit out of motion I used it and corrected him *forward*). Just putting a pinch on him and having him lean into it I don't think is going to to anything. 

If I can I'll try to get a video of me stacking him so you guys can critique, it's too dark out today though.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

Try standing farther away from him.


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)




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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Any tips on getting it quickly? When I do UKC shows I always feel really rushed or like the judge just skips over us and we aren't really set up. Or maybe everyone feels that way.... Also the rings are so incredibly small but that's a common complaint among GSD people, a lot of people quit showing GSDs because of it. Like in your picture, there would be another dog where the handler is standing. I really want to finish his GRCH though. He has one leg, I think he needs five. I've got to write in and ask the judge's name because they have to be different I think. I tried to have his breeder handle him once but he's a butthead, and I'd like to try to finish it myself.

I'll try to make a video tomorrow...


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)




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