Delta Schutzhund Club

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Delta Schutzhund Club

The ideal dog is a culmination of certain inherent qualities

which lend it to be an alert, courageous protector, and a

reliable, obedient companion. This is not simply a result of

how a dog is raised, but more fundamentally, the result of its genetic

endowment. The goal of Schutzhund is to assess each dog's

worthiness to be bred.

Schutzhund is a sport whose purpose is to evalutate a dog's character, by

giving it work to do, then comparing its performance to certain guidelines

as well as the performance of other working dogs. Schutzhund evolved

around the turn of the twentieth century as a means of testing and

preserving the character and the utility of German military and police dogs

In 1899, a young German calvary officer named Max von Stephanitz

founded the German Shepherd Dog Club of Germany (Verein fur Deutsche

Shaefhunde - SV). He presided over the club, began the stud book, wrote

the breed standard, and organised training contests for the SV. He was

possessed by the idea that the German Shepherd Dog should have "a

highly developed sense of smell, enormous courage, intrepidness, agility,

and despite its agressiveness, great obedience". Von Stephanitz also put

in place a strict system of controls that guided the breeding of the German

Shepherd Dog for the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote the first

breed standard for the German Shepherd Dog with emphasis on "utility

and intelligence". It contained the sentence, "A pleasing appearance is

desirable, but it can NOT put the dog’s working ability into question!" To be

certain he wouldn’t be misunderstood, von Stephanitz coined the phrase:

"German Shepherd breeding is a Working Dog breeding, or it is not

German Shepherd breeding", which became world famous.

To this day, the SV is the largest and most influential breed organization in

the world, and still observes the standards which von Stephanitz

implemented to preserve and develop the best physical and

temperamental attributes of the German Shepherd Dog. Schutzhund is an

integral part of this. The Schutzhund examination is the most basic

A German Shepherd Dog cannot receive official registration papers unless

both of its parents have passed a Schutzhund I trial. If the dog itself does

not pass a Schutzhund I test, it cannot be exhibited in conformation shows,

Many organisations which use working dogs, such as law enforcement

agencies, do not maintain their own breeding stock. These agencies obtain

working dogs from Schutzhund-proven lines. Without Schutzhund, the

working ability of GSDs and other working breeds would quickly deteriorate

and it would be difficult to find suitable dogs for police work, bomb

The Schutzhund test is a day-long event which tests each dog's mental

stability, drive, concentration, ability to scent, courage, and willingness to

work. In one day it must compete successfully in three entirely different

phases: tracking, obedience, and protection. There are three levels of

Schutzhund, each more progessively difficult in each of the three phases.

By scenting, the dog must retrace a path of a tracklayer which is anywhere

from 400 yds. (Schutzhund I) to 1500+ yds. (Schutzhund III), 20 minutes

(Schutzhund I) to 60 minutes (Schutzhund III) after the track has been laid

, and be able to find 2-3 lost articles along the track, regardless of climatic

conditions.

The dog must follow the handler's orders to heel both off and on leash,

heel off and on leash through a crowd of people, perform a long down, a

send away, a recall, be indifferent to and undistracted by a gunshot,

perform a long down under distraction, retrieve on flat ground, retrieve over

a 1m jump, and retrieve over a 6ft wall.

The dog must search a series of blinds under the handler's direction to find

a hidden stranger, then without assistance, alert the handler to the

presence of the stranger, guard the handler from a stranger, prevent an

escape by the stranger, defend against an attack by the stranger on the

handler, and safely transport the stranger.

"Joy in work, devotion to duty and master... docility and obedience,

teachableness and quickness to understand."