Stacking and Sitting - Teach me to teach her...

[gabechapman]

I'm looking for some guidance on how to teach my dog to self-stack. What do I need to do to help her learn this behaviour?

Also, I noticed that the European Boxers are in a more aggressive stance; baited. Is baiting only achieved by having the dog leaning for something, or can you train to do this on it's own, without pulling?

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Secondly, realizing my dog is a puppy, her sitting posture is quite slumpy, casual, and somewhat sideways. Will she naturally start sitting more upright or proper/formal, or is this something I could help her learn?

Well, thanks in advance for any information offered. It is appreciated.

[JulieM]

Here are some articles on teaching a stack and free-stack:
http://nipissingkennelclub.com/showtrain1.htm
http://www.clickertraining.biz/stacking.htm
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/conformation.html

These also include teaching 'up on toes, ears forward' - you could with work take this to the extreme as they do in European show rings, but I'm not sure you'd want to; that tends to over-stretch the rear and dramatically increase the slope to the topline (which is supposed to be 'slight'), so wouldn't do you any favors in North American (or, probably, South American, United Kingdom, Australian, etc.) show rings. As well, in the European rings dogs are baited against other dogs - this is done not only for the stance, but to show the dog's confidence, gameness, and self-control.

She may adjust her sit as she ages, but here's an article on teaching competition (square) sits:
http://www.clickersolutions.com/arti...b/compsits.htm

[gabechapman]

Thanks for the feedback and links to some good information. I appreciate it. - Gabe