Posted by: petmyforum
on Jul 11, 2009
Schutzhund is a challenging 3 part sport (obedience, tracking and protection) which was originally designed as a breed test for the German Shepherd, and has grown in to a popular sport, as well as continuing to function as a breed test. A Schutzhund title is a pre-requisite for the German Shepherd Breed Survey or Koerung. As a sport, several countries hold regional and national competitions. In Germany, the big trial each year is the BSP or Bundes Sieger Prüfung. There is also a world competition (WUSV) each year held under FCI international rules.
For me, it is interesting to train a dog in a sport where he uses aggression, most dog owners try to avoid aggression at all costs particularly in our litigious society where dogs are becoming less tolerated, particularly if they behave like dogs! Schutzhund, when it is properly trained, provides an arena where you can learn about aggression and how your dog reacts to stressful situations. The dog also learns to control his drives and learns to obey his owner even when he is very excited. This results in a very well-behaved dog. The duration and breadth of training also helps create a very close bond between dog and handler.
People worry that Schutzhund will make their dog aggressive towards people. In my experience, dogs which have not been aggressive towards people beforehand do not suddenly become aggressive after Schutzhund training.
Some people who like to avoid aggression try to train Schutzhund protection as an obedience exercise, where the dog learns to bark to "ask for a reward", and gets the sleeve or "prey object" as this reward. They argue that Schutzhund is a game and their dogs will only bite a sleeve. This may be a good way to relieve their conscience when asked if they train their dogs to bite.
Malaysia Dog Club