How to Properly Stack the German Shepherd Dog
There are many reasons why competitors, dog show handlers, enthusiasts and GSD owners choose to stack their dogs. Stacking can provide good insight in regards to a dog's structure, is essential for showing a dog in the conformation ring, and is a respected traditional within the breed community.
There is a specific, traditional way in which a German Shepherd dog must be stacked in order to be considered correct. Stacking a dog incorrectly can result in inaccurate critiques or a false portrayal of a dog's structure. While the stack can highlight good traits and show the faults, a dog's body can be easily manipulated to cover things up or exaggerate angles. This is why correct positioning is of vital importance.
The following information will help you learn how to place your German Shepherd Dog in a correct, traditional stack.
The Importance of Presentation
By Jacqueline Short-Nguyen – Marcato German Shepherds
People often fail to realize that when it comes to website photos and general advertisement of their dogs, presentation is very important. A stack is so much more than just placing a dog’s legs, throwing a ball, and hoping for the best; Stacking is, most unequivocally, an art form.
A German Shepherd Dog at work is a powerful, regal, breathtaking sight to behold. There is no reason that you should not experience that same appreciation when viewing a dog set up in a stack that you experience when you work your dog on the field.
When you take the picture, you want to be on the same level as the dog. Do not aim your camera below the dog or above them. This is simply "let's see what the dog looks like!" photography. This is not about making a dog look longer bodied, shorter bodied, taller, lower stationed, etc. It's JUST to view the dog for what it is.
Make sure the background in your stack photo is as clear as possible. Try to avoid having light poles sticking out of the dogs topline or having the head obscured by fencing. Selecting a spot that allows the dog to contrast against the background is ideal. You want to focus on the dog, not anything else in the photos. Do not have super heavy chains or pet type collars (like flat nylon) on your dog.
The area you stack the dog on should be flat and as level as possible. If you stack on grass, make sure the grass is cut short enough that you can see the feet of the dog. If you stack on concrete, make sure it is not terribly hot to the touch, as you don’t want to burn the dog’s feet.
When setting the dog up, set the front first. Some people say to lift the dog up by the front and drop it. I hate this method. Not only is it more work, it looks hideous, and feet end up unaligned. Just because it's a working breed doesn't mean your stacking needs to be brutish and sloppy.
Hold the dog underneath the jaw or by the collar while you set the front legs. Keep the head STRAIGHT. If the head is in alignment with the spine, your front will set more correctly. Take the dog by the elbow, not the pastern. When you take hold of the elbow, you have full control of the dog’s leg. When you grab the pastern, the dog's front end ends up floppy and unwieldy, and your front won’t be set properly.
Both forelegs should be perpendicular to the ground, coming straight down from the shoulder blade. When viewed from the side, it should seem as though the dog only has one leg. This means you don't have one foot set ahead of the other, both are positioned directly beside one another.
If your dog has legs that are doing this: / the dog is posting (some people call it bridging). Posting is bad, as it completely distorts the front assembly and topline. You can make a good front look hideous and a bad front downright abominable if the front legs are slanted.
When setting the rear, the general rule of thumb is for the tips of the toes on the inside foot (always the right foot) to line up with the tip of the sheath on males. With females, you just pretend they have a penis to get positioning right.
When setting the rear, grab the hock by the top. Again, it gives you more stability over where you are placing the leg. The hock should be perpendicular to the ground (straight up and down).
It is common to try and over stretch a dog. Ignore your instincts and do not do it! When you do this, you lose the rear angles the dog has. They don’t look like they have more rear angles, you’re just making it obvious that they had no angles to begin with. The dog ends up looking unbalanced and weak, and you will distort the loin and croup (and you can end up with a posting dog).
The head of the dog should be facing forward. If you do not have someone to help double your dog to get ears up and the head forward, just throw a piece of bait or another object (this is for pictures only, not in the show ring). The head also needs to be UP! If you allow the dog to drop its head, a dog with a high wither ends up with an "ok" wither or a flat wither. A dog with a flat wither ends up with a dip in the wither. The dog also ends up looking droopy, tired and disinterested.
Do NOT put your hands on the dog's chest or stick your feet behind the hock to keep the dog in place. You hide the dog's forechest when you do the former, and the latter is both unnecessary and unsightly. Your hands should be on the dog's collar, or holding the dog's jaw (on the right side), so you are as unobtrusive as possible. If the dog will hold the stack, back out of the picture entirely. You want people to see your dog, not you!
Good luck, and happy stacking!
A German Shepherd Dog at work is a powerful, regal, breathtaking sight to behold. There is no reason that you should not experience that same appreciation when viewing a dog set up in a stack that you experience when you work your dog on the field.
When you take the picture, you want to be on the same level as the dog. Do not aim your camera below the dog or above them. This is simply "let's see what the dog looks like!" photography. This is not about making a dog look longer bodied, shorter bodied, taller, lower stationed, etc. It's JUST to view the dog for what it is.
Make sure the background in your stack photo is as clear as possible. Try to avoid having light poles sticking out of the dogs topline or having the head obscured by fencing. Selecting a spot that allows the dog to contrast against the background is ideal. You want to focus on the dog, not anything else in the photos. Do not have super heavy chains or pet type collars (like flat nylon) on your dog.
The area you stack the dog on should be flat and as level as possible. If you stack on grass, make sure the grass is cut short enough that you can see the feet of the dog. If you stack on concrete, make sure it is not terribly hot to the touch, as you don’t want to burn the dog’s feet.
When setting the dog up, set the front first. Some people say to lift the dog up by the front and drop it. I hate this method. Not only is it more work, it looks hideous, and feet end up unaligned. Just because it's a working breed doesn't mean your stacking needs to be brutish and sloppy.
Hold the dog underneath the jaw or by the collar while you set the front legs. Keep the head STRAIGHT. If the head is in alignment with the spine, your front will set more correctly. Take the dog by the elbow, not the pastern. When you take hold of the elbow, you have full control of the dog’s leg. When you grab the pastern, the dog's front end ends up floppy and unwieldy, and your front won’t be set properly.
Both forelegs should be perpendicular to the ground, coming straight down from the shoulder blade. When viewed from the side, it should seem as though the dog only has one leg. This means you don't have one foot set ahead of the other, both are positioned directly beside one another.
If your dog has legs that are doing this: / the dog is posting (some people call it bridging). Posting is bad, as it completely distorts the front assembly and topline. You can make a good front look hideous and a bad front downright abominable if the front legs are slanted.
When setting the rear, the general rule of thumb is for the tips of the toes on the inside foot (always the right foot) to line up with the tip of the sheath on males. With females, you just pretend they have a penis to get positioning right.
When setting the rear, grab the hock by the top. Again, it gives you more stability over where you are placing the leg. The hock should be perpendicular to the ground (straight up and down).
It is common to try and over stretch a dog. Ignore your instincts and do not do it! When you do this, you lose the rear angles the dog has. They don’t look like they have more rear angles, you’re just making it obvious that they had no angles to begin with. The dog ends up looking unbalanced and weak, and you will distort the loin and croup (and you can end up with a posting dog).
The head of the dog should be facing forward. If you do not have someone to help double your dog to get ears up and the head forward, just throw a piece of bait or another object (this is for pictures only, not in the show ring). The head also needs to be UP! If you allow the dog to drop its head, a dog with a high wither ends up with an "ok" wither or a flat wither. A dog with a flat wither ends up with a dip in the wither. The dog also ends up looking droopy, tired and disinterested.
Do NOT put your hands on the dog's chest or stick your feet behind the hock to keep the dog in place. You hide the dog's forechest when you do the former, and the latter is both unnecessary and unsightly. Your hands should be on the dog's collar, or holding the dog's jaw (on the right side), so you are as unobtrusive as possible. If the dog will hold the stack, back out of the picture entirely. You want people to see your dog, not you!
Good luck, and happy stacking!
