Dogsports:
Schutzhund/IPO
FCI IPO Trial Regulations
The most internationally well-known and popular
dogsport for working and service breeds is Schutzhund, which
was originally developed in Germany more than a hundred years
ago. In the beginning, Schutzhund was created as an examination to evaluate the German Shepherd Dog's temperament, trainability,
and physical soundness for breeding purposes.
In German, the word "Schutz"
means protect, and "Hund" means dog. Schutzhund
is a very exciting and competitive sport. It requires a genetically
well-bred dog and a talented trainer and handler. It is widely
practiced in Europe and North America, and gradually gaining
popularity in Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America.
There are 3 disciplines in Schutzhund.
They include Tracking, Obedience, and Protection. Each phase
contains 100 points, making up a total of 300 points in the examination. Every handler and dog team starts off with 100 points
in each phase, and points are deducted by the judge from mistakes
made by either the handler or the dog. The handler and dog
team has to pass all 3 phases to earn their Schutzhund title, which means
obtaining no less than 70 points in each of the three phases.
The scoring system in the sport is extremely strict. There has never been any handler/dog team that has ever achieved the total 300 points in world championships. The breeds that currently excel in international level Schutzhund
competitions are the German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois.
Schutzhund has three levels.
Schutzhund 1 or SchH1 is the beginner level. SchH2 is the
intermediate level. SchH3 is the master level of the sport
and it is the most difficult to achieve. Before a dog can compete and enter the Schutzhund examination for his first SchH1 title, he has to pass his BH or Companion Dog Test to ensure he has sufficient character for further evaluation.
In some countries such as Belgium, Germany,
and the Netherlands, Schutzhund is also called IPO, VPG, or GHP, but they
are basically the same program governed by different organizations.
Every year, there are 3 most prestigious and highlighted international events in the sport of Schutzhund/IPO - the FMBB (Belgian Shepherd Dog World Championship), WUSV (German Shepherd Dog World Championship), and FCI (World Championship for All Working Breeds). Beside these world events, there are also other major national championships such as the Belgian National, American National, and the Bundessiegerprüfung and DMC in Germany.
You can go to Video Clips to have a better understanding about this demanding sport.
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