Schutzhund dog in house?

[BrianB]

In my quest for a puppy I have spoken to a few breeders and it seems most that have SCH 3 dogs and are really into the sport have their dogs in Kennels and say they would not make good house dogs especially with kids. I guess I could see that, if a ball goes bouncing down the hall the dog would bolt after it and knock stuff/kids over. Does any one on here have their Schutzhund 3 dog in the house? Is the dog calm in the house? I am just wondering if I want a house dog if it is worth even getting into schutzhund, wont that build up the drive and make them crazier? With small kids I just wonder about the bitework as well.

Brian

[Anthony8858]

IMO, I never met a dog that didn't chase a ball, or puppy bite.
Shutzhund or no Shutzhund.

[wolfstraum]

LOL LOL LOL

I have had a bunch of titled dogs....right now 2 dogs with Sch3/IPO3 and EXTREME drives, one with Sch1, trained to Sch3....

always 2 dogs loose together (I don't allow the 2 females loose together)....

The worst thing they do is drop a slimy ball on my keyboard now and then!!!!!!

Trained dogs are fine in the house as long as you don't buy a busy off the wall nutcase puppy....a dog bred for balance is fine in hte house...make sure the parents - or at least the dam can be in the house and is not "busy"...

Lee

[bocron]

We have 8 German Shepherds. 6 of which work at our Schutzhund club regularly. They all live in the house. It's all about training. My children grew up with working dogs around, that, too, is all about training.

Annette

[BlackGSD]

The fact that the dogs aren't good with kids or in the house isn't because they are SchH3 dogs. I would be willing to wager those same dogs wouldn't be good with kids nor in the house if they weren't titled at all!

[lhczth]

It is the dog not the SchH training that determines if the dog is a good house dog and good around family and kids. It also has a lot to do with the expectations of the owners. My dogs all have rules whether they are SchH3 or just a pet. The title doesn't change that.

[Mrs.K]

Originally Posted by BrianB

In my quest for a puppy I have spoken to a few breeders and it seems most that have SCH 3 dogs and are really into the sport have their dogs in Kennels and say they would not make good house dogs especially with kids. I guess I could see that, if a ball goes bouncing down the hall the dog would bolt after it and knock stuff/kids over. Does any one on here have their Schutzhund 3 dog in the house? Is the dog calm in the house? I am just wondering if I want a house dog if it is worth even getting into schutzhund, wont that build up the drive and make them crazier? With small kids I just wonder about the bitework as well.

Brian

Not true at all. I grew up with five male shepherds in the house, three of them were titled out the wazoo in SchH1/2/3, FH and IPO

they were very calm around us kids, we could climb all over them. We were also able to handle them at all times.

A Schutzhund dog can make a great family dog. It always depends on WHO actually owns them and what their believes are.

[Josie/Zeus]

My puppy is just about to turn 8 months old, we are training for PSA.
Is he ball crazy? Yes, but only allowed to play out in the yard
Tug crazy? Yes- this we do play in the house too
Hyper? He is a puppy so Yes!, but he does turn it off when inside the house
I happen to have a 3 year old boy that loves to chase Koda and loves to hug him a lot too.


The beauty of GSD is that they are smart enough to know better. If your future puppy comes from a reputable breeder, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about as far as temperament.

[JKlatsky]

Schutzhund dogs are amazing. Schutzhund puppies...work in progress. We have 5 dogs that participate in Schutzhund, all live in the house in crates and are rotated through for house time (they do not all get along). I would say that it's perfectly reasonable to expect a well trained dog (which is what a Schutzhund dog is) to be good in the house.

However. I would say that a dog that is successful in participating in the sport is going to have energy expenditure requirements (this can be true of all GSDs) and will need exercise or it can get pretty restless in the house. A drivey dog without a job can be difficult. Its never advisable to get a dog with requirements you are not sure you can meet.

Additionally, with a puppy, the qualities that you might desire in a schutzhund prospect are not going to necessarily make the best family pet. The puppy is going to mouth and bite, and run, and chase. And all of these things are necessary for a schutzhund dog to do, so you can't stop them. What you do instead in manage them and channel them and start to teach them appropriate behaviors in situations. For example. Biting. We don't want to teach our pups that biting on people or making body contact is bad, because at some point we are going to ask them to do those things in bitework. If they learn as puppies that there are painful corrections associated with biting, you could create problems later in your schutzhund dog. All our puppies are taught early that toys are the way to win interaction. And quickly does a mouthy puppy learn to bring a toy when he wants to play instead of just grabbing your hand! Gentle can be taught also, but you want to avoid learning through corrections.

Puppies and young dogs lack judgement and can sometimes be impulsive, so management of these dogs is necessary. My 18 month old is sweet with toddlers and kids. He likes belly rubs and is gentle with his mouth. We go on walks with my friend and her toddler and infant in their jogger stroller. They pet him on the head, he licks the slime off their fingers and everything is great. However, never would I let him off leash with the kids. They're not big enough and he doesn't judge his body well enough. When he's in the house he would definitely create some havoc going after the ball, but toys are put away so that's not an option for him. We have rules about counters and rough housing and as long as I carry through and enforce them...it all runs smoothly. But I could see where it might be difficult if you're not used to managing this type of dog.

[DanielleOttoMom]

I have two working line GSD in my home. I have Otto a male and Circe a female. The female which is green in SchH but I have switched over to PSA with. Circe is great in our home and out of our. We have two kids 7 and 8 years old. She is very motherly and girly too. My male is a goof ball and plays with both my kids like he to is a kid! I will say when it is time to work they work and work hard to please me.