raising a schutzhund pup as a pet? - Page 1

i was told that a schutzhund pup should be a kennel dog, or at least til they are 18 months old. but i have also read/seen people on another forum that have raised them in the home as a normal pet. can you give me your views on this? is there any proof that a kennel dog will do better than a pet? please share your input.

I have known people with this belief and one reason was they only allowed the dog out too train. The belief being it would get imprinted to rest all day and when let out of the kennel would almost "explode" knowing it was going to get to play (work). Myself, I don't know if this is much of an advantage unless you have a dog with lower energy and drives. Most dogs lay around most of the day anyway unless stimulated by something. Saying that to say this, with my expereince over the last 20 years with working dogs that had very high drives I never had the need to kennel them up away from everything to make them work. Now if keep as a pet in the house I don't allow children to teach bad habits and really to play much with the dog plus you can't just take it on long walks allowing it to do whatever. My dogs always knew when the equipment was being loaded up it was time to have fun. They would jump in my vehicle and crate up and wait for me to hit the road with them. On the other hand if I competed in Schutzhund full time and for a living I might have a different opinion as my livelehood depended on it.

I've heard both opinions on this. Primarily the ones who advised to kennel the dog were from the "old school". I know a few people that compete on different levels, some more serious than others and their dogs live in the house with them full time. I think it depends on the individual dog and what measures you yourself have to take in order to bring out the best of his working ability. Some dogs need a little more to keep them totally focussed. My dog lives in the house, he's my buddy all day long but he knows when we are getting ready to work just like Desert Ranger said his dog does. I prefer to keep them in the house because they are part of the family even though they have a job to do. I think personally it's made my dog bond a lot more closely with me because we spend so much time together; not just work work work all the time but just enjoying each other.

I always tell people to set their goals with a dog before you even bring them home. It depends on how high a level in which you wish to compete. I don't care what anyone says. Having a dog, especially a young pup live in the house, will take away from the work. To live in the house you must inhibit the dog somewhat. They pick things up or chew them and you take it out of their mouth. The dog runs and jumps on the furniture, you scold them and teach them not to jump on things. These things inhibit a dog. Any dog with the drive I want does not make a house pet. They come in the house after they retire from competition. Top notch working dogs should be just on the edge of being out of control. From what I undertstand, Sch. is beginning to score much higher for levels of control. Not a good thing in my opinion, but I digress. So if you want to win a national championship, I would put the dog in a kennel. If you want to compete at a regional level, maybe 1/2 and 1/2. If you just want to have fun, and it is more important to you to have a pet, than a champion, by all means bring them in the house, let them sleep on the bed, or whatever you want. My 2 cents

Ours live in the house, they even have their own couch. :) They know when it's time to go "work" and howl until loaded up, gets pretty darn noisey! We have seen no drive being squashed by doing this. We were told by a couple people they had to be kenneled except when working. For us the dogs are family as much as Schutzhund dogs so full time kenneled was not an acceptable option.

I personally think a house pet does better. They know what to focus their aggression on. And do it well. JMO.

I think you can have a SchH dog in the house as a companion if you play it smart. For example, give him a Kong or a rawhide to chew on so he can keep busy and not chew on the kitchen table. Don't let the kids stuff him full of dog treats. If your dog is a dominant dog, keep him in line. Don't let him be the center of your attention. Since my husband and I both work, during the day we keep our GSD in his outdoor kennel, so that we don't have problems with him tearing up the house. In the evening he comes in with us, then at night he's crated inside. Is this going to sap his working drive? Personally I don't think so, since I'm not always fawning him with attention. Does this mean that I won't make it to the Nationals? Well so be it! He's part of the family, not some object, tool, or money making device. If I didn't have to work, and I could interact with him through the day at will, I might think differently. But I'm the primary bread winner in our home (sorry fellows!) and I don't have the luxury of sitting around all day with nothing to do but train dogs. Bottom line: consider your own goals, the needs of your dog, and the behavior of the rest of your family. Manage that, and you should be fine. :) Yvette

Why would putting it in house be a problem? Great opportunity to reinforce basic obedience with variety of distractions being present, excellent bonding opportunity, typically a better place for mental stimulation...ie...dog gets to watch family member activities and be involved with "pack". May work best with only 1 male and female in the house...eliminate same sex alpha/beta issues. Can be difficult if family is not as well trained as the dog. Should not impact "drives".....that's why they are called drives. I have seen many more dogs ruined with over compulsive obedience work on the training field than anything the dog experienced by hanging out with the kids by the couch.

You place a high drive energetic dog in a kennel with no toys and it only gets out once a day to train guess what happens? Of course it is wound up and ready to go! Plus it learns quickly what the game is. I have seen trainers let the dog out and within a couple of minutes get frustrated with it and "punish" it by putting back in the kennel for another day so tomorrow it "knows" it better perform if it want to stay out of the kennel for anytime at all.

ed from leerburg raises his personal schutzhund dogs inside. he said he keeps them crated and doesnt let them live free in the house til they are 2yrs old. and he keeps them on a leash at all times when they are out of the crate.