[Judi W]

I'd rather not see any pressure from the leash once the dog is standing. My suggestions:

Putting the dog into the stand. With leash attached under the dog's chin so one does not accidentally give the pressure that means sit, right hand about 20 inches from the snap, move the hand straight forward (which will become your stand signal) while giving a long drawn out "stand" command, have the dog moving forward and at the same time gently place your left hand in front of the thigh, stopping the rear from moving forward and getting the dog back into a sit. Do this very calmly and quietly. Then just freeze everything for a few seconds. You want the dog's head to be parallel to the ground which helps maintain that stand position.

If you don't want to use a stay command, at least use the signal which helps the dog understand not to move forward. (this will be important when you get to Utility). Train this until you see the dog understands the stand itself.

Then you will start pivoting to the front of the dog, just as you initially taught the sit stay. Pivot back to the side. Never release from that position, but heel the dog forward before releasing after a pause (count to 5) while you are back in heel position.

Gradually increase the distance. Don't be in a hurry with this and don't hurry for having someone do the touching. I use a very mild verbal if the dog starts to move and not a leash correction. Any leash correction is going to have the dog moving which is not what you want or worrying. Dog moves, just go back and very calmly replace it then leave again. The pivot and the signal only for a while before increasing distance which is done gradually.

This is a hard exercise because the dog has been doing a sit all its life when in a similar position/relationship to the handler. Corrections at the early stage tend to make the dog worried and then you will get instant sit (when in doubt - sit, "sit is always good" is part of a dog's mantra).

The next difficulty for the dog is when the handler starts going around the dog to return to heel position. I just gently place my hand on the side of the dog's face to keep it pointing forward so it doesn't turn into a hoop trying to follow with a look.

After this is solid, then you can add the touching, but move back to being directly in front of the dog at the beginning. If necessary, you can gently hold the muzzle straight forward for a while so the dog doesn't turn to greet the person.

I personally am not fond of people who think it is a good thing to stick their hand at the dog's nostrils before the touching head, whithers and back. An overdose of smelly hand, and the blocking of the dogs vision is not part of the stand for exam. (check out the rules). It does nothing to guarantee that the dog is going to love the person. This exercise is not a social exercise or love fest. It is an obedience exercise and quickly done. Person acting as judge should be business like rather than acting like a long lost friend there to do a petting. Approach should be at an angle from the dog's quarter left front, touch head, whithers and back with their left hand and leave. Period.

Make sure before you leave your dog that the feet are decently placed and not left in an uncomfortable position so the dog is tempted to move them for balance. You can take all the time you want to do this as the scoring does not start until you give your stay signal (and/or command). Make sure your hands are off the dog and that you are standing upright in heel position before you give your signal and step away My personal opinion particularly for this exercise is that if it helps the dog and is allowed by the rules, use it! (command and signal) but I understand your preference. The reason you should use at least your signal is it lets the dog know when the positioning is completed and the "don't move" part starts.