WHAT IS SCHUTZHUND?

Schutzhund is a German word meaning “protection dog.” It refers to a sport that focuses on developing and evaluating those traits in dogs that make them more useful and happier companions to their owners.

Schutzhund work concentrates on three parts.  Many familiar with the obedience work of the American Kennel Club’s affiliates will recognize the first two parts, tracking and obedience.  The Schutzhund standards for the third part, protection work, are similar to those for dogs in police work.

 While dogs of other breeds are also admitted to Schutzhund trials, this breed evaluation test was developed specifically for the German Shepherd Dog.  Schutzhund is intended to demonstrate the dog’s intelligence and utility.  As a working trial, Schutzhund measures the dog’s mental stability, endurance, structural efficiencies, ability to scent, willingness to work, courage and trainability.

This working dog sport offers an opportunity for dog owners to train their dog and compete with each other for recognition of both the handler’s ability to train and the dog’s ability to perform as required.  It is a sport enjoyed by persons of varied professions, who join together in a camaraderie born of their common interest in working with their dogs.  Persons of all ages and conditions of life --- even those with significant disabilities --- enjoy Schutzhund as a sport.  Often, it is a family sport.

The Three Parts of a Schutzhund Trial

The tracking phase includes a temperament test by the overseeing judge to assure the dog’s mental soundness.  When approached closely on a loose leash, the dog should not act shyly or aggressively.   The track is laid earlier by a person walking normally on a natural surface such as dirt or grass.  The track includes a number of turns and a number of small, man-made objects left by this person on the track itself.  At the end of a 33 foot leash, the handler follows the dog, which is expected to scent the track and indicate the location of the objects, usually by lying down with it between its front paws.  The tracking phase is intended to test the dog’s trainability and ability to scent, as well as, its mental and physical endurance.

The obedience phase includes a series of heeling exercises, some of which are closely in and around a group of people.  During the heeling, there is a gun shot test to assure that the dog does not openly react to such sharp noises.  There is also a series of field exercises in which the dog is commanded to sit, lie down and stand while the handler continues to move.  From these various positions, the dog is recalled to the handler. With dumbbells of various weights, the dog is required to retrieve on a flat surface, over a one-meter hurdle and over a six-foot slanted wall.  The dog is also asked to run in a straight direction from its handler on command and lie down on a second command.

Finally, each dog is expected to stay in a lying down position away from its handler, despite distractions, at the other end of the obedience field, while another dog completes the above exercises.  All of the obedience exercises are tests of the dog’s temperament, structural efficiencies and very importantly, its willingness to serve man or woman.

The protection phase tests the dog’s courage, physical strength and agility.  The handler’s control for the dog is absolutely essential.  The exercises include a search of hiding places, finding a hidden person (acting as a human decoy), and guarding that decoy while the handler approaches.  The dog is expected to pursue the decoy when an escape is attempted and to hold the grip firmly.  The decoy is searched and transported to the judge with the handler and dog walking behind and later at the decoy’s right side.  When the decoy attempts to attack the handler, the dog is expected to stop the attack with a firm grip and no hesitation.

The final test of courage occurs when the decoy is asked to come out of a hiding place by the judge from the opposite end of the trial field.  The dog is sent after the decoy when he refuses to listen to the handler’s command to stop.  The decoy then runs directly at the dog threatening the dog with a stick.  All grips during the protection phase are expected to be firmly placed on the padded sleeve and stopped on command and or when the decoy discontinues the fight.  The protection tests are intended to assure that the dog is neither a coward nor a criminal menace.

  What is the Judge looking for in the Dog?

 The Schutzhund Trained Dog in the Home

Since Schutzhund is the demonstration of the German Shepherd dog’s most desirable characteristics, dogs well trained in Schutzhund are usually excellent companions in the home.  The German Shepherd Dog --- like any other working dog that possesses mental stability --- has trust and confidence in itself, allowing it to be at peace with its surroundings. 

In addition to sound structural efficiencies for long, arduous work, the standard for the German Shepherd Dog calls for mental stability and a willingness to work.   The dog should be approachable, quietly standing its ground, showing confidence and a willingness to meet overtures without itself necessarily making them.  It should be generally calm, but eager and alert when the situation warrants.  It should be fearless, but also good with children.

The German Shepherd Dog should not be timid or react nervously to unusual sounds or sights.  A dog that is overly aggressive because of its overall fears of people and events can be extremely dangerous.  The Schutzhund sport is designed to identify and eliminate such dogs from breeding stock.  Because Schutzhund training gives the owner a great deal of control over the dog the owner is able to let the dog have more fun.  Not only is Schutzhund training itself enjoyable for the dog, but the Schutzhund trained dog knows how to please its owners, creating a stronger bond between dog and owners.

The Schutzhund Trained Dog for Police Work.

A dog that performs well in Schutzhund work is obviously a very good candidate for police work.  Police dogs, like other service dogs, must have temperaments with a good foundation of intelligence and utility.  A minimal amount of additional training makes many well-trained Schutzhund dogs ready for active police duty.   Such fearless police dogs can also work around children and in crowds without worry on the part of their handlers.

Choosing a Puppy for Schutzhund.

In every breed, the pedigree is the key to knowing the potential of the puppy.  Schutzhund revolves around working lines --- generations of dogs that have proven themselves and produced similar characteristics in their offspring.  These characteristics include not only the physical structure of the dog, which is very important, but also its temperament.

Selecting the bloodlines from which you want your puppy may require advice.  Information from breed surveys can help.  Of course, it makes sense to discuss your objectives with reputable and experienced Schutzhund handlers or enthusiasts.

Once you have determined that the bloodlines of the potential dam and sire are of high quality, you should observe the parents, especially the Mother, if that is at all possible.  The dam will be the main influence on the young pup for the first six weeks of its life.  If the dam is nervous or unsure, chances are this uncertainty will be transferred to the offspring.

If you are able to see the litter, watch the puppies together and also separately, to try to determine which is the best puppy.  Obvious structural defects or health problems should be watched for.

It is important that the puppy have intense instinct to stalk the prey --- a ball, a toy, etc. --- and also be the leader in the sense of bullying the other puppies.  The puppy should not show fear when away from its littermates.  It should not need to stay with the mother.  The puppy should be adventurous and active, playing with objects shown to it by someone in the enclosure, but it should be independent enough to take that object and go off on its own as well.

It is independence and confidence, combined with the positive contact with the pack leader (the dam, at this time) that will develop into the traits of trainability that you need.

Raising a Puppy for Schutzhund Work.

Puppyhood is the most critical period for the development of the characteristics you want to encourage.  Your local Schutzhund club can advise you about nurturing and socializing your growing puppy.

A puppy learns from it experiences, so you want to provide only positive ones.  It should be provided with opportunity to explore and investigate new situations and new people, but always in a non-threatening way.  Remember that your goal is to build confidence in the young animal.  Your aim is NOT to dominate or oppress the young pup.

Exposure to different environments is crucial to the general education of the dog and also to assure it that the world is a safe pace.  If something appears to make the dog unsure, give it the opportunity to investigate it slowly, but do not force the issue.

It is imperative to avoid situations where your dog would be dominated by another older or stronger dog, or by another puppy.  You also want to avoid having to discipline or correct your puppy and thus dampen its spirit or damage its self-confidence.  You can do this by never leaving the pup in a situation where it can cause damage to your valuables or find itself in a dangerous predicament.

 Schutzhund Around the World

The first Schutzhund trial was held in Germany in 1901 to emphasize the correct working temperament and ability in the German Shepherd breed.  Originally, these dogs were herding dogs, but the industrialization of Germany encouraged breeders to promote the use of their dogs as police and military dogs. The Verein fur Deutsche Schaferhunde (SV), the parent club, became concerned that this would lead to careless breeding and undesirable traits such as mental instability, so it developed the Schutzhund test.

Since then, many other countries and working dog organizations have also adopted Schutzhund as a sport and a test of working performance in dogs. International rules have been established, and they are administered by the Verein fur Deutsche Hundesport (VDH).

In 1970 the first Schutzhund trial in the U.S. was held in California. Today, the GSDCA-WDA sponsors trial in all parts of the country and chooses a team in open competition to represent the GSDCA at the WUSV World Championship.  More than 25 countries send teams of competitors to the World Championship for Schutzhund dogs from the World Union of German Shepherd clubs.

The Value to the Breed   

 Do Dogs Enjoy Schutzhund Training?

If trained in the right manner, dogs enjoy working, as anyone who attends a Schutzhund competition can see.  The joy of the dogs in working with their handlers is evident. 

For thousands of years, dogs have adapted to serve humans in a mutually beneficial relationship.  While dogs could move quickly, hunt prey, and protect flocks and their owner, the humans could provide food, shelter from the most severe elements, and protection from larger predators, besides tending to the dog’s injuries.  A dog’s reason for being is to serve humans.