I just got my first show pup, she's 6 months. Her breeder didn't do a lot of stacking training with her. What is everyone's routine? I am horrible at teaching this, and feel lost.
How often should I work on it?

I just can't seem to get her to place those feet correctly.

Besides stacking, how do people train them to gait properly? She kind of wants to strain on the lead.

She is very toy and food motivated.

Would love kind of a step-by-step process of how people get them stacking, I plan on doing only specialtys, so free-baiting is what I'm after.

Thanks!

I went to handling classes with several different teachers. One was very focused on movement, another on helping the dogs stack themselves and another on doing it "like the pros".

In the end, I put her with a handler for a long weekend and she learned everything she needed to know. For me, it was money well spent. Now she will act properly for anyone on the lead, including her Mom!

How old was she when you put her on the handler?

It really does not take much to train them. Stand in front of them with food and talk to them nice. Get them to look and you and encourage them to wag their tail. Gradually step back from them and tell them to stay to get them to stand on their own. If they come to close step into them to push them back. Check around their body to see their foot placement. Use the food to get them to step forward or back and lead them into the correct stance. Labradors learn fast it should only take 2 or 3 times a day to practice for about 5 minutes or so.

If you want to hand stack, use the food to bait the dog as you move their feet into the stack.

To gait, put the lead on, fix your collar under the neck and say let's go. Move with them at a good speed and tell them they are good. If they don't go, give them a little tug on the lead or use food to lure them along. To keep them moving straight use an imaginary line or a real line to practice on for the up and back. If they side wined give them a little tug on the collar to straight them up.

I didn't do it until she was about 15 months. I just did the handling classes and tried my best, but it was hard for me b/c she is my only bitch and she has me wrapped around her little finger!

It did help me to have someone else handle her and let her know the "rules" so to speak.

I agree that, for a newbie, sending a dog to a handler for a few days/weekend/week to learn the rules is an excellent idea. When I was first starting out my boy had little respect for me and I was clueless. Someone made the "handler week" suggestion and boy did that help. It also included several lessons for me to trained as well.