Interested in Schutzhund

[gsdlover91]

I'm a total newbie when it comes to shutzhund...but I am interested in it. How do I get involved?? How time consuming is it? Is it expensive? What do I need to know?? How do i begin to train my dog for this? I have a 7.5 month old puppy, he has many SchH3 dogs in his pedigree, does this give him a better chance of being GOOD at schutzhund, or shall I say, a good prospect?? And actually every single dog in his 5 generation pedigree has atleast a SchH1. Also, what is IPO and what is the difference? Im located a bit North of Chicago, in the Northern suburbs, anyone know of any clubs around here...? Thanks much in advance..

[HarleyTheGSD]

Originally Posted by gsdlover91

I'm a total newbie when it comes to shutzhund...but I am interested in it. How do I get involved?? How time consuming is it? Is it expensive? What do I need to know?? How do i begin to train my dog for this? I have a 7.5 month old puppy, he has many SchH3 dogs in his pedigree, does this give him a better chance of being GOOD at schutzhund, or shall I say, a good prospect?? And actually every single dog in his 5 generation pedigree has atleast a SchH1. Also, what is IPO and what is the difference? Im located a bit North of Chicago, in the Northern suburbs, anyone know of any clubs around here...? Thanks much in advance..

First, you'll want to get involved with a Schutzhund club. Here are a couple in your area:
Chicago Schutzhund Verein
Topline German Shepherd Club of Illinois

It is VERY time consuming. There will be set training days that you must attend as much as possible, and about 90% of the training is done at home on your own time. Having SchH titled dogs in his pedigree definitely does up his chances of excelling in the sport, but it's all about the individual dog. The club will evaluate your dog's temperament.
Contact a club, watch them work with their dogs, and ask LOTS of questions. Good luck!

[Jag]

Originally Posted by gsdlover91

I'm a total newbie when it comes to shutzhund...but I am interested in it. How do I get involved?? How time consuming is it? Is it expensive? What do I need to know?? How do i begin to train my dog for this? I have a 7.5 month old puppy, he has many SchH3 dogs in his pedigree, does this give him a better chance of being GOOD at schutzhund, or shall I say, a good prospect?? And actually every single dog in his 5 generation pedigree has atleast a SchH1. Also, what is IPO and what is the difference? Im located a bit North of Chicago, in the Northern suburbs, anyone know of any clubs around here...? Thanks much in advance..

IPO and SchH are the same thing. The name has just changed to IPO. Call and visit some clubs. It's expensive for the equipment. Of course, you don't have to get everything right away, but I just shelled out about $200. Then you have the membership fees when it's time to join. I don't know what those run in your area. It varies by club. You also have to pay (later) to join the USCA and buy the score book. There are trial entry fees. All in all... it's not exactly cheap to do. However, do NOT let that stop you! It will take awhile before you're ready to trial for anything anyway. Contact clubs in your area. Go to the USCA website, and it will give you a list of all the clubs. Send out emails and make phone calls. See which clubs you can go visit. READ. I've been doing reading for a long time, and I still don't know squat. There's also info about it on the USCA website. It is time consuming. It's a lot of work. However, if you dedicate yourself to putting in the time and the work because you enjoy it and your dog is enjoying it... then it's worth it!

[hunterisgreat]

Watch. Go watch a helper work a dog and ask the helper why he's doing this and that

[martemchik]

There are a few clubs in your area...I grew up there. Quite expensive since they're closer to the city. The cheaper ones are out in the boonies...where land is cheap and usually free to use due to connections. I'm pretty positive the Chicago clubs rent out large field houses to train and it really drives up the fees.

Money isn't the biggest challenge though. Its the time. Like Harley stated its not really one of those things where you can come and go as you please. You really have to try to make most of the training sessions...and they're usually on the weekends.

[gsdlover91]

Thanks for the responses. Very helpful! And yes, the clubs around me are quite expensive because they are located by the city. Urggghhh.

Do I have to be 'invited' to go watch?? Some of the clubs I looked at online say you have to be invited.

Do I want my dog at a certain level of training before joining a club?? I am working on the basic obedience work currently (heeling, recall, downstay, speak, FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS, lol) Just trying to get him reliable with all his commands and what not, while working up to more difficult ones.

And if a lot of the training is done at home, what ELSE can I do at home to help him prepare for this? I already do training with him everyday at home, plus a basic class.

[onyx'girl]

Originally Posted by gsdlover91

Thanks for the responses. Very helpful! And yes, the clubs around me are quite expensive because they are located by the city. Urggghhh.

Do I have to be 'invited' to go watch?? Some of the clubs I looked at online say you have to be invited.

Do I want my dog at a certain level of training before joining a club?? I am working on the basic obedience work currently (heeling, recall, downstay, speak, FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS, lol) Just trying to get him reliable with all his commands and what not, while working up to more difficult ones.

And if a lot of the training is done at home, what ELSE can I do at home to help him prepare for this? I already do training with him everyday at home, plus a basic class.

You should always be "invited" and not just show up....some clubs have a designated day for visitors.

The everyday training you are doing is fine for now, until you get him evaluated.
I'd contact Robin Huerta and see if you can visit her group!

[martemchik]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

You should always be "invited" and not just show up....some clubs have a designated day for visitors.

The everyday training you are doing is fine for now, until you get him evaluated.
I'd contact Robin Huerta and see if you can visit her group!

Invited can also mean...email the club and they'll tell you when to come. They have a training space and just don't want people showing up. Plus most don't even post the hours they train anywhere so you'll have a hard time knowing when the training is not just where.

Robin's group is a ways away from the city. Depending on where you live it could be 2 or 3 hours lol. But it is a pretty good group if you are going to join one. Really depends on the amount of time you have to commit.

Every Sunday...leave your home at 7 probably get back around 7...

[llombardo]

Originally Posted by HarleyTheGSD

First, you'll want to get involved with a Schutzhund club. Here are a couple in your area:
Chicago Schutzhund Verein
Topline German Shepherd Club of Illinois

It is VERY time consuming. There will be set training days that you must attend as much as possible, and about 90% of the training is done at home on your own time. Having SchH titled dogs in his pedigree definitely does up his chances of excelling in the sport, but it's all about the individual dog. The club will evaluate your dog's temperament.
Contact a club, watch them work with their dogs, and ask LOTS of questions. Good luck!

Topline is where I went. They are located right by my house, but schutzhund is done at another location, further south in Chicago Ridge. The other one is closer to the OP

[Liesje]

LOL I'm going to disagree with martemchik and say money is the biggest hurdle for me, not time. Even if I train on my own every day it's not for more than 10 minutes of obedience or so and tracking 3-4 times a week. These are dogs just like any other and if you bore them with an hour of obedience a day they will be pretty flat. You're better off spending the bulk of your time exercising and playing with your dog and then doing obedience for 10 minutes every other day. Money is the issue for me because of gas prices and no longer having people to carpool. That costs me more than equipment, dues, entry fees. Also it puts a lot of miles on my vehicle so regular maintenance happens at quicker intervals (oil changes every 1-2 months, etc). Training with the club is a long day but it's one day a week. The thing I struggle with on my own is not finding time to train but being motivated to do it. When I had good friends in the neighborhood we trained together fairly regularly but I'm the only one in my club from my side of the state let alone my city so I have to motivate myself to go out and track. This past year I was pretty distracted by a lot of other stuff but this year I will try my best to finish Nikon's titles.