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Schutzhund?


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I don't know if you will get any/many replies Boxagirl, given the legal ramifications of training/owning a shutzhund trained dog in some states. I'm sure if you google, you will see some great pics. There is a particularly good site, but the name has flown right out of my head :D

Edited by haven
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Whilst i do not do Dogsport, i will in the future, firstly my girl at the age of 12 months will need to perform well in the BH test(begleithund)(companion Dog)That's obedience.

Providing she does well, we will go further to Multiple traffic conditions test after that we will know for certain whether she is Schutzhund material.

I believe there to be a tracking test also the dog must pass..

Any Breed of dog can do schutzhund,providing the dog has the correct temperament.

You are aware the Dog will be deemed as Dangerous and a permit must be obtained, in some states i believe it is illegal?

Which is silly due to the FACT it is Dogsport, Tracking,protection,obedience.

What about Schutzhund interests you? :D

http://www.finographics.com/schutzhund/sport.html

Edited by Rottywoman
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Boxagirl I was going to copy and paste the relevent bits from this website and suggest you contact the club to ask for advice about current laws in WA. If anyone knows in WA they will. I think the whole site is interesting and even has a 2005 flavour in view of recent BSL legislation.

GSDAWA

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I went to the Schutzhund Nationals this year, held in Sydney. Very impressive work! I watched the Schutzhund 3 obedience and protection routines, the highest levels. On the day I only saw GSD and Malinois, but other breeds do participate.

Here is a link with more information:

http://www.sportdogaustralia.com/

This is the Sydney club where the event was held (has some pics)

http://www.wsdc.sportdogaustralia.com/

Here is a Malinois link that has a video of the 2nd place protection routine

http://caninesquad.com/videoClips/2005AUSCProtection.html

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Hey if anyone does schutzhund can you please post a pic of your dog doing it?

Although I try to keep an open mind I just don't like it or its reason for being. I did have a look at some training: it was a real turn-off, I didn't like the training vibes, it seemed like a power-thing - anyway, I admit to my prejudice and I could be wrong, just not going there to find out, more fun things to do in dogsports than looking all dominant and defensive/aggressive.

There are some lovely captioned schutzhund pics on an American girl's website, she has lovely cattle dogs and does everything with them, looks good there, just didn't like the attitudes here.

Worth a look:

http://www.pbase.com/cattledog

ACD people check out her other galleries, really nice.

EtA - also doing herding so some ACD herding shots there too.

Edited by PossumCorner
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Bedazzled, Possumcorner, you guys went to the wrong places!

Like any club of any discipline there are good trainer/handlers and techniques and there are bad. I don't know a lot about shutzhund training, but it has been my privelage to be involved with some people who are very knowledgable and what I have seen is far from negative.

The handlers that I have seen have been far more dedicated and have had much more training in training theory and psychology than your average obedience trainer, we're talking about getting up and 5am everyday to lay tracks etc. These guys know their stuff when it comes to understanding drives and what motivates their dogs and how to utilise such knowledge to their advantage.

When you see a schutzhund titled dog, it's just breathtaking. It seem rediculous to me that such dogs should be classed as dangerous by default when the very point of schutzhund is to distinguish dogs with the very best of temperament, nerves and drives. To be trained so highly in not one but three disciplines (obedience, tracking and protection) marks such dogs as far safer and more temperamentally sound in my book.

My limited understanding is that the sport was developed as a means to test which dogs were allowed to be bred from to ensure only the very best of genes were passed on for future generations. The standard is also very strict re conformation I believe.

If only all breeds were tested so rigerously before being allowed to mate!

Perhaps I have just be privelaged in meeting the right people and seeing the right trainers, but at least that shows that they are out there.

Edited by haven
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Here are some breeds that can compete in Schutzhund if they have the right temperament. Mostly herding and guarding breeds.

GSD

Belgian Shepherd (all varieties)

Rotty

Dobe

Boxer

Giant Schnauzer

Black Russian Terrier

Airedale

Cattle Dog

Amstaff

American Bulldog

Beauceron

Dutch Shepherd

Bouvier des Flandres

Have I missed any?

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Bedazzled, Possumcorner, you guys went to the wrong places!

Like any club of any discipline there are good trainer/handlers and techniques and there are bad. I don't know a lot about shutzhund training, but it has been my privelage to be involved with some people who are very knowledgable and what I have seen is far from negative.

The handlers that I have seen have been far more dedicated and have had much more training in training theory and psychology than your average obedience trainer, we're talking about getting up and 5am everyday to lay tracks etc. These guys know their stuff when it comes to understanding drives and what motivates their dogs and how to utilise such knowledge to their advantage.

When you see a schutzhund titled dog, it's just breathtaking. It seem rediculous to me that such dogs should be classed as dangerous by default when the very point of schutzhund is to distinguish dogs with the very best of temperament, nerves and drives. To be trained so highly in not one but three disciplines (obedience, tracking and protection) marks such dogs as far safer and more temperamentally sound in my book.

My limited understanding is that the sport was developed as a means to test which dogs were allowed to be bred from to ensure only the very best of genes were passed on for future generations. The standard is also very strict re conformation I believe.

If only all breeds were tested so rigerously before being allowed to mate!

Perhaps I have just be privelaged in meeting the right people and seeing the right trainers, but at least that shows that they are out there.

Haven, I don't doubt for a second that I went to the wrong place ;) I don't want to name clubs, but this certain club, really did put me right off!! :laugh:

I also agree that a dog so highly trained in all of these fields, makes them safer than your average pet, as a trainer once said to me, they are safer because they have an OFF switch! :laugh:

These days ,I can tell the difference between the trainer that is dazzling me with brilliance, as opposed to the one that is baffling me with bull$hit :thumbsup:

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There are Breeds of Dogs who may be better suited to Dogsport, as kavik listed, but ALL dogs REGARDLESS of breed are allowed to be tested for suitability, this means XBRED Dogs to in oz, obviously for fun and not to determine good breeding. :thumbsup:

Edited by Rottywoman
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When I came to this West Island over 10 years ago from NZ, the first thing that worried me was the fact that Police all wore guns. If the crime rate is quite a lot lower here than over in NZ why the guns? I don't accept that the Crims here are "tougher", either!.

The next big schock was seeing a Security Guard with a Gun. Believe you me this one seemed to have trouble walking, and I think he would have had to take his socks off to count past 10. I was SCARED. Anyone who knows me, knows this is a very rare reaction.

Now I am sure most listees would have a great deal of responsibility, and would "install" an excellent off switch for their dogs, but I really don't trust the average run of the mill Schutzhund trainer to train a stuffed dog, let alone a real live one with good guarding instincts. Hence I want to see Schutzhund trained dogs treated legally exactlty the same as a dangerous or Guard dog.I.E. different colour collar, notices, secure fences and a muzzle in public. I looked at the list of where some of these Scutzhund clubs are, and they often appear to be in areas where there are a lot of socio-economic issues.

Tracking is the best dog sport in my opinion. Look up the Victorian Tracking Club if you are looking for some help in this sport. This style is a bit more breed aware, and won't penalise Gun Dogs etc for following towards one side of the track as they often do. Footstep tracking as exhibited in Scutzhund seems even more remote from real life situations such as SAR or Police style tracking than Obedience allied tracking.

If you are a Lab or Gun Dog owner, and you have a driven sort of dog, let it do free style tracking (no lead, no human following) againgst a name Schutzhund breed one day. THe results are usually very interesting! One may ask why Labs are used for SAR so often elsewhere, but not so much in this state?

I also note that Gary Paterson is quoted on one of the sites. He must be one of the last trainers to advocate the use of a pinch collar for tracking. Myself, I prefer simpler equipment such as a can of sardines and a long lead.

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Thanks for the replies everyone. :happydance:

Someone asked what I like about schutzhund (lol sorry cant be bothered to go back to quote it :) ) just the level of control that the handler has and how well the dog/handler work together! :happydance: I do realise that you get this in obedience (and alot of the dogsports) it just stands out more for me in schutzhund :)

Not going to be doing this anytime soon lol my Boxer would be waay to nervy for it! :)

Just interested in what ya's had to say :lie::happydance:

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I've got a white shep bitch that i'd love to do Schutzhund with... heheh, gotta get her out there doing obedience first!! lazy me.. My father was a trainer with GSDL and then went on to become a handler/trainer with the Corrective Services, and Dad thinks she may just "have it" if i pull my finger out and put in the time and effort with her.

So whats the go? Can a white shep do it? Colour surely wouldn't matter huh?

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