# anyone into Schutzhund?



## MonicaBH (Jul 5, 2008)

I have recently started toying with the notion of working Clyde in Schutzhund. I am 150% novice, and I have no idea what to look for in a club/trainer. I don't know if Clyde has the right temperament/drive, either. To refresh your memories, he was rescued as a puppy... I have no idea of his genetics.

I have found two clubs that are in driving distance. Neither website is very helpful, so I've sent out "feeler emails" to both clubs... but how do I determine the best club for Clyde & I? Both clubs are associated with the USCA, if that means anything.

Right now, we are still working on novice AKC OB and we're progressing quite nicely (we *might* trial in March). I've never worked him in tracking or protection, though, and he's 4½ years old already.

Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions?


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

I suggest you contact them and ask when and where they meet and just go observe them. They get lots of feeler emails and really do not take them seriously. When I was in pa I never found a good club there but I had a great one in va and now have a great one in TN. It is a ton of fun. The groups I have been with dont mind you starting out and with an older dog you may or may not get to the end however they even have people without current dogs come out and you learn a ton just watching the other handlers and helping out. A good group will encourage you to learn because you may just end up with a second dog or a dog later and also learn what you can for this one. It's about working and playing in a group with the focus on training dogs not just going out to get the titles.


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## MonicaBH (Jul 5, 2008)

Thanks for the reply. In my email, I gave a little of our background information, and asked when they meet/train so that I could come and watch.

If I get a response from either club, how do I determine if they're legit or practicing good training practice? I want to do this as a bonding/fun thing for Clyde & I. I know it will be more intense and stressful than AKC OB, but I don't want to break my dog down, either. Ya know?


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## climber (Apr 28, 2008)

I am very, very new to Schutzhund, we've only been going to a club for about 6 months now. So far, it is very interesting and very fun. 

I would recommend going to watch both (assuming they get back to you, of course), and leave your dog at home when you go observe. Watch the dogs as they are training, and see if the dogs appear happy to be doing the work. I'd go with the club whose dogs look happiest to be on the field, personally. I think the attitude of the dogs on the field tells the story of how the club trains more accurately than anything else. 

Schutzhund training should not break down your dog, in fact i think it should build him up.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

agreed with climber and as a dog person if something makes you uncomfortable with what you observe I would ask here about it. There are good and bad clubs out there like in anything else.


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## MonicaBH (Jul 5, 2008)

I've heard back from one club, and as I suspected, they train on the weekends. My work schedule is from Saturday-Tuesday, which means... you guessed it! No training with this particular club.

I'm waiting to hear back from one other club, but I'm not hopeful. The club that emailed me back is all-breed, and they have rotties in the club already. I feel like we'd fit in nicely. The second club didn't specify whether or not it was all-breed, but most of the dogs in the pictures were GSDs or Malinois. 

We'll see.


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## Gracie's Mom (Oct 6, 2010)

We too are new to the sport. We have tried several obedience classes in our area and have decided to travel an hour one way to go to the training kennel that is also a schutzhund club. By visiting their fall trial and meeting the members we decided that this was the club for us. They are a friendly group of people and from the interactions we saw (watching all day, many different people and dogs) there were no scary training methods. All the dogs seemed happy to do the work, even when they didn't pass. I would recommend visiting and watching several times before you choose the club that fits your needs.


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