Schutzhound Club - Page 1

What are your thoughts about the Phoenix Schutzhound Club charging $700 a year, with a waiting list of 2-3 yrs. If your dog does not title in 1 yr. they throw you out of the club. I'm hearing alot of bad things about the club, and it's the only one here that I've heard of.

Wow! You could have your dog sent off for a month and trained for less than 700. I'd tell em to beat sand and if that meant Id have to drive a few more hours to another club, then thats what Id do. I dont personally know anything about the Phoenix club, but 700, a 2-3 year waiting list and have to have the dog titled in 1 years sounds a little crazy.

No ones gonna title the dog in a month, and definitely not for $700.

And what's a Schutz-hound club? Has someone started doing longbites with beagles or something while I was asleep? hahahaha

I know nothing about this club, how they train, who trains there or anything, BUT a club can charge and have whatever rules they want. To have a 2-3 year waiting list, they must be doing something right. Unless they just use that as an excuse to keep people away, either way it doesn't matter. The price and the stipulations will keep only people that are committed and serious in the club and others will probably be kicked out or leave. It's the kind of club they want, can't blame them for trying to create that environment. I love training and don't mind if people are there just for fun, I can still be as serious as I want to be, and I don't have to pay 700 bucks a year to do it.

I had a dog with a Schutzhound 1 and actually had his FH 1. (fartenhound 1) Waleed is speaking of is a club for German Shepherd/ Weimeraner (ghost dog) crosses. This breed is about 200 years old and is actually called a Schutzhound. picture a beautiful liver colored shepherd with floppy ears and yellow eyes! mmmmmm..........! Anyways, one thing about this Schutzhound breed is that they rear their young in pouches. They are not marsupials but they still have pouches, which can later beu sed as bait bags for training. Very interesting breed indeed!

As zdog says, it is their club and they can run it as they like. Sometimes there are few clubs in a given area and a lot of people who SAY they want to participate. The truth is, it takes a long time, perhaps more than a year in most cases, for a new handler/dog team to get enough experience and training done to title a dog, even if they are really diligent and the dog possesses all the right drives. Several years ago I started a club wanting to provide an open, friendly and supportive environment especially for new people. You know what? At this point, our club is not so open, though we try still to be friendly. Why? Because people come out and waste our time. Everytime someone new comes to training it takes time away from the club and since I have to help my club members too, they do not get that help because I am trying to deal with someone who says they are interested. I cannot tell you how many people I have seen individually and that has taken my personal time, only to find they really were not serious. Just now I spent the last 45 minutes on the phone with a woman who has a young GSD and would like more information about our club and the sport. In the end, 99% of all people decide it is too far to drive, too much a commitment, to expensive, or decide not to do it for other reasons. So many clubs put large "hurdles" out front for people interested and I understand that competely. Some say they have a waiting list. Some do, some don't. Many charge high dues, with more from new people. Some kick people out who do nothing. While we do not have timetables, we do "kick people out" who do not come regularly to training. Interestingly enough, we have people who drive for hours to get here to participate, and people who live in the area are sometimes not here for one reason or another. It is all about commitment. For example, we have never charged anyone a cent to come and enjoy our hospitality. Many clubs in our area do charge, even for an initial evaluation. We are considering starting to charge. Again why? Because people waste our time and training time is very precious. Unfortunately, Schutzhund does require an explanation, especially if there is any bitework being done when new people are present. So that takes time. I would like to think we are all good ambassadors for the breeds involved and for the sport, but sometimes, it is hard to take time that is all too precious to give it to someone who really has no interest. I try very hard to evaluate who will and will not have a commitment. Often I am disappointed. Schutzhund is a wonderful activity done in a helpful, friendly and supportive atmosphere. But it takes a huge commitment, especially of someone new. Most people simply are not willing to make commitments and worse yet, most young people today have no clue what a commitment means.

And what's a Schutz-hound club? Has someone started doing longbites with beagles or something while I was asleep? (grimmdog) You should see how far the Bassets fly on the long bites - they get those ears flapping......

Hodie, well said, i having nothing against new people just people that need me to hold thier hand

$700. a yr. is a little high in my book, but not exorbitant. The 2-3 yr. wait means they are happy with their current numbers (probably largely because of the high dues) and don't want too many people/too long of training sessions. The title your dog in one yr. or get out thing is ridiculous. My advice. Find a loose helper and start a new club. There are bound to be plenty of people either turned away or on the waiting list that would love to get started training before their dogs are senior citizens. SS