Schutzhund

The Sport of Schutzhund

The sport of Schutzhund is a demanding pursuit that requires a blend of training and natural instincts. Both the dog and its human handler must work together and complete long hours of training to be successful. Schutzhund requires strength and patience on top of a lot of quality training. While the sport of Schutzhund is a popular judged competition sport, it is also used to test the traits of future working dogs

Schutzhund as a dog sport was created in the 1900s in Germany. Today, Schutzhund training is performed to create working dogs in several fields including police and military work, search and rescue, drug or bomb detecting dogs as well as dogs used for personal protection. Schutzhund uses a variety of training techniques to build on a dog’s natural abilities and perform certain tasks. This is used to determine if the specific dog in training has the proper temperament and intelligence to be successful as a working dog. Schutzhund training is very demanding. Dogs that will excel in the sport of Schutzhund will be intelligent, willing to please and easy to train, as well as having the natural attributes of courage, perseverance and a strong protective instinct. It will also test the physical attributes of the dog. Only dogs gifted with endurance, agility and a strong nose will succeed in this sport. Today, Schutzhund is used to train and test the quality of working dogs, but it is also a dedicated judged sport with a large and loyal group of followers.

The first breed of dogs used in the early 1900’s Schutzhund sport was German Sheppard Dogs. Today a wide array of working breeds are used in Schutzhund. These can include Dobermans, Rottweiler’s, American Bulldogs, Boxers and other working breeds. The sport of Schutzhund is based on three categories: tracking, obedience and protection. Breeds are judged separately on each of these categories and must get a high score in each to be awarded a title. The dog must use obedience, endurance and scent to find articles during the tracking portion of the test, and then must follow a specific set of instructions while avoiding distractions in the obedience stage. Finally, during the protection test, the dog must show protective instinct, courage and obedience by tracking and attacking a decoy human in a padded outfit. Judges score individual dogs in each test portion on a scale of 100, and then add the score together to reach a total.

Training for Schutzhund is extremely structured and consistent. A handler must form a strong bond with their working dog and complete a strict training schedule over a long period of time. There are many Schutzhund organizations and clubs that assist with training and sponsor judged events. The United Schutzhund Club of America is the largest club of its kind in the US, but there are many worldwide organizations as well as smaller US organizations out there. These clubs have very loyal members who are extremely dedicated to the sport.

The sport of Schutzhund is not only a judged sport where dogs and their handlers can win prestigious titles, it is also used as a dedicated working dog training technique that serves to test the characters and traits of working dogs, eventually weeding out those individual dogs that cannot make the cut. This is very important for working dogs of all kinds and the services they provide for humans.

Training Equipment and Books