Toledobes - CONFORMATION TRAINING TIPS by Michelle Santana

MICHELLE SANTANA'S TRAINING TIPS
by Michelle Santana, Foxfire Dobermans

1.You must be consistent with the terminology for the given command and desired response. Take great care that you are making it clear to your dog what exercise they are being rewarded for.

2.Break the whole show thing into tiny, understandable segments. Every exercise has a word (just like sit ,stay, come) and a reward.

3.You MUST have a mirror like those that can found at Home Depot. The 24 x 32 inch size tacked on to a piece of plywood works very well.

I usually start training pups when they are about three to four months old. Before this age I just enjoy/play/walk with the pups. These training techniques work for all ages however. I don't train on a grooming table because I don't show on a grooming table.

Stand

The first thing I teach is the stand. When placing the front legs under the body I say 'place'. Then cradling the muzzle/under jaw in my hand I say 'foot back' when I place the back feet back. Foot back becomes useful in the future so don't forget it. The feet don't have to be a long way back at first, just comfortably so. Then I tell the dog to 'stay' or 'stand stay'. I increase the time to stand/stay as time goes on. Then I say 'okay', release the dog, jump around, give it food, act crazy and generally have fun. Eventually you can stop verbalizing the 'place' and 'foot back'. Your dog will know from the word stand what you expect. After placing the back feet back go to the tail and say 'tail up' as you stroke the tail and even any time you stroke the tail. When I say tail up I stroke the tail gently in a tickling manner with my finger tips. If you meet resistance, in most cases it is best not to push.

Sometimes you have to do the 'tail up' in a variety of soothing settings like while they're on your lap watching TV and relaxing, in the park while playing ball, while on a walk in the neighborhood or while watching kitties. It's okay if the tail is already up, it's good practice. If you have a dog that resists 'tail up' you need to re-represent the exercise with good feelings! Once your pup gets the stand stay you can teach the baiting over the front.

Baiting Over The Front

For this exercise I use 'reach'. One problem I see that people do with the reach is they create a lean which is not good as it slopes the top line and straightens out the stifle. This is one of the places the mirror comes in handy. To teach the reach I place my left hand on the pup's chest, about where the tan marking on my side is, to keep them from leaning. I say "reach", holding the dog with my right hand with the liver slightly in front of the nose, straight away from the body. With time I increase the reach distance. When they reach for it this should elongate their neck from their body without them leaning. Eventually you should be able to say reach and the pup will crane it's neck away from it's body and your left hand will be able to hold the collar with very little pressure plus you will be able to manipulate the amount of arch and lean you wish to put in the finished stacked picture. When the stand/stay is learned you can hold the collar and circle your dog. Then graduate to dropping the lead and do jumping jacks, clapping, noises etc. as you circle your dog. Always go to the front/side of the head and release with an okay'! Dance around, give bait, make it FUN!!!

Movement

From the stack we go on to movement. Let me preface this with the biggest error I see people make. They are always walking their pups on wide, buckle type collars, often attached to Flexi leads. Doing this sometimes is okay but by and large this teaches the puppies to lean into the collars, pulling you along thus throwing off their balance and creating situational bulldog (wide, unbalanced) movement. I suggest starting wee little pups on appropriate ring wear such as thin/thick nylon collars. I think it is important to start young pups off learning to walk in all situations with the thin collar high around the neck just below the cheeks/behind the ears like when showing. This way they don't suddenly rebel when one day you say ,"Oh, you're six months old, wear the collar this way". Next I teach the heel position with the word 'easy' (just in case you want to do the real heel in obedience in the future). When you are beginning to teach 'easy/heel' you start out at a walk then proceed to faster speeds. I teach the word 'trot' to differentiate speed (walk, trot, pace, gallop). I say 'easy, trot'. The dog is not pulling at my side while trotting. The proper down and back position is the dog's shoulder or ribs should be at your leg with the head straight. Sometimes, with pups six months and older to adult, if they have a really bad habit of leaning/pulling into the collar I use a mini-size pinch collar placed mid-neck to upper neck. With the pinch I am able to teach them to walk easy without pulling/gagging on the show collar. This way you don't have to teach the dog that the show collar means an unpleasant experience because you don't strangle them to death trying to teach the proper easy position.

I will spend as many days as necessary to teach the easy/heel position with the pinch collar. Then I will put the show lead on along with the pinch collar, something like a double reign. Then I work the pinch while the show collar is in place around the upper neck. I will gradually lower and raise, as needed, the pinch collar until eventually all that is being used to easy the dog is the show collar. While you will find the mini-pinch collar indispensable in training certain concepts in conformation, do NOT abuse this valuable tool. Use it properly. Meanwhile remember, break with FUN, FUN, FUN!

Gudi Molinari designed a collar with a wonder clip that makes the fit to order pinch collar easy on/off. Bob Letsinger of SunnyHill Dobermans (Sunny Hill Designs) sunnyhl@aol.com has now taken over the business. You don't have to fit the prongs together. It also comes with an interlaced leather covering so the prongs won't inadvertently undo themselves. The leather conceals that it is a pinch collar while in public.

Moving like a show dog

In preparation for teaching my pups to move like show dogs with ears up and neck arched, once I've got the pup lead trained, I occasionally say 'watch it' and toss bait to the ground in front of the pup. Sometimes, at first, you have to literally point it out to them, touching the ground and repeating watch it as you 'discover' the bait. You can even pick it up, keeping it close to the ground and re-toss it in front of them so they see it land. At first it helps to throw it at pup level so the pup sees it pass his face/head and fall to the ground. I allow them to pick it up and eat it but you DON'T want the pup to get into the habit of following your hand throwing the bait as this creates the dog moving with it's head wrapped around your leg watching for your hand movement tossing the bait.

Head Straight

Then we have to teach it 'head straight'. Once it understands what watch it means and looks at the ground for a treat you will want to start tossing the bait secretly so the dog actually thinks the bait is just appearing before it on the ground. I will cover this later in another training tip called moving with ears up. After a while I can say 'watch it' and the pup will arch it's neck and begin looking at the ground in front of it. Later we will transition this to gaiting with this look of ears up, neck arched.

Remember you can teach your Doberman almost anything if you break it down into an understandable exercise. This is where having your dog accustomed to the show collar from puppy-hood helps so that your dog isn't looking at you because you have his collar up too high around the tender part of his neck. Your dog needs to have a clear understanding of the exercise 'easy'. You don't want to have to correct the dog too much with the show collar to convince him to stay at your side If you do, you will inadvertently cause your dog to turn it's head at you as though he were saying "What? what do you want?" with those big, wondering, brown eyes.

Down and back/head straight

Make a long, imaginary down and back line for yourself. Usually with the mini pinch mid-neck to low neck to reinforce position if need be, and the show collar up high under the cheeks/behind the ears and held together in your left hand like a double rein (it takes practice), I walk the imaginary line very slowly. When the dog turns its head to look at you say firmly 'head straight'. Reach over in a pivot and with your right hand, palm open, (this is the signal) guide/push the side of the dog's cheek/muzzle area to look straight ahead. When the dog focuses straight ahead and stops resisting say 'Good!'. Give the firm command and signal again and continue down the line. Occasionally say 'good, head straight' when the dog is looking straight. Remember, be happy and positive but give the command in a firm voice. Every time the dog turns it's head towards you, stop and repeat the above step. It's usually slow going at first but be patient. It may take many different sessions. Each time you get to the end of the line release the dog from the exercise. I say 'okay, yea', jump around, be happy and act proud. The dog will be overjoyed with itself. Remember they only want to please you.

Eventually when the dog understands you want him to look straight you will be able to speed up the pace until eventually you can trot. Even at the trot you may have to stop occasionally and reinforce the command. Signal when the dog focuses forward and start at the trot again. With very stubborn dogs I will actually do the same hand signal but I will also use my thumb to push/bend gently the right side of the nose towards the left/off center. This will guide the head straight with more force. Guide the dog farther than just looking straight ... over correct to the left of center. The dog really needs to understand that you want him to look away from you when you say 'head straight'. This will eventually normalize to just looking straight. Once the dog understands the exercise you will be able to stop pivoting your body and making contact with dog's head. You will be able to just show the open palm from a normal standing/moving position and say 'head straight'. Remember, when you are in the ring ( i.e. when making the about turn to come back to the judge on the down and back) show your open hand and say 'head straight'. You will see it click in and the dog will say with it's eyes "Oh, look straight!" and purposely your dog will look straight.

Leash Training

I can't say I have any great tips on leash training a new puppy but I will explain what I do. My situation here is a little different than the average puppy home.

I start my puppies out going on Nature walks at six weeks ... picture this, ME, momma duck, with her gaggle of little pups. All the pups are off leash, I whistle and say 'this way' and I proceed to go for a walk on our seven plus acres. At first it takes a bit of coaxing and the going is slow as the pups learn about being outside in the big world following me. I often have to go back to help and encourage stragglers. At this point we make it to the end of the drive and back, a goodly distance for a six/seven week old pup. I may make several trips a day depending on my schedule. Eventually after a few days the pups are secure enough to make it around the bend to follow the trail into the woods and down to the creek where I sit and let them explore, climb the rocks at the edge of creek, wade or fall in the creek if they so desire. The whole walk takes 45 minutes or more during which time they can do whatever they want in the exploring department. Often leaving the trail, I walk slowly so I can take this time to enjoy their off road adventures and evaluate them structurally and temperamentally. They have a blast and so do I. I feel this is somewhat like Marj' Brook's 'Rule of Seven'. So, in addition to the daily house experiences, the puppies have a natural Jungle Gym with terrain such as gravel, grass, leaves, water, woods, tree stumps ,even plastic tarps and a chain link fence on the ground that they can crawl over. They have everything necessary to develop a well rounded strange footing and off lead confidence. Taking all this into account, it isn't very difficult for me to lead train my pups. They have followed me their whole lives.

Then I graduate to lead training a pup with a nylon show collar. You can use a wider web buckle collar if your pup is really resistant to the choke-type collar. Remember what I said about bad habits being created with different collars? I don't use a choke chain on young pups. It is a little heavy duty for what we are trying to accomplish at this point. I think it helps to first lead train a pup in a familiar environment like your yard. That way you're not fighting two negative experiences; a strange place and walking on a leash/collar. I get a pocket full of hot dogs and place a medium width, round nylon show collar on the pup. I make sure it is a bit longer in length than necessary because it has to fit over the ear-rolling apparatus. The puppies, because of their upbringing of following me on walks, naturally want to go with me. I say 'this way' and usually they just follow because that is what they have always done. I take a few steps, walking backwards, half stooped over, facing them, holding a piece of hot dog just in front of them and they walk/run to me/hot dog and they get the reward. Gradually I increase my distance from them. I keep backing up until the pup catches on and becomes comfortable with the collar enclosing around it's neck and the leash dangling. At this point I don't have a particular direction. If the pup wants to go in another direction or is acting a little fearful of what is going on I let them go where they want to and try to position myself so that I can give the hot dog as reward for walking on the leash. It doesn't take very long for the pup to put it's fear of the confines of a collar and leash aside and follow me for the hot dog. When the pup is comfortable with following I stand up and turn around and go for a walk, encouraging and occasionally turning around to give a reward for walking with me. This doesn't have to be a bad experience! Dragging young puppies around the show grounds to leash break them, with the pups screaming and everyone looking on in horror, is wrong. It shouldn't have to be that way! Use patience and REWARD!

Free Baiting

This is difficult to write about because it can be confusing to differentiate what side of the dog I'm talking about but I'll try. By now I think you all understand the importance of making this fun for your dog. So ... all your dogs are just dancing around when you get that show lead out to train ... RIGHT?

For the purposes of this post lets differentiate sides. When you are looking in the same direction as your dog you have the same left/right side. For free baiting you are looking at your dog. So lets say the dog's left side becomes the judges side (also the side your mirror is on). You all have your mirrors don't you? The right side of the dog will be your side (the side you stand on when stacking the dog).

We are going to teach the 'step' exercise. (This is when the dog steps forward with it's front feet and eventually strikes a four square free pose) Point to remember. The show collar and lead are not, for the most part, tools to correct with. They are tools to steer and guide with like the reins on a horse. Your dog learns this exercise by three signals ... your voice, your hand/body gestures and your collar/lead pressure/guidance. You are in front of your mirror.

1.) Walk in a little circle to position the judge's side of the dog towards the mirror Say 'stand'. Ignore what the rear is doing for now. You step about a foot in front of your dog, allowing enough room for the dog to step towards you. This next part is the hard part to explain...

2.) You will have the collar and lead in your left hand . The lead can be wadded up in your palm or dangling at this point. The collar is around the neck and pulled semi-taut with the one portion/strand of collar that connects to the lead running across your palm or fingers.

3.) Then, having taken the strand of collar in your left hand, you reach for and cradle the muzzle/under jaw portion in your left hand. You can fit your finger tips into the crevice or V that the two bones on the under jaw create. Simultaneously say 'step' and gently pull/guide the dog towards you, but slightly towards your left. This will create an imbalance and the dog will usually be forced to take a step forward with the judge's side front paw. If it steps with both front paws, great ... Say 'Yea, good, step!' Feed the dog bait BEFORE releasing from this exercise. (**see below) IF it didn't step with both feet but did with one paw keep your hand in the crevice and still say 'good, step, yea'. Reward IMMEDIATELY with bait from the right hand.

4.) If the dog didn't step with both paws you can usually move/guide your left hand with the muzzle in it towards the judge's side and create another imbalance, thus forcing the dog to step forward with the paw that is on your side. If the dog still hasn't stepped with the paw on your side you can move closer and actually use your left foot to gently come around to the back of the dogs pastern area and apply a little pressure to force the dog to move it's paw forward. Repeat saying 'step'. When you get it to step, feed bait immediately and praise! **It is important that you reward with bait immediately after it steps with either paw so it understands clearly that it is being rewarded specifically for this maneuver. Then release the dog from the entire exercise and jump around, be happy. Repeat # 1-4 several times at each training session and then move on to something else. You don't want to over practice.

5.) At this point both front paws don't have to be even or straight for that matter. You just want the dog to grasp the concept of what 'step' means. Again, be patient! If your dog isn't understanding something try to figure out what part of the exercise it doesn't get. Think of a way to communicate your desire.

6.) Generally, with practice, a dog catches on very quickly to what step means. Eventually you will be able to wean the dog from your having to take it's muzzle in your hand. You will be able to say step and use your other signals such as your voice, collar/lead and/or body gestures to get your dog to step while you stand at a distance free baiting.

In teaching the free baiting exercise I ask that you use your foot (attached to your leg) as a pointing stick and GENTLY nudge. This is your signal to the dog. DO NOT step on your dogs paws with intent to injure them! Once again, let me say there are 100's of training techniques, not every one of which works with every dog although having trained many dogs I haven't found one yet that doesn't learn from my techniques. Be patient. It takes time and reward to train anything. As I said so many times before, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A MIRROR so you can see when your dog is striking a good free bait stance.

Remember to always reward quickly so the dog understands he is being rewarded for the action of stepping forward with his front feet even if the step isn't perfect. They usually catch on very quickly that if they step with their front feet they will be rewarded. The trick then is teaching them just how far to step forward, that you want them to step in the first place and just how wide plus getting them to keep or put their back feet back to strike a beautiful natural stand.

7.) Once the dog steps with it's front paws, if the back legs are not parallel (in other words, if they are standing like a German Shepherd) move to your side of the dog's shoulder area while holding the cheek/crevice with your left hand. With your left foot/leg extend your leg under your dog to reach whichever back paw is unequal. It's a tricky manoeuvre, one in which you must be careful NOT to have your thigh/knee rub against their rib/body area. The idea is to point and nudge/signal the foot you want moved and then use the voice command 'foot back'. Nudge the paw GENTLY with your foot while saying 'foot back'. It might even be both legs you want to go back; if so touch both paws.

8.) At first they don't have to go back as far or as perfect as you would like. It's just the action of the dog understanding you want the back legs to go back. (eventually to a given position) Usually your dog will move the paw back at least some distance. Praise, reward, release, dance around! As the dog catches on you can repeat 'foot back, foot back, foot back' as many times as it takes to get the back feet to the position you want. Watch yourself and the dog's stance in the mirror. When the dog has extended the foot to the perfect position say 'PERFECT'. and reward with lots of praise. For puppies around 3-4 months it is easier to reach down from over the top of them, grasp the hock or thigh and say 'foot back', moving the leg back with your hand. I also use this technique with stubborn adults although I reach under their bellies to grasp the thigh and still say 'foot back'. Remember, in the beginning I said teach foot back when teaching the stack, it would come in handy later? The dogs are smart and they understand the concept.

9.)During this exercise you should be holding the bait in your right hand just a little in front of your dog's nose, poised to give the reward when the back paw moves backwards. If you keep repeating this whole free baiting technique your dog will learn to anticipate what it needs to do in order to get the reward. Eventually I find the dog catches on that leaving the back feet behind while stepping forward will earn them the bait FAST!

10.) One error I see occurring is that owners let the dog get away with anticipating too many steps as if the dog were thinking "well, if a step is good, a lot of steps must be better". Your dog will step as many times as it thinks it will get rewarded. That is what the mirror is for. Watch that your dog only steps as many times as appropriate for it to look natural in a beautiful free bait stance. You don't want to allow or teach your dog to step so far out in front of it's body that you create a rocking horse/racking back stance.

11.) After your dog has 'step' understood you can begin to indicate perfection. I use my right foot for the judge's side of the dog and my left foot for my side of the dog. If either front paw is not in it's proper place I use my foot as indicated above to nudge the front paw back into an even stance. Or, if I have to, I do #5 where I come around the back of the pastern area to move the foot forward. At this point you reward ONLY when the dog has the front feet even. If the dog is standing too narrow I put my right foot between their front legs and say 'wider'. I then reward ONLY when the front feet are even and wide enough. If they are too wide I nudge the paw and say 'fix it' until the dog gets it right where I want it. Reward immediately when the dog puts its paws where you want them and say 'PERFECT'. Eventually the dog will learn to anticipate what the correct stance is in order to get the reward faster. Always reward the dog QUICKLY for getting it right while saying 'perfect'! Sometimes during this period you will still have to be go back to nudging the back feet back but I find that dogs just eventually catch on to what you're asking of them.

Be careful that you teach the dog to get it right in the area you designate for your free bait area. I often see handlers/owners continually back up while trying to get their dog to strike the perfect stance. In the ring you are limited to the area in front of the judge. Don't let yourself get in the habit of backing up right out of the ring!

Reindobe Games

I think keeping showing interesting to our furry friends is of the UTMOST importance!! After all, our pooches are really showing for us!! All to often I see handlers, owners and professionals alike, standing in the lineup waiting for their turn with the Judge. They stand around in a military line, stone cold with a dog just hanging out at the end of the lead. I think this creates real boredom and a dislike for or a ho-hum attitude on the dogs part about showing. I try to jazz the situation up with little games and training. Every dog has it's own idea of what a fun game is.

If the class is of any size I try to break away from the line-up of handlers and I seek the more roomy end corner of the ring, behind the lineup, until it's my dogs turn to be examined or after my individual pattern and it's time to re-lineup for the Judge's class placements (I hope I'm making sense!<G>) If I can't break away from the lineup I try to carve out a space around me to give me enough room to do some games and training. Some judges are nice enough in a big class to designate an area for the handlers to relax in until it's their turn. Don't take this time to relax. Take it as an opportunity to super charge and train your show dog!

I intermix training with games and often combine the two. One game I play with the dogs is 'watch it'. This comes in handy as well when you want to teach a dog to move with it's ears up or to put it's ears up, which I'll go into later. In a small area around me I'll say 'watch it' and throw a little piece of bait on the floor. I throw it in all different directions. Be playful! Say happily, "Watch it, Get it, Yea!!!" Make it a big deal for the dog to watch for the bait landing. Almost always the dogs ears will be up or they'll soon learn to put them up, albeit while looking down at the floor of attentively watching for the bait. You can modify this game by reaching for the bait yourself ... allow yourself to win and to lose sometimes. Your dog will like to be faster than you. You can pick up the bait and wave it around, act excited. Say , "I got it" and then, "Watch it, watch it" while it's in your hand. If the ears are up and the dog is looking at your hand, reward the dog from your hand. Keep them on their paws! Mix this with throwing and retrieving from the floor. Eventually you will be able to get the most stubborn of dogs to put their ears up! It's like a cat and mouse game. IMPROVISE!!! See what interests your pooch and gets the reaction YOU desire!

I found that Jazz was real fond of 'jumping back' then 'jumping up' for the bait, sometimes with all four feet off the ground. I'd say "Back, Back, Back", quick and happy while I walked into her front. She'd get that sparkle in her eyes and leap backwards, then up into the air for the bait. Then I would have her free bait in the regular manner and she maintained that sparkle in anticipation of repeating the game! This game came in handy when the judge was walking down the line-up looking for expression or if the judge had a free bait stand off with another competitor . I'd act like we were going to play the game and I'd stand far in front of her. The sparkle/expression would just emanate from her. If you have an extremely angulated dog you'll have to beware that this game doesn't create a crouchy/hocky rear in normal free baiting in anticipation of the game.

Riggs really liked to play 'catch' but if he missed it I'd hold him back and race for the bait myself. I'd make a big deal saying "I got it, I got it, ha, ha" He hated losing so he was very attentive to get it.. Sometimes he'd be so quick he would beat me to it on the floor! This game came in handy when we would come back to the judge on our individual because I'd say 'catch' and he, thinking we were going to play the game, would give a great free bait stack.

Another game I play is the 'airplane' game. This is very good for teaching the exercise 'here' which I will go into later. I take a piece of bait in my hand and pretend it's an airplane by doing circular movements, up and down, all around, finally ending up with the bait 'falling' (handed) into the dog's mouth. You know, like when the dogs follow something -- with this game their heads are following the movement of the hand. I even play 'tug of war' or fetch with a little pig's ear that I can fit into my pocket. So, think of anything that brings a sparkle to your dogs eye. Improvise it to play in a small area in the ring.

Please remember, pick up any bait you throw or put on the ground lest the judges yell at me for teaching you bad habits! Be discreet when playing these games in the ring as you don't want to be disruptive but you do want your dog to have a good time.

Q & A

Q - At what age do you start stacking your puppies?
A - I really don't start stacking 'till they're probably around 3- 4 months old, after the ears are healed and put in 'rolls'. Before this age, I'll do an occasional stack for photos but really nothing that could be construed as 'training'. I do other 'things' like hold them all the time, kiss and baby talk to them. I take them on big Nature walks around the property where they explore rock piles, walk on tarps, jump over logs, wade in the creek. I use this time to teach them to 'come' and 'follow' when I clap my hands and whistle. I love to sit and just be with them. I once saw a bumper sticker that said, "God help me be the person that my dog thinks I am....well, my puppies think I'm their everything and I try to be!!

Q - Do you think four weeks is too early for them to start learning stacking?
A - YES! I'm sure there are many different theories on raising/training pups ... I view little pups as like human toddlers so I do the above with them. Preschool training as described in the initial training above starts at 3-4 months.

Q - I have had problems in the past with getting some dogs to hold their tails up or to even let you try to tickle them up ... do you just keep tickling and reassure them that this is okay or do you have some neat little trick for teaching this?
A - The best trick I have found for this is "tail up, good, tail up!" repeated over and over. With real clampers It takes time and patience to gain their trust and re-represent tail massaging as pleasurable. I then take this further to whenever (at the park, on a walk) the opportunity presents itself, like when the dog or pup comes up to be petted. (you know how dogs come up alongside of you and leans for loving or attention) I start the full massage to relax them working down to the tail saying 'tail up' all the while as I stroke it with my finger tips. Eventually you will be able to do just the tail. I have been able to get the most stubborn tail clampers to relax with this process. Another technique is while stacking, after you have 'placed the feet, give the dog something to nibble on. (something soft that is easily nibbled like rollover, hotdogs, cheese.) You may have to teach the 'nibble' so the dog/pup doesn't bite your fingers/hand off! Ouch! PUPPY TEETH!! You don't want to use something where the dog has to start a tug-of-war habit to break off nibble-sized pieces. As the dog is nibbling you start the tail up massage and tickling routine. Usually they will be so focused on nibbling that they forget to be uptight and will relax and let you get the tail up. This is a process like the first technique above so don't expect dramatic results immediately. It take time to teach the dog/pup to relax and enjoy the experience of tail up.

Q - When I go around with my dog and get back into place with him he swings his butt into the center of the ring. I've started correcting him by saying "no, you're in the wrong place", moving him around to come in again and doing whatever I can to keep him standing straight. I've tried moving with bait. I've tried backing him up and stepping him forward. If I really work at it I can get him straightened out without physically picking up his rear end but, of course, I want this to be natural. It seems to me that repetitious correcting as above, and practice, practice, practice will eventually make an impression on his little red brain (11 months old). I suppose I could use a clicker and click/treat when he's standing properly.

A - I can't speak for clicker training as I've never used that method but the method I would use would be to have a command such as 'stack' and a signal for what you expect him to do. I think you should keep the command to one or two words, not a sentence such as "You're in the wrong place" When you come around to the end of the line use your word of choice and signal. Use them any time you are wanting him to assume the position to be stacked. Practice the following and then use it in the ring:
In practice I would start saying 'stack' when you are going to begin stacking him so that he becomes used to the position you are requiring of him when you say stack. That position would be stacking/posing next to you NOT with his butt swung towards the center of the ring. I do this with a verbal command and I also lay my hand flat with the palm up as a signal of what I am expecting which is to to have him (the dog) come alongside me and lay his cheek/under jaw in my palm so I can lean over him and stack him. As I cradle the cheek/lower jaw in my palm I say (refer to Conformation Training # I) 'place' for the front feet and 'foot back' for the hind legs and don't forget 'tail up'. Follow this as usual with the praise, 'good, stack'. This way the dog gets a clear signal and a verbal command. On dogs I show regularly I can just put my hand out with the palm up and they will actually walk into it and lay their lower jaw/cheek in my hand to wait for me to stack them. To encourage this behavior I also rub this area in a soothing manner so the dogs enjoy this position. (like when they love you to rub their ears) Another point I might bring up is after your individual pattern, when you gait to the end of the line, (unless the judge's procedure is to watch each dog as it stops at the back of the line and very few do this) there isn't any particular reason at this time that your dog can't swing his rear to the middle of the ring. As long as once you are trying to assume your stacked position in line you are able to straighten him out in order to stack him. (In which case I think the above training procedure would work) Often when I approach the end of the line on my individual gaiting I throw a piece of bait that I let the dog run/dive for and get. I will explain why' I do this when I explain about getting your dog to move with it's ears up. This example is to show you that I'm not immediately expecting the dog to assume the stack position when we come around to the end of the line. As a matter of fact, if I'm not the last dog or there is no pressing reason to assume a stack I use this time in line to play doggie games (Refer to the 'Reindobe Games).

Q - My dog pulls back against the collar when he starts to get bored. I guess that's my job? To keep him interested?
A - YES!!! I think my 'Reindobe Games' would prove useful to keep him entertained. Also, in the beginning I explain how to teach a dog to 'reach'. You could use this technique when you want to stop him from pulling back against his collar.

Q - I was wondering if you can give me information on a bitch of mine who likes to collapse her shoulder. When I hand stack her I put my finger under her chin do her left foot and then her right. Then I put the collar up high on her neck and hold it tightly. As soon as I go to her rear and set up her back feet she sinks down. I quickly return to the front and bait her and she will pull herself forward. I am also thinking she is just playing games with me. Any ideas on how to get her to stop doing this would be greatly appreciated.
A - Don't you hate it when they rack back? It seems if they aren't racking back they are leaning so far forward they could fall on their faces! The key here is probably that you are leaving the area under her jaw/cheek to go and set up her rear thus losing control. A tight' collar around neck is usually a BIG mistake! You need to have a mirror.
Practice various ways to stack her that offer the least resistance/racking back when you stack her. Use WHAT WORKS!! I think the true sign of a talented handler is the ability to use and/or create different styles of handling each individual dog, especially the problematic ones. I am showing a bitch right now that likes to rack back as I set her hind legs. See it even happens to the Pros! I have used two method's to circumvent this problem. First, when I line her up along side me to stack her I hold a piece of bait about where I want her head to be. I have her reach for it, this way I'm beginning the stack at a positive leaning forward position. After feeding her some bait in this forward reach, I gently slip my right palm and fingers under her jaw and affix my fingers into the "V" crevice created by the under jaw bones. You may also hold excess collar and lead in your right hand. Then by watching in the mirror and with practice I get a feel for exactly were I have to firmly hold her head, thus, in effect, keeping her front in this forward thrust/position while I reach back with my left hand and extend the back legs into a position proper for her stack. Say "Stay, Good, Stay" Then I resume my stance at her head and take the collar back into the left hand while I offer her bait with the right hand. Check the stack you created to make sure you got it right. If not, repeat, or do what little improvements are necessary to get the dog stacked correctly. Basically I'm saying you holf her by her crevice in the muzzle in the forward position while you adjust her hind legs. You have to KNOW your dog by feel in order for you to keep the head/front assembly in the correct position while you turn your attention to setting up the rear. Beware by watching in the mirror that you don't contort her head skyward or too far forward or back as you are busy adjusting the rear legs. It is important to get a feel for keeping the head steady in the position that you originally wanted to create.
Another method is to run the excess collar strand which attaches to the lead through your right hand, while holding the bait, so she can't decide to leave. Then you simultaneously let her nibble on the bait in the right hand but keep the bait at a constant level and place. By 'reaching' for the bait she will be thrusting her front forward. Again, by watching in the mirror you can get a feel for were to keep the bait so that her head/front assembly is kept in the correct position. Then you adjust the back legs with your left hand/arm. It takes a lot of practice for either technique.
If all else fails, sometimes you have to take into account that your dog will rack back to some degree while you stack it's rear legs. By using your mirror and knowing your dog you can learn just where you have to place it's back legs to compensate for this racking back so that when you come back up to it's front and bait it forward it is in the perfect stance in spite of its racking back! Just be sure you learn to do this FAST before the judge is looking because it isn't a pretty sight!