Commit
to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3
What is Schutzhund?
The Germans called it "hundesport", dog sport. Schutzhund is a sport that has
drawn people from all over
Schutzhund started as a test for working dogs. Its initial purpose was to determine which dogs could be used for breeding and which had true working ability. As the demand for working dogs grew, it made it necessary to develop sophisticated test to determine what was a good working dog. There are three levels of the titled schutzhund dog. They include SchHI, the beginners level. The SchHII, the intermediate level. And the SchHIII, this is the graduate level and a goal highly sought after.
Working dogs were needed in many venues. Be it police dogs, customs, border patrol, military or hearding. The average person also found much pride and enjoyment out of training their own dogs to be as well trained as the professional dog. As well as providing a venue to use to decide the breed worthiness and working ability of their dogs. Thus, the sport of schutzhund was developed. The official rules for the sport were developed over 60 years ago and now there are tens of thousands of participants in the sport each year.
Schutzhund consists of three phases Tracking, Obedience and Protection.
Tracking is done with the dog learning to follow a foot step path in mixed terrain that changes directions, has articles that must be found and convincingly pointed out, must be done at a 33 foot distance from their handler. Many times this track is done under less than ideal conditions ,bad weather and with a mandatory aged track. Tracking is by far the most calm phase of schutzhund and is to me the most rewarding. It is also the judges first impression on your dogs stability, drive, perseverance, and how well you work as a team.
Next is obedience. Obedience is were your dog gets to show off! This phase includes healing on and off leash, sit, down and stand out of motion, retrieving a dumbbell on the ground, over jumps and over a wall. They must do long send aways, work under gunfire, long downs with distraction. All of this is done in a soccer sized field. This phase again shows how well dog and handler work as a team. Is the dog under control and willing to follow commands? Is the dog happy doing this work?
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The final test is the most misunderstood by the general public. This is protection. The schutzhund dog is not a police dog or personal protection dog. Only the schutzhund dog will only show aggression in the instances it was trained to face. The dog must never bite the trial helper unless the dog or the handler is being attacked. Then the dog must attack and bite fully and without hesitation. On the command from the handler the dog must then stop the attack and convincingly guard the helper by doing a bark and hold until it is given a new command by the handler. Again, how the handler and dog work as a team, with complete control and precision is put right out front for the whole world to see.
To top it all off........all three phases are done on the same day. This shows the endurance and thinking ability of the dog and how well it works under stress.
My personal opinion of the Schutzhund team at work is that of a well choreographed play or dance. When done correctly, it is a thing of beauty that can leave you in awe.
To learn more about each phase I am adding pages to better describe what is involved, points needed and other titles that can be obtained in this venue.
(These pages to be added very soon) Thank you for your patients while we construct these working pages.
BH -Companion dog, must have this title before competing for a SchHI or Ztp
AD -Endurance Test needed for show and breed requirements.