Puppy Antics and Ring Training Part 3

Hand Stack Training

In my last two columns, I discussed some of the things we do as we train our pups and I shared some of the dumb things I did that taught me what not to do in the future. It is always easier to learn it right the first time than to try and go back to correct bad habits for both you and your dog, but sometimes that is what needs to be done. In this column, I am going to talk about hand stacking your dog, also called “hard stacking”.

From the time your dog is a little puppy, you need to be patiently spending time with the little guy on the table. Food like cheese can be used if the pup seems apprehensive but you need to not depend on it as was discussed in the last column. Stop using the bait in training as soon as possible if you needed it initially for the frightened puppy. You need to teach the pup that when they are placed in a position, they will stay there for a little bit, then get lots of praise. You can teach stay and stand commands (or use ‘stack’ or whatever word you like) and you should use verbal praise and lengthen the time that they stay on the stack over time. But most of all, keep it pleasant and upbeat at all times. Obedience is not so much the objective as getting a puppy to look good in the ring, and much of this is how happy the puppy is when presented.

This table training requires repetition and patience. You will be doing this primarily in the pups at three months and younger. Training should start with the breeder even before the pup leaves their litter and should continue for the next month at home. Emphasis should be on teaching the pup to lean into the stack and keep the feet in place when put there. Pulling slightly on the tail with constant pressure, then releasing the pressure a bit to allow the pup to lean forward is how you train them to lean into themselves. Then you reward and praise the pup when it is done right. Slipping the pup’s rear feed off the back of the table but still supporting him or dragging the pup’s feet along the table surface as you hold him front and rear will help teach him not to dance, but you don’t want to put them off too much. You may also need to put something on the table so the puppy has good footing and is not sliding when stacked.

This is also an important time to get the pup used to grooming including nail trimming and blow drying. It is much easier to handle an apprehensive 2-3 month old than a frightened 60 pound dog! The key is to be patient, do the table training often, keep it full of praise, and don’t continue if you are frustrated. It also helps to have a mirror near the table so you can see if the stack training is presenting the pup in a favorable stance.

Training sessions need to be short and frequent during this age. You can train 3-4 sessions per day but never more than 10 minutes each time. Also, it is important that you don’t mix stack training and gaiting in these sessions. You can train them both in the same day, but not in the same session. And it is advisable that if you are training multiple venues (like obedience, agility, field, and conformation) that you separate the training by 3-4 weeks. So your short sessions can be separate sessions of stacking and gaiting training in the same day, but not conformation and performance. This is advice shared by George Alston, by the way, and not something I know from personal experience!

There is a very precise way that you will stack your dog and it is important that you learn this process and do it each time. You gather the lead and set the head first. Controlling the head is important because if you don’t, you will often have a dog that is moving all around. So first get your lead up under the chin (no loose skin bunched up under it) and set up high behind the ears. Next you will set the front leg on the judge’s side. This is the left side. You will be holding the lead above the head with your right hand as you set the left front leg with your left hand. You will be grasping the leg at the elbow, not at the foot, and you will rotate the leg to have the foot pointing forward with the front legs parallel and coming down straight under the dog. Next you will change hands and set the front inside leg (right front leg with right hand) positioning it parallel to the other front leg with the foot pointed forward and coming down straight from the dog’s body. Then you will again switch hands and set the back legs. They will be set slightly wider than the front legs and you will use your left hand for both hind legs, setting the left leg (judge’s side) first. Again, you will not grasp the foot but higher up on the leg. Some people will reach under the dog and move the leg by grasping the stifle. This is more common in large breeds. In Goldens, I prefer going over the top of the dog and grasping the leg right above the hock joint. Some people prefer to not use the lead to control the head, grasping under the chin instead. This was once the most common method of presentation in Goldens but is now seldom seen. The problem with this type stacking is that it is wasting time when the lead has to be removed. And if the lead is simply dropped, there is the time factor of gathering it back up plus a lead around the neck hanging low will ruin the view of the flow of the neck into the shoulders. So I always like to set the lead high up on the neck and keep it gathered up and fairly tight to keep head control.

This is the order for setting the legs you will always use. Set and control the head, set the front legs doing the judge’s side first, then the hind legs doing the judge’s side first. However, if the legs are already in a good position, you need not set that leg again. In order to save time, if you see a foot that is in the right place, don’t reset that one. Remember that the judge only has a few minutes per dog so the quicker you can have your dog looking good, the better for both of you!

In Goldens, the presentation of the hand stacked dog has two different finished views. One is to hold the tail and the other is to concentrate on the head and not hold the tail out. Because the tail is almost always held for pictures, it is important to teach the dog to allow you to hold the tail up. Some judges prefer this picture as well. Holding the tail with slight pressure can also help you get the dog to lean into the stack without the use of bait. This is the training you did on the table and dogs tend to remember it. Typically, if a dog is stacked without the tail held up, the dog is also baited in front.

As discussed earlier, bait should not be your “invisible lead” and the dog should know how to stack and stay without bait long before you go in the ring.

So with the young pup, we are doing a lot of table training and also some hand stacking on the ground. We are keeping it fun and full of praise with short frequent sessions at a young age. According to Geroge Alston, this lead training should all be done prior to 12 weeks in the young pup and then no intensive training again until the pup is 11 months old. The reason for this is that the dog begins teething after 12 weeks and they have swollen glands in their throat and pain in their mouth. We don’t want the lead making them uncomfortable and their concentration level also changes during teething. So get the basics down before 12 weeks of age.

That said, I do think that you can do some less formal freebait training after 12 weeks but the key is to not have the lead causing a lot of pressure on the glands that are sensitive during teething. And yes, you can show them as a puppy to get them used to the ring and let them know it is a really fun place to be prior to 11 months of age as well. But George Alston is very clear that the real lead training should be done only before 12 weeks and then after 11 months of age and he says that you should be able to teach these basics in the pup before 12 weeks of age.

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