It is possible to train the dog to auto-stack and gait nicely by a cue word. A dog that gaits around the ring unhappily with his head and tail down and when stacked, looks like he would rather go home, gives a totally different impression to the judge than a dog that shows happily with a good carriage and stands like a statue on command without the handler touching him.

First, teach the dog to auto-stack. Start clicking and treating the dog anytime you see him standing still. Soon the dog will start offering this every time he wants a treat. Then you can continue by clicking and treating only for the performances that closest to the ideal (tail, feet in correct position).

I continue by focusing in the position of the tail. At one point in training I realized I had actually been reinforcing the attitude (tail up = happy, confident) which resulted in a bloodhound that shows happily and is confident (the same bitch used to hate being in the ring before this!).
Next, start making the time period longer before you click, so the dog needs to stand still for a longer time. Click does mark the correct behavior, but it also signals the end of it.

Similarly, when you can be sure that the dog will offer the behavior you want, you can add the cue word (e.g. "stack"). By repeating this procedure the behavior is soon under the cue and you can start teaching the next criterion, e.g. correct gait.

In our case gaiting in circle has never been a problem but when gaiting up and down the dog tended to pull the lead tight so it was difficult for the judge to see the movement properly. I started out by showing the dog the treat and every time she trotted nicely with a loose lead, click & treat. Again, enough repetition and clicking on the correct moment and the performance will improve.

I did not add any cue for gaiting up and down as we practiced the whole show performance as one entity (first you stand still, then trot in circle, then stand still etc.), so we did not need that but nothing will stop you from doing this too.

Clicker training

• Clicker training
• Conditioning
• Keeping contact
• First training session
• Principles of shaping
• Touch stick
• The word "wrong"
• Can you improve show behavior?
• Eliminating fears

Obedience

• Obedience