The site was last updated on
24 Aug 2000
There are three levels of the Schutzhund test:
For Schutzhund I the dog must be at least 14 months old and pass an initial temperament test by the judge. The dog must heel on the leash and off, demonstrate the walking sit, the walking down, and the stay tests, as well as the send-out. It must retrieve on the flat and over a hurdle. In tracking, it must be able to follow a track laid by its handler at least 20 minutes earlier. There are also protection tests.
For Schutzhund II the dog must be at least 16 months old and must already have earned its Schutzhund I degree. It must again pass all of the obedience and protection tests required for the Schutzhund I degree, but those tests, for Schutzhund II, are made more difficult and require greater endurance, agility, and above all, control. There is an additional retrieve required over the six foot slanted wall. In tracking, the Schutzhund II candidate must be able to follow a track laid by a stranger at least 30 minutes earlier.
For Schutzhund III, the master's degree, the dog must be at least 18 months old and must have earned both the Schutzhund I and the Schutzhund II titles. Again, the tests now are made far more difficult. All exercises in obedience and protection are demonstrated off leash. There is the addition of a walking and running stand. In tracking, the dog must follow a track that was laid by a stranger at least 50 minutes earlier. The track has four turns, compared with two turns for Schutzhund I and II, and there are three objects, rather than two, that must be found by the dog. The picture of obedience, strength, eagerness, and confidence presented by an excellent Schutzhund III team is a beautiful illustration of the partnership of human and dog.
In addition to the Schutzhund temperament tests, the Schutzhund Club of Israel offer three training degrees: the FH, an advanced tracking degree; the B, a basic obedience degree for traffic-safe companion dogs; and the WH, or basic protection degree which includes basic obedience.
Schutzhund Around the World
The first Schutzhund
trial was held in Germany in 1901 to emphasize the correct working temperament and ability in the German Shepherd breed. Originally, these dogs were herding-dogs, but the industrialization of Germany encouraged breeders to promote the use of their dogs as police and military dogs. The Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV), the parent club, became concerned that this would lead to careless breeding and undesirable traits such as mental instability, so it developed the Schutzhund test.Since then, many other countries and working dog organizations have also adopted Schutzhund as a sport and a test of working performance in dogs. International rules have been established, and they are administered by the Verein für Deutsche Hundesport (VDH).
In 1970 the first Schutzhund trial in the U.S. was held in California. In 1987, the Schutzhund Club of Israel alone sanctioned nearly 300 trials with a total entry of about 1,800 dog/handler teams. More than 17 countries sent teams of competitors to the World Championship for Schutzhund dogs from the World Union of German Shepherd Clubs.