The sport of Schutzhund is as old as the German Shepherd Breed. It was originally designed to test the temperament, and breed suitability of the dog. Since then it has become an international sport open to all breeds able to compete.Schutzhund meaning "Protection dog" involves three focuses on training: Tracking, Obedience, and Protection. The most familiar site of the German Shepherd dog is one of a Police dog used in Law Enforcement. All though Protection work is the most exciting to watch as a spectator, as a trainer and handler, Tracking and Obedience are of equal or of more importance.

***Protection Work:

Warning the handler of a hidden suspect the dog must react with obedience under conflict situations. Dogs must prevent the attack of its handler, and stop the suspect from escaping. The dog must also distinguish between the suspect and innocent by-standards on the sidelines, and in a crown milling about on the field.

Obedience:

Ensuring that the dog is well mannered and under control is of the utmost importance. During a trial the dog must respond to its handler's commands immediately. A dog that is given a repeated command may in fact be disqualified from the competition. Some of the commands are: Sit, Heal, Down, Come, Take, and Out.

Tracking:

The most time consuming phase involves the dogs sense of smell and concentration development. Tracks are laid in a field of varying length vegetation. "Laying a track" is when a person walks through a field dropping articles. After a period of time, the dog and handler are sent out to find the track, and identify the articles. Tracks are not only straight lines, but turns and arcs as well and can range from 400 to over 1500 paces. Conditions such as rain, and wind all play a part in the dogs ability to find and stay on the track and its determination to complete the track successfully.

BH - Basic Obedience or Companion dog title. Dogs are required to: Sit, Heal, Down, Long Down (approx 5 minutes), down in motion, sit in motion, heel in a group, perform a traffic test, stay down while another dog passes by, while someone rides a bike past, and during a gun shot test. Heeling patterns are done on and off lead.
Heeling pattern A BH is required before the dog can compete in a Schutzhund trial.

SchH I - Beginner. To achieve a SchH I, the dog must perform all three of the above mentioned tests, Tracking, Obedience, and Protection.

SchH II - Intermediate. To achieve a SchH II, the dog must perform all three of the above mentioned tests, Tracking, Obedience, and Protection. The degree of difficulty is increased over the SchH I.

SchH III - Expert. To achieve a SchH III, the dog must perform all three of the above mentioned tests, Tracking, Obedience, and Protection. The degree of difficulty is increased over the SchH II.

We do not solely train protection dogs or guard dogs. Schutzhund is the disciplined sport involving a well rounded dog. A dog who will not hesitate to react under specific circumstances. If you have the opportunity to watch the protection portion of a trial, you will notice that the dog must not ever bite the helper unless the handler or the dog is being attacked. In the event that a dog bites a helper without provocation, there is a good chance that the dog will be disqualified from the trial. Also while the dog has acquired the helper, it MUST release the helper on the handlers command. A single 'Out' command tells the dog to release the helper, and perform a 'Hold and Bark'. Re-biting the helper may cause disqualification.

Handler - The person who has control of the dog. Usually the person who has trained the dog.

Helper - A person wearing a protective suit and bite sleeve. The helper uses a mixture of agitation techniques to achieve the desired results using the dogs pray or defense drive.

Hold-and-Bark - The dog will keep the helper contained in one spot. Most dogs will bark as they hold the suspect, but you may find some dogs will not bark but sit and guard the helper. Dogs are not allowed to re-bite the suspect without provocation.

Heel - Dog must be on the left side, parallel to the handler. This is required during the start of and during an obedience course. (In motion and at rest)

Sit - Dog must sit at the handlers command whether the dog is in motion or standing around.