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What is
Schutzhund?
Schutzhund For Sport
Schutzhund is a German dog sport originally designed as a means of selecting breeding stock for the German Shepherd dog. Over the years,
Schutzhund has become an internationally competitive sport and is growing more and more popular for people and their dogs. The sport is now open to any dog that can do "the work."
What is
"the work"? Schutzhund consists of three phases: (1) tracking,
(2) obedience and (3) protection. There is a possible total score of 300 points (100 pts in each phase). There are also three main Schutzhund
(SchH) titles: SchH I, SchH II, and SchH III. Each title requires more work from the dogs and is progressively harder.
Select Breeding Stock
Before a dog can be properly bred and the litter properly registered
with the United Schutzhund Clubs of America and Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde
(SV), it must meet several preliminary qualifications. The dog must pass a 12 1/2 mile endurance test, be breed surveyed and Koer Klassed (show ratings), pass a BH , have hips certified as being free of hip dysplasia by the OFA or "a" stamped as acceptable by the
SV, and must have at least a SchH I title. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of time, training and patience to get a dog to the point that it can be properly bred but, the journey is wonderful fun and extremely important for maintaining the German Shepherd as it was intended to be.
Whether you are observing, training, trialing or showing, Schutzhund
is a wonderful hobby. A word of warning though, once you get started, it’s hard to stop! For more information about Schutzhund go to the
United Schutzhund Clubs of America Web site.
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