Anyone into Schutzhund?

[LuvMyRott]

I`m pretty new here, and I`ve noticed many of you have rotts, GSDs, dobes, etc. I was wondering if any of you do Schutzhund training with your dogs. My Gus loves it! He`s doing great in obedience, loves the tracking, and he`s just starting the protection training. Do any of your dogs enjoy the sport of Schutzhund?

[Sudilar]

My rescued GSDs are into obedience and agility for fun. I have never tried Schutzhund with them. I don't know of any clubs near me. I really don't think that they'd be interested, though.

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[Daisy's Mom]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but as my kindergarten teacher always said, "The only dumb question is the one that is not asked!" So I'm gonna ask it... what is Schutzhund?

[LuvMyRott]

You are judged in the sport of Schutzhund in three areas, tracking, obedience and protection. It may take up to 2 years to become ready to trial. For Obedience, the dog must be reliable off lead in any situation, obey your commands from a distance, with disractions from people, other dogs or joggers running by, gunfire, anything! Then comes Tracking. The dog must follow a cold track and retrieve the target item in the allotted time limit. Protection is just like what you`ve probably seen in police dog training. The dog must stay in control off-lead while a helper at a distance acts like the "bad guy". On your command, the dog attacks the helper, biting a target area on the bite sleeve the helper is wearing. The dog must only bite the target, and only release on your command.

In each category a maximum of 100 points can be made, making a total of 300 points for all three categories:

Category A - Tracking

Category B - Obedience

Category C - Protection

A minimum score of 70 points in categories A & B and a minimum of 80 points in category C is required to obtain a title or degree.
To qualify for Schutzhund, all dogs entered must pass a temperament test. Dogs not passing this test shall be disqualified from the trial.

Rating Of Excellence:

0 - 109 Points - Insufficient

110 - 219 Points - Unsatisfactory

220 - 239 Points - Satisfactory

240 - 269 Points - Good

270 - 285 Points - Very Good

286 - 300 Points - Excellent
I know a this sounds rather intense, but the dogs love it! Gus can find anyone, anywhere, just give him the scent and he`s in Heaven! The obedience gives the dog confidence, and we always use praise and treats. The dog always knows what is expected of him, and it`s yummy fun! Protection training gives both Gus and I confidence. I know Gus will defend me if ever needed, but always stay under my control.




[This message has been edited by LuvMyRott (edited June 15, 2001).]

[AdoreMyDogs]

I am worried about teaching my future GSD to bite. I have real mixed feelings about it. I know the dogs love it, there are certain breeds that love to bite, and protect as well as love to do obedience, but I want to have a baby some day and I want my dog to be good with children and other people and I have mixed feelings about mixing schultzhund with a family dog. I think I'll just stick scrictly to obedience, agility, and maybe tracking.

[Rottie]

I do obedience and tracking with my Rott. This is not Schutzhund obedience and tracking, but AKC obed and tracking. I worry that teaching the protection might change Carl's personality a bit. Maybe I'll get around to it one day, with a future Rott. But right now we are more than busy with our agility, tracking, and mostly obedience.

So Gus really loves it! That's great. I can see why he would, with all the tasty goodies he gets. Have you gotten any titles on him yet? Let us know if you do/have!!

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-Rottie

[Daisy's Mom]

Wow... that sounds like you need a VERY obedient dog! Count Daisy out! LOL.

[Sudilar]

I agree Leslie, I don't think I want my GSDs into such intense training even though it is really fun. I'd rather watch other GSDs in Schutzund rather than have mine in it. It is extremely exciting to watch.

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[LuvMyRott]

I just logged on and read all your posts. The protection part of this training is already a subject of debate, even in Germany. The main focus of Schutzhund is control of the dog, not training a guard dog. I have kids and a cat. The only way I would have such a large, smart, strong-willed working dog as a family pet is if he was totally reliable and friendly. Like I said, this is a sport. It`s fun! We go tracking on the weekends, and Gus just loves to romp through the woods.

[mkgwolf]

I plan on getting a GSD in the future and i'm definetly gonning to try to get some titles in obedience and tracking. I dont know about schutzhund though, I guess i'll try it. What if on hallowen there are a bunch of kids wearing costumes that looked like bite sleeves or there is a kid running around with a cast on his arm? First i would want to master obedience before starting schutzhund. I've also heard of herding titles but i guess you can olny do that with shepherds because they have herding instinct.

[LuvMyRott]

Originally posted by mkgwolf:
What if on hallowen there are a bunch of kids wearing costumes that looked like bite sleeves or there is a kid running around with a cast on his arm?

Please excuse me while I try to stop laughing! Was that a serious question?
What would your dog do if a group of strange looking creatures walked through your front door? Gus would go instintly into a down/stay and wait for my instructions. The kids would leave my home full of lots of candy and slobbery kisses from playing with my dog.
It appears this site is for housepet owners to chat, which is great, but not for owners like myself who work their dogs in the way they were bred to work. I wish you and all your pets the best.

[AdoreMyDogs]

I thought it was a perfectly legitimate question, and you seem offended by it. I don't find anything funny about it. I also don't think it was intended as an insult towards you or your dog. That very reason is why I would not want to teach my dog to bite and there's nothing wrong with that. We are all entitled to our own opinions and ways of raising our dogs. If that's what you want to do with your dog it's perfectly OK, but not everyone will agree with the training you put your dog through. No one here was making you wrong for your schutzhund training.

I happen to have little interest in schutzhund and I am dissapointed at your sarcasm and find you a bit insulting. My dogs life is full of great things, as are most or all of the dogs who are owned by us "pettalkers". They are loved, spoiled, some are very well trained in obedience, agility, tracking, and other various fun challanges. Participating in schutzhund does not make a dog happy, a life full of any sort of fun challange, positive reinforcement learning, love, respect, good health, and attention does! So there!

[This message has been edited by AdoreMyDogs (edited June 16, 2001).]

[mkgwolf]

this site is a place where evryone with a dog can come together and share ideas. I am not against Schultzhund and I am probably going to try it out in the future. I don't think unresponsable people should get involved because then they would just train a dog to bite so they can show it off. When they get mad at someone they will just use there dog to scare people. schultzhund is for responsible dog owners who want to see want they and their dog can accomplish. I own a Siberian Husky and he would not be interested in Schultzland, he would just want to chew on the sleeve. But he is an AKC good citizen and seems interested in agility. I don't consider my dog a "pet". In winter he pulls me on skis and in summer i go hiking with him. He does not have a mean bone in his body and likes people more than anything. Kodi likes being outside all that he can and will just lay in my backyard and listen to all the sounds in the woods. If there is any reason to run at all then he will and he can run for miles.

[RachelJ]

Sometimes it is best that I just not say anything and this is one of those times.

[Daisy's Mom]

Ditto Rachel! I'll just be quiet and keep myself out of trouble.