How to Train the Obedience Phase of Schutzhund

Obedience is an essential phase of a Schuzthund trial. The obedience phase demands teamwork between dog and handler and requires precision and skill to achieve maximum points. Obedience is not a difficult skill to teach, but it does require consistency and determination on behalf of both handler and dog.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Collar
• 6 foot lead
• Dumbbell
• Treats
• Toys
• Hurdle
• A-frame

1. Begin your training when your puppy is young. Pups as young as twelve weeks can begin basic obedience training and develop the basic skills necessary to succeed in the Schuzthund obedience ring. Let your puppy become accustomed to the collar and lead as early as possible to avoid issues later in training.

2. Review the list of required commands that your dog must perform to pass a Schuzthund obedience trial. These include various heeling exercises, sits, downs, stability under gunfire, send-outs, and retrieves over the hurdle and the A-frame. Many of these exercises are a little complex to teach but can be easily accomplished once the obedience foundation is in place.

3. Work on simple tasks first, such as teaching your puppy to sit. Place your puppy on lead and ask him to sit. Hold a treat in your hand and raise the treat above his head until he sits down to reach up and take the treat. Give him the treat as soon as he responds and praise him. All commands can be taught following the same basic theory of ask and praise, so you can adapt this idea to each of the commands you need to teach your puppy.

4. Move onto other simple commands such as teaching your puppy to lie down. Take a treat in your hand and place your puppy on lead at your side. Lower the treat towards the ground and give your puppy the command to “Down.” Reward your puppy when she is fully in the down position by giving her the treat and praising her. Once she is solidly performing the sit and down commands, move onto the next simple command of your choice.

5. Encourage your puppy to heel enthusiastically from the beginning of your training. The heel is an exercise that often loses a dog a considerable amount of points, as Schuzthund rules state that the dog must work with excitement and enthusiasm. Offer your puppy his favorite treat or toy while heeling and verbally encourage him to watch you and keep up with you.

6. Offer your puppy the training dumbbell while he is young. The dumbbell retrieving can be a bit confusing for a young puppy, but if he learns early on how to handle the dumbbell it will be much easier for him in the future. Take the dumbbell in your hand and present it to the pup with the command “Take.” Place it in his mouth and have him hold it for a couple of seconds then give him the “Release” command. Allow him to release it and offer a treat as reward. Continue this process, encouraging him to hold it for longer and longer periods of time, giving the “take” and “release” commands every time. Eventually he will take the dumbbell with ease and will retrieve it willingly when given the proper commands.

7. Set up the hurdle and A-frame and teach your puppy to scale it once your veterinarian clears her. Jumping and scaling the obstacles can be hazardous to your young growing dog, so a quick check from your vet will tell you if she’s ready for that portion of training. Encourage her over the obstacles with her favorite treat and allow her to scale them completely so that she learns to clear them properly. Work in the dumbbell retrieve once she is consistently scaling both obstacles, and continue to encourage and praise her to work quickly and efficiently.

8. Teach the dog to happily run after a treat or toy once he has a solid down. This send-out is a vital exercise and teaching him to run out quickly and lay down on command is a necessary exercise. Toss his favorite toy out at a distance of twenty or thirty feet and give the command for the send-out. When he reaches halfway, loudly give the “down” command and make sure he lies down. Walk to him and give him the release command such as “ok.” Continue this exercise until he performs the exercise correctly every time.

9. Work the dog under distractions. Have a variety of people and items available to distract the dog. Training the dog under gunshot and other loud noise is important to ensuring your dog does not blow any exercises while performing the obedience portion of the Schutzhund routine. Command the dog to lie down and have a helper fire a starting pistol or other loud noise and make sure the dog does not move. Repeat these distraction exercises until the dog takes no notice of anything other than you and your commands.

10. Increase the level of difficulty of your training exercises as your dog progresses. Start with the simple exercises and move onto the more difficult ones once your dog is performing simple tasks correctly every single time. Always offer plenty of praise and encouragement to make sure your dog is happy and excited to work for you, and you should have no trouble earning excellent scores in the obedience phase of any Schutzhund trial.

Tips & Warnings

• Always give plenty of praise to your dog. Treats, toys and even verbal praise will keep your dog happy and interested in working for you.
• Start your training early. The sooner you begin working with your puppy, the sooner she will understand obedience training.
• Give commands clearly and quickly. The sooner your dog hears the command, the faster she will respond.
• Never hit or physically punish your dog. Harsh treatment, especially of young dogs, is a quick way to stop them from wanting to have fun and work well for you.
• Do not work a young dog too hard. Young puppies are still growing and strenuous training can permanently damage a young dog.