Monday, November 8, 2010

Some Information Regarding Schutzhund Training And Ways To Get Involved In The Competition

By Fritz Adler

Schutzhund is a European canine sport that was created in the early 1900s. It means "protection dog" and was developed to determine whether specific German Shepherd animals show the traits that are required in order to be police dogs. It is a very hard competition that is held one time a year with just a handful of animals that are able to succeed. Anyone who is interested in entering their dog should start early and practice regular Schutzhund training.

The kinds of traits which are needed for a dog to succeed in the Schutzhund exam include bravery, a will to work, perseverance, and an intense protective instinct among other ones. A ton of physical strengths, such as endurance and quickness, are tested too. This is since the animals who pass the test will end up doing police work that includes everything from scent detection to search and rescue operations.

Three sections make up the current version of the test. Protection, following, and loyalty make up the test and, in order to succeed, a canine must do well on all three. The dogs must score at least a seventy five out of 100 points and a canine can be excluded at any time if one or more of the judges feel that they are showing too much aggression and fear.

As far as testing the animal's protection abilities, one judge will employ a heavily padded decoy to hide in certain spots. The dog, after being directed to protect the judge, must find the decoy's hiding spot and bark his or her location. In similar exercises, the dog must react when the decoy pretends to attack him or the judge. To pass, the animals must display a lack of fear and a healthy enthusiasm.

The section regarding tracking was designed to test the mental soundness or scenting ability of the Shepards. A judge, during this phase, walks across the field while dropping small scents along the way. The dog is later instructed to track the person by smelling the dropped articles. The score is based on the dog's accuracy and willingness to obey.

As with the other phases, the obedience testing is done on a large open field as well. One canine watches from afar while another is instructed to complete a series of commands. Gunshots and other loud noises are induced to test the dog's reaction. Afterwards, they switch places and the phase moves forward. The Shepards in this section are graded on how well the follow commands, react to loud stimuli, and accuracy.

Even though there are quite a couple of types that have an above average skill ability and perseverance, it is the cherished German Shepherd that is the uncontested top canine when it comes to protectiveness and loyalty.

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