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Schutzhund Training
Schutzhund was originally developed as a means to evaluate dogs for potential police service and breeding stock. In its purest form it was a way to see a dog's natural drives and inborn character and a way to test the dog in order to find its strengths and weaknesses. To me, I still try to look at schutzhund in this manner. I try to look at the dog and I attempt to look past the training to see the true character and inside of the dog. It's not easy. So many of the top competition dogs today are so well trained that the training itself can disguise some problems or deficiencies in the dog.
Today schutzhund has become something very different from what it once was. Schutzhund is a highly technical sport demanding countless hours of training for very precise exercises. Hours and hours of time can be spent perfecting the smallest of details and then "proofing" each small piece for variables and distractions. Years ago a handler would be happy if the dog stayed in heel position throughout the routine. Today a dog is expected to give very focused attention during the entire heeling exercise with precise position with the dog's shoulder in perfect alignment with the handler's left leg. No matter where the handler goes, the dog must stay in this precise position relative to the handler and maintain constant focused attention in order to receive full points in heeling.
Schutzhund is a three-phase sport consisting of tracking, obedience, and protection. Each phase has a 100 point maximum for a perfect performance total of 300 points. More information about schutzhund and its rules can be obtained from the United Schutzhund Clubs of America website.
I've been to Germany, Norway, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. I've seen many clubs and each one has a somewhat different feel and the training methods vary widely. The best club I've ever seen is in the far north of Germany called "Hundesport Gemeinschaft Timmendorfer Strand, e.V." The club was established by Mr. Udo Meier who has twice been German National Schutzhund Champion of the ADRK and another time Udo has been IFR World Schutzhund Champion with his Rottweiler "Rocco vom Horster Dreieck". My friend Martina Porthun who trains at Timmendorfer Strand has also had incredible success earning the title ADRK German National Schutzhund Champion in 2001 with her awesome bitch "Tinka vom Hause Anin". Tina scored an incredible 296/300 which is an all-time record in the 58 year history of this championship. I spent a month training with HSG Timmendorfer Strand in 2008 while I had my young bitch "Inara vom Hause Porthun" with me in Germany. It's so impresssive to me to see a dog with such tremendous drive and desire for work which can perform with such precision and power. This is what makes a Rottweiler special. To witness the incredible strength and to pair this with precise control is a sight to be seen. It's truly awesome. It really can't be described with words; it must be seen to be appreciated.
One of the pioneers of modern schutzhund training is Dr. Helumt Raiser. Raiser's methods revolutionized schutzhund training. I subscribe to many of Dr. Raiser's beliefs and methods. Dr. Raiser has been an advocate for working dogs. He has helped many people understand drive theory and realize their potential in dog sports. Raiser has said that the way to maintain the working dog is to train, test, select and breed the best working dogs in a schutzhund trial. In schutzhund, all of a working dog's drives are tested and can be evaluated during a trial. In this way, we must train our dogs for its best performance. While training, we can understand the drives and what strengths the dog possesses and what it lacks. Without the knowledge of trianing and trialing there can be no knowledge of breeding. In fact, many of today's breeders have never trained their dogs to a schutzhund title. How can someone truly know the dog's drives and character without ever training? Dr. Raiser has said that breeding without the knowledge of training is like "asking a blind man to describe color".