Peterborough Schutzhund Club
Frequently Asked Questions
01
Do I have to have a German Shepard to participate in Schutzhund?
A. The sport is designed for all athletic dogs with correct working abilities and is not restricted to a particular group or breed of dog. The dog must be physically able to jump the one-meter jump holding a dumbbell, but the dog has to have the temperament.
02
Is it true that training my dog in Schutzhund will make it want to bite people or that the dog will be unreliable around children, visitors, etc?
A. Absolutely not! Many of our club members have small children, and all of us have our Schutzhund dogs in the house all the time. We have found that the dog’s basic temperament has much more to do with his manners around strangers than any training. If anything, the training we do makes most dogs that are suited to the work more confident and secure, and less bothered by unusual circumstances.
03
My dog has bitten several people and I think he’d make a great Schutzhund dog.
A. The polite answer is that it depends a lot on the circumstances that induced him to bite. The direct answer is that your dog almost certainly has temperament flaws that make the dog totally unsuitable for Schutzhund. The rude answer is that if your dog bites people and you LIKE that, then YOU have temperament flaws that make YOU unsuitable for Schutzhund.
04
My dog loves to play tug, has a lot of energy, and I want to do more with him than just throw the ball once in a while. How do I find out whether my dog and I should try this?
Training for Schutzhund is a lot of fun, and tremendously rewarding, but it is also very time-consuming. Our club has no particular breed prejudices but the time commitment can be daunting.
What age can I start training my dog?
We start training puppies as soon as they come home. There is a lot you can teach a baby puppy: targeting helps with go-outs and blind searches later. You can teach sit, down, stand, sit in front, come fast, attention and focus and lots more with a baby puppy. Tracking can also be started at 8 weeks old, and tug play mdash; learning that a quick out leads to more of the tug game — is also important for a youngster. (Don’t play too much rough tug while the puppy is teething.)
Socialisation with people (some are tall, some are small, some have loud voices, some come in wheel chairs), other puppies (take a puppy class for its socialisation opportunities), and exposure to the big wide world with different places, slick floors, noise, etc. are all important.
05
German Shepherds
My favorite breed is German Shepherd Dog, overall the best working dog for the IPO Sport. We are a member of the German Shepherd Schutzhund Club of Canada and a member of the Ontario Region
All are Welcomed
We welcome all dog/handler teams as long as they want to learn and are committed and have a dog with correct temperament. The most common breeds are German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Boxers, Rotweilers, Dobermans, Bouvier des Flandres but not limited to.
Keep them healthy
I like to see people work their dogs at least 4 times a week with high intensity. I only let the dog work with the handler. Ideally the dogs should consume a high quality kibble like Orijen and Acana. Ideally a raw diet would be ideal.
Message From the President
I chose this sport because I found it exciting and the time I was a breeder of German Shepherds and this way I could see what my dogs were made of.