Schutzhund Dog Training

Are you looking for a way to accomplish Schutzhund dog training? The training of these dogs has been a sport for many years which started in Germany for use in seeing if German Shepard’s would work as police dogs. Instead of going on appearances of the dog as fit for police work, this type of training was started. Very few dogs pass the Schutzhund dog training methods.

Starting Points for Schutzhund Dog Training

It has taken over 100 years to perfect this strict type of dog training. It is a very rigid and very structured method of dog training and is a lot less abusive than when it was first developed. Each animal must go through a full evaluation which is the reason behind the strictness. Today, there are DVD’s which teach the complete course of training for those prefer to do the training at home.

The actual training will be very intense in specific areas of police work such as sniffing, protection and retrieving that the dog needs to know in order to do the work required of him. This training usually starts when the dog is only a few weeks old and continues for weeks and sometime longer to make sure that the dog is ready for working as a police dog.

The Heart and Soul of Schutzhund Training

Schutzhund training is very complicated. The video course you decide to pursue determines what methods are employed. The basic training however have all the following points in common.

Not all of the training courses use the clicker method, but it is pretty well considered a staple of the Schutzhund training. This works very well with the German Shepard’s and other suitable breeds. This training should begin at as early an age as possible.

The first critical test of the training is obedience. Most obedience training consists of 10 commands which usually include “focus, attention”, “sit, down and stand”, front, pointing at an object, targeting, heel command and more. This part is completed when the dog obeys all of these commands.

The next section of the training is tracking. In this section, dogs are trained to track down bombs, drugs, as well as cadavers. Once the object has been tracked the dog must be able to point it out. They are also taught to track their selected object by scent until they are called off.

Protection is another area of training for the dog. This training concerns specific commands in which the dog is able to identify an attacker and protect the owner. However, they can also be trained to do this without commands.

The whole point of Schutzhund training is to have a dog who possess a working set of skills which can be used quickly and effectively. The success rate for the official training programs is usually 20% or less. However, these methods of training can also be employed at home with a little bit higher success rating.

If you are seriously considering the Schutzhund training for your dog, do some heavy research for the many training courses which are based on their success rates.