[JennSLK]

So im am looking at either getting a dog for Shutzhund or using Jaz for it.

Now Jazz is a show bred dog, so Im not sure if she wold do well at it. But thats not the point.

1)What age do you start their training? With a profesional of course

2) Since she is going to be a show dog, should I wait for her to get her CH, as to not screw up her chances in the ring?

 

[Fitzmar Dobermans]

So im am looking at either getting a dog for Shutzhund or using Jaz for it.

Now Jazz is a show bred dog, so Im not sure if she wold do well at it. But thats not the point.

1)What age do you start their training? With a profesional of course

2) Since she is going to be a show dog, should I wait for her to get her CH, as to not screw up her chances in the ring?

I think you will get as many opinions as people who respond. My personal feeling is that this is an intellegent breed and they can differentiate from one venue to another. I normally train breed ring and obedience at the same time.... different lead and collar for each. I think the biggest issue with the bite sports is finding someone who is really good at it and not just a macho yahoo that likes to fling dogs around.

 

[brumwolf]

I'm with velmadobe on this i do exactly the same i use one collar and lead to walk the streets,a different one for OB and a show chain for ringcraft.Our breed club has people that do Schutzhund training and i think Tia could take to that just as well as she has to the other two.
Like velmadobe said these dogs are so smart they will take to anything given the right training.

 

[BackInBlack]

I honestly dont know much about the world of show dogs, but I started my puppy in Schutzhund after his 3rd set of shots.

We started tracking once a week at first, "playing" with a teaser rag, and letting him watch the bigger dogs do obedience and protection. The club that I belong to does not reccomend heavy obedience until the protection work is stable, they teach obedience and protection at the same time, it seems that the dogs pick it up quickly and it is more fun for them. Everyone has their own methods though.

We have 5 doberman puppies in our club and they are all so smart!!!! I personally think they could do both, strut their stuff in a show ring, and do schutzhund on the weekend.... I love this breed!

 

[TwoDobieGirls]

Back in Black - where are you located? I can't find anything around my area (central Iowa), except for a German Shepherd club, and I don't know if they would be open to me bringing Dobes.

 

[BackInBlack]

I am in Eastern North Carolina. The club that I belong to, I actually found on the Schutzhund USA website. http://www.germanshepherddog.com/ German Shepards seem to be the "norm" at most clubs, but they were all very nice to me, and accepting of my doberkid (and my boxer, whom they call the "diva dog" because of her pink bling-bling leather collar). When I started with them it was me and one other girl with a doberman puppy. So we set out on a mission to recruit more dobermans, now the club jokes with us that we are going to "take over the club..with dobermans"

This is a Schutzhund Club in Iowa
http://www.freewebs.com/neisc/ If I were you, I would either e-mail them or call them up and just talk to them, tell them what you would like to do with your dogs, and maybe go out on one of their training nights without your dogs and see if it is something you think you might be interested in.

I love Schutzhund, my dogs love it to. We do obedience and protection as a club 3 days a week, and track early on Saturday mornings. Me and my dogs both look forward to it.

Let me know how it turns out.

 

[JavasMom]

How do you go about teaching protection?

 

[TwoDobieGirls]

The club that meets in Iowa Falls is a 90-minute drive one-way. I can't travel that far on a weekly basis with all of my equine resonsibilities and bills! The club that I know of (vaguely) meets in Boone (a 30-minute one-way) which I could possibly squeeze in. But their website is down, I can't find any sort of phone listing, and I don't know what days they meet. :sigh:

 

[BackInBlack]

JM - Thats the great thing about dobermans, you almost dont have to "teach" it so to speak! And really, schutzhund is not what I would consider to be real "protection dog" training (like most people would think, anyway) In my opinion real protection work would utilize the dogs "defense drives" where as most of schutzhund protection work (MOST) is stimulating the dogs prey drive.

This is a great short FAQ about Schutzhund as a sport.
http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0035.htm