How to Train the Protection Phase of Schutzhund

The protection phase of Schutzhund trials is often the most watched portion of the day. The control, stability and responsiveness of a well-trained protection dog are hard to find in any other sport. Protection seems like a daunting task to train a dog in, but with frequent and proper training nearly any dog can be taught proper protection exercises.

Things You'll Need

• Burlap sack
• Puppy bite sleeve
• Heavy leather collar
• 6 foot lead
• Solid bite sleeve
• Helper

Instructions

1. Start working with your puppy for the protection phase of Schutzhund. Protection and bitework are vital skills that your puppy must learn in order to compete in Schutzhund, and the foundation skills can be started on puppies as young as eight weeks old.

2. Play with your puppy with the burlap sack. Burlap has nearly the same texture as bite sleeves used in training and competition and allow you to familiarize your puppy with the idea of a bite and reward system. Wave the sack near your puppy and encourage her to bite it.

3. Release the sack as soon as your puppy bites on it. Allowing her to “win” and take control of the sack. Biting the sack is the action you want the puppy to take and allowing her to win and take control of the sack builds confidence and encourages a firm, full-mouthed bite from your puppy.

4. Continue playing with the puppy with the burlap sack until he willingly bites on it with a full, hard grip. Always allow the puppy to take control of the sack and win the game so that he is continually encouraged to keep biting.

5. Place the puppy bite sleeve on a competent, well-trained helper who is familiar with puppy training. Drape the burlap sack over the bite sleeve and encourage the puppy to bite at the sleeve. The handler will remove the sleeve and let the puppy win the sleeve just as you’ve been doing with the burlap sack. The sleeve is very similar to an adult bite sleeve, with the exception it is soft and easy on growing puppies.

6. Work the puppy on the puppy bite sleeve until she is confident and bites the sleeve fully every time. She will need to always grip the sleeve with her entire mouth and grip the sleeve firmly as points will be deducted for anything less than a firm, full grip.

7. Move your puppy to the hard adult sleeve when he is approximately a year old and has all of his adult teeth. The adult sleeve is a hard sleeve, so it may take him a little while to adjust. Continue to work with your helper and allow the puppy to win the sleeve to encourage him and enjoy the bitework training.

8. Place the heavy collar and lead on your dog and sit with her by your side. Your dog must also learn how to bark at and pursue a helper during Schutzhund trials, so a solid pursuit is important to teach your dog.

9. Ask the helper to move towards you and your dog in a threatening manner. Encourage your dog to sit and bark at the helper in an attempt to frighten the helper off. The dog should bark loudly and with conviction and should seem imposing to the helper. The helper should turn and move away from you, rewarding the job for a job well done.

10. Place your helper behind a blind or other cover and have your dog search around the blind. Once they find the helper, ask the dog to sit and bark. Work on this bark and hold from further and further distances until your dog willingly searches and barks at the helper every single time. This exercise is a simple follow up to the bark exercise as the dog is already accustomed to barking at the handler.

11. Continue working the dog on all phases of the bitework and bark and hold training until she is confident enough to perform all of the exercises at a distance. A good portion of the time during a Schutzhund trial your dog will need to work away from you, so ensuring that she has a solid understanding of your commands will make for much more success for you both in the Schutzhund ring.

Tips & Warnings

• Always offer praise and reward to your dog when he does well. Encouraging him and making the protection phase of Schutzhund fun for him will make him want to work enthusiastically for you.

• Train consistently. Using the same short, repetitious exercises until your dog is well-trained will make learning new things much easier for her.

• Never force your dog to perform any bitework. Physically forcing your dog to bite will make biting a chore and make success in the Schutzhund ring much more difficult.

• Do not work with a helper who is not trained in working with young dogs. An overzealous helper can quickly ruin a young dog if they do not understand how a young dog needs to be worked.