German Shepherds in Schutzhund
The German Shepherd originated as a herding breed. Their usefulness to police and the military eventually led to the development of Schutzhund sport. There are three levels of competition; Schutzhund I, II, and III. Schutzhund I is the most basic with Schutzhund III as the most advanced level of competition.
Schutzhund consists of three
phases: tracking, obedience, and protection.
Schutzhund tracking involves following the footsteps of a tracklayer in a very precise manner. Articles must be found and indicated along the track. The length, age, number of turns, and number of articles varies depending on the level of Schutzhund competition (I, II or III).
| Tracking Level | Tracklayer | Minimum length of track | Number of legs | Number of corners | Number of articles | Minimum amount of time track is aged | Time allowed to complete track |
| TR1 | Handler | 300 paces | 3 | 2 | 2 | 20 mins. | 15 mins. |
| TR2 | Stranger | 400 paces | 3 | 2 | 2 | 30 mins. | 15 mins. |
| TR3 | Stranger | 600 paces | 5 | 4 | 3 | 60 mins. | 20 mins. |
The two advanced tracking titles are the FH1 and the FH2.
| Tracking Level | Tracklayer | Minimum length of track | Number of legs | Number of corners | Number of articles | Minimum amount of time track is aged | Number of cross tracks |
| FH1 | Stranger | 1,200 paces | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 hours | at least 2 |
| FH2 | Stranger | 1,800 paces | 8 | 7 | 7 | 3 hours | at least 2 |
Schutzhund obedience involves a handler and dog performing various obedience exercises.
|
BH
(Prerequisite to all other titles) |
Heel on leash (including within group) Free heeling Sit out of motion Down out of motion with recall Long down under distraction Testing in traffic (people, bicyclists, reaction to other dogs, etc.) |
| Obedience Level One |
Free heeling Sit out of motion Down out of motion with recall Retrieve on the flat Retrieve over the hurdle Retrieve over the scaling wall Send out with down Long down under distraction |
| Obedience Level Two |
All of the OB1 exercises with: Stand out of motion (walking) |
| Obedience Level Three |
All of the OB1 exercises with: Stand out of motion (running) |
In the protection phase, various exercises test a dog's courage and willingness to defend its handler.
| Protection Level One |
Search for the helper Hold and bark Prevention of attempted escape of the helper Defense against an attack during the guarding phase Attack on the dog out of motion |
| Protection Level Two |
Search for the helper Hold and bark Prevention of attempted escape of the helper Defense against an attack during the guarding phase Back transport Attack on the dog out of the back transport Attack on the dog out of motion |
| Protection Level Three |
Search for the helper Hold and bark Prevention of attempted escape of the helper Defense against an attack during the guarding phase Back transport Attack on the dog out of the back transport Attack on the dog out of motion Defense against an attack during the guarding phase |
(Source: GSDCA-WDA, 2008)
If you would like more information on Schutzhund, you can take a look at the following links:
GSDCA - Working Dog Association
United Schutzhund Clubs of America
