In order to show your dog, one of the handling techniques you must know is how to stack your dog. Stacking your dog refers to placing the legs and holding your dog still in a straight line for the judge to examine them in the conformation ring. While your dog is stacked, the judge will evaluate their conformation; either hands-on during the judge’s exam or visually.
Stacking requires you to control your dog’s head and body, pick up each leg by the elbow or hock and place it correctly, and to hold the head and tail in the correct position for your breed. There are lots of things to learn about how to stack your dog, and this blog will outline the key steps.
If you are a visual learner, Leading Edge Dog Show Academy offers a completely free course “How to Stack Your Dog”. The course covers everything you need to know to start stacking your dog in no time!
Essential Handling Techniques - What do you need to know to show your dog?
To show your dog, you must know several handling techniques including stacking, gaiting, free baiting, and general control of your dog. You must also have the proper show lead and collar. There are many things to know about showing your dog but in this blog series, we will teach you each technique to get started showing your dog in conformation. Up first, let’s talk about stacking.
What is "Stacking"?
If you have ever watched dogs being judged in a conformation dog show, you will have seen the handlers placing their dogs body and legs in a certain position; this is “stacking”. Stacking your dog refers to placing the legs and holding your dog still in a straight line for the judge to examine them in the conformation ring. You will most likely stack your dog when you first enter the ring, before the judge examines your dog (and throughout the non-gaiting portion of the examination) and once all of the dogs have been examined and the judge is ready to make their placements. You need to know how to stack your dog so that the judge can properly examine them; it is essentially a required handling technique for conformation judging.
Read on to learn the steps on how to stack your dog for a conformation dog show. To see a video demonstration on how to stack your dog, click here.
What's so important about the stack?
The judge's examination, with your dog stacked, is one of the only times the judge is completely focused on your dog. During the exam, they are feeling your dog's structure and anatomy and comparing it to the written breed standard. In order to properly compare your dog to the breed standard and the other dogs in the ring, you should give them every opportunity to evaluate your dog’s conformation by having them properly stacked up. By properly stacking your dog you can also highlight your dog’s conformation.
Overview of Stacking
The typical steps to stack your dog are:
- Control your dog’s head
- Stack the first front leg
- Stack the second front leg
- Stack the first rear leg
- Stack the second rear leg
- Hold the head and tail as appropriate for your breed
- Support your dog as the judge examines them, including showing the bite to the judge.
Setting Up For The Perfect Stack
A little bit of preparation helps you to stack your dog efficiently, and to perfection! See what I recommend you do to set yourself up for success before you start the stack.
- Make sure your dog is wearing the proper show lead and collar.
- Have the collar right under the chin and behind the ears, with any excess skin pulled out of the way.
- PRO TIP: Know exactly where you are going to stop in the ring to stack your dog. This saves you time, instead of fumbling to decide where to stop. I call this “pick a speck” because sometimes I will even pick a speck of tape on the floor to mark where I’m going to stop and stack.
- Practice, practice, practice! You should be able to stack your dog quickly and efficiently; ideally in under 20 seconds.
How to Stack Your Dog: Step-By-Step
Step 1: Head Control
The most common mistakes when stacking your dog happen when you do not have proper control of the head. By controlling your dog’s head, you control their spine and the rest of their body, creating the “controlled stack”.
Head control involves you using your hand(s) to make sure you have control of your dog’s head; they are unable to move out of the stack if you are controlling the head. You can use a gentle grip with your hand and/or a finger through the show collar to ensure control.
Step 2: Stacking the Front
The front legs are placed by picking up the leg by the elbow and placing the leg in the proper position. This is typically with the front legs perpendicular to the ground, but make sure to consult your breed standard and resources for further guidance about your breed.
- PRO TIP: The best way to choose which of your dog’s front legs to stack first is to stack whichever foot is furthest forward, and move it back to match your dog’s second front leg. Learn more about this in Leading Edge Dog Show Academy’s advanced tutorials.
- With your dog’s head in your right hand, reach to your dog’s left (outside) leg with your left hand. Pick up the left leg by the elbow; place it on the ground. The leg should be under your dog’s body, in a straight line perpendicular to the ground.
- With your dog’s head in your left hand, reach to your dog’s right (inside) leg with your right hand. Just like with the left leg, pick up the right leg by the elbow; place it on the ground. The leg should be under your dog’s body, in a straight line perpendicular to the ground and should be lined up with your dog’s left leg.
Step 3: Stacking The Rear
The rear legs are placed by picking up the leg by the hock and placing the leg in the proper position. This is typically with the hocks perpendicular to the ground; there are exceptions including the German Shepherd Dog. When stacking the rear, make sure to consult your breed standard and resources for further guidance about your breed.
- Now it’s time to stack the rear legs. Hold your dog’s head in your right hand and use your left hand to reach back and stack the left (outside) rear leg. Pick up the left leg by the hock; place it on the ground. The hock should be perpendicular to the ground at a 90* angle.
- With your left hand, now pick up the right (inside) rear leg. Pick up the right leg by the hock; place it on the ground. The hock should be perpendicular to the ground at a 90* angle.
Step 4: Hold the Head and Tail
Once all the legs are stacked, finish the stack by holding the head and tail. Where you hold each of these (or if you hold the tail at all) is breed-specific. Consult the Canadian Kennel Club breed standard to find out where the head and tail are meant to be placed.
- With your right hand, hold the head in the proper position. This might include holding up the collar, holding the right side of the head, using bait to get expression, or simply holding your dog still if they are not yet trained.
- With your left hand, hold the tail in the proper position, if required. For example, a Poodle’s tail will be held up, while a Whippet’s tail is left naturally down.
- If you are not holding up the tail, you can use your left hand to help hold the head, show expression, or simply out of the way.
The Stack In-Depth
Knowing the stack inside and out involves knowing the proper order of the stacking steps, as well as how to execute the stack quickly and efficiently. In this video guide from Leading Edge Dog Show Academy, I will show you the stack in real time with all of these steps put together.
How to Stack Your Dog
Everything you need to know about getting started stacking your dog - a FREE guide for absolute beginners!
The Difference Between "Stacked" and "Shown"
The difference between "Stacked" and "Shown" refers to the difference between simply setting up your dogs’ legs properly and stacking them with the proper head placement, proper tail placement, creating tension in the body, and creating a frame where your dog is the featured “artwork” (so to speak). When you are doing this, you are truly “SHOWING” your dog to the judge.
It is the difference between your dog simply standing, and them standing with posture. Think about yourself standing with bad posture, versus straightening up with proper posture; it is the same for stacking your dog. It is also making sure that the entire dog’s body (silhouette) looks pleasing and according to their breed.
Watch how I showed the difference between “SHOWN” versus “just stacked” in this tutorial.
3 Things to Remember When Stacking - Conclusion
The stack is essential for showing your dog. It is not hard, but there are several things to keep in mind!
Being able to confidently stack your dog will make your time in the ring much easier (and perhaps more successful!). It will allow the judge to properly evaluate your dog and compare them to the breed standard.
Always remember these 3 tips for success when stacking your dog.
- Always have complete control of your dog's head.
- Not only do all 4 feet need to be stacked properly, but the head, tail, tension and silhouette need to be perfect for your stack to stand out and look breed-specific.
- The outcome of the stack is up to you. You can do it!!