Everything You Need to Know About Schutzhund Dog Training

Did you know that the Schutzhund dog training was a sport that first developed in Germany at the start of the 20th Century and it was a way to test several German Shepherd breeds if they can be use as police dog?

Instead of just basing on the dog’s outer appearance if it can be a police dog, what Schutzhund trainers do is that they find the best one suited for the job. Nowadays there are many breeds have been allowed to do the Schutzhund training and only a few of them can actually pass.

Basics of Schutzhund Dog Training
This kind of training is very rigorous and highly structured process that has been evolving for more than 100 years now. The difference about this training is that this kind of training is less abusive to dogs but it is still strict and it can fully evaluate the animal. In the past we solely depend on manuals and organize course in Schutzhund training, but now there are a lot of DVDs and videos that can help pet owners when they are starting their training process.

The training for this is that it can test a dog in several specific behaviors that can be ideal for police work like tracking, sniffing, and protection and retrieving. Most of the Schutzhund training starts when the dog is just a puppy and no more than a few weeks old and it can last for weeks or even months just to ensure that the dog is right for the job.

The Essence of Schutzhund
The Schutzhund training has many different aspects. This course that you use depends on the video or the kind of obedience program that you can prescribe to. Here are some Schutzhund course focuses on:

Clicker Training – Not all Schutzhund trainers would use clickers for their training, but it is one method that usually works well with breeds of dogs such as German Shepherds and other type of breed of dog that are suitable for Schutzhund training. This kind of training can start at a young age and about 10 weeks old.

Obedience – The first really test for Schutzhund training is the basic obedience training. There are about 10-11 basic commands in this basic training. Many of them includes to focus with commands such as “sit, down and stand”, front, pointing out of an object, targeting, heel positioning, heeling, retrieving, jumping, motion exercises, and “go out”. When your dog completed all of these 11 training points, then your pet has mastered it all.

Tracking - Tracking methods is a part of dog training because you need to track different objects such as drugs, bombs, and cadavers. When you use “targeting” and “pointing out of an object” in Schutzhund dog training, it can teach the dog to know the exact scent of their target and it can help them to pursue it.

Protection – Dogs are great to use as protection like police dogs and guard dogs. They can be trained with these specific commands that can identify a threat and an attack that can threat you. They can also be trained to protect the specific object or person without giving it commands.

The essence of Schutzhund training is that it can help provide the dog a set of skills that they can do to complete the task they are given to efficiently and quickly. Dogs in some official training programs can complete the course with the rate of 20% or lower. But in Schutzhund training, it can be as effective as an obedience regimen for some dog owners at home.

If you want Schutzhund training for your dog, make sure you do the right research on this type of training courses.