Should I get my first Schutzhund dog??!!! - Page 1

I'm 17 and want to get my first Schutzhund dog. I would like him to be Sch 1 already so I don't have to worry about getting a bad dog first. Before everyone starts critisizing for my age please know my dad already has a dog and I have been going to training with him every time for a year and am the one who got him into thte sport. I think I'm going to have Dean Calderon pick out my dog becuase I know he'll get a good first dog for me and I trust him completely. So the problem I have is when I go off to college which will be local I will probably want to hang out with friends and am hesitant because I don't want that to take up to much time. So should I get the dog and forget the college life or should I forget the dog and enjoy being in college?

Hope you don't take offense at my reply, but if I was you I would forget the dog and enjoy college.  You are only young once.  A dog is a 10-15 year long commitment.  To be blunt I'm guessing a lot of the people on this site that have schutzhund dogs are old and are in schutzhund because they don't have much of a personal/leisure life as it is so schutzhund IS their hobby to fill their time.  They are at a time in their life where they have the money and time to spend on what amounts to largely a ego boosting hobby. 
If I was you I would just keep going with your Dad with his dog and learning that way.  Of course I am not you and you get to make your own choices.  On the other hand 17 is old enough to train in schutzhund if you really wanted to.  I know of trainers who have trained for 45 years now and were doing guard dog training for police back when they were younger than you.  It's just that if i was 17 again, playing around with a doggie and a tug sleeve would be the last thing I'd be doing.

I know what you mean but that's where the conflict comes in. I love the sport and really want to get in it but I also want to enjoy my life while im young. That's why I'm thinking that if I get the dog I could do both because training isn't a all day thing it takes a few hours, so maybe I could get the best of both worlds.

Training isn't an all day thing but dog ownership is.  I've heard people say dog ownership is like taking care of a child, except one that can't talk and is handicapped with no arms or hands.  It can be time consuming.  Plus walking and exercising the dog.  Plus socializig the dog.  It can get very consuming.

What is the reason for wanting a schutz dog?  Is it for protection or is it just for the fun/hobby or what?

It's for fun/hobby purposes mainly and I can see where your coming from it is a big decesion and will have to take in all considerations before making my final decesion.

You are in an envious position though because your dad already has a dog and you get to go with him to training, which a lot of 17 yr olds don't have that luxury.  Of course if your goal in life is to become a professional trainer then I guess the younger the better. 

I know it just looks like he's having so much fun, it is a lot of work but the reward is great. and I don't really want to be a professional trainer just have fun with the sport for a long time.

My opinion is that it totally depends on you. I got my first attempt at a schutzhund dog almost a year ago, and I'm only 19. (I totally ruined the dog , but I'm glad I got him, so I could figure out a lot of my mistakes that I'll try not to make with the second one, lol.) I go to college, but only two days a week. It depends on if you love to party, or are willing to go straight home to the dog. I was never a really social person, and my few social activites I could almost always take the dog, so it worked well for me. I also already owned another dog. It really just depends on you, so you have to know yourself. Do you feel like you can devote time every day to this dog, including time for training? Do you feel like you can skip social obligations to care for the dog? Do you have the funds to care for a dog, for routine stuff and the unexpected? Do you have the housing? If dogs are your passion (like me) then your youth might not be near as enjoyable without the dog. Your only young once, so if you plan on working dogs your whole life, don't waste this oppurtunity. I'll repeat myself one more time, it depends on you.

Whew that was long. Sorry. lol

My son(19yo) just recently got excited about Schutzhund. He has been going to training with my husband and me since he was about 4 years old. He never really cared much about it, he likes our dogs and enjoyed the people but it didn't seem to be his thing. Anyway, he started college last fall (he's now a sophomore). When he came home for summer break he started coming to Schutzhund practice again, but now all of a sudden he wants to be a helper. So my husband started training him to be a helper for the summer and he did really well, so obviouisly he was paying attention all those years! He told us that he is going to get himself a nice bitch to work as soon as he graduates, but for now he's just going to stick with learning. He's already finished a year of college so is well aware of how little time he would have for a dog. My husband and I were thrilled that he made the right decision for his own situation without us having to be the bad guys saying no to a pup. Of course he knows when the time is right we will help him find a great pup.
Annette

This is all up to you, but if I could go back and be your age, I'd hold off on the dogs and the partying. I'd be the biggest nerd at school. I'd double major and graduate in three years. I'd go to grad school and get the best job I could get. Nowadays, a bach deg is equal to a HS diploma in the past. I would bust my ass and be done with school at 24 with a killer job. After you get the killer job, you have the rest of your life to party and train dogs.