Schutzhund training?

Question

I need some advice. I recently took my dogs to Schutzhund training for the first time to see if it was something they would be interested in, and if it was something that I wanted to do. Of course, I have 2 male German Shepherds, and I am very interested in the sport, however, I was completely discussed at what I witnessed. I have studied dogs and dog behavior for the past 5 years, and I love my dogs. They do what I ask, and I rarely have any major issues. The people that were training their dogs, however, were literally beating their dogs. One guy got mad at his dog, took his hat off and just kept hitting the dog. On top of that, the dog had a device strapped to its body that if the dog did not keep his body close to his owner, he got shocked. The same guy was telling another owner that when hos dog was in the middle of the jump over the wall, he was to jerk the leash hard. Is this the actual way to train for Schutzhund?

Another member was telling me that he use to have an old Army jeep that he would drive around with his dogs in, and when he took a turn, sometimes the dogs would fall out, so he would stop and beat the dogs. the dogs would learn that if they fell out of the jeep that they would get beat. I just can not believe that this would be the only way to train German Shepherds for Protection.

They are an actual Schutzhund club, and I believe they also belong to the National Schutzhund club. I do know that one of the members is going to nationals this week in Toranto. And they do insist on doing the tracking and obedinace portions also. In fact it was while doing the obedinace that the man removed his hat and began beating his dog, not during the protection. Another thing, when he was doing the retreive with the bar bell, he had a helper stand behind him with a ball toy and told the helper to make sure to drop the toy in front of the dog when he tookl the barbell away from the dog otherwise, the dog would jump up and bite him. Now my dogs, they will not so much as show me a fang when I go to take a bone or food, and I believe that is how GSDs are suppose to be

Answer 1

That is not the way to train for schutzhund. I believe that training, such as you are describing, would damage the dog's attitude and its trust in the handler. Attitude is something that is very important in all phases of schutzhund so any kind of training that damages the dog's attitude is not very good. Obedience is judged on the dog's accuracy, attitude and enthusiasm. A dog that does not display these things usually scores badly. Corrections are given but beating the dog should not ever be considered a correction and corrections would only be given once the dog has demonstrated that he fully knows the commands and refuses to obey. I think beating the dog would diminish the dog's desire to work. Also, the device you seen them using to shock the dog, was an e-collar and they work very well when used correctly.

If I were you I would look for another club where you will feel comfortable with the training methods used. Just remember when training, fair corrections are needed and necessary.

Answer 2

That's not schutzhund training! You don't hit your dog at all when you train in schutzhund.. Nope, you found yourself a messed up club that shouldn't be training anyone to do anything. Run! Did you ask them if anyone in the club had ever actually gotten a schutzhund title on their dogs?? I kinda doubt it.

Don't join any club that doesn't make everyone do the obedience, tracking, as well as the bitework. The clubs that are interested in the bitework only aren't doing things properly. Dogs need a good temperament for Schutzhund, hitting them isn't going to show that when they go to compete.
You sure it was a Schutzhund club?

Edit : Schutzhund training is not for defense.. It is a SPORT. It has nothing to do with real world guarding or protection, it is a Sport. No different than Agility or anything else. It's like a fit for breeding test, showing that the dog is courageous, obedient, good temperament, an all around dog that can work. A schutzhund dog will not necessarily protect you in a dangerous situation. It's fun, it's a game, it's a sport.

Answer 3

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"schutzhund is the official word to describe personal preotection training" That's not true. Schutzhund is just a sport. Protection training is the real deal. You can't train a dog in Schutzhund and expect it to protect you from an attacker in other words. But you can train a dog in protection training and it will figure Schutzhund out just fine. It really depends on the trainer, but the ones I prefer are those that use a variety of positives and negatives. Meaning they teach the dogs to do things using food (or better yet, their prey drive, by having them play with toys as their reward), and then when the dog has learned how to do it, they "proof" the dog by taking the food reward away and punishing him with a correction (usually prong collar) when he disobeys. However, they ONLY give corrections if the dog understand the command 100%, and is just being disrespectful.

Answer 4

That seems especially cruel and hurtful. I had a Bouvier and went to Schutzhund training with her a couple of times and never witnessed anything like what you are describing. The dogs were treated sternly, but never hit, beaten or thrown out of trucks.

But, on the other hand, I have heard that dogs being trained for the armed forces are treated very harshly so that they learn quickly and know that when the master speaks, they have to listen. Other than that, I don't know much more about training of dogs for defense.

From what I was told, schutzhund training is strictly for self-defense. The dogs are not trained to attack on command or anything like that. They only attack or act in self-defense when their people or property is threatened and then they only go so far as to put the person down until their master arrives.

You need to look around and see if you can find some other people to schutzhund train your dog. Good Luck.

Answer 5

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RE:
Schutzhund training?
I need some advice. I recently took my dogs to Schutzhund training for the first time to see if it was something they would be interested in, and if it was something that I wanted to do. Of course, I have 2 male German Shepherds, and I am very interested in the sport, however, I was completely...

Answer 6

Yes you need to be careful when selecting a Schutzhund training group.
Stop and think about what you are training the dog for and the types of individuals that would be attracted to it. I am sure that if you look around you can find a law enforcement Schutzhund training group, and you will find a completely different personality there. (training will be better as well).
If you want to learn more about Schutzhund training, Jim & Phyllis Dobbs have a good selection of material on their site.
http://www.dobbsdogs.com

Good luck and have fun

Answer 7

First, let's clear something up from the start. Sch is a SPORT. It is not a form of real protection training, it is not police or defense dog training, it is a sport. It has been around for over 100 years and when it was first conceived, it supposed to be a slection and breeding test for dogs. Since it came to the States in the early 1970's, it has enjoyed immense popularity. That popularity seems to have waned in the last several years. It is still, however, the most popular dog sport in the world.
Now that we have that out of the way, NO, that is not the way to train a dog for sport. While physical corrections are mandatory and very important, beating the dog never is. The use of Electric collars is also very popular,and rightly so, it works very well and I have nothing against their use. The whole sport is a game to the dog and as such, the dog has to be willing to play and enjoy it. The methods you describe do not sound very enjoyable to me. Most dogs that participate in Sch are not hard enough to take that type of corrections and keep coming back for more. I don't know where you live, or even if your dogs are qualified to do Sch, but, I would look for another club. I hope I have helped and good luck to you.

Answer 8

No it is not the only way to train for Schutzhund.
In my opinion that is the wrong way to train.
Dogs work for those that are higher in the pack order than they are. They develope loyalty to the leader. They will fight to protcet the leader.
You need to become the leader and they will follow your guidelines.
If this is the way this group trains I would look elsewhere for another trainer. Their methods may work and they may work well but not all dogs can and are willing to take that type of training. One method of training does not work with all dogs.
I have a Weim she is female and can be a very hard headed little dog. I also have a male who is much more easy going and willing to please. She was tougher to train as I had to work to figure out her motivation. His was easy he just loved to be told how good he is.
If you are not happy with their methods find another trainer.
I have meet many Schutzhund trained dogs and seen much training and never seen anything like that.

Answer 9

That is definitly NOT the way to train your dogs. Try and find a different facility and report the other one to the SPCA. You can take some pictures as evidence as well, so maybe the place will shut down. Not all Schutzhund trainers are like that. Some use humane methods and are patient with their dogs. I think it's a great sport and should NOT be taught like that. Good for you for not just going along with it. It's nice to see people who actually care about their animals! =)

Answer 10

Do not join this club period!! You need to find a club that works with positive reinforcement with the dogs. Heavy handed trainers are still out there, there have been many dogs that have been killed by handlers like these. It is still going on. There are still handlers that will hang a dog. They will hang a dog until the dog passes out, then they will agitate the dog again, and if they do not do things correctly they will hang the dog again. Do not go to any Schutzhund club that does things like this. You can actually report a club to Schutzhund USA or DVG America ect... with who that club is affiliated with. Schutzhund is a sport, the dogs are trained to have fun. They do things to please the handler. If you start being heavy handed on your dog, you can ruin it at a young age. You will see people advertising dogs that have like a BH title and in their ads, they say "the dog can not go any further in Schutzhund" the dog was probably trained wrong. Beware, and try to go to different clubs and watch.