Schutzhund (/'ʃʊtshʊnt/, German for "protection dog"), currently known competitively as IGP and previously as IPO, is a dog sport that tests a dog's tracking, obedience, and protection skills, and evaluates if a dog has the appropriate traits and characteristics of a good working dog.

It was developed in Germany in the early 1900s as a suitability test for German Shepherds, but soon became the model for training and evaluating all five of the German protection breeds, which included Boxer, Dobermann, Giant Schnauzer, and Rottweiler. Though any breed of dog can participate, today the sport is dominated by German Shepherds and the Belgian Shepherd breed.

In 2025 Schutzhund and other working dog activities were awarded UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status.

Dog owners and handlers participate in Schutzhund clubs as a group activity for training the dogs, and clubs sponsor trials to test the dogs and award titles. The best dogs can qualify to participate in national and international level championships.

Traits of Schutzhund dogs

thumb|right|upright|Guarding the decoy (man). A schutzhund dog must have confidence and self-control.

Schutzhund tests dogs for the traits necessary for police-type work. Dogs trained in Schutzhund are suitable for a wide variety of working tasks: police work, specific odor detection, search and rescue, and many others. The purpose of Schutzhund is to identify dogs that have, or do not have, the character traits required for these demanding jobs such as a strong desire to work, courage, intelligence, trainability, strong bond to the handler, perseverance, protective instinct, and a good sense of smell. Schutzhund also tests for physical traits such as strength, endurance, agility, and scenting ability. The goal of Schutzhund is to illuminate the character and ability of a dog through training. Breeders can use this insight to determine how and whether to use the dog in producing the next generation of working dogs.

The German Shepherd was developed from working herding dogs around 1900 as an all-around working dog. Within a few years it was clear that the dogs were losing their working ability. Schutzhund was developed at this time as a test of working ability for German Shepherds. Only German Shepherds that had passed a Schutzhund test or a herding test were allowed to breed and thus have their progeny registered as German Shepherd Dogs (GSD). This is true in Germany to this day. It is only by testing the working ability of every generation that the strong working characteristics of the GSD have been maintained.

Today, any breed can participate in the sport, though some breed clubs run trials for just their single-breed members. The intermediate and advanced levels of the sport and the top titles are dominated by German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, with Dobermans, Rottweilers, and Bouvier des Flandres also quite successful. At the beginning levels such as BH level (Companion Dog test) and OB (Obedience), a wide variety of breeds and sizes participate.

There are three levels of titles, numbered 1 through 3, with level 1 being the first and level 3 being the most advanced. Previously they were called Schutzhund 1 through Schutzhund 3 (abbreviated SchH1–SchH3), in 2012 they became IPO1–IPO3, and in 2019 they became IGP1–IGP3.

A reliable source for training information is a good Schutzhund club. The overwhelming majority of Schutzhund training is done by owner/handlers at local clubs. There are very few clubs in the US, making books and videos a vital source of information in that country. In the US, most clubs are affiliated with the American Working Dog Federation (AWDF), United States Boxer Association (USBA), American Working Malinois Association (AWMA), United Schutzhund Clubs of America (USCA), Deutscher Verband der Gebrauchshundsportvereine (DVG), or German Shepherd Dog Club of America-Working Dog Association (GSDCA-WDA). Schutzhund clubs tend to be small, 20 or fewer members, because there is a limit to the number of dogs that can be trained in one session. Clubs often provide only limited formal assistance with tracking and obedience. To a certain extent, the clubs exist to provide the specialized resources needed to train the protection phase. However, a legitimate club will not permit a member to train only protection. Usually the more experienced members are willing to help the novice with tracking and obedience, though this is typically somewhat informal in the US.

Another function of Schutzhund clubs is to identify dogs that should not be trained in Schutzhund. Schutzhund is a challenging test of a dog's character, and not every dog, or even every GSD, is up to the challenge. The training director of the club has a responsibility to the dog, handler, club, and society to constantly evaluate every dog and to decline to train any dog with questionable character or working ability. Training a dog that does not really want to work is stressful and frustrating for all parties involved.

Schutzhund clubs regularly hold public trials, providing the opportunity for dogs to earn titles and for handlers to assess their training progress. A tiny number of dedicated handlers have trained their dogs to title readiness strictly from books and videos. This is unlikely to succeed in most cases, because it is almost impossible to train the protection phase without a helper. A good club should be considered a necessity for Schutzhund training.

Books and materials

thumb|upright|A soldier works on obedience training.

The definitive description of Schutzhund training in the first 50 years of the sport is Col. Konrad Most's Dog Training: A Manual, 1910.

|-

|

| AZG

| Germany

| AZG sets the rules for Schutzhund for all breeds. The AZG is one of the component organizations of the VDH.

|-

| Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde

| SV

| Germany

| SV is a member of VDH and a most powerful influence on the sport. Although the AZG formally sets the rules, the AZG does nothing with respect to Schutzhund without the approval of the SV. The SV has great influence within the FCI and is probably the most powerful influence on the sport.

|-

|

| DVG

| Germany

| DVG is an all-breed dog sport organization in Germany that organizes clubs and trials and has branches in Canada and US.

|-

| DVG America

|

| U.S.

| DVG-America is an all-breed Schutzhund club; member of DVG.

|-

| United Schutzhund Clubs of America

| USCA

| U.S.

| USCA is the largest Schutzhund organization in the US; it is also a German Shepherd Dog breed club.

|-

| American Working Dog Association

| AWDA

| U.S.

| AWDA is a Schutzhund club for law enforcement and associated trades, for training police dogs and search and rescue dogs.

|-

| American Working Dog Federation

| AWDF

| U.S.

| AWDF is an umbrella organization for USA Schutzhund clubs. Has applied with FCI to be the recognized US organization.

|-

| United Doberman Club

| UDC

| U.S.

| UDC is a Schutzhund club for Dobermans; member club of AWDF.

|}

In response to political forces in Germany, in 2004 the Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde (SV) and the Deutscher Hundesportverein (DHV) made substantial changes to Schutzhund. The DHV adopted the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) rules that govern IPO titles, so that at least on paper the SV and DHV gave up control of the sport to the FCI. The DHV changed the name of the titles from "SchH" (Schutzhund) to "VPG" (, which roughly translates Versatility examination for working dogs). The SV has retained the "SchH" title names, but otherwise conforms to the DHV/FCI rules.

  • Mondioring: obedience, agility (jumps) and protection
  • French Ring Sport: jumps, complex obedience, and several variants of attacks on a decoy (helper wearing bite-protection gear)
  • KNPV: Dutch, obedience and bite-work, no tracking

See also

  • List of protection sports

Explanatory notes

References

  • FCI's International Utility Dogs Regulations
  • United Schutzhund Clubs of America
  • DVG-America
  • United States Mondio Ring Association

<!-- DO NOT ADD PRIVATE BREEDERS OR ADVERTISING; IT WILL BE REMOVED -->

<!--Editors: Clubs, forums, etc are placed on DMOZ, not here-->