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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.
Schutzhund
Titles
In
addition to the Schutzhund titles, the GSDCA-WDA offers three additional
training degrees. Two of these, the FH1 and FH2, are advanced tracking
degrees that require the dog to follow tracks over changing terrain, discriminate
between cross-tracks and is at least 3 hours old.
The
third is the BH. The BH is a degree for traffic-safe companion dogs that
tests the dogs temperament in and around people. It includes basic formal
obedience - heeling on and off leash, sits, downs and recalls - as well
as practical tests of the dog’s character in everyday situations.
These include reaction to normal situations involving crowds of people,
strange noises, joggers, cars and other dogs. Before being allowed to
enter for a Schutzhund I title, the dog must first have successfully completed
the BH.
There
are three levels of the Schutzhund test for which titles can be earned.
For
Schutzhund I the dog must be at least 18 months old and pass
an initial temperament test by the judge. The dog must heel on the leash
and off, demonstrate the walking sit, the walking down, and the stay tests,
as well as, the send-out. It must retrieve on the flat and over a hurdle.
In tracking, it must be able to follow a track laid by its handler at
least 20 minutes earlier. There are also protection tests.
For Schutzhund 2 the dog must be at least 19 months
old and must already have earned its Schutzhund I degree. It must again
pass all of the obedience and protection tests required for the Schutzhund
I degree, but those tests, for Schutzhund 2, are made more difficult
and require greater endurance, agility, and above all, control. There
is an additional retrieve required over the six foot slanted wall. In
tracking, the Schutzhund 2 candidate must be able to follow a track laid
by a stranger at least 30 minutes earlier.
For
Schutzhund 3 the master’s degree, the dog must be at
least 20 months old and must have earned both the Schutzhund I and the
Schutzhund II titles. Again, the tests now are made far more difficult.
All exercises in obedience and protection are demonstrated off leash.
There is the additional of a walking and running stand. In tracking, the
dog must follow a track that was laid by a stranger at least 60 minutes
earlier. The track has four turns, compared with two turns for Schutzhund
I and 2, and there are three objects, rather than two, that must be found
by the dog. The picture of obedience, strength, eagerness and confidence
presented by an excellent Schutzhund 3 team is a beautifully illustration
of the partnership of human and dog.
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