Sunday, July 31, 2011

Should we have sport dogs trained in Schutzhund

Should we have sport dogs trained in Schutzhund??????

I will just come right out and say it YES.  It might be considered just a sport by those who do not have a complete understanding of working dogs, but for the serious breeder of a working dog it is an excellent way to test temperament on your dogs.

Why do I say that - well first before the dog can participate in any Schutzhund work the dog must pass a BH (basic handler) which is a 2 part test the first being obedience (making sure the dog wants to work and is trainable) and the 2nd part is a temperament test.(Making sure the dog is stable in temperament).

While most breeders do not do police work this tool is too valuable to throw out, not to mention the teamwork and bond that you develop along the way.  Once you have experienced that special bond forged in trust and mutual respect you can never look back and be happy with just a couch potato.

From the BH on, every single time the dog participates in Schutzhund it must demonstarte continued obedience and temperament testing.  How could this be anything but valuable to a working breed???

What about those that are not breeders, but just love the sport - I say good for you.  It does help show the depth of a breeders program when they produce dogs that go on to succeed in Schutzhund and it also teaches the individual about working temperament.  A lot of the problems and misconceptions today are due to the fact that  we have far too few, even among breeders and supposedly dog trainers, who understand what a good temperament is.

There are all kinds of sports and activities for people to participate in.  None is more valuable than working a dog and learning about the real dedicated dog world.  Most of the problems we see are because PETA,  HSUS, and the other AR groups would like to see all dogs eliminated from domestication. 

They don't own dogs themselves, deny the value they serve thier owners and others and in general are not capable of coping wth real life.   Can you imagine a world with out service dogs, guide dogs for the blind, search and rescue, narcotics and drug detection, bomb dogs, war dogs, therapy dogs and none more valuable in raising children than the beloved family pet?  This is the world they would give us...

Schutzhund dogs are not for everyone.  Working dogs period are not for everyone - just look at the number of border collies turned into rescue.  They are high drive - high energy dogs that were bred to work on a farm and you just can't lock them up in an house without a physical and mental release.

Look at the number of these dogs that are purchased from a shelter and go on to be top dock diving dogs, frisbee competitors, weight pulling, obedience and agility dogs or even service dogs.  Was it a miracle - did a long sit in the dog pound make them realize they needed to get their act together or did they find a human who understood their needs and trained them to compete so they had an outlet for all that energy???

Do not ever tell me we do not have the right to train a dog to participate in this dog sport or that we can't have a dog for protection sake.    We just might need them to protect us from the big football convicted felons we have running around loose.  Now there is a sport hero for you.

The problem is not the dogs - the problem is the people who get them and then are too lazy to train them
A well trained and socialized dog is at least 10 times safer than and untrained and unsocialized dog who is allowed to run loose. 

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