Malaysian Schutzhund Trials Promote Dog Fun and Responsible Ownership
What fun! Did any Dogsters participate?
Thanks to TheStarOnline for this article.
Protection dogs show their capabilities at sport carnival
By CHARLES FERNANDEZ
IT WAS time well spent for dog lovers who showed up at the dog sport carnival held at the SRJK (C) Serdang Baru 1 grounds in Jalan Sekolah, Seri Kembangan over a recent weekend.
Organised by the Selangor Working Dog Club, the event featured a dog training community showcasing the capabilities of the canines and the teamwork between the dogs and their handlers in the Schutzhund trials.
Schutzhund (German for “protection dog”) is a sport for dogs that is similar to three-day eventing for horses, and it may take up to two years to train a dog to be ready to undergo a Schutzhund trial, especially if one is starting with a young puppy. The most difficult part is to find the correct dog for the work.The purpose of Schutzhund is to determine whether a dog has the character traits that are required for certain types of work, such as police and rescue work. In Germany – where Schutzhund originated as a test for German Shepherd Dogs – only dogs that passed the test were used for breeding so that the offspring would have this working ability. Since then, the growing demand for better working dogs in other fields has led to more sophisticated tests and training.
According to Azman Ali, training director of the Selangor Working Dog Club, Schtzhund, which is popular in Western countries, is catching on among local dog lovers, and the main purpose of the dog sport carnival was to promote an active lifestyle and responsible dog ownership.
“Not many people who own dogs know how a dog behaves and if their pet were to attack, how they should stop it. This is only possible if your dog is well trained – hence the importance of correct training and handling,” said Azman.
He said bonding between the handler and the dog was important in handling dogs, especially large and working breeds such as German Shepherd Dogs, Belgian Shepherds (Malinois), Rottweilers and Dobermans.
“Through bonding, motivation and drive, we can create a good relationship between an owner and a well-behaved and happy working-companion dog. The event today features several dog trials in Agility and Schutzhund as well as working K9 companions,‿ he added.
The Schulthund was a test of the dog’s speed, agility and accuracy in completing a challenging course of obstacles with the handler maintaining control of his dog at all times. The event was divided into two categories, for small (mini) and big (maxi) dogs, and proved enjoyable for both dogs and handlers.
Follow this link to read the rest of the article.
Maybe in Germany this is a decent honest sport. I have just come across a website exposing one Shutzhund club in the UK where they use electric collars that are banned from the sport, and I have watched the video they posted that shows one of the trainers PICKING THE DOG UP BY THE SKIN AND THROWING IT TO THE GROUND. I’ve nothing against the sport and the training, but the animal abuse they seem to have got used to needs exposing.
http://whiteroseschutzhund.blogspot.com/
Dear Sir, we are not talking about soft submissive house pets, but rather working line gsd’s that have high drive and a hard nature buy definition to do the job and training.
I have seen this blog and know of the writer. He has deliberatly twisted what is shown out of context for his own purposes.
The dog is ‘flanked’, rather uncomfortabley moved back into the correct position. Yes the dog is unhappy with this but Hardley animal abuse.
As for e-collars, used correctly they reduce conflict with the handler as oppose to old fashioned check chains and are a training tool, only banned from the training field to appease the show world who are hell bent on stopping schutzhund due to their lack of understanding that the dogs are biting in prey drive, not fight.