STACK_AND_DELIVER_EPISODE_ONE
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Daphne's like, that's where
my bait is, right there.
Are we live?
Oh, hey.
Are we ready?
As ready as we'll be.
Hi everyone.
Welcome to season two of
"Demand to Win Puppies."
Last time I saw you, our puppies
were about eight weeks old
and we were working
on the free stack.
And now those same
puppies are 11 months old.
So we're going to show you the
progression of training forward
to where they are today.
But to start with, we're
going to bring out Daphne
to do a demo for you.
But, you know, she's
had a couple litters,
and-- yeah, right girly.
But I'm going to show
you-- come here, Daph.
Give me this.
I got a little bait here.
So, we're gonna show you
how Daphne does her thing.
Come on, Daph.
Daph, stand.
So, there it is.
That's your free
stack right there.
And if you can
see the difference
between how this dog looks
all stacked up and nice,
and how she looks when she
just walks in and is just
hanging out, that's why
we're all here today.
Come here, darling.
That was very good.
That-- ring presentation
and presenting a dog
is really an art,
and it requires
a lot of understanding
of a lot of the things
that we're going to
talk about today.
But it's incredibly
fascinating and really fun.
And I just want to--
I want to infect you with my
enthusiasm for the subject,
because it's something
that I just--
I have incredible passion for.
So, let's talk about what you
need to know to show a dog.
If you google ring handling,
or you go to a handling class,
what are they going to tell you?
What-- they're gonna
tell you a lot of things
that I call the talismans.
They're going to tell you,
how do you hold the leash.
Do you reach over or under
the dog to move their legs.
Do you-- you know, what
do you do with your hand
when you move.
And these things are
all really important,
and there's a functional
reason why you do everything.
But that's not what it is to
understand how to handle a dog.
In order to understand
how to handle a dog,
you need to understand
three things.
First-- number one,
basic structure.
What is the structure of a dog.
Number two, you have to
know your breed standard
and how your dog's
structure should
be within the breed standard.
And third of all, you have to
be able to look at your dog
and understand their faults and
virtues in light of the breed
standard.
So, to go in and just say, well,
how do we train my dog to show
stack-- if someone comes
to me, I say, well,
I have to see your dog first,
because I have to understand
what--
how I wanna present that dog and
how we should train that dog.
Why, though-- seriously,
doesn't it seem like that--
come here, Daph-- that
it's almost-- come on--
it's almost like
tricking the judge,
I mean, to try and
present the dog
just the right way,
depending on the dog.
I mean, shouldn't it just be
that, well, this is the dog
and this is what it is.
And my answer is,
every time you walk
in the ring you are entering
in a dialogue with the judge.
And you're saying to the
judge, this is my dog.
This is what's
good about my dog.
This is my dog's
virtues, and this
is why I think that you
should put this dog up.
Now, I'm not saying
that the judge is always
going to agree with you.
But you have every right
in the world-- and in fact,
obligation-- to
present your dog--
your dog's best features.
You get seconds in front
of the judge in a ring.
I mean, literally
sometimes just,
maybe 10 seconds total the dog
is gonna look at your judge.
What you want to
do is make sure you
know what you want to present,
and that for that 10 seconds,
that judge is seeing the
best thing about your dog.
Why would you present the
worst thing about your dog.
But again, the first step
is understanding what's good
and what's bad about
your dog in particular.
So, I brought out Daphne to help
us talk about breed structure--
I mean, basic structure--
because Daphne is what I would
say is-- has a generically good
dog structure, meaning to say,
she has good angulations--
and she's sagging now,
because she's standing here,
and also that's just her--
over her life, her litters,
and her life, and her age--
which, she's gonna be
eight years old soon.
What you want to see--
what you want to know
about, in particular,
are a couple things.
Come here, sweetheart.
I'm just gonna go over you.
Shoulder assembly.
This is the-- this is the
shoulder-- layback of shoulder.
This is what we
call the upper arm.
This is gonna become important.
These two thing-- this
angle, how this angle forms
will vary from breed to breed.
But you just have to understand
these two bones-- that there's
a bone here, there's bone here.
This is layback of shoulder.
This is return of
upper arm-- what
they call return of upper arm.
And this is going to be
influenced by things as far
as angles, how long the bones
are, how they sit together,
and again, breed
standards will vary.
I use Daphne, and I
use a bull terrier
because I have bull
terriers, and also
because our breed standard
is pretty generic.
Should have good lay
back of shoulder,
good return of upper arm.
Actually, the US
breed standard is
silent on return of
upper arm, but the UK--
which is the parent, you
know, the original country
where the dog came from-- talks
about return of upper arm.
So, we'll take it
that they should have
a good return of upper arm.
Meaning to say that this
bone should come back here
and should be long enough.
Now, I'm going to need
Phoebe in a minute.
So, if you want to
bring Phoebe out.
And also in the rear,
these angles should meet--
should match these angles.
This bone, this bone, this bone.
The bull terrier should have
a tail that's set on low,
so the pelvis should, you
know, should not be tilted flat
this way.
It should come down--
the pelvis bone should
come down this way.
And then you get that
nice tail coming off.
Oh, Daphne, I know.
I'm-- She's like, I
don't like that stuff,
when you're touching me.
I like it better when I'm
working and I get bait.
So again, you can
see that this dog--
pretty well balanced,
pretty much generically
stand, good, well-made dog.
I don't need to do anything
fancy to set her up.
Once I've trained-- step back.
That a girl.
Once I've trained--
step over here.
That a girl.
Step-- no.
A little forward.
Yeah.
Once I've trained this,
that's all I need.
OK, so now we're going
to bring out another dog.
Is Phoebe on the way out?
And I'm just going to show you--
OK, babe.
OK, OK.
Good girl.
And I'm gonna show
you the difference.
And this is gonna become more--
you're gonna see why this is
more important--
I know, I know.
You're going to see why this is
more important as we go along.
Come here, Daph.
You want--
All right.
OK.
Phoebe's a little wild.
Phoebe has-- is not
a Grand Champion.
She hasn't been shown.
And, you know,
unlike Daphne, she's
not gonna be as experienced
or as co-operative.
And I've got her leash
on backwards, too.
Come here.
Come here, sweetheart.
Let's do this.
Let's do it this way.
OK, OK.
Here you go, here you go.
OK.
So we've got Phoebe here.
You all messed up your makeup.
Oh, yeah.
Auntie Heidi wants
them to look perfect.
OK, so this is
Phoebe, right here.
Come on, baby girl.
So, if I can get her to stand
still, what you're going
to see-- all right, come here.
Whoa, whoa.
Don't--
[LAUGHTER] Don't leave on me.
Come here, Phoebes.
Come here.
Do you let your dog loose?
No, we do not encourage that.
You know what?
Let me have a hot dog,
because this is just, like, so
exciting for her that--
come here Phoebe.
Yeah, let's just do this.
Maybe I can just get
a nibble on this.
All right.
So, listen to me.
I know it's very exciting.
Come here, darling.
You're a good girl.
You're a good girl.
So come here.
OK.
So-- oh, boy.
You are quite the--
come here.
Come here.
Ow, ow, ow.
Come here, come here,
come here, come here.
All right, Phoebe.
Obviously, you know, not
trained for the show ring.
But what I-- here.
Here, here, here.
I'm going to do no bait, because
I can't-- she literally is--
she comes unhinged.
Oh, and this is a
clip that came off.
Come here.
Come here.
By the way, they
all start this way.
It's not like Daphne was
born showing like she does.
This is normal.
Come here.
Come here.
[LAUGHTER]
This way.
People wanna see
this part of you.
Come here, come here.
Come here.
All right, listen.
There's no more food.
Come here.
Come here.
Come on, we're gonna work
with you a little bit.
OK, come on.
Come on.
Yeah, I'll have
you face this way.
You can face me.
You can face me.
All right, you can go that way.
That way's good too.
That's fine.
OK.
This is perfect.
So now, here-- what can you see.
You know, talking about return
of upper arm and shoulder,
what can you see about this dog?
This dog has a much--
her upper arm placement
is much closer
to the front of her
body, compared to Daphne.
Good girl.
You can see that this bone
doesn't go back as far compared
to Daphne.
If you were to drop a
plumb line from each
of these dogs' point of
shoulder and another plumb line
from the top of
their withers, you
can see how Phoebe's
shorter upper arm places
her foot forward, almost
under her prosternum,
whereas Daphne's return of
upper arm places her foot back,
under her withers.
So she doesn't have a lot
of return of upper arm,
compared to Daphne.
She also has a flatter
sacrum, compared to Daphne.
So her tail sets
higher, and she--
she's up higher in her--
in the rear.
She pushes her butt
up high like that.
Yeah, that's your butt.
That's you.
That's you.
That's you.
So-- so, you can see that.
You can see that straightness
in the upper arm.
Come here.
Come here, darling.
Let's try it.
[KISSING NOISE]
Wanna try it?
Yes.
Good girl.
There, you can see it very well.
So, we're gonna get Phoebe
working a little here.
Now, what I want you to
see about Phoebe is-- here
she goes.
Now she's going to work for us.
You can see the angles
are not as good,
but, you know, there are
pluses about this dog.
And one of the things I like--
I like a round bone,
I like her profile,
which is very pretty,
very important for us.
Beautiful eyes, nice ears.
So, you know, this bitch
has something to offer.
So if I'm showing
her, I'm gonna make
sure I bait her head
a little bit down,
because if I bait her head up,
look at how much straighter she
looks.
But if I bring it down--
of course, she's not
trained to hold her stand.
But you can see the difference.
Just hold on.
Stay.
Yeah.
Good girl.
Nice.
Nicely done, Phoebes.
Again, you're not-- you're
not gonna change reality.
I mean, you're not going to
trick the judge into thinking
that there's nothing--
you know, that her
front is good, or her--
she has a great
return of upper arm,
but you can present
her in such a way
as to present her virtues.
Now, again.
So with a bitch
like this, something
as simple as lowering
her head a little,
as opposed to having her head
up like we did with Daphne--
that can make all the
difference in the world,
as far as this
front assembly goes.
So, I'm gonna take Daphne again.
And I'm gonna show you
something else about--
I'm gonna talk about equipment
while we're doing that.
So, this is the
grownup show lead.
This is a really
fine jewel chain.
It's beautiful.
Your dog better be trained,
because if there's a kink in it
and the dog pulls, it will snap
and you'll have a loose dog.
But the idea behind
this-- come here, Daph.
Take this off.
Oh, hi Monica.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Daphne's got hot
dog on her face.
So the idea behind
using this leash
is, it's so little and
thin, and you can put it
right behind your ears.
You get it just so it fits just
over-- just so it fits just
over their head.
And then literally, the
leash disappears, just about.
So you get to have that
really pretty long neck.
Good girl.
I don't have any, I fooled you.
So with a puppy, I use a little
heavier chain a lot of times.
I mean, before they're trained,
or with the more, you know,
irascible dog, because
this they can't break,
and if it kinks it won't break.
So maybe this is--
I'll use either, you know, a
dog that maybe I don't trust,
or a young puppy.
And another tactic that bull
terrier people will do a lot
is, they'll do the
opposite of this.
Now, I wanna show you how--
if I have this in the middle
of her neck like that,
see how it breaks the line
and it doesn't look pretty.
You never want anything to
touch the middle of the neck.
You either want it right here,
or draped down over here.
And a lot of bull terrier people
will use a huge show lead,
or they'll even
get these kind of--
they're English martingales.
And then you can take it--
and then it just opens up
way down on their chest.
Come here.
So, you see, it--
I mean, that's just
lovely, you know.
Look at how long and how nice
you see her neck and head.
So either one of
those two works.
And I'll tell you
a lot of things,
again, that you'll
see handlers do
if they have a dog like Phoebe,
where maybe this line in here
isn't so pretty.
They'll use a really
thick English lead
to fill that in a little bit.
But that is a little
bit of a trick that--
it's not cheating,
but it's a trick.
There you go.
Good girl.
So, let's talk about bait.
I'm gonna bring out my
whole kit bag of bait,
because this is what--
I got a whole bunch
to show you guys.
And they all are good
for different stuff.
So this is hot dogs,
which is a great standby.
I love hot dogs because A,
you can put it in your mouth,
and B, it's very easy
to break up into pieces.
You don't actually
have to have pieces.
I'm not a fan of bait bags,
it's just not my thing.
Here, you can have that piece.
Daphne's like, oh,
this is all my stuff.
These are little
chunks of sausage,
if you do wanna carry a
bait bag and do it that way.
This is pork loin, which
is one of my favorites.
I love pork loin to use as
bait because it's soft enough
to break easily, but it doesn't
really disintegrate so much
in your hands.
So this is a good one to use.
I'll use this probably when I'm
working a lot with the puppies,
because again, I can
stick it in my mouth.
It doesn't disintegrate like--
hot dogs will kind of get soft
after a while.
And I can break pieces off
easily and give it to them.
And finally, I'm a big
fan of jerky for training.
And I particularly like
these Jack Link's sticks.
And they're actual
sticks-- jerky sticks.
I know they're good.
And I like this, like, if
I'm in the group or something
and I'm gonna be in the
ring for a really long time
and holding it for a
long time, because it
doesn't disintegrate.
And again, you can put it in
your mouth or in your bra,
and it's not gonna
to get all greasy.
Let's see, Daph.
What would you like, darling?
Let's go back in here and get--
we'll try some pork.
We'll have one of the
girls open this up for us.
OK.
Let's do this.
So let's show.
OK.
So, step one.
I'm going to assume that you all
are going to go home and read
your breed standard,
and look at your dogs
and educate yourself on what
your dog should look like.
So now, the next thing I want
you to do, is grab a mirror.
And there's actually
a mirror right here,
underneath Mark's camera there.
He's actually gonna film
down on it so you can see it.
And stack your dog up
until you see the picture
that you wanna see.
So-- come here, Daph.
Come here.
Come here, darling.
Oh, I forgot.
It's this leash.
It's the other leash.
Come here.
Stand up.
OK.
So, I like that.
That looks good to me.
Stay.
Now, the next thing
I'm going to do
is, I'm gonna to
look at this and I'm
gonna memorize what I see--
how the front legs look,
how the back legs look.
And I'm gonna look
and look back,
and I'm gonna do
this again and again,
until I can set the dog up
without looking in the mirror.
OK.
OK.
Oh, I'm sorry, darling.
Come here.
Till I can set the dog up
without looking in the mirror.
Come here.
Stand.
Step.
Step.
And say, OK, yep.
That's what I like.
Now, you know,
maybe her back legs
could be a little bit
further under her,
but I would say that's good.
I would be very happy
with that stack.
So that's step one,
is to memorize that.
OK.
Once you have that
memorized, you can train it.
Now, your dog-- you know,
if it's not trained,
it may not easily
walk into the stack.
It may take a
little bit of time.
But eventually,
just by the process
of doing it again and
again, the dog at some point
is gonna stand the
way you want it to.
And then you'll be able to see
what-- that is what I want.
And then you can go back
and really try to train it.
But understanding
what the picture is
that you're trying to get,
and being able to read it
from the front, is step one.
That's very important.
Actually, um, can you guys bring
the mirror over here for me?
No-- oh, I'm sorry.
Not that mirror.
That other mirror.
There, yeah.
We have another mirror, so--
so what I'm going to show you,
which is really interesting,
is now--
you gotta picture what she
looks like from the side.
And I'm gonna show you what
that looks like from the front,
and I think you're
going to be surprised
that when you see
it from the front
it may not be what you
would expect it to be.
That's it.
That's it.
OK.
Come here, Daph.
Come here, Daph.
Come here, ne.
Stand.
Come on, step.
Step.
Let's walk in again.
That wasn't a good one.
Either that-- either
it's a wobbly mirror,
or that wasn't a great one.
Stand.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Good.
Right there.
Now, her front's not
absolutely perfect--
there we go.
OK.
So, what I want you
to see is that--
stay-- first of
all, that back leg
looks like it's way far back.
It's not way far back.
Now, I mean, on another dog
it may be a different thing,
depending on the dog
and the angulation
that the dog is supposed to
have, that the dog does have.
But this right here--
that hock is coming
straight down off her butt.
But yet it-- doesn't it
look like it's far back.
So again, this is
just an illustration
of why you need to go
through this exercise.
So when you're
standing there baiting,
you're baiting the dog
the way it should be.
OK.
Good girl.
Thank you, guys.
That's good.
So-- well, I mean, if
I have a little dog,
the martingale, I
think, is what they use.
I mean, they use the
martingales on the little dogs.
I don't have a little dog.
The collar with the
Resco is what I use.
I don't use a snap
because it's happened,
as it just happened with
Phoebe, that it just comes off.
So I use a leash on the collar.
And I use a choke chain, because
I can place it the way I want.
It's different when you have
little dogs, because you're
always on top of them.
So I guess they use--
they use those martingales
because they're always
on top of the dog,
whereas I'm putting
the collar underneath the dog.
Let me just make a couple
points about this exercise
of doing this with the mirror.
You are gonna have to
do this frequently.
Not just for yourself, but
because-- especially if you
have a puppy--
they change.
And big dogs change, too.
I mean, certainly, up to
three or four years old,
those animals will change a lot.
The back muscles will come
in, the ribs will spring.
What is correct for stacking
today may not be tomorrow.
Particularly with puppies,
they tend to grow like this.
They get long, and then
rear, and then front.
Long, rear, front.
So if you're in a place in
your puppy's development
where they're high in the rear--
which happens, and it's
not a structural fault,
it's just it's a puppy,
and they tend to be higher.
I mean, the bull terrier
puppies go through stages
where the entire
shoulder and front leg
area looks like it came
from a different dog,
like it's a big
quarter horse rear
and a tiny little
thoroughbred front.
You can do things about that.
You can stack them a little--
stacked further-- with the legs
further out in the back.
That will lower that rear down.
You can bring one foot under.
That will bring that top
line down around this way,
rather than sticking
up in the air.
So, there are things you can do.
But you always have
to be assessing.
Karen Acabellas is here.
Say hi, Karen.
Hi.
She leads our handling class
that we have every Tuesday
night, and she can-- she's
been looking at my puppies,
and we will-- one
weekend, one day, we'll
be like well this is the-- oh
my gosh, that's an-- oh no,
it's the other one.
Because literally,
every week they change.
And if you're not watching
them and making adjustments
in you handling, you
potentially could
be not presenting them
the best you could.
Let's talk about
training the step.
So last time-- last
time we met, we
were just-- all we wanted was
that the puppy stood still.
We just wanted the puppy still.
That was the only criterion,
that they stand still.
And then we tried to have them
set their feet a little bit.
And then we put a
little duration on it.
But still-- basically,
we were working just
on them standing still.
Come here, mom.
So Bijoux has been
shown a couple times,
and she has a Major.
And she was shown
at specialties,
and one time she was
Winners Bitch for a point,
and another time she was
Winners Bitch for three points.
So she's on her way.
She's 11 months old
now, and she needs
to sniff where her
grandmother dropped stuff.
So I'm gonna show you the
process that I use to train.
There's a lot of
different ways to do this.
Come here.
But the way that I do it is,
I train the front feet first.
So all I'm asking for is,
get those front feet in.
Step up.
Good girl.
Now, you can tell
that I've been working
with her on those back feet.
But all I'm worried about is
getting those front feet first.
Stand.
So I want her to
step a little bit.
Stand.
Good.
Good, good, good, good, good.
OK.
Good.
So I worked on that a
lot-- just the front feet,
I didn't worry so much
about the back feet.
I just worried about
the front feet.
And again, we'll talk
more about the release.
But you may remember
from the last episode,
I've taught her a
release so that--
this is something
we have to work on,
so that she'll stay
until I release her,
so I can get her
head into position.
Stand.
So, I'm going to
ask her to stay,
and then because
she has a release,
I can move her head around.
And look at how different
the picture looks just
by moving that head that much.
Look at that head
versus that head.
One's a beautiful head--
come here.
Come.
Stand.
This is a little bit weak.
That's gorgeous.
Big difference, just
moving the head that much.
OK.
And that's how come
I can move her head
and set her front feet,
because she has a release.
Because she has
a verbal release,
and she will hold her
position until I release her,
so I can move her around
with my hand, with the bait.
Hi, baby.
So, then once I have
that front feet--
and, you know, you can only
train one thing at a time, OK.
So, we get the front feet.
And, you know, that took a
few weeks of just doing that.
Come on.
Stand.
And then we start worrying
about the back feet.
Now, I happen to be happy with
her back feet the way they are.
It's not about the
positioning of the feet,
it's about the topline.
So, the fact that one
foot is a little under--
actually, on a puppy this
age, especially-- looks
kind of nice.
Now, that's a little stretched,
so I'm going to ask her--
at first, I would
have taken this, OK.
But where she is now, I've
already stepped past this,
and I'm gonna ask
her to do it again.
So I'm just gonna
change it and I'm
gonna ask her to do it again.
Stand.
Now, see that foot
stuck up there?
I'm just going to
give her a chance
and see if she fixes it, because
we've been working on it.
Good.
I'll take that.
I like that.
Now, let me explain
this, because it's
hard to talk and train
at the same time.
You can only train
one thing at a time.
So, I worked on those front
feet-- the front feet,
the front feet.
I didn't worry
about the back feet.
I just wanted the front feet
to be underneath her this way,
and her rolled over her front.
And, you know, relatively
equal, but I don't really
care about equal that much.
But I wanted that look of
her rolled over the front
with her front feet under.
So I trained the release and
I trained her front feet.
Once I was pretty sure
that 90% of the time she
was gonna hit it properly with
her front feet, I cut that off
and I raised the criteria.
Now I didn't want just the front
feet, I wanted the back feet.
And sometimes it
takes them a while
to figure out why
they're not getting it.
But when you keep breaking
them, and breaking them,
and then they walk into it--
so, if she comes up
here-- come here.
I know, I know.
It's boring.
It's not about you
right now, though.
You have to help other people.
Come here.
Stand.
So, OK.
That's-- unfortunately, she's
pretty well trained at this
point.
But if she walks
in like that, I'm
just gonna break her
and walk her in again.
Come on.
Stand.
Oh, there you go.
Now you're gonna get clicked.
That was a slow click, but--
OK.
Yes.
So let's do it again.
Come here.
Stand.
Now, I don't like that,
because her show side is under,
and doesn't look as nice.
So I'm gonna step her up,
see, give her another chance.
Come on.
Come here.
Stand.
Yes.
Good.
See her kick back
her foot like that?
So, she's learning to do it.
Good girl.
Good girl.
So again, I don't--
I wouldn't say that I do a lot
to really train the back feet,
as much as just by the
process of elimination
the dog figures it out.
You just keep trying,
and trying, and trying.
Yes.
One person has a Sheltie--
Mm-hmm.
--wondering how to
manage with all the hair,
and seeing the proper stack.
I think you need to consult
with a breed mentor,
or understand your dog.
What did you say, honey?
Yes.
Yeah.
What do you think, Karen?
Karen also has naked dogs.
I mean, I think
that it's something
that you would know if
you were experienced,
right through the hair.
You would not--
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Karen and her daughter Jenna
have bred many, many Vizslas
that have done very well, so--
and she's taught
handling for a long time.
And her daughter also
does professional handling
on a part-time basis.
So, yeah.
I mean, it's something
that you will--
you'll learn to understand.
And the best thing to do is
have a breed mentor help you.
I do see you, Gina, hang on.
I mean, I just--
as an aside-- come here.
Come here, sweetheart.
Do you want to stick
with me for a second?
Do you want a-- see if
she wants a glass of water
while we take some questions.
She can have a
regular leash, too.
Go with Auntie Heidi.
Go on.
Go with Auntie Heidi.
No, no.
No, you're done.
You're coming back.
You're coming back.
So when I am--
I have jerky, let's go.
My first show dog--
Let's go.
My first show dog--
a very, very prominent person
in the breed helped me.
And she stacked
up the dog for me
and said, tell me what you see.
And I'm like, mm,
you know, she's
a little loaded in the
shoulder, and there's
a dip behind the withers.
And she's like, OK.
And then she stacked
her up again,
and she said, tell
me what you see now.
And I'm like, oh,
she's really nice.
If you can get
somebody in your breed
to stack up your dog
for you, and show you
the way it should look,
that really, I would say,
is the best solution.
And to have a breed
mentor is priceless.
Do you recommend a different
free stack strategy
for the free stack at
the end of the down
and back, much
closer to the judge,
versus a free stack in the line?
Oh my gosh.
So, that's a great question.
Um, it's a great
question which we
will talk about next week,
because next week we're
gonna do movement.
And we're gonna
show you how you--
strategies for free stack.
And that's a really
good point, that there
are different strategies
for free stacks,
depending on the virtues
of your dog, and frankly,
whether you are in a specialty
ring or an all-breed ring.
So, I wanna-- so I wanna talk
about a couple other things.
So phase one was that
we set the front feet.
Phase two is we
got the back feet.
Now, I want to be in a position
where I can fix it a little.
So, one of the things
that I teach my dogs to do
is yield to pressure, and
that's really important.
And she's just
beginning to learn this,
so you're going to
see the process.
Stand up here.
So if I'm here--
and let's say I
want that that foot
that's closest to the
camera a little further out,
and I don't want to
totally reset her.
I'm going to pull
just a little bit.
Good girl.
And then I'm gonna click her
for yielding to that pressure.
Now, I know that that--
what I wound up with
is not what I want.
I mean, you know, she was--
had that leg too far out.
But I'm trying to
teach her that if I--
stand-- that if I just wanna
move that front foot just
a little bit--
good girl-- so
that I can do that.
Yes.
So you're pulling the leash
ever so slightly backwards.
Away.
Away.
So, I'm actually pulling her--
stand.
All right.
So now this foot is
behind, so I'm gonna--
oh, yes.
You're too smart.
So even though-- I mean,
her feet are pretty good.
I'm still going to pull it a
little bit, just to show you.
Good.
And you know, the-- where
people go wrong with this
is that they look for too much.
All I want is the slightest
amount of pressure
I can give to get
any movement at all.
You don't-- I'm not asking
you to pull her off her feet,
but I'm going to pull
back this way slightly.
Yes.
Good girl.
Good girl.
OK.
And, you know, eventually--
the way that will happen,
the way that will evolve--
Yeah, I know.
You're just gonna help yourself
to the entire bait bag.
Come here.
Come on.
Come on.
Eventually, the way
that will evolve--
stand-- is that
I won't have to--
I won't have to
pull on the leash.
Come here, baby.
I know, it's a long
time for a baby puppy.
Good job, kicking
back your back feet.
See how she's beginning to learn
to get those back feet back?
Good girl.
Eventually, just a little
shift in your body,
and she'll change it for you.
Good girl.
Nice job.
Nice job.
So basically, the two tools
that I really have in my toolbox
for free stacking is,
yield to pressure,
and just resetting it.
I don't do a lot of this backing
into the dog that people do.
To me, it gets the dogs
posting and with their head up,
and I don't want that.
So, why?
Granted, you know, it
seems very satisfying,
because you get a faster
result by stepping into them.
But again, I-- what will
happen when you step--
when you step into
them-- stand--
is that they tend to lean back.
Come on.
See how she goes like this?
And I really don't want
her doing that even
for a second in the ring.
I don't wanna
encourage that at all.
So I'm not a big fan of
stepping into the dog,
although I know a
lot of people do.
I have a saying,
because I-- you know,
I do dog training seminars
as well as agility seminars
and puppy culture seminars.
And I have a saying that
dog training is binary.
There's zeros and ones.
There's not right and wrong,
there's zeros and ones.
So there's simply
things that produce
a result for the
dog, as in a treat,
and things that, nothing.
It's zero, nothing happened.
So if the dog comes in and
gives me a stack that's
all bunched up, it's a zero.
Big deal.
I'll just try it again.
They learn very quickly
where the ones are, that way.
If you start trying to fix
them a lot, and step into them
and pressure them
into, you know,
getting it, manipulating them--
it tends to back them
off, and make them
not as vivacious, when you
worry about that a lot.
Now, all that having
been said, I do find--
and this kind of goes back
to Suzanne's question a bit--
that somebody at a handling
class once gave me advice--
and actually, it
was good advice--
that if I hand stacked my
puppy, if I fixed my puppy's
feet a lot, that
eventually they would
learn what I wanted to do.
That it would actually help
them learn a little bit
where I wanted their feet.
I didn't do that
with this puppy,
but with that puppy
years ago I did.
And you know what, it
actually helped a little bit.
So, you know, there's no
harm in hand stacking.
And as we're gonna
talk about later,
we're going to go
over hand stacking,
and we're also going
to talk about how you
can kind of do a hybrid stack.
And you're going to be doing
that a lot with puppies,
because frankly,
when you, you know--
when push comes to shove
at a show, this puppy's
all trained here.
Eh, you know, in a line up with
20 other dogs at 10 months old,
she may or may not
hold her stack.
She may not.
She may be crazy when she
gets there, could happen.
OK.
I wanna to emphasize a couple
things before I put her away,
because I'm training and
talking at the same time.
So if I'm repeating
myself, I'm sorry,
but I just want to be sure
that I hit two points.
One of which-- you can only
train one thing at a time.
So don't try and
get it all at once.
I understand.
It's quite possible that
something may fall apart,
or it may not happen right away.
Don't worry about it.
Just work on where you are.
Once you've got the front
feet, then worry about the-- as
for the back feet.
And once you have that,
ask for her to roll over.
Ask-- then ask for more
duration on the stack.
Don't be asking for it
all at the same time.
It will work for you.
And there is no substitute
for repetitions over time.
It's not gonna happen
in one day, you know.
You're going to go,
and you're going
to cry the first time you
go to the handling class.
We've all been there.
But they all learn.
I mean, you saw how
Phoebe comes out.
But she-- she'll-- she could
learn as well as this dog,
and in fact, you saw her start
to get the idea, right here.
That's her very first
time ever show stacking.
So it takes time.
It takes time, and
they're puppies.
And, you know, if--
people will ask
me, well, what do
I do when I take my puppy to
a show and he doesn't behave?
It's like, well, I mean,
why are you going there.
It's for good experience
for the puppy.
It's not because
you're you think
you're going to get your
Grand Championship when
the puppy is six months old--
I mean, I hope not.
I hope you're going
there to practice.
And yeah, I mean, you know,
maybe you'll get some points.
But you're making an
investment in your puppy.
You're making an
investment in the show dog
that they're going
to be someday.
So if they don't
behave or whatever,
hey, it's just information.
You go home and you train it.
For now, that's what you do.
And then you come back with
all the Best in Show wins,
right Bij?
That's right.
OK.
So, let's put her up
and get Nina out and--
ow.
She's-- she's like,
no, not going.
There you go.
Auntie Heidi has you.
And we'll take some questions.
OK.
So, um, the first question.
Someone who has a setter--
Mm-hmm.
He taught his-- she taught
her now three-year-old
to stack, then step
up with the front feet
to have the rear out far enough.
Right.
Is there a potential issue
that may arise with training
from the rear forward?
From the rear forward.
I'm not sure I understand that.
From what-- she means,
like, what she's doing?
No, that's fine.
That's exactly about
what we're doing.
And with an Irish
setter, you know,
they're gonna have those
hocks way out there.
And that's another issue is
that, generally speaking,
most breeds for a
show stance-- we're
gonna wanna have their back
feet a little further out
than would be normally
comfortable for the dog.
So, I mean, there's no-- there's
no problem with anchoring
the back feet and then
asking them to step forward
with their front feet.
I mean, it's just another
way of approaching it.
I mean, I tend to, you know,
work with the front first,
and then the back.
But you could do
it that way, too.
It's not a big deal.
OK.
We have a couple of
questions about the tail.
OK.
One is, are you training
the tail to come up.
Mm-hmm.
And then on the other end of it,
how do you teach a free stack
with the tail down
for breeds in which
the tail must be down,
not horizontal to the back
or over the back.
Well, I mean,
simple-- simple answer
to the question, which is that
you just wait for it to happen
and you shape it.
That would be the last thing
I would shape, you know,
would be the tail.
But, I mean, you're going to
shape for expression and tail.
So I would worry about
getting the front feet,
then I would get the back feet.
Again, you're gonna need
to train your release.
If you haven't seen the first
DVD, explain how to do it--
the "Killer Free Stack" DVD.
You need to train a
release-- that the dog has
a verbal release,
so that you can
anchor them and move them, and
get them over their front end.
So now you've got
the front end, you've
got them over their
front end, you've
got the rear where you want it--
now, start waiting for them
to put their tail down.
And frankly, the longer
you stand here, if--
once you start getting
duration on it--
that tail's gonna
start going beeee--
and then you just
click when it reaches
the place where you want it.
And again, you know, if your
dog has a gay tail, I mean,
and it shouldn't--
you know, I mean, I think
that comes under the heading
of like Phoebe's front.
I mean, it's a nice dog.
I mean, it's got a
lot of good things.
It so happens it really
does have this one
fault that we're not going
to be able to totally fix it.
But in general, on
a free stack, you
can train them to come
in with their tail down.
I mean, they're still gonna
travel with their tail
up and stuff, but--
Uh, how do you handle
dogs that will lean to one
side or the other in the rear?
Lean.
Well again, same thing.
You just wait for
them to stand square.
It's-- OK.
So, everything is a criterion.
Everything that everyone has
mentioned is a criterion.
And if you just stand here--
and if the dog is leaning,
they get nothing,
you reset them.
They're leaning, they get
nothing, you reset them.
They're gonna-- you're
going to find that one where
they're gonna stand straight,
and you're going to click it.
Now let me just also
point out at this point,
it really does help if
your dog is operant.
I mean, again,
with these puppies,
they're Puppy Culture puppies.
They started from four
weeks old literally
with the box game, the clicker.
So they get it, that
they have to keep trying.
It can be more difficult
if you have a dog that
hasn't had that experience.
But you know what?
If you don't fix them,
if you give them a chance
and you just start grabbing
and clicking the right things,
they're going to
catch on very quickly
to the game of offering.
I mean, you could play
the box game with them
to get them more operant,
or really, frankly, you
could just do this to
get them more operant.
But the more they're operant
and offering behaviors,
that's gonna be--
sometimes our hardest
task in the beginning
is to open up dogs that
maybe aren't that operant.
OK.
So, I want to talk a little
bit about troubleshooting.
Let-- well, let
me bring Mina out.
Hi Mina.
How you doing, girlfriend.
And we're gonna talk
a little bit about--
hi, how are you, sweetie.
Now, Mina has not-- she's
been shown a couple of times,
but she's--
maturity-wise-- she's
Bijoux's sister--
she's behind Bijoux
maturity-wise.
So she's lovely,
obviously, but she is not--
hasn't had as much ring time
or experience as Bijoux has.
So, stand.
Good girl.
Stay.
Good girl.
So she's still--
come here, darling--
she's still learning
the back feet,
although she's doing
pretty good today.
Come here.
And she's obviously
a little distracted,
which, it's a puppy.
You know, she wants to sniff.
Big deal.
Like, I'm not
gonna lose my mind.
Stand.
Good.
Now, again, those back legs
are out a little further.
But where she is right now--
I'm just pretty
happy that she's--
high.
High.
OK, so-- good girly.
OK.
Yes.
Good girl.
Nicely done.
So, troubleshooting.
I get a lot of people
saying that their dogs come
into the free stack and
their fronts are sloppy.
And there's a few different
reasons that can be,
and there's a few
different solutions for it.
So-- come here, Mina.
Come on.
So in puppies--
come here, darling.
Stand up.
So, you'll see that she actually
is toeing out a little bit
there, on the right.
And she's actually toeing
out a little on both sides.
And I can fix this.
Come here.
Good girl.
Come here.
Come here.
She doesn't like it.
Come here.
Come here.
That's a girl.
Come on, mama.
Good girl.
Good girl.
Good girl.
So, I can get that
straighter if she'll hold it.
Good girl.
But-- and in a puppy, you're
probably gonna have to do that,
because what happens with--
especially with
heavier-chested breeds--
is that this space--
come here, darling.
Come this way.
There's actually a space
over here that will--
when the ribs spring--
will come out.
She will have more
muscle and volume here,
and it will literally
take this elbow
and push it forward so
the toes point forward.
They're puppies.
There's nothing you can
really do about that.
It's a structural fact of life.
That's how they are.
So, what I do--
let me get rid of my clicker.
Come here, Mins.
Now this is not the best dog,
actually, to demonstrate this,
simply because she's
not that well trained.
But when you first
come in the ring
and you're showing your dog--
all right, you've got your side.
Nobody knows that her toes are
not pointing forward right now.
All I care is that
topline and that stack.
OK.
Then, when the judge
has come down--
looked at the dogs
from the side,
and is coming down the front--
or if they're coming down
the front first--
then I'm just gonna reach down
and just push this one in, hold
this, and present the front.
OK.
From the side--
and I'll show you
what that looks
like from the side.
Come here, girlfriend.
Let's get some more cookies.
They just say-- they're
like, this show is the best.
It's our favorite TV show.
We love this TV show.
We get a lot of food.
Stand.
Come on.
Stand.
All right.
I'm gonna take-- I'm going to
ask her for a little bit more
than that, because I think
she's a little past giving me
just that.
OK, that's good.
OK.
So, I'm not going to worry
about-- so now, here,
the judge has come by, the
judge has walked over here.
And now I see the
judge going back down
to the front of
the line, and I'm
going to show you
what it looks like.
Imagine-- cut to front view.
She actually didn't
stop that bad.
Stand up here.
Give us a little worse front.
Come here, baby.
Come here, baby.
OK.
So there's-- yeah, there.
Come here-- stand front.
Stand front, sweetheart.
So you see how those
are for-- easty westy?
So now I see the judge
coming over here--
so now I'm just gonna
clean that up like that.
And now I have a nice front.
Her side-- she actually,
at this moment has--
happens to have a leg crunched
under her on this side.
Don't care about that.
I'm just going to get this nice.
So, that's your puppies, OK.
That's your average
puppy that, you know--
that will change.
And you won't always have to
fix that front, although you
probably always do want
to check and make sure
that that front looks good.
Some dogs have
structural issues that--
you know, they just
don't have good fronts,
and you might have to always
fix that as the judge is
coming down to look
down the front line.
And that's a possibility.
But with a puppy, most likely
if they're coming in like this,
it's developmental.
Now, one girl who had an
Aussie did write in about that.
And I think a lot of
Aussies have that kind of,
almost, like, lax--
like, looseness in the front.
Their whole front ends are kind
of like this a lot of times.
And so they'll stand like this.
And what she said was
that, he doesn't do it
when she's in the ring,
and she free stacks.
But like, when she's training,
he'll tend to go like this.
And what that can be
is an issue of a lot
of dogs when they're
in operant mode--
meaning to say when
they're actually training,
and thinking-- they
can be kind of flat.
They can be kind of dumpy,
like, OK, my feet are here.
Give me the cookie.
In that case, if
you've got a dog that
is capable of pulling
himself up over his feet
but when you're training
him he's like Eeyore--
as long as you feel the
dog understands the stack,
and understands the
stop and free stack,
and has all the
criteria down, that he's
giving you the free
stack pretty reliably--
what I would do is,
if you're so lucky
as for the dog to have toy
drive, I would switch to a toy.
I'd lose the food, and I'd
now train the dog in drive.
I use food in the
beginning to train
because it's just very difficult
to train it with a toy.
It's easier with food.
But once it's
trained, you will tend
to get a little more
sparkle if you use
a toy to bait instead of food.
And I do want to show
you another thing about--
speaking of strategy,
and again, we'll--
come here.
Come.
Stand.
So, our breed standard calls
for both a gentle profile--
come here, sweetheart.
Stand up.
She's like, hey, I'm
not done yet, Heidi.
Don't be picking up that leash.
Sorry.
She's so-- Heidi's just--
Come here.
Stand up, stand up.
Come on.
Step.
Step a little bit.
Good girl.
Right there.
Good girl.
But it also calls for--
from the front, it
should be filled.
It should be filled all
the way down to the bottom,
and it should be egg-shaped.
Now, when you have a dog--
it's OK, darling.
No, it's yours--
it's your house mate.
It's OK.
See, now, that's the
terrier look that you want,
right there.
So I just want you
to focus on the head,
here, because she's just
about done through the body.
Stand up.
And you can see that
it's a very pretty curve,
but I wanna show you how
she looks from this side.
Stand up.
Look at how much power
that head has on that side.
You would never know, looking
at the other side, how really
powerful that head is,
because that solid smut looks
very narrow.
So in a specialty ring, I would
be much more likely to show her
on her white side.
I'd show her on her off side.
You know, likewise,
your dog may have
unfortunate markings on his
back that make his topline not
look good.
I mean, there could
be a lot of reasons
why you might want to show
the dog facing the other way.
Now I'm gonna--
I say this with the caveat
that, if you're in a group ring
or at an all-breed show with a
cranky all-breed judge, I mean,
I don't recommend doing that.
But if you're with a
knowledgeable breeder
judge at a specialty,
I think they can really
appreciate you
showing-- again, I'm
not lying about this
dog, I'm just saying,
my gosh, look at that head,
which you never really could
appreciate from the other side.
Stand up.
So-- I mean, that's
just a gorgeous head.
Classic build all the way down,
I mean, couldn't be nicer.
Scissors bite too,
which is amazing.
Again, narrow.
Oh.
Oh, well, yeah.
No, she's OK.
Yeah, she's got a
nice turn, but--
you know, and it
doesn't help either
that the white comes
down a little on the top,
so it almost makes
her head look smaller.
I know there's a bug on
your tail, but it's OK.
You're a good girl.
You're a good girl.
All right.
So I just want to show
you one other thing.
Yeah, you can take this one.
Talking about fronts,
let's go back to fronts.
Let me have Phoebe again,
because I just want to talk--
I just want to talk here
a little bit about this.
So-- I know.
Please don't bite me.
So remember when I was
talking about the puppies,
and I was talking about
the fronts and how--
that they can kind of do this
on the front, when they-- now,
that is different
than this front.
Come here.
Come here, sweetheart.
I want you to show people
your beautiful front legs.
Now, look.
I mean, this has a lot of nice
things about her, this dog.
I really-- you know,
look at that-- look
at that front-on expression.
Look at that terrier type, look
at the ears, look at the eyes.
I mean, there's just-- the
round bone is beautiful.
But you can see that these
front leg bones actually
are not straight.
And that's not something
that is developmental.
I mean, that's not
going to change.
I mean, that's why she's
so adorably up on her toes,
because she's got--
she's got that--
[BARKING]
It's OK.
It's the neighbors' tractor.
You're OK, Phoebe.
It's all OK.
Well, you can look at one leg.
So, you can see the one leg.
But I mean, there's a lot
to like about this bitch.
But I'm just saying, you're
not gonna change that front.
This is-- this is the way it is.
It's not like that
there's some way
that you're gonna stack it
that's going to be different.
But still, I mean, it's
a pretty little dog.
All right, you stinker.
Downs asks, do you build
duration at each step?
Tips to prevent
rapid foot movements.
Mm-hmm.
Fantastic.
Well-- and that's kind
of what I was thinking
might go with the last one.
So, excellent question, and
something I wanted to get to.
So-- hold on, let me
just have a sip of water.
Do I build duration
at each step.
Um, that is really
kind of your choice,
if you want to build
duration at each step or not.
I build enough--
I would say I build three
to five seconds of duration
at each step, at least, because
that's the only way, to me,
that you can be sure that
the dog really knows it.
And the way that I do that is--
if you saw the free stack--
the first free stack video,
I had the "Attention
is a Behavior"--
oh no, sorry.
That was in the
"Attention is a Behavior,"
it wasn't the free stack video.
In my "Attention
is a Behavior," I
show how I build that
duration with attention,
which is exactly how I do
it with the free stack.
So, I start with one second.
First, I just click every
time the dog hits it.
Then once I'm pretty
sure I'm solid on that,
I click when they hit
it and I count to one.
And then I click when they
hit it and I count to two.
And then once I've got that,
I click when they hit it
and I count to three.
So now I've got three
seconds of duration.
Now, you can't just go from
three seconds, and four
seconds, and five,
because the dog
will figure it out and break.
They're not-- they
can understand
the linear progression of time,
but what they can't figure out
is the average moving forward.
So now, once I
have three seconds,
I'll do one second, five
seconds, four seconds,
three seconds, two
seconds, five seconds--
and I'll bounce around between
five and one second pretty
randomly.
And that's about
as much duration
as I put on it until I am
actually in the show ring,
and to the point where
I'm showing the dog.
And I'm just now
really trying to get
some duration on the
puppies, at 11 months old.
I mean, Bijoux's been
to three or four shows,
and I'm starting to work on that
handling class every Tuesday.
We're starting to practice
on the side a little more
duration.
But realistically,
I mean, you know,
my dogs are well over a year,
probably closer to two years,
before they really have any
kind of duration on the stack.
And I'll segue into this--
if we can bring Daphne back
out, I'm gonna show you--
there is a-- you never really
need more than a few seconds
of duration in the show ring.
The reason being that a free
stack only really lasts--
it, like, has a shelf
life of a few seconds.
What will happen is, they'll
come in, they're free stacking,
and then gradually,
imperceptibly, this
starts happening.
The whole back-- they
start sinking down,
and they start just
being like, whoa.
Like, again, the Eeyore effect.
So you'll notice when
professional handlers are
in the ring with
their dogs, they'll
wait-- they'll watch the judge.
They'll have-- they'll
just walk the dog in right
at the right time, and then
when the judge walks by,
they'll break the dog
and reset the dog up,
because you always
want that stack
to be fresh so that those
back muscles are pulled up.
That's what makes it
exciting, and that's
what makes it gorgeous.
I'm gonna show you
this on Daphne.
I can move over?
OK.
All right.
Well, so I have-- well, I have
just a couple more things.
We're not going to get
to hand stacking today.
We're going to have to break--
do that next time,
because it's-- you know,
we still have some questions,
and this took a while.
So I'm gonna show you.
So-- come here, Daph.
I'll just stack you up the hill.
So, stand.
OK.
So I'm just gonna stand here
for a while with here-- oh,
first let me--
OK.
Good girl.
Good girl.
So, I'm gonna stand here
for a while with her.
And what you're gonna see
is as I'm talking to you,
she's going to start looking
less and less fabulous.
I mean, that back is going
to start to come down.
She's-- yeah.
Stay.
Stay.
She's like, uhh, uhh.
See these wrinkles starting
to happen over here?
Step up.
Yeah.
So, at-- the longer she
stands, the longer--
the more that back is just
going to start-- right
behind the withers,
you're gonna start
to see it go down, go down.
Can you guys see
it a little bit?
So she's starting to, like,
get a little bit tired.
I mean, I could train her
to stand here all day,
but you absolutely
don't need to,
because the judge is not
going to sit there and--
we hope-- stare at your
dog for 30 seconds.
I mean, you know, they're gonna
look at your dog for a couple
seconds, and then they're
gonna go look at the next dog.
And then you're going
to go like this.
Stand up.
And then you're gonna
get another good stack,
like that, and give
her a piece of food.
And then you're gonna watch.
And the judge is
gonna be looking--
OK.
And then you're
gonna move your dog.
And then you're gonna
set him up again.
So, stand.
I mean, you know, so you're--
and then you can sometimes play
with your bait a little to
get a little more pizzazz out
of the dog.
But duration is not--
it's not like obedience.
You don't need a
lot of duration.
The only thing that can
happen, if you're not
careful to at least get duration
on just behaving in the ring,
is you can get brat barking.
Which, we've had
that happen before.
But that's another--
that's another episode.
Right, we know all
about brat barking.
You know, again, I'm
going to talk more
about hand stacking versus free
stacking in the next episode.
But, you know, in
general, the reason
I like free stacking is
because you do get a prettier--
you just get a prettier look.
Like, when I start
messing with her feet--
I can mess with her
feet, but you know,
she's just not as happy.
You know, it's harder to
get her looking really--
I mean, it looks a
little stilted, right.
I mean, even though
technically she's in position,
I can move this leg a
little further back, maybe--
stay.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You know.
But, yeah.
I mean, there it is.
The tail is down.
I mean, she's just like,
uhh, you touched me.
I mean, technically, her feet
are in the right position,
but she's just really
not that thrilled
about this whole situation.
I mean, maybe this foot needs
to go back a little bit.
Good girl.
There you go.
Yeah.
I mean, but-- uuh, mehh.
Good girl.
OK.
You know, again, that's not
to say that some breeds--
particularly smaller
ones-- that you couldn't
get a really nice hand stack.
I don't practice it
that much with my dogs.
But in general, you're
gonna get that gorgeous
"looking out over the horizon"
look with a free stack.
We're gonna talk more
about this next time--
hold on, sweetie-- in the
next-- in the coming episodes.
But one of the things that
you have to be very aware of
is the difference between
stacking up and downhill.
So, let me just show you.
If I come over here and stack
this dog going this way--
stand-- I just want you
to see how that looks.
She's running downhill.
It's not as pretty-- come here--
as if I'm stacking uphill.
Stand.
My topline is always gonna
be better stacking uphill.
When you go out in the ring--
let me show you another one
here--
you always have to be looking
for holes in the ground.
You don't want to get stuck with
your front feet-- come here--
with a hole in the ground.
So, there she is.
Her front feet are in the
hole-- a hole in the ground.
See how that makes her
front end look lower?
I can see it in
the mirror, there.
You never want to have that.
You want to actually--
you actually always want to
be looking for a little rise
to put the front feet on.
Stand.
Step up.
Step.
Come on.
So, if I-- if I saw this
little piece, I'd be like,
ooh, that's a nice little place
to put my dog's front feet.
Give her a little bit--
a little bit of a
lift in the front.
They always look prouder.
It's like when you see a
dog standing up on a rock.
So when you go in the ring--
I mean, there's a
huge hole right here.
Can I use this hole, honey?
Will you be able to
see her in this hole?
Come here.
Come here.
Oh, there.
Oh, yeah.
So you know, like, if
you're under the tent
and that's your
place to stand, move.
Go someplace else.
What you should be doing-- come.
OK.
Good girl.
What you should be doing
before you ever go in the ring
is scoping out the
ring, and knowing
where you want to stand.
You know, you don't
have a choice as far
as the order of
where you are, but--
you know, if you're
the last dog in line
and you're stuck standing the
wrong-- you know, in a hole,
just go over there.
I mean, there's
no rule that says
you have to stand right behind
the dog in front of you.
I mean, it's harder
in the group ring
because you're stuck, you know,
pretty much in a small area.
But there's a strategy to
finding a nice place that's
either level, slightly
uphill, or if it's not uphill,
there might be a little
rise that can get your--
I mean, it's-- the dog isn't--
if the dog is facing downhill,
you might look for a little
place to at least get those
front feet up a little.
Or frankly, again, in a
specialty ring in particular,
I'll stack my dog up the hill.
I mean, I really don't care
if I'm stacked the right way
or not.
Cranky all-breed
judges and group judges
might not appreciate it,
but in the specialty ring,
I think normally the
judges appreciate it.
OK, Daphne.
Thank you very much.
That was awfully good.
OK, you can have her.
All right, so we have
a bunch of questions.
OK, so, um, any tips on getting
the dog to pull over shoulder
rather than stretch the neck?
To roll over their front feet?
Well, if they're
stretching their neck,
you probably have
the food too close.
You're probably sticking
the food right in the face,
and the dog doesn't really
understand doing that.
If the front feet
are placed properly
and you can get far
enough back and do this,
then that will
bring the head down.
And it should--
what you want to do
is you want to start with
the food a little bit high,
and then roll it
down a little bit
to get that head over that way.
If you're doing this, and
pushing it in and pulling it
back, that's why the
dog is doing that.
You want to start and almost
come up, and then down.
Great question, by the way.
Patty agrees with comments about
using a toy instead of bait,
but wants to know how to hold
it when you are stacking.
How you use it in
the ring, we'll
go over in subsequent episodes.
But how you would use it as
a reinforcer is the same way
you would use the food.
I would have it,
I would squeak it.
I would do whatever
I have to do.
When I have what I want, I
would mark it with a verbal--
yes-- and then I'd throw
the toy for the dog.
So the dog gets the
toy, because it's
the getting the toy
and the drive that
is going to allow them to
stand up over their front.
But if your dog does have
a really, really solid stay
release, then what I would
do is I would do it--
I would do it this way, and I
would not throw it at the dog.
I would hold it out here, I
would do my verbal release--
OK-- and then I'd drop it
there so the dog can have it.
But that assumes
that you have trained
that to be a rock solid stay.
If you are always
releasing the dog forward--
I mean, you're gonna get a
dog that starts inching up
on you and stuff, unless
you've done that other step
of training the stay first.
So, the way around that is
just throw it toward them,
so at least they're
not breaking forward.
All right.
Thanks everyone.
That was great,
really enjoyed it.
Obviously I could talk
all night about it,
but we look forward to
see you next Tuesday night
at 6:30 eastern day time.
Say bye, Daphne.
Bye.