Our Schutzhund
Training Sessions at
BVWDC
| The sport of Schutzhund consists
of training in three phases. These phases are tracking, obedience
and protection work. There are three levels in Schutzhund -
SchH1, SchH2, and SchH3. Each
level increases the amount of work on each of the phases.
While dogs of other
breeds actively participate in this sport, schutzhund was originally developed
in Germany specifically for the German Shepherd Dog as a breed evaluation
test. Schutzhund is intended to demonstrate the dog's intelligence
and utility. It measures the dog's mental stability, endurance, structural
efficiencies, sense of smell, willingness to work, courage and trainability.
Schutzhund has been active for approximately 100 years, as the German Shepherd
Dog was developed in Germany in 1899.
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Training Tracking:
| We begin teaching tracking to puppies
using food. All dogs naturally use their sense of smell, so this can
easily be done in short sessions as a pup. Lay a scent trail by laying
a track in grass or on soil, and use food to intice your pup to track.
Make your tracks short at first. Gradually increase the length of
tracks, and spread out the food. There are many ways to proceed.
By the time your dog is ready for a SchH1 title, he must follow a track
laid by his handler at least 20 minutes earlier, at the end of a 33' leash,
with two corners, and indicate two articles left on the track. Below are photos of our tracking sessions. |
Watch for more photos of our club members in training!
Training Obedience:
| Obedience includes a series of
heeling exercises that include on leash and off leash, and
some exercises near or in a group of people, or
during traffic situations. During the off leash heeling, a
gun shot test is performed to check the dog for
"sureness" of sharp sounds and temperment. There are other exercises
that include the sit in motion, down in motion, the
recall from a distance, send away, retrieval
of the dumbbell on the flat and over the jump and over the wall for
higher titles. Also, the long down is taught, where the dog
must stay in a down position under distractions while another dog is on
the field doing his obedience exercises. Below
are some of our club members training their dogs in obedience. |
Watch for more photos of our club members in training!
Training Protection:
| The protection phase tests the
physical strength, courage and agility of the dog. It is absolutely
essential that the handler has CONTROL of his dog during this phase of training.
In our club, members are taught how to physically hold their dog during this
phase and learn how to work with their dog to insure the safety of all.
Members learn about training equipment and how to use it properly for the
different phases of this training It should be noted that EACH DOG
and HANDLER are individuals, and some dogs learn well with one method of
training while another dog needs another method. As a club, we utilize
"teamwork" by sharing training techniques and working together to get our
dogs where they should be. We make inquiries to other dog trainers
and professionals for our "problem solving" training. We learn more
each time our friends come from Germany. We also have several training
seminars planned by canine specialists and professional handlers to enhance
our training skills in the near future.
By the time a dog
is ready for the SchH1 title, he will have the ability to search two blinds
(hiding places) to find a person (decoy). The dog is expected to hold
the decoy while the decoy is in the blind. The dog is expected to
pursue the decoy, bite the sleeve and hold the decoy when an escape is attempted.
He must guard the decoy while the handler approaches. The dog must
"out" from the sleeve when the command is given or the decoy stops the fight,
and continue to guard the decoy. The dog is expected to defend his
handler when attacked out of a blind and also during a long attack (courage
test). The dog will again "out" and guard when the command is given.
The handler approaches, tells the dog to "sit" and the decoy to step back
and "downs" the dog. The dog must stay in the "down" position while
the handler searches the decoy and takes away his stick. The handler
returns to the dog, leashes the dog and walks to the decoy, sits the dog
between himself and the decoy, then gives the command to "move out" to the
decoy. This begins the final transport of the decoy to the judge.
The dog should be watching the decoy during the transport.
All grips (bites)
during the protection phase of schutzhund are expected to be a full bite
and firmly placed on the padded sleeve and stopped on command and/or when
the decoy discontinues the fight. The protection tests are intended
to assure that the dog is neither a coward nor a menace to society.
NOTE: All
members are required to train in obedience with the club, or they cannot
train in protection. This is a BVWDC rule.
Below are photos of our protection training sessions.
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Watch for more photos of our club members in training!
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