The Beginning

Once upon a time in the country of Germany many years ago, Schutzhund originated as a series of tests to discover which German Shepherd Dogs were worthy of breeding. These were tests of nerve, stamina, structure, work ethic, scent, sound sensitivity, courage and willingness to serve and obey. The German Shepherd Dog was deemed by its founder to be a working dog. Working is herding livestock, protection of persons and property, search and rescue, scent discrimination, service work for disabled persons and family companion and guardian. The goal was to promote the qualified dogs for the breeding program.

So, what were these tests? There was Schutzhund, and there was a breed survey. The breed survey represented the final passage into breeding. The judge would give his approval or disapproval in the form of the körung. If the dog was KKL1 or KKL2, it could be bred with registration papers for the puppies. The breeding would be legitimized. So Schutzhund was seen as the savior for our dogs and an important test to qualify for the breeding program. The myth is that in today's world Schutzhund exists as a test for breeding. Supposedly the controversial protection work associated with Schutzhund is justified as a way to promote the best breeding dogs--the dogs that will produce our future police, SAR, service and protection dogs. This indeed is a myth. For most people, Schutzhund, at least in this country, is not done as part of a breeding program.

Why Schutzhund?

In the United States, Schutzhund is mainly a competitive sport. We still make noises about breeding tool, but the fact is that Schutzhund or VPG as it isnow known, is a highly competitive operation that has little or nothing to do with any breeding program. VPG (Vielseitigkeitspruefung für Gebrauchshund) loosely translates to Versatility Test for Working Dogs. This name change has political significance in itself as the former name Schutzhund literally meant Protection Dog, and there is obviously an attempt to distance from the protection element.

Competition and the Points!

Because Schutzhund is a highly competitive sport, in many cases the end has come to justify the means. And the “end” is having the highest scoring dog. This dog may or may not be the best dog for breeding or even the best dog for anything, but he has scored the most points.

While most handlers are humane and fair in their training, many others deploy extremely cruel measures to increase their point total. The electric collar has long been used for field dog training and is also commonly used for VPG training. Is there anything wrong with this training tool? No, if it is used properly. What is offensive is the hypocrisy! For many years e-collar training was strictly prohibited by Schutzhund organizations here and abroad but was ubiquitous in training clubs throughout the U.S. Only recently is it accepted as being “OK” to openly use this training method. Maybe because of its clandestine use for so many years, some handlers use the collar incorrectly because they were not given proper training.

An electric collar hurts the dog. That is what it is designed to do. We can say it is just another training method, but bottom-line, it is a device that inflicts pain. The question becomes whether it is fair, humane or necessary to inflict this pain. If the dog has been patiently taught an exercise and has demonstrated full understanding of what is expected, it is at this point that an e-collar could be utilized as a distance training method. Unfortunately, not everyone uses the collar in this manner. It is used to inflict pain before a dog understands what is expected. It is used to teach. Will the dog learn? Certainly…just as you would learn not to step over a line if every time you did so, you received a large dose of pain.

The trainers have other tools at their disposal. They have electric sleeves to assist the stubborn dog in outing the sleeve on command. And there's the hard kick to the ribs and other anatomy and the plain old pinch collar albeit with sharpened prongs to impale the skin of the neck. These pinch collars draw blood.

And some judges promote this abusive training. In particular, they tend to reward more points on the tracking field to the slow and very stressed working dog desperately afraid to make a mistake. The happy speedy naturally working dog is penalized for his speed or enthusiasm. Judges also reward points in protection to the dog who not only has the fullest and hardest grip but the dog that is under complete control of the handler to the point of not deviating from heel position at all.

Some Examples

Tracking

If a dog is given an electric shock every time it leaves the correct footstep or passes up an article, it learns to slow down and be very methodical and exacting. The dog is afraid to make a mistake. What exactly is it that we are testing? Is it the dog's natural tracking ability, or are we testing the dog's ability to take a severe correction and continue working? This is truly a dilemma as some would suggest we want the tough dog,the one who can be corrected and continue to work without vomiting on the track or shutting down because of stress.

How about obedience?

And how does an impressive obedience score indicate a good dog for the breeding program? Ideally obedience should reflect soundness of structure and agility. It should show the dogs willingness to work with a handler. The tests are also designed to eliminate sound sensitive and dog aggressive dogs. The group work also reflects the dog's comfort level working around other people.

But this is not what a Schutzhund trial tests or how points are scored. When I first observed a Schutzhund trial about 20 years ago including a national competition, I was appalled at what I saw. My background was AKC obedience, which had very strict obedience standards. I witnessed extreme laxity in Schutzhund judging compared to AKC. In Schutzhund, the dog basically had to work with speed and natural enthusiasm to get a nice score. There was no preoccupation with straight fronts or finishes or absolutely perfect heeling position. The dog and handler made many mistakes and were not "busted" as would happen in AKC. The judges I witnessed seemed to make an evaluation of the dog's overall performance and rate accordingly rather than nitpicking the dog's position on various exercises. At local and national competitions today, the Schutzhund judging is very similar to AKC obedience. There is no overall view of the dog's willingness and attitude. The judge simply uses a clicker to deduct points as in AKC.

And, then there is the protection phase.

And least we not forget, the grip/bite must be full and hard. The training decoy can work months and months to get that full grip. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not. It always helps to get a dog with a genetic full grip. The full grip is, after all, important in police work,or is it? But for sure, it is important for the points.

The Future

Is there something wrong with training for points? Absolutely not. But let's not pretend that what we are doing is selecting the right dogs for breeding. Very little about a high scoring performance is necessarily a reflection of the natural dog. It is a product of training. And with such harsh training required to get cooperation from the dog, what happens to compliance and willingness as traits we want to preserve?

With the international competitions and the big dollars associated with any sporting event, things will surely remain as they are.

Why Speak?

Why even discuss this topic if there's no chance of changing the way things are...? We discuss it because the successful dogs in competition--read the ones with the most points--are the producers for the future. Due to their prestige and status, they will be used extensively for stud.

Of course, there are those so involved in competition for their own personal aggrandizement that they are competing with dysplastic dogs, dogs with missing or no testicles, dogs with serious elbow problems, dogs that cannot be köred because of physical limitations, dogs that do not even resemble German Shepherd Dogs. These dogs cannot receive a breed survey so breeding is not an issue, and many individuals doing competitive Schutzhund have no interest in breeding or breed surveys. This fact re-enforces that VPG is nothing but a sport, particularly in this country. It is interesting to note that most of the breed surveyed dogs at our national competitions are imports. This fact simply re-enforces the premise that Schutzhund in this country is almost exclusively a sport.

The End?

There are those that regard the dogs with the most points as the savior of our breed. This may or may not be the case. What we are seeing at local clubs and most certainly at national and international levels are products of extreme training using extreme methods, which may veil the dog's real abilities and natural tendencies.

There is also a moral issue here. The sports figure electing to use steroids or other enhancers ultimately hurts himself and his sport. But it is his decision. Our dogs have no choice. They are pushed, prodded, cajoled, kicked, electrified, starved and mistreated for the sake of points and titles. Is this what v. Stephanitz had in mind?

And what will we have left? The trophies, the ribbons, the recognition, and, of course, the money… Will we be left with a dog worthy to breed…to sire great litters…? Maybe, but do we really know what we are passing on? Is the real dog buried under the disguise of training?

Disclaimer

I am not a member of any organization opposing pet ownership or training. Please do not interpret this article as promoting total canine permissive behavior. This is not the intention. Dogs should be trained to be good canine citizens and dog sports should be pursued and enjoyed using fair and humane training methods.

Where I take exception is when we abuse an animal under the guise of promoting a breeding program for working dogs. A valid working dog performs from joy and willingness to please his handler, not from fear and abuse.

Also, it goes without saying that there are conscientious breeders and competitors that attempt to do things with the best interest of the breed in mind. I could name a couple at this moment. They understand bloodlines and the character of the dogs within those bloodlines. They try to promote the best possible breeding to ensure the best qualities. But these folks are few and far between. The usual foray is to breed to highest scoring dogs, the ones on the podium, the ones with the most points.

This article must briefly discuss the working conformation dogs. The breeders and trainers of these dogs probably come closest to using Schutzhund as a breed test. These dogs generally have all their titles and breed survey before age three. They are not found at the high levels of Schutzhund competition, and their owners are sometimes criticized for not showing them in working trials, except for their titles.

But these owners are the ones truly using Schutzhund as a breeding tool. They are not training for points. They are training to get the job done so the dog can pass the test and be breed surveyed. If Schutzhund is indeed a breeding test, why continue showing a dog once it has obtained its title? If the dog has truly outstanding conformation and movement, protection work might continue on a sporadic basic sufficient to qualify the dog in the protection phase of the national conformation shows. And as an aside, it is frankly difficult to find helpers even willing to train conformation dogs. They may go through the motions, but many helpers have a bias against conformation dogs and prejudge the dog adversely.

Perhaps we should conclude that the conformation dog is a truer example of the natural unadulterated dog. There has been little time to tweak his work. The exercises have literally has been slapped on the dog with the sole purpose of passing the Schutzhund breeding test...just something to think about. Thank you for reading and thinking about these issues. It does matter.

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