The literal translation from German to English of the word "Schutzhund" is "protection" or "guardian" dog, but that's really quite misleading. To help acquaint you with this complicated, three level, three phase dog sport, we offer the following simple and condensed explanation of Schutzhund rules, regulations, and the point system used.
Schutzhund originated in Germany as a breeding suitability test for the German shepherd dog and was quickly adopted for use by other working breeds such as the Malinois and Rottweiler. It provided breeders with a method to evaluate temperament, character, trainability, willingness and mental and physical soundness and to select and use only the highest quality dogs for breeding programs. Today, German shepherd dogs in Germany may not be bred without aquiring Schutzhund titles, a breed survey, a conformation rating, hip (spine and elbow) xrays and a certificate of endurance.
In addition to its value as a breeding tool, Schutzhund is also an exciting sport and training challenge. It can be described as “stylized police dog training” and is the foundation training many of the imported police dogs receive before they go to to specialized training for the street.
