Stacking Box Games for Show Dogs
By Chelsea Murray CPDT-KA, KPA-CTP, CTDI
Stacking boxes can be great tools to help our show dogs garner some muscle memory and gain a show stopping free stack. But, once you teach your dog to get up on the box, simply rewarding the stand may not be enough. In fact, more games can be played to help your dog generalize the position, build a solid stay, stand for exam, lean forward, and even get into that beautiful stack from any position!
Beginning the Stacking Box Foundations
It is important to begin by teaching your dog how to confidently get on and off the stacking box on their own. You can use a food lure to guide your dog up onto the box and assist them in the beginning with their rear feet. I enjoy free shaping the dog to get on the box on their own. This involves rewarding small approximations towards the end behavior. While in the beginning this can mean rewarding small steps like one foot or two front feet on the box it ultimately results in a dog who has great body awareness, making mastering rear end positioning much easier!
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-0aLXqdLb0&t=2s
Building Duration
Maintaining a stand stay is the first step once the dog can easily and safely get on and off the box. Leslie McDevitt’s 1, 2, 3 pattern game can be utilized to add duration for those wiggly or easily frustrated dogs. A simple cue of “wait” or “stay” can also be utilized and can be easy for the dog if they already have some practice with this cue in other positions. Start with a short duration, only 2 or 3 seconds, and then reward the dog. With each successful repetition, where the dog can remain still without frustration, add one or two seconds of time.
Once you build up to about 15 seconds you can begin to work on duration and distance. In some circumstances in the show ring, you may want to be out in front of the dog while they hold their free stack. As you begin to move out in front of your dog remember that you are increasing criteria and changing the picture for the dog. So while one piece of the puzzle gets harder (distance from the dog), we want the other component (duration) to become a little easier. So now as you cue “stay” you can take one small step away from the dog, pause, and return to reward. As the dog does well you can work on getting to the end of the show lead and then finally begin to build that duration with your new distance!
Practicing for the Exam
Another great use of the stacking box is working on the stand for exam component. Many owner handlers may live alone without frequent help to play the judge. Once your dog can maintain some duration on the stacking box, you can pretend to be the judge to help your dog learn to stay still for the exam. The stacking box can help your dog keep their feet in position, while you can work on breaking down the exam piece focusing on stillness and success. This can mean for a few repetitions you only touch your dog’s shoulders before you reward. Breaking down the exam and slowly adding more pieces will help your dog comfortably learn what to expect. After a few at-home sessions without frustration or stress, you can bring your stacking box out with friends so your dog can generalize the stand for exam. If your dog is worried about new people, help coach your friends to keep the exam brief and break it down so your dog can continue to be successful.
Free Stacks at the End of Gaiting
Free stacks are often flashy to show at the end of a down and back and after your go around. You can use the stacking box as part of those gaiting patterns to help your dog build that muscle memory. When working on these games I first focus on fading the stacking box. This means that after a quick warm up on the box I will remove the front and rear foot targets and place them on the ground. The dog can practice placing their feet on the targets to get into a stacked position now closer to the ground.
The next step is to place the boards on the ground where your dog can “hit” them after gaiting. Set up a cone as your judge and place the foot boards a few feet in front. Practice going away from the judge, circle in the corner, and then slow down as you approach the board allowing your dog to walk a step and get to the foot targets. In the beginning reward your dog right away for finding the board and hitting their stack. After some practice you can work on adding duration and work on expression. A similar pattern can be done with your around routine either walking into a stacked position, or turning the dog around to land in a stack.
Focusing your Training Sessions
All of these games can help you use one tool to improve details about your dog’s performance. By breaking down the big picture of the show ring routine, you can focus on one skill- free stacking. Then you can help your dog be successful by helping them learn all of the different ways they may encounter this skill. A few minutes a day can help you and your show dog take it to the next level.
